South Park's Midlife Crisis

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South Park has run for 24 years and over 300 episodes, so obviously they’ve told a LOT of stories over the years. But unlike its other cartoon contemporaries with massive episode numbers, like The Simpsons or Family Guy, South Park has continuously been run by only TWO people. Often events happening within the series are reflections of how Matt and Trey were feeling at the time those episodes were produced. But there are 2 episodes in season 15 that not only blatantly showcased Matt and Trey’s feelings on South Park at the time, but also laid a vague road map that could help predict exactly where the show was going to go. So today, let’s talk about South Park’s Mid-Life Crisis from season 15, You’re Getting Old.
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Music:
Johnny 2 Cellos Theme Music - Norman Marston
Video Used:
South Park (1997-2021)
The Simpsons
Family Guy
South Park 20th Anniversary Panel
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[@ImCastorTroy]

Never change Johnny, Or do i guess

[@Buttington_Headerson]

Just do whatever. Or don't idk.

[@williscool4236]

Never Change Or don’t I’m not the boss of you

[@itsblitz4437]

Eventually, its important to change when we need to.

[@carlosteixeira4691]

U better dude?

[@FriendlyCroock]

I like his commentary too but I always thought "you're getting older" is about depression. And I speak from experience. But apparently is about the producers not liking their own product anymore?

[@MrGreaves]

I remember Randy’s delivery of the line “because I’m unhappy okay?!” breaking me. I was so used to South Park being so comical and not serious and then suddenly it was all just so deep, depressing and honestly relatable. I find “You’re Getting Old” incredibly sad because it’s very much how I feel as a teenager transitioning into adulthood.

[@Lonelywookiee]

Dude I turned 30 this year, not not that old in the grand scheme of things. I literally grew up watching SP since season 1, I was 7yo. That Randy scene first time I watched it absolutely devastated me from how real it was. I have always loved South Park over the years but it's moments like that that just solidify why South Park truly is one of the greatest social commentaries of our time despite what many people and pundits would say otherwise.

[@MrGreaves]

@@Lonelywookiee even if the new series don’t spark my interest as much, the amount of honestly intelligence in South Park is astounding. For a show that’s so silly and most of my friends will say “don’t take it too seriously, it’s just stupid and funny” it has surprisingly deep and surreal messages and commentary littered throughout its history. The episode in discussion probably being the most immature and yet also mature handling of social commentary I’ve ever seen.

[@clockworkNate]

Oh God just wait until you hit your mid 20s lol. That's about the spot where it starts to feel like your mind is time traveling through life. Seriously though when you're a kid summers feel like they last forever and as you get older and older you realize it's just a couple months and they are gone so fast. "But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them" -Jim Croce

[@MrGreaves]

@@clockworkNate oh god summers already go by way too fast. I’ve only got 5 weeks left and I’m going to college?? What the hell! Another reason I find myself relating to Stan is because all my friends have essentially buggered off and left me behind, and while they’re all having fun and doing shit I’m just chilling at home and oh my god it’s 4pm already. Wtf man 😂

[@KiX-K4T13]

@@Lonelywookiee With you, brother. 31 here.

[@hunova4799]

As any South Park fan with depression will tell you, these episodes are wonderful and honestly make two of the best episodes to come out. It's nuts to have South Park out of anything speak to you on a level more personal than any other media but that's the truth of it. South Park is an honest and real show and I'm grateful for it

[@acetrainerj3277]

These two episodes are easily in my top 5

[@04dram04]

You hold the ket to your prison cell of depression. I want to recommend you read or listen to Neville Goddard.

[@alexryherd9810]

I'm going through stans changes currently and before I even saw this video dropped I was thinking about this episode and how everything looked like shit lol. As a fellow friend with the big sad I 100% agree 👍

[@dragonsoul4529]

@@04dram04 Depression takes time. It's a swinging life with it. Learning how to handle it in its good and accept it isn't easy. It will NEVER be easy. Therapy helps with depression because it gives you a safe place with a professional. A book can only give you hints and guides.

[@rifter0x0000]

There are very few thoughtful and realistic depictions of depression and mental illness in media. Homeland has a lot of problems, but probably the only reason I started watching it was their attempt to depict the struggles of a bipolar person. For instance the fact that allowing people to find out about your illness will usually cost you your job. Historically mental illness is sensationalized and depicted without any attempt at studying the actual experience of the victims.

[@tahraethestoryteller6079]

Wish they’d bring Stan’s depression back. Especially now that the bro ship has once again split up

[@tabifiedler6944]

Dude that would be amazing! One can only dream😔

[@Parappadarappa2]

Same I’d love to see a possible episode where Stan struggles with the changes of his new friend group and begins struggling with excepting change and suffers with depression because of the overwhelming amount of changes happening around him

[@guldmattbb473]

@@Parappadarappa2 Technically they already did that in the ‘You’re Getting Old’ two parter

[@bruvlord1133]

Does anyone know when the next episode will be out?

[@Parappadarappa2]

@@guldmattbb473 they could do a similar episode about him missing his old friends

[@OGdadpool]

I'm still surprised that they didn't call Randy's farm "Marsh Mellow Farms"

[@fuzzballzz36]

That's pretty great actually.

[@brycepearson683]

ngl if someday I some how start a weed farm im taking that name, and there nothing you can do about it

[@fuzzballzz36]

@@brycepearson683 just make sure your product has Tegridy!

[@eljay2224]

Wheres there tegridy in that?!

