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"Band in China" is the second episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series South Park. The 299th episode overall of the series, it premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 2, 2019. The episode parodies the censorship in China and various American films and television shows purposefully being modified to avoid this censorship.

Plot

As Stan Marsh sits in his room attempting to write a song, Randy Marsh announces to the family that he plans to travel to China and expand his Tegridy Farms marijuana business there. As Randy waits on his plane to China, he is angered to see so many other people traveling to China to make money there, specifically various Disney and Marvel Cinematic Universe characters. When Randy arrives in China, his luggage is inspected by their customs people who discover that he is carrying a large amount of marijuana, and he is arrested. While in jail, Randy witnesses the abuse and horrid conditions of their jail. He also meets up with the characters Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet who are in jail because they have been banned in China. Randy is brought before a group of Chinese judges and he pleads to them to accept some Tegridy. As Randy and the Disney and Marvel characters gather, a very angry Mickey Mouse appears, as he is upset that someone has tried to insult the Chinese government. Randy tells Mickey that he also needs some Tegridy and starts to make a deal with him. Mickey and Randy attempt to sell Tegridy Farms marijuana to China but the government members refuse to listen. Mickey states this is due to their anger against Winnie-the-Pooh. Later, as Pooh and Piglet walk the streets of China, they come across a jar of honey, but as Pooh starts to eat, they are attacked and killed by Randy.

Stan, Butters Stotch, Kenny McCormick and Jimmy Valmer perform as the band Crimson Dawn at a local festival, and their music has a death metal style. During a Crimson Dawn rehearsal, they are visited by a music producer who wants to make a biopic of the band, as traditional music resources such as albums and tours are no longer profitable. As the producer discusses plans for the band's biopic, he mentions that certain aspects of the band's lives will have to be left out in order to make the film marketable in China due to their censorship of all media. During various attempts to shoot scenes for the film, the producer has to cut out and re-shoot scenes to avoid any chance of Chinese censorship. Even as Stan attempts to write a revised version of the film's script, a Chinese censor stands over him and edits Stan's writing. Stan realizes that China will never accept a biopic of his metal band as they would only accept something "vanilla and cheesy". At that moment, a bus arrives and drops off Eric Cartman and Kyle Broflovski, who have somehow gotten out from a ICE detention center as seen in the previous episode, and Stan has an idea.

Stan briefly reunites his old band Fingerbang for a new biopic, but changes his mind during the filming and refuses to sell out to China, commenting that anyone who does is worthless in his view. Meanwhile, Tegridy Weed has become legal in China, and as a dump truck unloads a massive amount of cash at the farm, Randy freely discloses to the family that he killed Pooh in order to make it happen.

Reception

John Hugar with The A.V. Club gave the episode a B grade and noted that it was a "strong episode" and an improvement from the previous episode.

Forbes contributor Dani Di Placido praised the episode's political satire and regarded the episode as "hilarious" and "depressingly insightful".

Fellow critic Joe Matar with Den of Geek was less favourable. He criticised the plotting and "shock humor", yet praised the episode's subject matter.

References

1. Yes, That Was DYING FETUS on South Park Last Night Metal Injection. October 3, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
2. "Episode 2302 'Band in China' Press Release". Comedy Central (Press release). September 30, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
3. Parker, Ryan (October 2, 2019). "'South Park' Episode Mocks Hollywood for Shaping Stories to Please China". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
4. Hugar, John (October 3, 2019). "South Park takes some hard shots at China as Randy grows his weed business". The A.V. Club.
5. Di Placido, Dani (October 3, 2019). "'South Park' Review: 'Band In China' Mocks Hollywood's Addiction To Chinese Box Office". Forbes.
6. Matar, Joe (October 3, 2019). "South Park Season 23 Episode 2 Review: Band in China". Den of Geek.

• South Park (season 23) episodes
• American television episodes about cannabis
• Works about censorship
• Television episodes set in China