Mr. Hankey’s offensive behavior puts him in jeopardy of being fired as the Director of the Annual Christmas Pageant. Meanwhile, at South Park Elementary, Strong Woman and PC Principal face a whole new set of challenges in their relationship.
Tropes:
- Amicable Exes: Downplayed with Heidi and Kyle. They aren't seen interacting with each other, but they don't seem to mind sitting near each other in the music room. However, this is not the case with Cartman, Heidi's other ex, as she's sitting far away from him during the music room and the school assembly, seemingly trying to avoid him.
- Bittersweet Ending:
- Mr. Hankey is forced to leave South Park after being made a pariah, and Kyle loses one of his best friends. However, Mr. Hankey finds a new home in Springfield, whose residents welcome him with open arms. PC Principal and Strong Woman come to terms with keeping their relationship a secret from their children, with PC Principal vowing to be the best principal he can be to them.
- Heidi's back to her old self, having managed to fully recover from her abusive relationship last season. However she's reduced to her background character role and doesn't make another appearance until "Bike Parade".
- Broken Pedestal: Mr. Hankey has become this to the entire townsfolk, who now view him as a literal and figurative piece of shit.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Mr. Hankey returns after a long absence since Season 16, and it's only to send him off properly.
- Downplayed with Heidi, who makes an appearance here after being absent for two episodes, but is relegated to her background character status.
- Call-Back: After having sex with PC Principal in "Splatty Tomato", Strong Woman gives birth to quintuplets (three boys and two girls), all of whom are extremely PC and cry whenever they hear a microaggression. This plays an important part here, where their constant crying in Mr. Hankey's concert results in him being forced to leave the town.
- Cliffhanger Copout: The season 21 finale has Heidi’s story end right after she breaks up with Cartman, implying that her story will continue into the next season and will focus on her efforts to return to her Nice Girl self and make amends with everyone she’s wronged, especially in regards to Kyle. However, when she makes her first season 22 appearance, she is immediately back to her normal self, is sitting near Kyle without any issues, and has been Demoted to Extra. She doesn’t make another appearance until the season 22 finale.
- Continuity Cameo: Heidi Turner makes one revealing to have lost weight and sitting far away from Cartman, confirming that she really is no longer in a relationship with him.
- Continuity Nod:
- Shootings at South Park Elementary are still a daily occurrence.
- Stan says Mr. Hankey helped them one time, referring to either "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls", "Red Sleigh Down", or "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining".
- Heidi makes a brief appearance, revealing to have lost all the weight she gained in season 21. She hasn't stopped wearing a hat, though.
- Crapsack World: Springfield is considered to be a place where "racist, awful beings" like Mr. Hankey can live in. That's right, South Park is saying Springfield is an even worse place to live in.
- Demoted to Extra: Heidi returns, but is back to her old role as a background character.
- Earn Your Happy Ending:
- In Heidi's limited appearance in this episode, she has lost all the weight she gained last season, is officially out of an abusive relationship with Cartman, and seems to be on amicable terms with Kyle and the girls. Given what she had to endure in the previous two seasons, it's safe to say that she has more than earned it.
- Likewise, after spending the entire time trying to get back at South Park's good graces to no avail, Mr. Hankey finds a new home in Springfield.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Kyle's reaction to his three closest friends walking away after seeing his disheveled state (due to Mr. Hankey's abuse) screams this.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Cartmannote and Geraldnote refuse to associate themselves with Mr. Hankey.
- Fallen Hero: Mr. Hankey goes from a Christmas-loving magical guy, who has saved the boys, the town, and Christmas on numerous occasions, to a self-destructive asshole who becomes despised by the town for his obnoxious behavior.
- Formerly Fat: Heidi manages to lose all the excessive fat she gained last season.
- Guilt by Association: Kyle eventually gets treated as bad as Mr. Hankey for allying with him. Not wanting to be as much of a pariah as he is, Kyle decides to stop being friends with him.
- Head Desk: All Kyle can do is slam his head on the table during the trial when he learns Mr. Hankey called the Mayor "a titless whore" on Twitter.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Before Mr. Hankey has a chance to atone for his obnoxious behavior, the residents of South Park force him to leave their town. Granted this was after many, many failed chances already.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Due to his offensive tweets and his self-destructive behavior, Mr. Hankey becomes a pariah in the eyes of the town.
- Hope Spot: Mr. Hankey puts on a public Christmas show in town and, for a brief moment, seems to be regaining the townsfolks' good graces. Then he has a public outburst in frustration at Strong Woman's PC Babies crying through his performance.
- I Warned You: Cartman does this to Kyle after the latter ignores his warnings of the consequences for allying with Mr. Hankey.Cartman: *observes Kyle (literally) stained* Uh huh. 2018.
- Jerkass Ball:
- Mr. Hankey is notably much more of an asshole than in his earlier appearances in the series.
- Stan and Kenny are no better when they turn against Kyle for defending Mr. Hankey, not even being sympathetic when the latter crosses the line into genuine physical abuse towards Kyle.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Cartman warns Kyle that in today's politically correct climate, allying himself with Mr. Hankey will just bring him trouble. Kyle realizes he was right by the end.
- "Just Joking" Justification: How Mr. Hankey attempts to excuse several of his tirades, falling back on Ambien when that doesn't work.