[@GrayD_Fox]

That’s not funny

[@TealTreeKangaroo]

These two episodes are what solidified Stan as my favorite character honestly. I always loved him, but he was so relatable here and I felt for him so much. He’s one of the more subdued personalities but to me he’s one of the most compelling of the bunch.

[@RoseluvsHHR]

That's why Stan always was and always will be my favorite too. It's easy to forget about him because yes, he's more subdued. But then you get to really understand who is is as a person. He is sensitive, blunt, emotional, stubborn, street-smart, will do anything for his family and friends, a smart-ass, loves animals. Talented when it comes to sports and music. There's many layers to Stan which I find more compelling than Cartman's in-your-face loud personality.

[@AB-sw4kb]

Stan is based on Trey Parker and Kyle is based on Matt Stone. Even their parents' names are the same as their real life parents' names (Randy and Sharon; Gerald and Sheila).

[@MTTT19]

It'll be interesting to see where they take the four boys. Maybe they could do something similar to the "Meteor Shower Trilogy" where each boy get's their own episode where they try their own thing. I'd imagine that Cartman would try and set up his own group but everyone hates him (except Butters) so he ends up with Butters but he's both annoyed yet glad he has a puppet. And with Kenny, he would be the straight man of his family trying to make things better. I'm not sure what they could do with Stan and Kyle though.

[@aycaulutas5482]

I think they can do a pretty good job that showing Stan's depression again. For Kyle, I think he's gonna have a simple time since he's the most reasonable character in the whole show.

[@snowyyzoe]

@@aycaulutas5482 they could probably tie Stan and Kyle’s storylines together ngl

[@20the20]

all of these suggestions are way too boring and predictable for south park

[@escapefr0mslender]

@@aycaulutas5482 Kyle kinda think he is the main character and is a know-it-all douchebag tho

[@itsyaboy2789]

i think they could do stan and kyles storyline together considering they’re the ones who are supposed to be best friends and it would be interesting to see them have a story based around that

[@kenz2237]

this episode has always struck a chord with me. as someone who is autistic, has depression, and whose parents are separated.

[@letsgobrandontrump2024]

You’re an amazing wonderful person and the world is so lucky to have you keep your head up and your heart open you’ll find your niche and you’ll be right where you’ve always wanted to be

[@kenz2237]

@@letsgobrandontrump2024 thank you!!! i’ve actually been feeling really good about life recently, so i believe you! i trust that in time i’ll be exactly where i need to be, just taking it one day at a time and enjoying it for once:)

[@kjprodouctions9050]

​@@kenz2237God bless you, Ken. As someone who also has a bit of autism and went through depression from June to November 2022 and even some of 2023, both of these episodes are relatable to me nowadays than when i first saw it some time in 2018 when I began to watch the show. Anyway, I'm glad you're better nowadays, and like you, I'm better than I was when I was depressed. I hope you continue to gain happiness and prosperity

[@kenz2237]

@@kjprodouctions9050 thank you for your kind words! i am also very glad to hear that you have been doing better, and i hope that good things continue happening for you.

[@mattbrown5626]

I was exactly Stan when this aired. Parents divorced, i moved, everything seemed shitty, and my drinking problem got worse. These episodes hit me deep

[@minmin6v6]

Stan's depression was had me crying so hard, everything he said about not being happy felt so real to me. When south park get really serious it's done so well and I wonder who felt this way when the script was written. It may sound corny but I hope that Trey and Matt know that these moments of south park are greatly appreciated.

[@watchalong7404]

Semi-serialized story telling is what people crave now, south park changed the game when they tried and imo did make it work in more recent seasons. Rick and Morty is now suffering from that, the creators don't want to make it serialized yet make decisions that show they still want a show that progresses the characters in some way. Maybe making a show run in circles is just a thing of the past, maybe we need TV that tries to say something in this landscape of 20+ seasons run of multiple series. No need for them to preach, but they can still say something worth their airtime. Who knows, maybe cartoon sitcoms are changing for good.

[@daftbanna7202]

Yeah I mean look at the success of bojack horseman

[@tryhardfinessedyou]

I think it's good to an extent. I don't want it to be an every episode thing. One of the best parts of south park is you could pick an random episode and piss your pants laughing. I don't want to have to watch a whole season to get a joke. I'm just a greedy fan tho frfr lol I appreciate your points, and also think south park has always had messaging it's was just so God damn good and nuanced that it flies over people's head. Which lead to one of my fav jokes from the newer seasons. The Christopher columbus one where randy is calling people in Colombia ohio and stan objects and Randy responds something like "you can't make subtle points or the critics will just say 'what's the point??' "

[@kaizer712]

"the creators don't want to make it serialized yet make decisions that show they still want a show that progresses the characters in some way." You perfectly encapsulated what confuses me so much about the modern landscape. Like, they WANT to develop characters but acknowledge they're also stuck forever the way they aired? Why??? Mike Judge wanted King of the Hill to have a serialized story line where characters actually aged and changed. It makes a narrative more cohesive and relatable as no one experiences important events without changing and growth. But like They act like they still primarily air on TV, that every episode has to be interchangeable for replays, that changing a character design will invalidate toy designs. Even when the vast majority (or in cases of online exclusives ALL) of viewers now consume media in a format that negates episodic content, showrunners and writers still act like change will destroy a show. It may be the work of the older talking heads who run the company but for God's sake humans can handle a longform story. Have confidence in your characters and audience!

