LogFAQs > #978673114

Scott Tenorman Must Die
Douche and Turd

...unsure on the next 2. Scott's the clear #1 "South Park" standout but Douche and Turd is the #2 and reflects where South Park is at its strongest - political and cultural commentary. to this day the giant douche vs turd sandwich comparison exists and the episode created a term called "South Park Republicans" to reflect the importance of that episode in the actual presidential election. hard to not have it up there as it was the defining episode which made South Park more than just dirty jokes and offensive humor and into something that was socially and culturally important.

tentatively for the last 2 going with:

Where My Country Gone?
Band in China

Country Gone is the initial Garrison as Trump parody trying to close the Canada border and his policy of fuck them all to death. even Matt and Trey went "well shit we didn't expect this" as the election continued and they made him more insane and orange. for the more modern day politics, it stands out. Band in China also reflects this but goes even more out of the way; it successfully did what 200/201 wanted to do but against China. it laughed at the NBA, Disney, got Mickey Mouse into a full on villain, had Pooh Bear parodied and tortured, and directly criticized China's influence over the rest of the world. if there's any modern day classic that holds up to the test of time, it's that one. that episode got South Park as a whole banned in China, it limited buyers of the show because you can't do business in China if you own South Park, and is used by people in Hong Kong/Taiwan (well, was in HK's case).

honorable mentions to Warcraft, Chinpocomon, Safe Space, 200/201, All About Mormons, and Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics. first two are clearly animated really well, Safe Space was their real entry into current political correctness issues and eventually got PC Principal as a character, and 200/201 is infamous for Comedy Central's involvement as well as all the call-backs. lastly Hankey was initially in my picks but can't in good faith not include the China episode. probably the best of the Hankey episodes and showed their musical chops, which later on became the South Park movie, Book of Mormon, and a couple episodes too. All About Mormons is an interesting catch-all in that it inspired Book of Mormon directly, also had the animation chops as the other high level ones, and made everyone, everyone laugh at Mormonism for the absurdity in the storytelling.