South Park Archives

South Park (Not Suitable For Children) is now streaming on Paramount Plus!

READ MORE

South Park Archives
Register
Advertisement


World War Zimmerman "World War Zimmerman" "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" "Taming Strange" Taming Strange
"Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers"
2382615145 ab6347760c
GothKids3DawnofthePosersPromo1
Episode no. Season 17
Episode 4
Production no. 1704
Original airdate October 23, 2013
Episode chronology
Previous Next
"World War Zimmerman" "Taming Strange"
List of all South Park episodes

"Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" is the fourth episode of Season Seventeen, and the 241st overall episode of South Park. It aired on October 23, 2013.[1]

Synopsis[]

The Goth Kids are being sent away to a camp for troubled children.[1]

Plot[]

SPW pic -- Spoiler Spoiler warning!
Plot details follow.

The goth kids are sitting in Henrietta's room and reciting poetry written by Edgar Allan Poe. Henrietta's mother interrupts asking Henrietta to come and speak with herself and her husband. In the living room, Henrietta's father explains that they "know" what she is into and that they will be sending her to a camp for emo kids. Henrietta tries to not go there, but to no avail.

The next day, behind South Park Elementary, the remaining goth kids, Michael, Pete, and Firkle, discuss what Henrietta had texted Michael before she left. She explained that her parents called her an "emo" and that she was sent to a camp.

At Troubled Acres, Henrietta is in a white room. After pleading for help and attempting to escape, a solitary ficus is raised from the floor, confusing Henrietta. The ficus shakes.

The goths go to the community bus stop to wait for Henrietta's return. Once Henrietta arrives, the goths realize that camp made her emo. This prompts the rest of the goths to go to child protective services to save Henrietta. They explain that her parents abused her by calling her emo. While the social worker does not understand what they say, Michael and Pete further explain that Emos are cynical while Goths are nihilistic and that Goths believe that the world is "fucked up", but Emos think that they are "totally fucked up".

That night, Michael visits Henrietta and confronts her about being emo. Henrietta explains that the emos are rising and that Michael can do nothing to stop it, she then convinces him to join her being emo. Michael is indeed shocked by this and runs. After running from Henrietta's house, Michael calls Pete and explains the situation, he tells him to contact Firkle as well and go to Village Inn" before returning home. As he attempts to go upstairs, his mother and father tell him that he will be going to Troubled Acres. Without another way, Michael tries to run away again but his dad grabs him in force to his truck and they drive off.

Pete and Firkle are drinking coffee in Village Inn and discuss how their group is ending. Pete then comes up with the idea to get help from the only group who knows about emos, the South Park Vampire Society. At a meeting of the Vamps, Pete and Firkle bust in and start apologizing to them for burning down Hot Topic. They tell them that they are dealing with the rise in emos and warns them that some vamp kid might be emo as well already. They ask for help, and the Vamps reluctantly agree to help.

After spying on Henrietta and her new emo friends, the goths and vamps visit the school library to summon Edgar Allan Poe. They finally summoned Edgar as a ghost and realized that he is more goth than even the goth kids, even with refusing to obey their order. Firkle tells Edgar to help out after he was summoned by them, Edgar agrees to stop the emos but insists on being referred to by his goth name, "Nightpain".

At Troubled Acres, Michael is tied to a chair. An old Caucasian man, who is obeying the emos, is told by the emo king, a giant ficus, to make Michael emo so he puts a ficus next to him and tells him it's easier not to struggle. Meanwhile, Pete, Firkle, Mike, an black Twilight fan, and Edgar make it to Troubled Acres and enter in. They find Michael and try to rescue him, but Firkle points a gun at them and reveals that he is emo and they all fell into his trap.

After tying the group up, ficus plants are placed in front of them. Pete manages to reach Edgar, who went to Benny's for coffee. He talks to him by his coffee's reflection and makes Edgar save them by telling him to shoot the emo king. Edgar arrives, but after shooting the emo king, he says the plants are just ficus plants from Lowe's Home and Garden. The group notices this too. The old man disagrees saying that they talk to him. Edgar says they are just in vibrating pots. A voice booms in the room, asking the old man if he is scared. When he says yes, a television crew comes out and says that he was on Yes, I Was Scared. The host reveals that really goths, vampire kids, and emos are the same, and Firkle is shocked that he betrayed his friends for nothing.

Later at Henrietta's house, Pete and Michael tell her that it was all an elaborate prank, which she does not believe in. They then make up a lie that they burnt the entire camp instead. In response, she is ashamed and upset, before "returning" to being goth in time for yet another "confrontation" with her mother.

Critical Reception[]

AV Club gave "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" a "C-" rating saying: "Unfortunately, “Goth Kids 3: Dawn Of The Posers” was a fairly limp episode, one that an extra unexpected week of time apparently could not fix. The idea of putting the goth kids front and center is fine: The show hasn’t remotely overused them, and putting them in a new scenario offers up the type of perspective break that South Park does at least once or twice each season. But comparisons to the exponentially better “The Ungroundable” were present throughout the installment, and after watching that episode before tonight’s new one, it’s unclear why Trey Parker and Matt Stone went back to this particular realm if there was nothing new to explore."[2]

IGN gave "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" a "7.7" rating saying: "Still, "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" had enough good laughs throughout to stand on its own merits. While not the strongest episode of the season, this week's installment did prove that the goth kids still had a bit of juice left in them, albeit probably not a full 22 minutes' worth."[3]

References[]


Holiday Episodes
Christmas
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" | "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" | "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" | "A Very Crappy Christmas" | "Red Sleigh Down" | "It's Christmas in Canada" | "Woodland Critter Christmas" | "#HappyHolograms" | "Bike Parade" | "Christmas Snow"
Halloween
"Pinkeye" | "Spookyfish" | "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" | "Hell on Earth 2006" | "A Nightmare on Face Time" | "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" | "Sons A Witches" | "The Scoots" | "Tegridy Farms Halloween Special"
Thanksgiving
"Starvin' Marvin" | "Starvin' Marvin in Space" | "Helen Keller! The Musical" | "A History Channel Thanksgiving" | "Black Friday" | "A Song of Ass and Fire" | "Titties and Dragons"
Easter
"Fantastic Easter Special" | "Jewpacabra"
Others
"Tom's Rhinoplasty" | "Credigree Weed St. Patrick's Day Special" | "Summer Sucks" | "Holiday Special" | "Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus" | "Cupid Ye" | "Spring Break"


  1704: "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" edit
Story Elements

Edgar Allan PoeUnnamed Black VampireMr. Biggle • "Seven" • "The Darkness" • Village InnTroubled Acres

Media

ImagesScriptWatch Episode

Release

South Park: The Complete Seventeenth Season

Advertisement