South Park Archives

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

READ MORE

South Park Archives
Register
Advertisement


The End of Serialization as We Know It "The End of Serialization as We Know It" "White People Renovating Houses" "Put It Down" Put It Down
"White People Renovating Houses"
2382615145 ab6347760c
SPSPR4
Episode no. Season 21
Episode 01
Production no. 2101
Original airdate September 13, 2017
Episode chronology
Previous Next
"The End of Serialization as We Know It" "Put It Down"
List of all South Park episodes

"White People Renovating Houses" is the first episode of Season Twenty-One, and the 278th overall episode of South Park. It aired on September 13, 2017.[1]

Synopsis

Protestors armed with tiki torches and confederate flags take to the streets of South Park. Randy comes to grips with what it means to be white in today's society.[1]

Plot

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

At Cartman's house, the boys are laughing at the newest device they have acquired, the Amazon Echo. Cartman asks it to add various things to his shopping list like "smelly tampon boogers". As the boys take their turns messing around with the voice assistant, Heidi bursts onto the scene. Cartman's mood immediately changes when Heidi calls him "passive-aggressive". It is at this point where the other boys decide to leave, leaving Cartman and Heidi on their own. Cartman and Heidi start to argue, shortly after she angrily walks off. Cartman turns to Alexa to cheer him up.

At Best Buy, large amounts of people are out buying themselves Amazon Echo's and Google Homes. They are watched by a group of people in Crunchy's Micro Brew across the street. Darryl starts complaining that their jobs are being taken by the voice assistants. They decide to go out and protest this, but not before the Amazon Echo in the bar picks up his voice and starts playing "Dook re Derr".

Randy Marsh is standing behind a blue background, Sharon joins him as they introduce their television show, White People Renovating Houses. Randy and Sharon explain more about what they do as various home remodels are shown. The main focus of their home remodels is typically to remove a wall out of a closed area like a kitchen to create a more "open concept". Randy is shown busting open walls before the title of the program shows on screen.

A couple is featured shown standing outside of their house and then inside while Randy explains the process and Sharon is taking notes. Randy again explains taking the wall out for an open concept as well as updating the kitchen island and bar. They are cut off by a group of people holding confederate flags marching down the street saying "You will not replace us". Randy angrily goes outside to demand what they are doing. The group says they are angry at Amazon for taking their jobs away. Randy asks them to go somewhere else because of their home renovating show, the group looks confused as the door closes.

At the Cartman residence, Cartman is getting into bed. He asks the Amazon Alexa on his nightstand to do various things for him. His phone rings, Heidi is calling him. Cartman, who is less than thrilled, answers. Heidi is surprised to see Cartman answered, he quickly says goodnight to Heidi before hanging up.

Cartman proceeds to tell Alexa goodnight, but he keeps asking it questions thereafter. He asks Alexa to define "subservient". He makes his point clear after telling Alexa in an obedient tone to stop reading the definition before going to bed.

The title screen is shown for White People Renovating Houses, as Randy is shown prying a cabinet off the wall, which falls on him. Randy begins to talk about changing the countertops but they are again cut off by the group protesting. The group marches to the Best Buy and Daryl holds an Amazon Echo as the group cheers.

They set the Amazon Echo down and start waving a confederate flag around it. Randy approaches them and tells him to stop. Randy threatens them with pepper spray as the other group member pulls out pepper spray as well. Randy ends up getting sprayed first, as the two of them go back and forth spraying each other.

Park County Courthouse, day. Randy and the protesting group are present, arguing with each other. Randy claims the group destroyed their brand, worried White People Renovating Houses will be associated with their protesting. After making a point that the group waves the confederate flag every chance they get, somebody spots a bee and they start waving the flag in an attempt to get the bee as the other group members cheer them on.

At the Basketball Court, Tolkien, Jimmy, Butters, and Clyde are playing basketball as Cartman approaches them. He is crying while holding a blanket around him. Cartman claims he is abused by Heidi and that he wants to get her help. Cartman says Alexa knows how to help Heidi.

At Crunchy's Micro Brew, one of the Confederate group members complains about his soup. They start waving a Confederate flag to cool it down as Randy approaches them. He claims he wants to make a truce and he knows how to get them all jobs.

Cartman walks inside and calls out for Alexa, but gets no response. He starts checking around his house and becomes panicked. Liane approaches him and tells him they had to get rid of Alexa. Cartman has a look of shock but Liane assures him they have a replacement, called Jim Bob. A man is shown sitting on a stool with various books and a guitar. Liane says replacing Alexa with Jim Bob ensures people do not lose their jobs.