[@JTMConceptions]

Always Sunny manages to pull it off pretty well, even though it's not a cartoon.

[@mikerueffer579]

@@kaizer712 For king of the hill the studio heads told mike judge that they didn't want it to be serialized since they thought it would confuse viewers in the reruns. Mike was unhappy about this.

[@sadieteawalsh]

“How do you go on when nothing makes you happy?” 🥺

[@generalraines1469]

what's your pfp and banner based off?

[@sadieteawalsh]

@@generalraines1469 have you heard the legend of Chris Chan, good fellow?

[@sadieteawalsh]

@@generalraines1469 in short, he makes comics about people he hates, including turning his old college dean named Mary Lee Walsh into an evil witch. She wore a gold helmet with devil horns, but he never drew hair so fans thought it was a blonde bob cut. Since she was supposed to be old and ugly, fans drew her as a voluptuous succubus to piss the author off. Still makes me laugh today 😂

[@generalraines1469]

@@sadieteawalsh Oh yeah! CWC, I watched a video essay on him but I didn't know people made "fan" art about his stuff 😂

[@sadieteawalsh]

@@generalraines1469 Lmao most of it’s pretty lewd, but a lot is so much better than the original 😂 watching CWC is like watching a train wreck, it’s awful and tragic, but you can’t look away

[@Fonzzz002]

You're Getting Old is THE episode I point to when the topic is mentioned of TV shows addressing depression. It hit the nail on the head better than anything I've seen

[@Janeywaney455]

I want Stan’s depression to make a come-back in the newer seasons after his friend group broke up.

[@alterego6075]

That would be soooo shitty lol

[@Buttington_Headerson]

@@alterego6075 heh, "shitty"

[@Janeywaney455]

Heh, funni cuss word.

[@CrossoverFan4life]

Didn't it in the pandemic special

[@alterego6075]

@@CrossoverFan4life "I HATE THIS FARM!!"

[@sadlobster1]

Since Randy openly admitted that he's an unhappy person back in You're Getting Old, it makes sense why he's on the path he's on now. He doesn't care if the family hates living at Tegrity Farms, all that matters is that HE'S happy and that HE'S "successful." To make things even bleaker, Sharon can just leave Randy like she did in You're Getting Old because she knows that she'll just be brought back to his doorstep sooner or later

[@pote2frouifruite81]

Well no spoilers if you havennt seen it yet but in the post covid episode Sharon did leave randy but it didn't go well at all...

[@Hyper_Kong]

@@pote2frouifruite81 What happened?

[@aisharosealeta6801]

@@Hyper_Kong spoilers for those who havent seen it yet!!! . . . Shelly died in a fire and Sharon killed herself out of grief

[@tabifiedler6944]

DUDE YES I absolutely love Stan’s arc and everything they did with him here. I wish so hard that they’d touch on this again but being South Park, it’s very unlikely.

[@vulgaritar48]

As a middling liberal I'd always had a longstanding love-hate relationship with South Park, but I'd watch it because it was an alternate perspective through an accessible medium true to the feelings of the guys writing it. "You're Getting Old" was the last episode I saw because it totally did feel like an appropriate end to the show even if it was bitter as far as series finales go. Stan just accepting that life is shitty but putting on a brave face and just going with it seemed like very on-key messaging for Parker and Stone. I was surprised sometime later to find out the series hadn't ended because that ep just had such a sense of finality to it.

[@christopherwilliams9418]

It's kind of like the bunker episode from The Simpsons, lol

[@slashandbones13]

I am not the biggest fan of South Park but I appreciate that when they say "we make fun of everyone", they actually mean it. 98% of people who say something like that only make fun of left wing ideas.

[@Real_Genji]

@@slashandbones13 left wing ideas are easier to make fun of, more prevalent in modern culture, and overall more hypocritical and dumber

[@PatoGuzmanAd]

@@christopherwilliams9418 what is that episode??

[@christopherwilliams9418]

@@PatoGuzmanAd Season 6 episode 14, "Bart's Comet".

[@rexventura4603]

With the exception of Season 20, when South Park does serialized stories they do it pretty well and with the Vaccination special, I think they might’ve found their balance between sticking to real life and doing what they want to do

[@thevintagevaluesexperience4302]

Aside from seasons 2 and 20, every season of South Park is a classic.

[@Robbie_Haruna]

I've been binging South Park lately and I kinda agree. Not to say there's nothing good about Season 20, it certainly has some gems in there, but there was way too much focus on the Troll Trace shit and Kyle's dad.

[@rexventura4603]

@@Robbie_Haruna Not to mention they kind of shot themselves in the foot, by banking way too much on Hillary winning.

[@Robbie_Haruna]

@@rexventura4603 I mean considering the circumstances it wasn't exactly unreasonable to put faith in a candidate winning. But it really sticks out when like half of season 20 is dedicated to Garrison trying to sabotage his own victory because he has no plan, only for him to do a 180 and being all on board with presidency despite half the season trying to build up to otherwise.

[@rexventura4603]

@@Robbie_Haruna Exactly, no matter how sure you are, politics are never 100% it was a huge and gamble, and they lost one of their characters as a result of it. Although the troll tracing stuff you mentioned didn’t exactly help

[@mortalitydoesstuff8965]

Didn't expect to be this deep in the feels over South Park of all things today, but the just absolutely defeated way Stan delivers the line "I've been unhappy for a long time", that shit destroyed me.

