Taming Strange

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"Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers"

"Taming Strange"

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"Taming Strange"
Episode no.	Season 17 Episode 5
Production no.	1705
Original airdate	October 30, 2013
Episode chronology Previous Next "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" "Ginger Cow"
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"Taming Strange" is the fifth episode of Season Seventeen, and the 242nd overall episode of South Park. It aired on October 30, 2013.

Synopsis

Ike just isn’t himself lately and he and Kyle are growing apart. Kyle goes to the guidance counselor for advice but Mr. Mackey is too busy dealing with the bugs in the school’s new integrated technology system to help. Kyle decides to take Ike to a live performance of his favorite show; Yo Gabba Gabba. He hopes it'll make his little brother like him again.

Plot

Spoiler warning! Plot details follow.

The episode begins with Mr. Mackey teaching the class about the school's new integrated technology system, IntelliLink, which doesn't work properly. Mr. Mackey showcases the discussion boards, showing a picture sent by Ike Broflovski. The picture depicts Kyle Broflovski with a "whooping crane" on his forehead.

At the Broflovski Residence, Kyle tells his mom about the incident, who passes it off as Ike going through puberty. Kyle attempts to rekindle his relationship with his brother, by watching Yo Gabba Gabba! with Ike. Ike then shows that he now thinks only of sex and "taming Foofa's strange". 

After Mr. Mackey suggests that Kyle and Ike should learn about Canadian Puberty together. Kyle and Ike watch an instructional video on that very topic.

The instructor teaches how a baby is made, and is completely ignorant on the subject aside from what his wife told him, which is completely false as she only told him so that she could queef in his face. Kyle is confused by this, and in response Ike calls him stupid.

The next day at school, Kyle tries to get the principal's permission to be excused from school the following Friday so that he and Ike could go to a Yo Gabba Gabba! concert. Unfortunately, IntelliLink screwed up and Kyle never got to see the principal. Kyle reluctantly tells an enraged Ike.

They somehow make it to the concert and during a segment called "Cool, cool trick", Ike tames Foofa's strange by removing his clothes and grinding against her in front of everyone. After being taken backstage, Ike comments that Foofa should not limit herself to kids. The latter ponders over and eventually agrees to his sentiment.

Meanwhile the Canadian Puberty instructor chats with his buddy and friend, who tells him that his wife did not just queef in his face for nothing.

At a faculty meeting, Mr. Mackey gets extremely defensive about IntelliLink and decides to upgrade to the Gold package.

Later, on E! News, a reporter reports on Foofa's smoking pot, and partying and on her raunchy upcoming performance at the upcoming MTV Music Video Awards. It is revealed that Ike has taken the helm as Foofa's manager.

At Kyle's house, Ike now thinks he is the older brother and thus acts like an older brother to Kyle, calling him "twerp", etc.

The other cast members from Yo Gabba Gabba! tries to coerce Foofa to not show her strange on TV. Meanwhile, the instructor from earlier, calls Kyle, thinking he's Ike and reveals that Ike gets medication from his company.

Later, Kyle meets with the instructor who reveals that also they use IntelliLink and that Ike has been getting hormones instead of what he wanted, laxatives. Instead, Tom Brady, who ordered the hormones, takes the laxatives and while playing football, craps his pants. The instructor realizes why he got queefed in the face. It was because IntelliLink made him angry and he yelled at his wife because of it.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mackey upgrades to IntelliLink Centurion (basically dismantling and removing the system entirely). The technician then thanked Mr. Mackey for his patronage before shooting himself on the head.

At the MTV VMAs, Ike realizes he was wrong to push it and should just have it happen naturally. Foofa, unmoved by this, proceeds to perform.

The instructor confronts his wife about the queef and they make up.

The next day, Kyle wakes up to Ike's, once again, childish laughter. He grows immensely happy and rushes to the living room, to find Ike back to normal, and watched Dora the Explorer together. However, Kyle's happiness decreases, when he learns that Ike still only thinks about sex.

Critical Reception

AV Club gave "Taming Strange" a "B-" rating saying: "South Park is a show that’s set the bar high for satire with some of its best episodes. Sure, there have been plenty of lows, but there’s always plenty of grist out there for the show to take shots at. Problem is, there’s so much out there that sometimes its easy to lose focus on what the target is, and there’s a temptation to cram way too much into just one 22-minute episode. “Taming Strange” suffers from this issue: having too much to mock."

IGN gave "Taming Strange" a "6.4" rating saying: "South Park: "Taming Strange" had a few clever jokes and concepts that never quite panned out in the long run."