- Karmic Shunning: The entire town shuns Mr. Hankey for his racist and inappropriate tweets and refusal to acknowledge his faults. It gets to the point where Mr. Hankey is forced to leave South Park and move to another town that would accept him.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: After being the only one trying to help and defend Mr. Hankey, Kyle finally gives up on Mr. Hankey after the public Christmas show fails and when the latter shows he is not going to change or take responsibility for his actions.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Mr. Hankey loses his job, his friends, his family, and the respect of South Park thanks to his offensive ramblings. It's only made worse by the fact he accepts no blame for anything he's said or done.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": All the students in the gym have this when Strong Woman's water breaks.
- Maybe Ever After: While we don't know the current relationship between Heidi and Kyle, the fact that the two don't mind sitting near each other suggests that they might still be a thing.
- Mirror Character: Mr. Hankey here could be one to Heidi Turner. Both were once heroic characters whose bad choices have caused them to be shunned by their peers (Hankey's decisions were extremely black-and-white, while Heidi was in a psychological abusive relationship with Cartman), with only Kyle trying to help them out, only for them to take a level in Jerkass and mistreat Kyle, resulting in him giving up on them. Though Heidi would eventually hold herself accountable for her behavior after realizing what it cost her, while Mr. Hankey would refuse to admit any fault of his own blaming his behavior on Ambien, worsening his predicament. As a result, Heidi was able to find redemption and return to her circle of friends, while Mr. Hankey was forced out of town before he had a chance to atone for his behavior.
- Must Make Amends:
- Given that Heidi sits next to Kyle in the music room and her girlfriends in the school assembly suggests she's doing this to make up for mistreating them last season.
- The townsfolk force Mr. Hankey out of South Park before he has a chance to do this.
- Never My Fault: Mr. Hankey would probably garner a lot more sympathy if he accepted responsibility for his tirades instead of blaming Ambien or something else.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Kyle is the only one in South Park whose willing to help Mr. Hankey. This slowly makes Kyle just as much of an outcast as Mr. Hankey.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Parodied to a ridiculous degree. When Kyle tries to restrain Mr. Hankey after he lashes out at the PC Babies on stage, the latter brutally attacks him, punching and headbutting all throughout. Considering Mr. Hankey is, well, a literal piece of shit, it looks more like Kyle is playing tug of war with a bunch of ghosts and getting dragged across the stage at complete random, while he just happens to be holding poop. Predictably, most of his bruises are completely covered by skid marks.
- No Sympathy: Exaggerated. The entire town is unsympathetic to Kyle being walloped by Mr. Hankey.
- Only Friend: Mr. Hankey calls Kyle this.
- Put on a Bus: Or a Lyft (or as it's called a "Poober").
- Ripped from the Headlines: The episode's plot was largely a parody of Roseanne Barr being fired from her self-titled sitcom after making offensive remarks on Twitter about Valerie Jarrett note by referring to her as a hybrid of "Planet of the Apes and Muslim Brotherhood".
- Sequel Episode: This episode shows the aftermath of PC Principal and Strong Woman's affair in "Splatty Tomato", resulting in the conception of the PC Babies. It also reveals that Heidi has lost weight after breaking up with Cartman in that same episode.
- She's Back: After suffering a mentally abusive relationship and becoming a female Cartman last season, Heidi Turner is back to her healthy weight and old self.
- Ship Sinking: If there was any doubt that the Cartman/Heidi ship wouldn't stay sunk after "Splatty Tomato", they are diminished when Heidi reverts to her normal weight and background character status, while sitting far from Cartman in both her appearances.
- Ship Tease: The fact that Heidi, as her old self, is sitting in close proximity with Kyle and Kyle not minding Heidi's company might suggest that they may still have feelings for each other.
- Shout-Out: The episode title is a pun on The Problem with Apu, a documentary about The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and how some of his character traits have contributed to stereotyping of and bigotry against South Asian people. Becomes more poignant when it's revealed Mr. Hankey moved to Springfield.
- Status Quo Is God: After breaking up with Cartman last season, Heidi Turner automatically goes back to her normal weight and her role as a background character. It makes sense about her weight, since it has been at least nine months (using the PC Babies' birth as a marker for time) and Heidi (originally vegan) knows what it takes to thrive on a healthier diet.
- Take That!:
- Mr. Hankey is one towards Roseanne Barr, being a literal piece of shit.
- "Sometimes PC Babies don't even know what they're crying about."
- Lyft is referred to as a Poober, referencing how Uber is more popular.
- Springfield is referred to as a place where racist assholes thrive and are welcomed with open arms, plus the episode ends with the hashtag "#cancelthesimpsons". Though this was most likely heavily tongue-in-cheek, given that Trey and Matt are fans of The Simpsons, and due to their libertarianism and beliefs on political correctness, probably are not the type of people to want it cancelled over Apu's continued existence. However, some people, mostly people unfamiliar with the show's sense of humor and general worldview, including the director of the documentary The Problem With Apu, South Asian stand-up comedian Hari Kondabolu, took it at face value and praised Trey and Matt on Twitter after the episode aired for their perceived calling-out of The Simpsons.
- Throw the Dog a Bone:
- After all his attempts to fix his reputation in South Park end in failure and he is forced to leave the town, Mr. Hankey ends up finding a new home in Springfield.
- Downplayed with Kyle who suffers a lot of hardships to help out Mr. Hankey, only to give up on him upon realizing that he'll never change his behavior. The bright side comes when Heidi, whom Kyle tried to help last season, is revealed to have returned to her old self in this episode showing that Kyle was successful in helping someone out, even if it's not acknowledged here.
- Vocal Dissonance: When Bart speaks at the end, no effort was made to make him sound like Nancy Cartwright, and he sounds like a teenager.
- We Used to Be Friends: By the end of this episode, Kyle turns against Mr. Hankey, no longer being able to deal with his obnoxious behavior.
