The Ring

"The Ring" is the first episode of the 13th season (episode 1301) and the 181st overall episode of South Park. It aired on March 11, 2009. In Canada, the episode aired on March 13, 2009.

Plot
To the amazement of all the other boys, Kenny has a new girlfriend, Tammy Warner, who is in the fifth grade. Butters hears a rumor that Tammy is a slut because she gave another male student a "B.J." in a T.G.I. Friday's parking lot, and Stan, Kyle, and Cartman, hoping to spare Kenny's feelings, decide to warn him. To his friends' bewilderment, however, Kenny is ecstatic, even after Cartman explains his belief that an American woman's mouth is the dirtiest thing on earth. Kenny invites Tammy to go with him to T.G.I. Friday's after school, at which point she confesses that the rumor about her is true, but explains that the only reason she did it was because she became aroused after watching the Jonas Brothers perform. Consequently, Kenny takes Tammy to a Jonas Brothers concert, with his friends disgusted by his intent.

After the concert, Tammy and several other girls are invited backstage, where they think the Jonas Brothers want to have sex with them. Instead, the Jonas Brothers convince them to wear purity rings as a pledge to abstinence and tell them to get all of their friends to start wearing them as well. To appease his girlfriend, Kenny reluctantly begins wearing a purity ring. As Kenny becomes dull as a result and ceases to spend time with his friends, it is revealed that the Jonas Brothers are being forced to wear and promote purity rings by their boss, a greedy, sadistic, foul-mouthed version of Mickey Mouse, who berates and beats them when they complain that the rings are overshadowing their music and projecting the wrong message. Mickey explains that the rings allow him to sell sex to young girls while giving the appearance of innocence and purity. Concerned for their friend, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman attempt to confront the Jonas Brothers at a televised appearance in Denver, but Mickey, believing that the boys have been hired by either DreamWorks or Michael Eisner to sabotage Disney, tranquilizes them and takes them prisoner.

When the boys regain consciousness, they are backstage at a Jonas Brothers concert, where Mickey at first interrogates them, then threatens to kill them with a chainsaw. As Mickey once again rants about his true intentions, insulting the Jonas Brothers' fans and Christians, Kyle and Cartman stealthily turn on the microphone and raise the curtain, causing Mickey's rant to be heard by both the concert-goers and the national television audience. The crowd turns on Mickey and the Jonas Brothers leave the stage in a huff. Enraged by the crowd's boos, Mickey grows to gigantic proportions and begins destroying Denver. Tammy and Kenny remove their purity rings, and Tammy suggests they go to T.G.I. Friday's, presumably so she can perform oral sex on him. Afterward, Kenny contracts syphilis and dies (for the first time since season eleven), proving Cartman's warning correct.

Continuity
Despite being described as Kenny's first "real" girlfriend, this is actually his second following on from Kelly who he met at Getting Gay With Kids' choir tour during "Rainforest Schmainforest". She remained in contact after he left the choir as well as referenced in "Spontaneous Combustion", but this episode reveals they have been broken up for some time.

During the concert when the young girls are seen getting aroused by the Jonas Brothers, we see a glimpse of Mr. Slave as well as his catchphrase "Ooh Jesuth Chrithst!" as he masturbates, marking his first appearance since Season Nine's "Follow That Egg!", noticeably his civil partner Big Gay Al is absent from the scene. Also present is the baby Chantel who appeared in the episode "Freak Strike" on the chat show.

When Kenny buys the tickets for the concert one of the upcoming events is "Stinky Britches". This was a song that Chef wrote and was heard in "Chef Aid" as well as "Prehistoric Ice Man".

Kenny's Death
This episode marks Kenny's first death since Season Eleven's "The List".

It occurs at the end of the episode after Kenny and Tammy decide to finally stop wearing the purity rings. Having tried to get a blowjob off of her through the entire episode after having learned that she did one for a boy behind TGI Fridays, she invites him to go there with her to his delight. In the next scene we see his funeral, with Priest Maxi acknowledging the dangers of Syphilis which Kenny contracted during oral sex with Tammy. This backs up Cartman's claim earlier in the episode that girls' mouths are the most disgusting place on Earth. We do not learn of Tammy's fate, but she did not appear at the funeral.

Image Gallery

 * See The Ring/Images for more images

Video Clips
Video:1301Kenny'snewgirlfriend|Kenny's New Girlfriend... Video:A Purity Ring?!|A Purity Ring?! Video:1301She'sanotoriouswhore|She's A Notorious Whore!
 * See The Ring/Videos for more videos

Video:South Park 'Uncensored' - Mr Mouse goes Ballistic on Jonas Brothers|Mr. Mouse goes Ballistic on Jonas Brothers

Script

 * See The Ring/Script for this episode's script