This week on South Park, the show dove deep into the realm of deepfakes, with dual narratives set in Colorado and Washington revolving around the concerning use of falsified videos and the repercussions of their widespread dissemination – whether for revenge porn or to justify real-life footage.
The episode begins with our beloved Butters, feeling used and determined to seek revenge against his ex-girlfriend, Red, over the Labubu Satanic ritual incident at her birthday party last season. The sweet boy decides to create an AI deepfake video of her being urinated upon by Santa Claus. This is a heinous act, but it pales in comparison to the video Red creates of Butters having sex with Totoro, the lovable creature from the 1988 Hayao Miyazaki animated fantasy film My Neighbor Totoro. And yes, the image of Butters defiling Totoro is one we can never unsee.
The plot thickens as Eric Cartman and Peter Thiel embark on a trip to Washington to confront The Antichrist – a kidnapping being covered up with deepfake AI videos of the young resident obnoxious anti-hero. Meanwhile, Butters' mother starts asking questions of the local police, and Detective Harris is more concerned with the apparent series of rapes at South Park Elementary. Butters is soon questioned about his relationship with Totoro (referred to here as “that hat-dwelling piece of shit”), and goons from Studio Ghibli in Japan show up, calling B.S. on the hard work of animators being easily copied by AI deepfakes. They are soon thrown into South Park's jail.
In Washington, Vice President J.D. Vance is getting a tongue lashing from President Trump over his meddling in his personal life, namely the baby he is expecting with Satan, aka The Antichrist. Trump fesses up that he doesn't want the baby, as the little bundle of hellfire will cramp his social life. So Vance suggests a gunman he knows in Colorado who can take care of things. Satan walks in on the Veep and Prez in the White House hot tub, hatching the plan, but yells at Trump and runs off. At that point, Trump and Vance seem to have a moment in the hot tub… and end up making love in the Lincoln Bedroom – in a scene that goes on and on and never gets comfortable to watch.
Talk about a speedy trial! After the act break, the AI deepfake situation at South Park Elementary is soon on trial – with animated favorite Bluey on the stand to testify about the bad things Kyle, Stan, and Kenny made her do in a deepfake that she wasn't even paid for. By the end of the episode, it's discovered that the videos of Cartman were fake, and he's rescued – as always, ungrateful of his mother's love ("When's the last time you saw me eat a pot pie?" he asks his relieved mom).
All's well that ends well for Detective Harris, who believes he busted a huge community of online rapists named after a popular AI tool. However, Trump is in hot water when Lincoln Bedroom surveillance footage of him getting freaky with Vance leaks to Fox News; the network issues a despondent, defeated report on the tryst; it's so sad you can almost feel bad for the network and its Trump-loving staff. That is, until Trump clears the air by telling Fox anchor that, duh, of course that lengthy – too lengthy – sex scene with his veep was fake as hell. Satan seems skeptical but remains in Trump's bed as The AntiChrist gets closer…
