Coon vs. Coon and Friends

"Coon vs. Coon and Friends"

"Coon vs. Coon and Friends" is the thirteenth episode of the fourteenth season of Comedy Central's series South Park. It originally aired on November 10, 2010. It is the third and final part of the three-part story arc started with "Coon 2: Hindsight" and continued with "Mysterion Rises."

The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. In its original American broadcast on November 10, 2010, "Coon vs. Coon and Friends" was watched by 3.249 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Media Research. It was the highest viewed scripted show. It received a 1.9 rating/5% share among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49.

In this episode, Cartman shows himself to be even more evil than the dark lord, Cthulhu, as he punishes his former partners in Coon & Friends. Kenny is wrestling with the weight of his own super power through his alter-ego, Mysterion. This episode also spoofs Justin Bieber.

The episode continues from previous South Park episodes "Coon 2: Hindsight" and "Mysterion Rises" and reveals the identities of all of Coon and Friends. These three episodes are also significant in that they for the first time give details as to why Kenny re-incarnates after dying and how this is perceived by him, his family, and friends.

Plot

The episode begins with Bradley, as Mint Berry Crunch, summarizing the previous episode in a comic book format, oddly forgetting that the Cthulhu came as a result of DP's drilling into the moon, rather than under the sea. The boys raise concern over Mint Berry Crunch's super powers, as they do not accept "the power of mint and berry set with a satisfying tasty crunch" as a legitimate super power. While discussing powers, the boys ask Mysterion about his power. Mysterion boldly states that he "can't die." The other boys, who are only imagining their powers, casually take note. Mysterion sees that they are not taking him seriously, and with mounting frustration, he elaborates to them that he "really, really can't die." He tries to remind them that they witnessed him being stabbed to death the night before, but the other boys do not remember at all. In an attempt to prove his point, Mysterion shouts, "Remember this time!" to them, pulls out a handgun, and shoots himself in the head leaving the boys in utter shock. However, much to the annoyance of Mysterion, they completely forget about it later when everyone including Mysterion returns for another meeting on good deeds.

File:JustinBieber.png

Justin Bieber sings "Baby" just before Cthulhu kills him.

After providing his own distorted summary of the story so far, Cartman arrives and lures the heroes outside, where he orders Cthulhu to banish the boys to a dark oblivion. Mint Berry Crunch runs away and heroically watches Judge Judy,while the rest of the heroes are transported to R'lyeh. With that done, Cartman has Cthulhu head to Burning Man festival to massacre hippies. At R'lyeh, seeing death as his only potential escape back to Earth and save his friends, Mysterion commits suicide by jumping into a pit of deadly spikes. Kenny awakens back in his bed and dons his Mysterion outfit, setting off to learn more about Cthulhu and his own powers in order to save his friends. He goes to Henrietta's house, where she and the other Goth kids are complaining about Cthulhu not changing everything as they were made to believe. Just then, Henrietta's mother comes in and tells her that her brother, who turns out to be Bradley, wants to play with them. Upon entering the room, Bradley sees Mysterion and runs back to his room to change into his Mint Berry Crunch outfit. Meanwhile, the Goth kids tell Mysterion that Cthulhu can only be killed by another immortal, meaning that Kenny is seemingly the only one who has the power to stop Cthulhu's rampage.

Followed by Mint Berry Crunch, Mysterion tracks down the Coon and Cthulhu as the latter have just finished massacring Justin Bieber and a number of his fans thus making the world a better place in Cartman's eyes. Mysterion challenges Cthulhu by offering him an easy win if he brings his friends back, only for the to Dark lord to simply walk away after being influenced by the Coon's "cute kitten" act. A bright light descends from the air and Limahl appears inside, who reveals himself to be Bradley's biological father from a far away planet who sent his son to Earth to stop Cthulhu. Bradley, whose Mintberry Crunch powers were actually real, manages to subdue Cthulhu, drag him back to the dimension from which he came, save the other heroes from oblivion, and shut the hole BP drilled into the Gulf of Mexico. With Cartman jailed at the Coon & Friends' secret base, Mint Berry Crunch flies away as the rest of the heroes express surprise that Bradley really did have superpowers. Accepting his fate, Mysterion says he is going to bed and shoots himself in the head. The scene shifts to show Kenny's mom giving birth to a new Kenny. Kenny's parents then lay Kenny in his bed, placing his orange parka over him, and say that they never should have gone to that cult meeting, implying that Kenny's powers were a result of the cult's practices.

Cultural references

Like "Coon 2: Hindsight" and "Mysterion Rises," the third part heavily references the works of H. P. Lovecraft, especially the Cthulhu Mythos.

This episode also references the Merrie Melodies cartoon short Feed the Kitty, with Cartman acting as Pussyfoot and Cthulhu as Marc Antony in his "cute kitten" routine.

In his quest to "make the world a better place", the Coon (Eric Cartman's alter ego), persuades Cthulhu to destroy the Whole Food Market supermarket chain, which specializes in organic and healthy food. They also attack the Burning Man festival, which is, according to Cartman, "the biggest hippie festival in the world". A news reporter at the site of the slaughter mistakes The Coon for "Bruce Vilanch in a rat costume", an assumption first made in The Coon. Another target, and in Cartman's eyes, the "most challenging and most evil opponent", is teen-star Justin Bieber, who is played by someone with his regular annoying voice. The LeBron James Nike commercial is also spoofed again. Cartman tries to lure the boys out of his basement with promises of a double rainbow, coinciding with the popularity of the "Double Rainbow" viral video.

Reception

In its original American broadcast on November 10, 2010, "Coon vs. Coon and Friends" was watched by 2.786 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most watched cable television show of the night, surpassing shows such as Psych, Terriers, Meet the Browns and The Ultimate Fighter in ratings. The episode received a 1.8 rating/3 share, meaning it was seen by 1.8 percent of the population, and 3 percent of people watching television at the time of its broadcast. Among male viewers between ages 18 and 34, the episode received a 3.4 rating/11 share. Among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49, the episode received a 1.6 rating/5 share, falling two tenths in the ratings since the last episode.

External links

• Coon vs. Coon and Friends at IMDb
• Coon vs. Coon and Friends Episode Guide at South Park Studios