Follow That Egg!

"Follow That Egg!" is the tenth episode of the ninth season of South Park

Synopsis
After learning Mr. Slave will marry Big Gay Al, Mrs. Garrison vows to stop same-sex marriage from being approved. A project involving an egg makes Stan and Kyle into rivals.

Plot
In this episode, Mrs. Garrison pairs off the kids in her class and assigns them to care for eggs as if they were babies as part of a lesson in parenting responsibility. Everyone gets a white egg from Mr. Garrison except for Token who receives a brown one and makes a shocked facial expression. Stan is worried he will get paired with his ex-girlfriend, Wendy, who he has not spoken to since their breakup (a reference to Wendy's smaller part since their breakup) and he still has feelings for. To his horror, however, Wendy is assigned to Kyle (Stan, meanwhile, is paired with Bebe). The assignments cause tension, as Stan starts to suspect Kyle of having designs on Wendy while Bebe is angry at Stan's indifference to their egg and tells Wendy this, who looks certain not to take him back. Stan phones Kyle and asks him sarcastically if he is alright. Kyle comments that the project is stupid. Stan shouts "yeah, well so's your hat." This is shown later to have offended Kyle greatly.

Meanwhile, Mrs Garrison has been reminded of her old boyfriend, Mr. Slave, who broke up with her after the sex change in Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina. Singing "Love, love lost long ago, it was special then, it's over now,...", Mrs Garrison attempts to take Mr. Slave back, only to learn that Mr. Slave is planning to marry South Park's other major homosexual figure, Big Gay Al, as soon as the Colorado governor legalizes such unions. Mrs. Garrison dedicates herself to doing whatever she can to prevent their union from being legalized, hoping that, being unable to marry Al, Mr. Slave will then marry her.

The governor demands a study demonstrating that gay families are unstable before agreeing to veto the marriage bill. Mrs. Garrison thus reorganizes Stan, Kyle, Wendy and Bebe into same-sex couples, hoping that Stan's poor "parenting" skills will destroy the egg and provide the results the governor needs.

In a parody of child custody battles, Wendy becomes upset because Stan and Kyle now have the egg that originally belonged to her and Kyle, which she has become emotionally attached to. The boys remain on bad terms; Stan is still suspicious about Kyle's motives with Wendy and frequently snaps at him, while Kyle is a little confused as to what's made Stan so aggressive. Cartman breaks his egg and tries to ask Mrs Garrison to give him a C- and his partner an A, arguing that, since he was the sole person responsible for the breaking of the egg his partner is blameless- but Garrison is so bent on the gay marriage law to be vetoed, she gives him a new one with a threat to break his legs and burn down his house if he breaks it again while strangling him. Garrison makes plans for the final egg check in front of the governor's office, and hires an assassin to destroy the egg. However, it is then revealed that Kyle, fearing Stan's ability as a parent, gave him a fake egg and saved the real egg. He tells Stan that he had no interest in Wendy (he states as well "I would never go out with the ex-girlfriend of my best friend"). Kyle asks Stan if he really thinks his hat is stupid. Stan responds, "As a matter of fact, it is the nicest hat I have ever known". The two boys reconcile and rush to the governor's office, narrowly escaping the assassin's gunfire, and even bombs (somehow already planted in the ground). They reach the podium weary and hurt. Stan presents the egg to Mrs. Garrison ("Teacher....Our egg is....Ok....") in a hoarse voice before losing consciousness and fainting. The bill passes and same-sex marriage is legalized in South Park, which confuses Kyle.

The episode concludes with Mr. Slave and Big Gay Al marrying with Father Maxi officiating. Randy congratulates Stan and Kyle for what they have done for gay marriage rights, apparently ignorant of the fact that Stan and Kyle have no idea what they actually did. Wendy apologizes to Stan (who has his arm in a sling. Kyle has a band-aid on his temple) for doubting his ability to be a parent, while implying that she wants to take him back. To her surprise (and the viewer's) Stan simply responds with, "Like I give a crap about what you think, Wendy" which causes her to leave with a mournful and disappointed look on her face.

Trivia

 * In a blooper, Craig is assigned TWO 'wives' (Millie and Red) by Mrs.Garrison. When the children actually pair up for the project though, Craig goes with Red and Millie goes with Clyde.


 * Butters does not appear in this episode, as he's presumably still locked in the basement dungeon. Pip, Tweek, and Francis are also absent from the class.


 * This episode and "Ginger Kids" are the first instances of Powder, Esther, Millie, and Heidi appearing in the classroom. This episode also marks the first appearance of Lola.

The couples in the egg project initially are:
 * Stan and Bebe
 * Kyle and Wendy
 * Cartman and Heidi
 * Kenny and Powder
 * Craig and Red
 * Clyde and Millie
 * Token and Lola
 * Bradley and Esther
 * Timmy and Annie

References to pop culture

 * The scene in which Kyle reveals he had hidden the real egg and replaces the one "killed" by the assassin references Star Trek. Kyle asks Stan if he really thinks his hat is stupid (a comment made by Stan over the phone earlier in the episode). Stan approaches Kyle, and says: "As a matter of fact, I think it is the nicest hat I have ever known". Stan uses the exact same intonation and style of Captain Picard in Star Trek: First Contact, when he apologizes to Mr. Worf after calling him a coward by saying: "In fact, I think you're the bravest man I have ever known."
 * The song Mrs. Garrison sings on love, near the beginning of the show, sounds very similar to "Love Changes Everything", the theme song from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Aspects of Love.
 * When Stan is sitting at the coffee table and then at the kitchen table, Stan's arms are drawn similarly to those of Linus and Charlie Brown from Peanuts, usually as they are leaning on the brick wall. He has large forearms and his fingers (he's not wearing gloves) are splayed; at the kitchen table, one arm is resting on the table and his other hand on the side of his face, a pose often assumed by Peanuts characters.