[@huxleyginsberg13]

I remember watching this when it aired and being genuinely concerned the show would be ending. Definitely left an impact on me.

[@ahdnoh]

A part of me wished this would have been how they decided to end the show.

[@comradesam3382]

I think this season may be their last, it honestly feels like it with them splitting up seemingly permenantly

[@themagnus2919]

The show wasn't the same after it.

[@DrePeezy415]

@@comradesam3382 this didn’t age well. They signed a 900 million dollar contract to continue until season 30 plus 14 movies

[@gilbert3672]

@@DrePeezy415 god damn 14 movies

[@thrasherwartooth]

I grew up with South Park. I was the same age as the kids when it first aired and man, that episode shook me. It's still one of my favorites.

[@MrThebeast115]

I honestly love the direction South Park went in. The sitcom style was definitely getting old and its interesting to see actual storylines

[@IsaacV2001]

I'm could get used to these regular uploads, Johnny. You turn out consistently good content, and that's what I appreciates about ya.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Thanks! I’ve got at least 2 more videos before the end of the month 🤘

[@IsaacV2001]

@@Johnny2Cellos Bell's rung, my friend. I look forward to seeing them.

[@parkerwalker377]

@@IsaacV2001 “bell’s rung, my friend” i’m not entirely sure what this means, but i’m putting it in my pocket for future use!

[@Y0G0FU]

This is the second Episode that changed the course of South Park forever in my Opinion. The first was "Kenny dies" in Season 5. The Episode marked the end of the "Kenny dies every Episode" Joke and it marked the start of side Characters stepping into the Focus of Episodes. Most notably Butters who became a reglar focus for Episodes. On another note.. i think Serialization of the seasons was one of South Parks best moves ever. Season 18 and onwards feel so damn good. Its fun to see Characters evolve, the City changing and i think it gives Matt and Trey so much breathing room. I cant wait to see what crazy antics they have in store for us in the future.

[@doughnuthead8757]

I love South Park and when I first saw this, I thought the series was gonna end, and I was okay with that; the episodes were THAT well-done.

[@alexryherd9810]

Man, I really needed this video. I grew up watching southpark with my father and the show has always meant so much to me. I hear a lot of negativity about the shows new direction as of late and it bothered me. I enjoy the direction it's going and as I get older and understand the actual underlying messages of each episode I enjoy it much more. So glad others feel the same.

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

Simply put, we're living in a time where even the ignorant side has free speech.

[@alexryherd9810]

@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 that's not a bad thing though. Everyone should have the freedom to speak...freely.

[@GranTorieno]

The mid season finale had me in actual tears even on the re-watch! Like I knew it wasn't over. But I was still bawling

[@theamazingcj2748]

I've said it before, but "You're Getting Older" made me cry. Every time someone asks me if I've ever cried at a show/movie, I have to tell them that the only time it's ever happened was because of South Park.

[@DeamonChocobo]

So this is legitimately one of my favorite episodes (both of them) as I really related to Stan: I actually do have Aspergers, I'm very afraid of change, and I became much more cynical & depressed in my early-mid 20s. This episode legitimately helped me realize things about myself and actually helped me push back against the cynicism and cut out a lot of the negativity in my life (it didn't help the depression but that's a whole other thing). Also this episode made me love the song Landslide. Back in the early 2000s my family loved and repeatedly played the Dixie Chick's cover, which plays the song much more upbeat and positive. Well around that same time us and a bunch of other family members moved, we lost a few other family members, and there was just a lot of unwanted changes going on in my life so a song that felt like it was painting change in a positive light just made me hate it more (I was in a very "Anti-Country music" phase already). This episodes themes along with hearing the much more melancholy & bittersweet tones of Stevie Nicks made me reevaluate and fall in love with the song (still hate the Dixie Chicks version).

[@MissAshley42]

This episode killed me when I first saw it, and I can't hear Landslide now without feeling down. I never thought about it from Matt and Trey's perspective then; that only came after reading episode reviews. It just hit me at the right time in life to hit me hard. And now that I've hit middle-age, thinking about this episode hits me even harder. I actually started tearing up during that clip of Randy's dialog near the end.

[@mattsmith1173]

That's why they chose the song because it's sad

[@StevenSmith-mk5fg]

The 'You're Getting Old' episode is a metaphor. It's done through the eyes of a child but it's really about that age where you realise your own mortality, that of your loved ones/friends and start to ask yourself if this is all there is and if so, what's the point in it all? It's the moment you truly become an adult and once you've gone though this stage, you can never go back. Most people cope by looking back to the past and how things used to be but it's a double edged sword as it only reminds you of how much everything has changed and how you can never go back (ergo the Stevie Nicks song in the episode). The age in which you go though this ranges but it's typically your late 20's with 30 being that phycological barrier rapidly approaching. It's a temporary state of clinical depression that with most people, fades as they progress through their 30's and start to accept life for what it is. This is why this episode is by far the saddest episode and leaves you thinking long after it has finished.

[@Doctor4077]

I wonder how much present day Sharon regrets getting back with Randy

[@jasongibson1225]

You know, I honestly am happy they are continuing, but at the same time. I wouldn't be mad at all at this point if South Park had a conclusion where the boys grew up and went their own separate lives, and we never saw them again aside from maybe a reunion years down the road. Its one thing that makes something like Bojack Horseman feel like a timeless classic, it had the conclusion it deserved. If I had a chat with Matt and Trey, I would let them know if they wanted to retire the show, its okay with me. Matt and Trey deserve their own retirements as well.

