South Park 5 Reasons Randy Is The Best Character (& 5 Why Itll Always Be Cartman)

South Park: 5 Reasons Randy Is The Best Character (& 5 Why It’ll Always Be Cartman)

Who is the ultimate South Park character? Eric Cartman has been a legend since the beginning, but Randy Marsh has gained popularity in recent seasons.

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Like its animated cousins The Simpsons and Family Guy (although the creators reject comparisons to the latter), Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s seminal satirical sitcom South Park has a huge cast of characters that are mostly beloved among the show’s fanbase. With such icons as Butters, Jimmy, and Mr. Garrison on the roster, there isn’t a single character that’s an obvious choice for the series’ best.

But discussions of the show’s best character usually boil down to two names: Randy Marsh, especially in recent years, and Eric Cartman, who was the show’s breakout character in its early days. Here are 5 Reasons Randy Is The Best South Park Character (& 5 Why It’ll Always Be Cartman).

10 Randy: He keeps evolving

When Randy was first introduced in Season 1’s “Volcano,” he was just the town geologist, whose presence was required by that episode’s specific premise. He was later retconned as Stan’s dad, but his characterization didn’t extend beyond that. However, over the years, Randy has developed into arguably South Park’s most popular character.

From his superficial attempts to bonding with Stan in episodes like “Make Love, Not Warcraft” and “You Have 0 Friends,” to his dedication to exaggerating life’s little frustrations in episodes like “Over Logging” and “Safe Space,” to his recent takeover of the show with Tegridy Farms, Randy continues to evolve.

9 Cartman: He earned the show its early popularity

Randy Marsh wasn’t fleshed out into a well-rounded character until a few seasons into South Park. Eric Cartman has been there since the beginning, and not only that, he was the character who earned the show its early popularity. South Park became a cultural landmark when its first season premiered, quickly picking up viewers and becoming a subject of water cooler discussions.

And at the heart of those discussions was young Eric, the character that Trey Parker and Matt Stone had conceived to be an eight-year-old Archie Bunker. Cartman was what attracted millions of fans to South Park in the first place.

8 Randy: He doesn’t need an ensemble around him

As a character, Cartman can be used on his own. Solo storylines like the Scarface parody in “Medicinal Fried Chicken” prove that he can work without a supporting cast. However, he works better when he has Stan, the straight man, and Kyle, the angrier straight man, to riff with.

For a character like Cartman to really work, there has to be a voice of reason around. On the other hand, Randy doesn’t need to have an ensemble around him to be funny, because he can fit into any situation with any group of people and the writers will be able to find something hysterical to do with him.

7 Cartman: He has the most memorable catchphrases

Catchphrases are considered sort of tacky these days, but when they’re done right, they can be the mark of an unforgettable character. Eric Cartman is the source of most of South Park’s most famous lines, such as “Screw you guys, I’m going home!,” “Respect my authoritah!,” and “But Mo-o-o-om!”

Even catchphrases that only appear in one episode, like “Whatever, I do what I want!” from Season 6’s “Freak Strike,” have become iconic. Cartman is easily the character with the most memorable catchphrases in South Park — by a wide margin — and although that alone doesn’t make him a great character, it does indicate his legendary status.

6 Randy: He saved the show from a Simpsons-style decline in quality

South Park has been going strong since it premiered in the late ‘90s. After 23 seasons, there have been a few ups and downs — a couple of weak seasons along the way, and a number of experiments that haven’t aged well — but on the whole, the show has always been one of the funniest comedies on television.

The Simpsons’ quality started to decline when the writers got lazy and lost touch with the zeitgeist. By shaking up the formula and making Randy the protagonist of the show, South Park staved off a similar decline in quality and remained socially relevant.

5 Cartman: His storylines are driven by character, not by current events

Randy’s storylines are usually dictated by what’s going on in the news. Whether he’s creating controversy about Columbus Day celebrations or cutting deals with the Chinese government, Randy follows current affairs. However, Cartman’s storylines are driven by character. Episodes like “Scott Tenorman Must Die” and “Cartman’s Incredible Gift” coast along on the character’s unique characterization alone.

Even Cartman storylines that are ripped from the headlines, like the Season 23 premiere “Mexican Joker,” in which Cartman gets Kyle and his family taken to an ICE detention center and watches from his bedroom window with snacks, are motivated by Cartman’s character more than any satirical point.

4 Randy: He takes everything way too far

South Park’s greatest asset is its ability to satirically exaggerate its points to their extreme, and Randy Marsh is a great catalyst for this because he takes everything way too far. There have been times when Cartman has taken things too far, in keeping with South Park’s unique tone, like feeding Scott Tenorman his own parents and using The Passion of the Christ’s popularity to start a neo-Nazi movement.

But most of the time, Cartman doesn’t get the platform to see through his ridiculous ideas. Randy, on the other hand, as an adult, a qualified scientist (somehow), and a leading figure in the local government, gets to have a say in a lot of South Park’s decisions, so his insanity is indulged more than Cartman’s.

3 Cartman: He has hilarious partnerships with more characters

Randy’s pairings with anyone from the Marsh family — Stan, Shelly, and Sharon — are always hilarious, and he has a fun rapport with the fellow dads, but he hasn’t forged meaningful connections with many other characters. Meanwhile, Cartman has developed a handful of relationships with fellow characters that are unlimited mines of comedic gold.

From his mean-spirited sensibility clashing with Butters’ doe-eyed innocence to his timeless back-and-forth with Kyle from his failure to understand Stan’s conscience to his bonding over immature interests with Kenny to all the classmates (Jimmy, Craig, Token, Wendy etc.) who are more than willing to call him on his bigotry, Cartman has hilarious partnerships with a ton of characters.

2 Randy: He embodies South Park’s unique worldview

The viewpoint of South Park has been difficult to pin down. Critics have noted that Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s political stance appears to be libertarian, focusing on the freedom of the individual and the free market. The pair have said that in recent seasons, as they’ve gotten older, they’ve been identifying more with the adult characters than the kids.

As a result, Randy has become the go-to mouthpiece for South Park’s unique worldview. Parker and Stone have used Randy as everything from a shopper on a crusade against charity-shaming to a liberal who suddenly has PC views and wants to hide insensitive things he said and did in the past.

1 Cartman: He embodies the tone of the series

Tonally, South Park is a show with a brazen sensibility that isn’t afraid to explore the darker corners of humanity for some satirical hilarity. With this in mind, Cartman is the perfect character to convey the show’s tone. He is the embodiment of South Park’s comedic style, and that arguably makes him the series’ best character.

South Park is anchored by four lead characters. Stan and Kyle are the voices of reason, keeping the peace, while Kenny doesn’t really have a voice at all. Cartman is the standout member of the central quartet, and the character who makes South Park what it is.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/south-park-reasons-why-eric-cartman-randy-marsh-best-character/

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