Cold takes: S28E4 Turkey Trot
The episode opens with South Park Chamber of Commerce, which got me excited because Harriet is my favorite character, too bad she doesn't speak, but at least she's still part of the council.
I believe the last time we've seen this council was S25E3 City People. Mayor McDaniels of course was there too, but some of the other members changed. Mr. Kim and Skeeter are still here, however Jimbo, Mackey and Richard got replaced by Alexis, Linda and Randy. Two of these stick out immediately. Randy of course couldn't be there while he had Tegridy Farms, and Mackey hasn't been seen since he got fired from the school and quit ICE. This switch has clear plot reasons. However the only reason I can think of with switching Jimbo and Richard to Linda and Alexis is diversity, which - as a feminist - I actually condone.
Oh, there you are Mackey!
And the actual Turkey Trot... It's secondary and background character galore! Like Herbert Garrison with Rick, the Malkinson family, and one of the asian girls (Heather Nishimura or Lisa Akimoto, we still don't know which is which and I hope one day we'll find out) with her freshly introduced mother!
Here are the boys' team. Liane is also here, most likely on her own, or is she on a team with Linda and Stephen? Shelley seems to be alone, or of course she could have a team of her own.
And the girls arrive! I really like these five as the main group of girls. 2025 is the year of Red, but Betsy slowly and surely proceeds to establish herself as a major player, hopefully she'll get her own episode down the line. And it's always a treat to see Nichole, Bebe and Wendy.
Jimbo and Ned racing with the "Kiwanis Gun Club". Are there more members or that's just a club name for the two of them? Gerald and Sheila in the back, are they running for themselves or are they using it for charity? I was thinking how aside from Tolkien, Kyle is the richest in the main group. It would make sense if some of their friends would give the money to the Marshes. Like even Jimbo could give some of his money to Sharon if he were to win. Mr. Mackey of course needs it to himself and the Testaburgers are there as well.
There's the Rotary club (I didn't know South Park had one, I'd be interested to see how they operate) who were last year's winners, but got old since then according to Eric, and of course a very hopeful Randy and Sharon. Again, I'd imagine them having both their daughter and son on a separate team ensures that their family will get the money, and they could even have other friends or family members helping out. There's also the "Asian Pop-up team", and I'm happy to see Wing staying prominent. Bebe's dad is here as well, as is her mom, who is not in the frame, but you can tell based on hair and clothes.
For me, South Park is at its best, when it's showcasing the whole town, so I was satisfied with this episode. Is Tweek on a team with Scott? Or are both of them with their respective parents?
Some good vibes, Alexis conversing with a turkey mascot while Linda and Stephen stretch.
Stuart and Carol are here! So, out of the boys, all the parents are here, except for Tolkien's. Which makes sense, since Tolkien himself dropped out after he learned that the event is sponsored by Saudi Arabia, probably a political standpoint he shares with his parents. Out of the girls, we have Wendy's and Bebe's parents, but not Nichole's or Red's. Maybe their parents just didn't need the money or like running, whatever the reason is, the one thing I'm very curious about is Bets's parents, since we have no idea how they'll be depicted if they ever appear.
Early on, Stuart has the lead, and as expected, Kyle is the best runner of the boys, but I'm just impressed how fast Sheila seems to be.
Stan and Kenny are not far behind, with Red being the best runner of the girls, which is also not surprising after last episode's reveal that she's a skater. Gerald being that much behind is strange, since he jogs regularly, but maybe he's just saving energy for later. But there's one kid here in front of Mr. Garrison, I think I've seen him before...
Did they really bring back this guy from season one???
Okay, so I guess the starting positions gave advantages to some runners early on, since Sheila can't keep up anymore and Gerald is closer to the front. Kyle might have burned out, since he's now behind Betsy, Stan, Red, Wendy and it's actually Kenny who seems to be the fastest of the children, which I did not expect. Mr. Testaburger taking the lead overall.
But explain this, Trey Parker. How did Eric of all people get there from Credigree Weed, which we know is very far from the City Hall? I guess if I had to guess, since the bridge and all, maybe the path of the trot intersected with Credigree, which seems to be really convenient, but it is what it is.
By the end of the race however, Sheila, Stuart and Kyle are in the front again, see, my trust in Kyle is rewarded by facts. However in the end it's actually Eric's trust in Tolkien that gets them the reward...
Still, the fastest of them all seems to be Betsy. Even if it's favoritism, or maybe especially because of that, I love to see this character thrive!
Through the whole episode, I was looking for Paul, the winner of the "be a permanent South Park resident" contest and I'm actually kind of disappointed that I didn't see him at all. Maybe he's hidden, but as you see I looked thoroughly and he was nowhere to be found. After being in 2 episodes, I really thought he was going to appear in every episode, but he didn't. This episode would have been the perfect opportunity.
The woman with the orange skirt. 095. You know the one. Has anyone seen her before? Does she remind you of anyone? Remember how I counted all the parents of the main children? It was all because of her.
I have a theory. I think she is supposed to be Boogie Parker, as in Betsy's mom in the series.
Of course, there is no way of telling and even if it's supposed to be her, since it's not confirmed, they can retcon the idea anytime.
But if they reveal say she is, I called it early!
I feel for Tolkien here. I really ponder how they'll split the money, I'm sure Tolkien will give up his share for Stan and Kenny, Kyle too probably, but Eric will probably claim his share since technically his race science efforts got them the win.