[@AlphaBookZ]

I can't decide what the best part of this episode was to me in a more meta sense. I love the idea of taking the phrase "x Looks/sounds like shit" and made it a tangible thing in the episode. The way it's portrayed I feel is a statement in & of itself, that the fact that everything seems to be the worst is not a good mindset for anyone's wellbeing. I found it to be a relatively subtle reminder to appreciate things, or at least to try enjoying things. The unappealing nature of things (literally) turning to shit is also a really good interpretation of how being depressed is like, and for me I was desperate to see Stan get out of it the same way I do with my friends. It's not the fact there is literal faecal matter surrounding Stan, but what it represents, that emptiness that a lot of people in that situation would probably feel too. I also really like how the mid-season break was used to trick the audience into thinking the show was over. I'm personally not sure if it was meant to be that way but it worked extremely well. The concept of an episode in a show so meta could have so much value from the feelings of the creators' new lack of enjoyment was truly nice, like I understood the message without it feeling out of place or undeserved. I love the way these episodes are written in a way that is very much on the brand of South Park while also adding very insightful ways to see how the writing team is feeling. This show is so amazing & I absolutely love the way it can be so silly and yet so deep!

[@jjmah7]

That episode really ripped my heart out. Makes me realize South Park just can’t ever go away, because they’re a huge part of my sanity

[@RoseluvsHHR]

You're Getting Old will always mean so much to me and make my heart hurt. Stan is my very favorite character and what he was going through when that episode first aired, I was going through too. My parents split and I had to move into a new apartment with my dad. I still think the show would have been great with these changes for Stan. There's so much potential for stories with Sharon and Randy divorced. Stan living with his mom. Going between both parents. Visitations with his dad. I would have much more enjoyed that than what the show is now. I think the whole Tegridy Farms thing is almost as bad as the political mess that was season 19/20. It's made Randy into an uncaring selfish ass. He used to be funny. Now I groan whenever he's on screen. And the boys 'breaking up' made me very sad. I like the potential of stories that could come from it but at the same time, Stan and Kyle were best friends. Those two are the glue to the broship. Changes are fine as long as it works. Then again a lot of fans like the simple humor of Randy running a pot farm. So who knows...

[@thatlongboardguy598]

Johnny Thank you for everything man, keep the videos going, they are always great

[@CrookiNari]

One of my big takeaways from this episode is that if Asperger's properly existed in the South Park universe, then Stan would probably have it. And considering he was already the character I related to the most, that added a lot to everything else that was in this episode. I kinda wish they didn't spend so much time making fun of the name though, because it was too easy a joke to make, and it made me very glad that growing up people didn't know I had Asperger's.

[@AwesomeLaggy]

Im a simple man I see south Park I click immediately!

[@LaffTwous]

Wish your videos on South Park got more views, they’re fantastic.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Thanks! I’ve only made a few and they do well enough! The Randy vid is almost at 500k

[@pap64]

This is hands down my favorite episode of South Park. The first time I saw it it was the first time seeing South Park where I went "YES, YOU GET IT, I UNDERSTAND THIS COMPLETELY". While many see the episode as being commentary from Matt and Trey about how they don't feel happy pumping out content for the show, I saw it as a cautionary tale about how if you let the hands of time turn everything you loved into meaningless trash due to mid-life cynicism it WILL destroy you and will drive you to some really dark places and isolate yourself from people. It's a very real thing that happens when people suffer from depression and when I first saw this episode I was unemployed, depressed and stuck in a rut so I got this message loud and clear. Yeah, I know the episode also has a president duck that shoots crap out of his mouth but the big takeaway for me was that there are things that the passage of time will inevitably change, but how we view life is something we control ourselves, and this episode proved that when Matt and Trey are not trying to put on a biased take on anything they can deliver on an emotional level.

[@FanksCast]

Last year i almost cried when watching this. I was depressed, I lost a lot of friends and my parents were going through a messy divorce which involved abuse and restraining orders that was ongoing for three years. And I was also drinking a lot to cope with all of of it. This episode really hits me in the feels and always will. Also stan has an alcohol issue, and even at the end when everything resets we see stan take a shot before hanging with the boys, which ties in to the dystopian future where stan is an alcoholic which is great writing!

[@tabifiedler6944]

South Park is absolutely hilarious, but what really hooked me on the series was how episodes like these manage to be so honest and unfiltered. It’s incredibly rare to find shows that are still so heartfelt and different after twenty four seasons. This show is so special💛

[@blueblaze5160]

They kinda didn’t like having to just reset after the thing they set up at the end of the episode, so they made the idea that it was a big bummer that stan’s parents just inexplicably almost immediately got back together. It reflected the bummed out feeling that they had to do that on the very next episode after setting up an emotional and dramatic ending in the previous episode.

[@Willskull]

Trey and Matt are amazing, this show is incredible, damn!

[@shmeepness]

I never really kept up with south park so I hadn't heard of this episode before. Wow, it hits deep, especially after the past year where everything really does just feel like shit. Wish there was a follow-up episode on how Stan stopped feeling that way. I'm struggling with it myself. Great video.

[@ceidhlafynesx]

at the end of the episode kyle asks stan to go to the cinema or something and before he does he takes a drink i think kinda implying he just drinks to not be like that

[@mrmusickhimself]

I dated a woman from 2004-2011, and this was the LAST episode of South Park we ever watched together. A month later, she was gone, and I spiraled for a long damn time. So this episode hits me on a personal level whenever I rewatch it.