She asks Jim Bob what the time is and Jim Bob checks his watch. She asks him for traffic conditions next and he looks at his phone for the information. Liane asks it to play Kendrick Lamar before walking out. Jim Bob grabs his guitar and begins to play "Humble". Cartman asks Jimbob to play Simon says, Jim Bob responds with "the hell you talkin' about boy" before continuing to play Humble. Cartman is heard screaming from the house.

At the Marsh Residence, Randy and Sharon are meeting with another couple about their renovations. Randy asks Darryl to add "Bella Terra quartz slabs" to his shopping list. Darryl is sitting in the corner with a lot of beer around him. Randy asks Darryl to add "Carrara subway tiles" to their shopping list. Darryl does not respond and Randy asks again, Darryl responds with a less than thrilled tone. Randy gets up and yells at Darryl, he refuses to do anything, claiming the job is degrading. Randy bashes Darryl, telling him this is what he gets for not going to college, and that coal mining and truck driving are not jobs of the future. Once again, fed up Randy tells him to add the tile to his shopping list.

At the Turner Residence, Cartman knocks the door and he apologies as Heidi answers. Heidi claims their relationship must be 50/50. Cartman cuts her off by saying "Heidi Silence", which throws her into a rage. Cartman walks off as Heidi tries to come to grips with how to make their relationship work.

Cartman walks around the town with Heidi appearing by his shoulder and Cartman imitating her words. He tries to swat away the complaining Heidi's as he walks by an alleyway. He turns around to it and finds a lot of Amazon Echo's sitting in the alleyway.

At Crunchy's Micro Brew, Darryl is sitting in the bar as Randy comes in and tries talking to Darryl. Darryl ends up ranting and storms out. Randy and Sharon appear standing behind the bar, claiming they must get to the bottom of why Darryl is acting this way.

At the Cartman residence, Heidi knocks on the door and Liane answers it, Heidi says she wants to make up with him and that she will try harder for their relationship. Upstairs, Cartman is laughing hysterically with a large amount of Amazon Echo's and Google Home's around him. He says wake up commands for Siri and Google while talking to Alexa which sets off all the devices in his room. The devices start saying "Suck my big balls in your hairy butt hole". Cartman sits there watching this, looking amused.

Randy knocks on Darryl's door. Telling him to open his mind and that walls must be taken down. Darryl says he cannot remove the walls in his kitchen because it is a "loadbearing" wall. Randy says they can change and must start over, they both give each other a serious look. Randy takes a sledgehammer to his wall and starts kicking out drywall.

Cartman is standing outside South Park Elementary. With dramatic music, he walks into the school going over to Heidi. Cartman says he could not fix her and that he is worth something. After saying "Goodbye Heidi", Cartman storms off as rock music plays, he walks outside with the boys greeting him. He happily walks outside praising himself.

At Darryl's house, Darryl is blindfolded as Randy takes it off, a renovated space with various new features is shown off. Randy shows him around as Darryl is in shock over what he is seeing. The Confederate group members march in and all start to party.

Randy and Sharon stand outside Darryl's house. Randy ends the show by quoting "no matter how bad the country gets, you can always count on White People Renovating Houses".

Critical Reception

AV Club- gave "White People Renovating Houses" a "C+" rating saying: "It’s telling that its most successful moments of the premiere are Randy enthusiastically sledge-hammering the houses he’s renovating and Cartman growing unjustifiably dead-eyed and tired in his relationship with Heidi. Outside of the parodying of home makeover shows, neither of these plot points have much to do with current events, let alone a still-raw, politically charged disaster like Charlottesville. As these subplots prove, Parker and Stone are more than capable of dreaming up an episode of Trump-free irreverence. They just need to fully commit to it."[2]

IGN gave "White People Renovating Houses" a "5.8" rating saying: "Perhaps Trey Parker and Matt Stone need to try harder to stick to their promise of a South Park season less driven by politics and current events. This episode struggled and largely failed to combine white nationalism, HGTV and the Alexa fad into a cohesive whole. Instead, it was the simpler, Cartman-centric moments that delivered the majority of the humor this week. If nothing else, it seems like the classic Eric Cartman is finally returning to the forefront."[3]

References


  2101: "White People Renovating Houses" edit
Story Elements

Randy MarshEric CartmanHeidi TurnerWhite People Renovating Houses (Show)AlexaDarryl WeathersJim BobPark County Courthouse JudgeTucker Rae

Media

ImagesScriptWatch Episode

Release

South Park: The Complete Twenty-First Season

Advertisement