This 'South Park' Fan Theory Could Solve the Show's Longest-Running Mystery
South Park spoilers follow.
South Park probably isn’t the first show that comes to mind when you think of excellent continuity. Like most cartoons and sitcoms, the show largely operates on the 'reset and forget' premise, where the events of the previous episode are seemingly wiped from the characters' minds as if they’ve just been probed by a crudely animated, paper-cutout alien.
In more recent seasons, however, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have seemingly made a conscious effort to follow through (that’s not a euphemism) with some of their storylines and character arcs, many of which have spanned several episodes or are still unfolding. (See Mr Garrison’s recent transformation into Donald Trump, and then back to Mr Garrison.)
But really, there’s a case to argue that continuity has always played a significant part in South Park. And if we go back to the very beginning, we may even be able to establish a character connection that’s been developing for almost three decades.
You don’t have to be a fan of the show to be aware of one of its most iconic recurring gags: that Kenny McCormick, the muffled youngster from a financially challenged family, dies many horrible deaths, only to be resurrected the next episode with little to no explanation. "Oh my god! They killed Kenny! You bastards!" etc. etc.
The most peculiar thing about it, though, is that no-one ever seems to remember him dying. Well, almost no-one.
In the 'Coon and Friends' trilogy, a parody of superhero film franchises, it was confirmed that Kenny’s immortality is a result of his parents formerly attending Cthulhu cult meetings: every time he dies, his mother rebirths him and he quickly grows back to the same age.
In those episodes, Kenny also broached the subject for the first time when he confronted Stan, Kyle and the other boys about their apparent bouts of amnesia. "I die all the time and you assholes never remember!" he says. He then proves his point by shooting himself in the head, only for them to completely forget about it just moments later.
The one character who isn’t present for this scene, however, is Cartman, and there’s a good reason why he couldn’t be part of it: he knows exactly what Kenny’s talking about.
As some fans have pointed out over the years, Cartman appears to be the only character, aside from the McCormick parents, who’s aware of Kenny’s many deaths and subsequent resurrections. In the season-two episode 'City on the Edge of Forever', he tries to explain to Stan and Kyle that their hooded friend has died numerous times before. And in the season six episode 'Cartmanland', when being sued by Kenny’s parents over a fatal amusement park incident, he outright states: "What, Kenny? He dies all the time!"
So why is it that Cartman is able to spot what the others are so oblivious to? Well, there are two popular theories, and the first of which concerns him seeing things through Kenny’s eyes – literally.
In 'Succubus', the third episode of season three, Cartman convinces his optometrist to give him an eye transplant, using Kenny’s frozen head as the donor. The natural conclusion here is that Cartman is aware of Kenny’s immortality, simply because he sees things from his perspective (via Redditor freddiemercury3001).
The second theory is actually extremely similar, but there’s a bit more weight to it. In 'A Ladder to Heaven', the twelfth episode of the sixth season, Cartman drinks Kenny’s ashes with some milk, which results in him experiencing several of his friend’s memories, while also being possessed by his soul. This has led some fans to believe that the characters are still linked in some way, since they both shared the same body for a period of time.
Now, if we’re being honest about it, Parker and Stone were almost definitely making this stuff up as they went along, but there does seem to be some sort of connection between Cartman and Kenny that’s pretty difficult to ignore, particularly when it comes to death. It’s when we look even further into their history, though, that things really start to get interesting.
In 1992, Parker and Stone released a short animated movie called The Spirit of Christmas (not the 1995 version of the same name, which is a different film entirely), which eventually inspired them to go on and create South Park. Using an even cruder method of paper-constructed animation, the short follows four familiar-looking boys who inadvertently give life to a murderous Frosty the Snowman after placing a hat on his head.
All four of the boys look virtually identical to their modern-day counterparts, except there’s one notable difference: the one that looks exactly like Cartman is actually called Kenny.
More intriguing still, is the fact that Cartman (the one that looks like Cartman, anyway), is the first character to be killed by Frosty. In response, the Kyle lookalike exclaims: "Oh my god! Frosty killed Kenny!" To which the Stan lookalike replies: "Dude! I told you not to put that f***ing hat on Frosty’s f***ing head now, didn’t I?" which, admittedly, isn’t as memorable as their future catchphrase.
Not long after this, the Kenny lookalike is also killed by Frosty and tossed alongside the corpse of 'Cartman', with pools of blood forming around their heads and seeping into the Colorado snow.
So, right from the very beginning, before South Park was even a thing, Cartman and Kenny were always linked by death – and by their physical forms. Could Cartman’s awareness of Kenny’s immortality be, in some manner, the creators’ way of acknowledging a connection and continuity that was established 29 years ago?
We’re almost certainly reading too much into this, and Parker and Stone would probably/definitely laugh at the idea, but it does provide a satisfying explanation for why Cartman is able to notice something that no-one else can: because, from an historical point of view, Kenny is a part of him, and he’s a part of Kenny.
South Park airs on Comedy Central and is available to stream on Now TV, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
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