[@LeonWick526]

"You're Getting Old" does represent Matt Stone and Trey Parker's burned out attitude. The ending of "Ass Burgers" proves it by showing Stan "overcoming" his depression through alcoholism. It means that South Park will continue but Matt and Trey won't have the same enthusiasm as they once had for the show. Since that 2 part episode, we've seen a slow and steady decline in quality of the show which hit the ground in the season 22 episode "Nobody Got Cereal?". Here, Matt and Trey do a complete flip on the episode "ManBearPig" implying that they no longer view global warming as false. Since they don't care about contradicting themselves, we see the show hit rock bottom and we understand that ever since "You're Getting Old", Matt and Trey have been going through the motions in making the show and don't care about relating to their audience anymore. The #cancelsouthpark at the end of some season 22 episodes is more fitting than you think.

[@CollinMcLean]

As much as we love certain shows it's important to just let them die with some semblance of dignity left. I feel like the same thing happened with Family Guy where Seth was just done with it but the fans didn't want to let him end it.

[@alejandragarcis5228]

Your South park and king of the hill videos are the best love them keep the up💯

[@raylast3873]

I don‘t think it makes sense to assume that the return to the status quo in „Ass Burgers“ was necessarily due to being afraid of change. They say that they tried to keep these changes but felt like they were stuck, story-wise. This seems to imply more that they simply weren‘t happy with where those ideas were going at the time. We know that the things they ended up going for were also pretty ambitious, so if that was what they were going for, the story idea needed to be good enough to pull that off. Given their ambition it made sense not to commit to an idea for the story unless they were totally happy with what they were going to do with it and confident that it could work, and it‘s understandable that this took time. Going with changes they weren‘t confident in (like the divorce) could have backfired on their long-term intentions.

[@kiefermcginty6189]

Stan became my favorite character after these episodes.

[@ThirteenAmp]

Besides cartman being the most outrageous, Stan was always the main character and supposed to be your favorite that you follow But people got lost in the cartman shenanigans and then later the butters and randy stuff and people didnt even know the show was about stan

[@DwayneIsKing]

7:46 I don't even watch South Park, but my God was that powerful. I don't even need to see the whole episode to feel the impact of that

[@RanterInShades]

When this episode first aired, I was really bummed out afterward. I used to hate this episode. South Park is (tied with Seinfeld for) my favorite show, and I hated the idea of it ending, especially on such a sad note. I could tell even back then at age 16 that this was likely an allegory for how Matt and Trey felt about working on South Park at this point in their career, and as much as I understood where they were coming from, it didn't make me feel any less sad and worried. Could also be the Fleetwood Mac song which has always been a tearjerker for me. And what made me feel even worse was the cliffhanger we were being left on. Not since Hey Arnold was there anything like that that made this emotional. This could have been me being a naive kid, but I remember being worried there wouldn't be any new episodes after and that this was it. I was glad that Ass Burgers tied up all the loose ends, but in the back of my mind, I had a feeling things wouldn't be the same. Not until recently was I able to change my mind. For the better part of 3-4 years, I felt like Stan when he asks Mr. Mackey "How do you go on when nothing makes you happy?" Well, after the loss of a couple friendships last year, coupled with an incoming move, I finally had the epiphany Stan did where you sometimes need to take a left turn in life, and I feel happier because of that. And this got me to appreciate these two episodes more. Only difference being there wasn't a reset like Randy showing up in a moving truck saying that he and Sharon worked everything out. It would have been nice to have something like that, but you don't need it. A big part of 2020 was me coming to terms with that fact, and that's why I don't hate this episode anymore.

[@arandomanimator9020]

Honestly I love how south park is one of the few shows that was really good in the early seasons and have gotten better over time with very little being bad in anyway. It’s a show I can binge through the whole thing and not have to skip anything like I do with the Simpsons where I stop watching after about a third of the seasons because after that it’s just lifeless stories with celebrities crammed in and looking super out of place due to the style.

[@JavaCake]

Oh cool another South Park video. I always like these

[@Yardnoc3103]

Fun Fact: At the end of Assburgers commentary when Stan takes a sip of alcohol before going out with his friends Trey states that in his mind Stan is always slightly buzzed for the rest of the show because his depression is that bad. Matt says something like "that's kinda fucked up" and then they both chuckle and Trey goes "yeah......."

[@elmidi]

Trey and Matt are so punk rock they rebelled against their own show. Best episode ever.

[@josheaster1547]

you're getting old is my dog's favourite episode of south park

[@qty1315]

I think it might actually represent something even deeper. It might represent Trey's feelings that maybe the show would be better without Matt. Maybe he feels like Matt is dead weight that he's carrying and he's unhappy about being the driving creative force, yet having to share the credit with Matt. When asked about what Matt does, he admits that Matt doesn't do much, and when asked why he doesn't get rid of Matt he says that Matt's main contribution is just being his friend and contributing an idea here and there. He also says that he's afraid that without Matt, the show would just start being shit, like when Van Halen got rid of David Lee Roth. But, the only song that sounds good in the episode was made by Fleetwood Mac after the founding member left and new musicians joined them, pushing them to greater success. Perhaps, the episode was actually about Trey considering abandoning his longtime friend and partner, but by the next episode they got back together and pretended that those doubts and feelings never existed to maintain the status quo.

[@dandytv1510]

Actually I heard Matt handles more of the business end of things while Trey is the creative.

