As Stan’s father sells out to China and loses his integrity, Stan finds his through his metal band that he formed directly out of his hatred for his father. It’s a good setup, as it keeps “Band in China” focused on one theme and allows both plots to naturally develop in opposite directions. This time, the standalone plot concerns Randy traveling to China to introduce Tegridy Farms’ weed to the market there while Stan (along with Jimmy, Butters, and Kenny) are tapped by a producer to make a biopic about their fledgling death metal band, a biopic which, they discover, also has to be crafted in such a way as to appeal to the Chinese market. I’m one of the rare fans of the serialization gimmick and I still find it a neat little device to have story elements carry us from one episode to the next, while still giving us a standalone plot. Other than that, Kyle and Cartman return from the detention center at episode’s end, but you don’t need the context of the premiere’s events to understand what’s going on in this one.
The only meaningful narrative through line from the premiere to this episode is Randy becoming a mob boss for his Tegridy Farms weed business. One thing I’ll say for this season of South Park is, so far, they’re doing a pretty good job having their serialization cake and eating it too. This South Park review contains spoilers.