[@yeserneirda3451]

What is your end card song 🤣 whatever it is makes all of the videos worth it

[@Johnny2Cellos]

My theme song! A friend wrote it for me haha

[@yeserneirda3451]

@@Johnny2Cellos lol I love it

[@Kitty-ex2gq]

Love that randy is wearing carhart

[@cheynespc]

made my life just that little bit better watching your take on the episode.

[@garygrinkevich6971]

The recent 'specials' have been a good creative and structural break for the shows production. It feels like the whatever they do with the christmas special will logically consolidate the depression, election, and covid. I feel like the time could be right to go oldschool with the *"I learned something today"* stan that used to care about shit.

[@madalyn5761]

i loved these two episodes so much, and made me love stan even more. as someone who heavily shows signs of depression but my parents don’t believe in that and my parents are split up this hit home😟😟🤞

[@Leacholotemj]

You are so passionate about this shows. It is great to see your content. Happy weekend Johnny 🥳

[@mrev1l100]

I very much enjoyed the switch to continue story lines through out snd show, cart man getting a gf, garrison being the president, and randy getting a farm. All great changes

[@ambers4075]

Awesome video!!

[@nikkigallagher163]

I really wish they’d bring out the next episode of season 24 because I’m dying to see what happens with this strange mix of “returning the status quo” with Mr Hat and the boys splitting of friendship groups (especially since they’re trying to keep Kenny oblivious to it and he seems to want them all to be friends)

[@JodieBarbwireHeart]

As someone with depression I can both relate to stan and randy, its very strange

[@jackiechan6460]

I'm 30. My mom has let me watch south park since I was 8. My dad wasn't a big fan, but would watch it with me. Maybe it's why I swear a lot, but also maybe that's why I love most people around me. Maybe it's why the people I don't like know it and know I don't give a single fuck if they don't like me. Either way, South Park definitely had a big influence on me whether I know it or not, and still love the show to this day.

[@Rancher1911]

Two videos in one week? This is amazing!

[@Johnny2Cellos]

2 more next week lol

[@ThatMissQuin]

It's funny that you discuss this episode. It's been on my mind a lot the last few weeks.

[@panfilolivia]

great video as always dude, always hyped to see you talk about south park :)

[@guldmattbb473]

I would pay about tree fiddy for more South Park videos, my man. Keep up all the great work!

[@Gooberwares]

I related so much to this episode I don’t enjoy things anymore and it destroys me inside I want to love things but I’m changing I can’t stop it

[@KiX-K4T13]

I'm 31...believe me when I tell you that getting older does kind of suck. Watching my dad lose it every other day at the age of 63 sucks too. But I look at high school kids, or even people in their early to mid 20s and am I jealous? Nope. But holy crap are they annoying. The lack of understanding while acting like they understand it all, is mildly irritating. Kids always think their older. It's not all bad though...just most of modern main stream music is. Namely Pop or whatever that bs is disguised as hip hop, trap, or rap...it's sh!t. TV shows are AMAZING though.

[@brandonmaddox4862]

I’m 38 and feel the same way, I admittedly get jealous of their complete lack of understanding of the world and their lack of worry and responsibilities

[@KiX-K4T13]

@@brandonmaddox4862 I agree completely! What's funny is my partner is 24 and it seems like even with that slight difference in age we value completely different things in life. What she deems important differs from me. I'm about leaving something behind, making no more reckless mistakes, and learning much, much more about making our life better. She on the other hand loves video games, haha. No problem, as do I...but I really don't feel like sitting there while I have art to work on. Anyway, I digress. What I wanted to do was leave a comment about age difference and ask you this: At the age of 38 do you find much in common with early 20s peoples? (Like say...24 to 28 years old. Because even at my age, 31, I feel like I'm more advanced than most twenty year old peoples because I have my own house and vehicle etc. I just have difficulty relating. Do you as well? At 38?

[@jackochainsaw]

The biggest problem with these animated monoliths is that the characters don't age. This means that those watching along with the whole thing are no longer really tied to it. If you set something in a perpetual time vortex, nothing actually moves forwards. Years become decades but no water passes under the bridge.

[@DrewRycerz]

I still have South Park on 64.

[@slpn2314]

i personally see this episode as the end of the golden years, the new eps are good and some are great but ive gotten older and the new eps dont relate to me as much

[@mathieuleader8601]

I would love to see a speical set in the future with the boys meeting up at a school reunion

[@TheDolphinTuna]

I think one of the issues with modern South Park is that the people who make it aren't young and "with it" anymore. They've become the boomers they're poking fun at. They're just out of the loop. We all become boomers one day. We can't escape our fate.

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

They're literally making fun of their own generation. Tegridy Farms as a whole had a running fourth wall breaking gag of Trey and Matt saying "We're not pandering to you anymore. We're making what we like". Also, based on my experience, older people are generally less ignorant and better educated than younger people. I'm 22 and I can admit that.

[@TheDolphinTuna]

@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 You have to admit that the whole Kyle's dad "trolling" arc only served to highlight how their understanding of internet culture hasn't evolved since the 2000s. If it had appeared in one episode, it would be forgettable. But the fact that they stretched it out over a whole season made their lack of internet savvy incredibly obvious. I'm not saying old people don't have more experience. But they are often out of touch, culturally speaking. When your job is to be witty and cutting edge, having the mindset of an old fogey will hurt you in pursuing that goal.

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

@@TheDolphinTuna From the perspective of storytelling, Gerald simply started off as a Yelp Reviewer and eventually got sick of the stupid comments which eventually lead to him becoming a troll and taking the piss. If I'm willing to guess what you mean by "hasn't evolved since the 2000s", it's probably something to do with trolls becoming less relevant or something. That doesn't mean they aren't still around, and the bigger and more accessible internet has lead to a growing population of uneducated and moronic people, essentially giving trolls far more material to work with than in the past. Oh and you can't forget the forever increase in SJWs and Anti-SJWs that are just as unbearable most of the time. Plus, unlike most of Season 20, it's relatively easy to follow without looking up what's relevant. I didn't become entirely aware of the internet and its bad parts until around 2018, but was still able to follow a couple of the story arcs with little issue. I don't know what I'm missing here, but this doesn't sound like "failing to evolve". Most people fail to evolve anyway unless they're forced into it.

[@HorseLvr4Ever]

You’re Getting Old is one of the only South Park episodes that made me cry

[@nauscakes1868]

Back in 2019 I made it my mission to watch all of South Park, as I had never seen it much as a kid. It took me like the whole year to get through all 20ish seasons at the time. It was a wild ride. Then I went through Bojack, and currently season 3 of the Simpsons. Having amazing commentary like this to reflect on the shows really helps. I've really enjoyed these videos, especially the Bojack ones. Keep up the good work!

[@MorriganAtwood]

I frowned a lot through these episodes because they eventually went way too wrong with diagnosing, but it clearly read to me as depression.

[@ArtsyHumanbean]

I enjoy the irony in me turning 25 this year (that beautiful quarter life crisis era) and relating to the 10yr old Stan and his shit-problem.

[@ThirteenAmp]

I didnt start losing my handle and feeling like I'm having a real life crisis until I was 34, and it came on suddenly and fiercely. Like I'm seeing a dr and taking medication for it that I never used to think I would do, I was one of those "anxiety is just life" people and fuck was I wrong This episode is relatable as fuck for me now because of this shit, but I still feel like I relate more to randy than stan, I have a 14 year old son, hes my stan, I'm not one of the boys, I feel like randy, doing whatever I can for him but also feeling deeply unhappy Maybe I need to start a weed farm

[@krackergames1650]

In my mind I think each South Park episode takes place in a different timeline one where Stan gets older and moves in with his mum and tegridy farms is the main timeline where Randy is slowly breaking his family apart.

[@Bruchpilot7L]

I was binge watching south park these past 6 weeks but after season 15 i actually had to take a break for two days because episode 7 and 8 were such huge downers and nearly made me cry while watching them. i thought it`d be fine after the second half of season 15 but no. i was still sad. got back on track after those two days though and the next two and a half weeks went without any greater interruptions. i finished the show a few days ago

[@rm25088]

I am going through what stan is right now. I cant find joy in anything.

[@morallybankrupt1461]

I honestly only watch the older episodes, they seem to just harp on the same social subjects over and over again in the newer ones.

[@arthurdurham]

Great video but according to Matt and Trey people over analyzed the intention behind the episode. They a part was a reflection of them but it was more about the joke and the story than about their feelings. . The idea was you get old and stop understanding new trends bc it all sounds like "shit" but it be really funny if it literally sounded like shit. And the ending to landslide was done bc it fit the story and they thought it would be fun to make people think everything changed since it was the mid season finale until always planning to reset next episode. And the reset itself was them wanting to stay serialized for their own sake bc it was a format they still preferred to write in than a commentary on anything as they felt like they could change up the show (which they eventually do years later) if they wanted but weren't ready for continuing stories yet (apparently resetting to landslide was a last minute addition one of the writers thought of). I find South Park to be an interesting show that way, kind of like when John Lennon made "I Am The Walrus". It's such a well made show that people imprint a lot of their ideas of what the writers must be implying. But Matt and Trey seem to care more about the joke and what services the story more than it being allegorical to their life. They'll even keep ideas and perspectives they don't agree with if it just fits the episode better. And President Duck was their favorite part of the episodes.

[@pbluma]

Sometimes I don't really care what they have to say :) Like making Tweek and Craig gay when originally it was just a joke.

[@JaneDoe-po4gu]

South Park is one of those shows that when I hear someone say they like it I'm like..... Yeah I bet you do.....

[@blade8989]

This episode STILL gets to me on an emotional level

[@Lumac0s]

the ending was just, amazing.

[@mintchip6302]

When I think about this episode I see myself in stans position in fact I cry at the landslide montage I just turned 21 and recently moved out of my family's house and I think it was on my birthday when I realized I was on my own there was no one to wake me up no siblings to give me drawings of me they made no one making breakfast I was alone and I still see them regularly but I feel like this still like I'm not happy anymore and I don't know what to do this episode helps show me that alot of people feel like this and that's ok

[@YuelioM]

I never noticed this growth! Thanks so much!

[@LongFry]

Congrats on (pretty much) 150k

[@ashley3k]

America doesn’t deserve Trey and Matt tbh

[@Lexyvil]

South Park is amazing. It touches every subject.

[@kdawgthechef2855]

Between this episode and the episode where Kyle asked Stan if they lowered the bar years ago, are some of my favourite moments because it felt like a dialogue between each other and not the characters.

[@reidwithoutacause]

Every time I hear Stan being called a cynical asshole, I take it so personally because that moment and episode were very similar to a moment in my life. I love and hate this arc for that