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Recap / South Park S 1 E 6 Death

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“Why don’t we just shoot him?”

Original air date: 9/17/1997

While the parents of South Park head to New York to protest a TV channel over its most vulgar flagship show, Terrance and Philip, Kenny gets explosive diarrhea (which spreads to the protesters) and Stan, whose 102-year-old grandfather keeps asking him to kill him, tries to get advice over whether it's right to assist someone with suicide.


"Death" contains examples of

  • Accidental Misnaming: Grandpa Marsh calls Stan by the name "Billy". The same goes to his grandfather.
  • Adults Are Useless: Even though Stan and the boys had been caught trying to "murder" Grandpa Marsh (on his orders), the adults all blame Terrance & Phillip (the show they were watching when it happened), and all rally to get it cancelled while leaving all the boys at the Marsh's house with the old man they had been accused of trying to murder. Because of this negligence, Grandpa manages to convince Stan and the others to help him kill himself later in the episode, and had Death not stopped them, they would've succeeded.
  • And I Must Scream: Even though he's more casual about it than one would expect, Great-Great-Grandpa Marsh made his grandson kill him instead of waiting to die of natural causes, and because of this, he's now trapped in limbo for all eternity, unable to fully transcend. At the end of the episode, he talks his grandson out of following in his footsteps.
  • Anti-Villain: Death is ruthless and is not above taking children, but he only kills the people he has to kill (meaning Kenny), and actually helps Grandpa Marsh have a Jerkass Realization by allowing his own grandfather's ghost to talk to him through limbo. He's also not above putting his mission on hold to share some laughs with the boys over Terrance & Phillip's humor.
  • An Aesop: The boys explain that parents shouldn't be out fighting to fix bad things and should instead spend more time with their children, adding that many parents blame television for "corrupting" their children because they expect it to be like a babysitter towards them. Played for Laughs, since Kenny is the one to deliver the more heavy-handed part of the Aesop.
  • Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: The boys and Death pause their chase to watch Terrance & Phillip on a store window TV. When the broadcast is interrupted by the protest, the chase resumes.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: Zig-Zagged. Sheila and the adults manage to get Terrance & Phillip cancelled, but they're not content with its replacement She's the Sheriff, and they go back to New York to get that show cancelled as well.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: As it turns out, the new show that replaced Terrance & Phillip, She's the Sheriff, is just as naughty and offensive to Sheila as its predecessor was.
  • Bowdlerization:
    • Later airings edit Cartman's line "Kyle's mom is a dirty Jew!" by having the "dirty" in "dirty Jew" bleeped out. Unfortunately, it made the line seem more vulgar than intended. The DVD version has it edited the same way, while Netflix's print was uncut. As of 2019 and 2020, the line is uncut on the HD remastered version.
    • Syndication prints of this episode cut out the scene where the boys ponder other ways for fun now that Terrance & Phillip has been cancelled, including huffing gasoline, smoking crack and watching porn.
  • Bring My Brown Pants: Kenny has to go to the bathroom to release his bowels three times. Mr. Garrison, the Mayor, and Mrs. Cartman all get infected with his flu as well.
  • Brutal Honesty: John Warsog doesn't just say "no" to the adults' demands:
    John Warsog: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is John Warsog, I've prepared a statement for you on behalf of the network... Fuck you. Thank you ladies and gentlemen. If there are any questions, you may direct them to that brick wall over there.
  • Butt-Monkey: Kenny spends most of the episode having to take potty breaks for his explosive diarrhea, and ends up getting chased down and killed by Death, likely for not having died of his flu.
  • Comically Missing the Point: Chef when Stan first approaches him with the topic of assisted suicide.
    Stan: Chef, is it okay to kill your grandpa?
    Chef: You can't kill my grandpa, Stan, he's already passed on.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • Stan says he can't kill his grandfather because "he can't even kill a deer", a reference to Volcano.
    • The boys saying that dropping a cow on Grandpa Marsh makes the death "look natural" is possibly a reference to how Kenny got trampled to near-death by cows in Cartman Gets An Anal Probe.
  • Death of a Child: Kenny is touched and killed by Death in front of the other boys, and later seen as a ghost alongside Stan's great-great grandpa.
  • Death Seeker: Grandpa Marsh has apparently been this since he turned 77.
  • Dramatic Irony: The parents wanted to get Terrance & Phillip cancelled to save their children from its influence. By doing so, not only do they unwittingly put them in danger by leaving them all at Stan's house with Grandpa Marsh to be chased down by Death, but they also indirectly get Kenny killed when Death starts enjoying the show only to throw a fit and kill Kenny when it gets cancelled.
  • Dirty Coward: After Shelley catches them on the act, Stan is quick to try to pin his and his friends' watching of Terrance & Phillip on Cartman. Somewhat justified, as this is Shelley we're talking about, so he would be more terrified of her than usual.
  • Dope Slap: Cartman slaps Kyle in the back of the head for his mom calling the other moms and preventing them from watching Terrance & Phillip.
  • The Dreaded: Death, for understandable reasons. The only person who doesn't fear him is Grandpa Marsh, also for understandable reasons.
  • Driven to Suicide: Grandpa Marsh. The first half of the episode consists of him repeatedly trying and failing to kill himself in different ways.
  • Dumbass Has a Point: Cartman is the only one to point out that dropping a cow on Stan's grandfather instead of just shooting him is unnecessarily convoluted. Stan and Kyle just tell him to shut up.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • Phillip was voiced by Matt Stone in this episode, while Terrance was voiced by Trey Parker. They would switch roles when the characters were brought back in later stories.
    • Sheila and Sharon have different names in this episode; both are referred to as "Carol", which would instead become the name of Kenny's mother.
    • Terrance and Phillip is explicitly described as a cartoon in this episode, with their odd appearance being because in-universe they are crude animations. In "Not Without My Anus", this would be retconned to them being real comedians and all Canadians looking like that in the South Park universe.
      • The duo was also supposed to be English, with Phillip's very first line having a distinct upper-class English inflection.
    • Terrance and Phillip have different laughter every time they fart, as their laughter is more slowed down and calmer, compared to the usually more giddy and fast-paced laughs they usually make.
      • In one scene, the duo is wearing spacesuits with the American flag instead of the Canadian, and the network broadcasting their show is called "Cartoon Central" (an in-joke reference of "Comedy Central") instead of "The Canada Channel" ("the only channel in Canada") as in later episodes.
    • Jesus is briefly established as being almost omniscient, with him quipping in a deadpan tone that he's the son of God so he would obviously know everyone. Later episodes will show him as more of The Everyman who is just as prone to forgetting about things as any other human.
    • Stan's room is shown to be on the first floor rather than the second as the series later establishes.
    • Kenny uses a restroom set inside the classroom in this episode, which was never seen previously and has not been seen since, with any future episodes where a kid has to take a potty break having them use a hallway restroom. Matt and Trey comment on it in the episode's DVD Commentary.
    • The episode makes a point of avoiding talking about the issue of euthanasia, with each character Stan asks saying they won't touch it with "a ___-foot pole", and the episode just ending with the (almost certainly intentional) Captain Obvious Aesop that you shouldn't have prepubescent children assisting in euthanasia. Later episodes of South Park would not shy away from discussing controversial political issues, with some even taking an obvious side of the debate.
  • Establishing Character Moment:
    • Grandpa Marsh is established frowning during his birthday, bitter over having survived another year.
    • Despite previously being established as a respected geologist, Randy is the only adult who laughs at the Toilet Humor of Terrance & Phillip, showcasing his inner Manchild tendencies which will only become more pronounced as the show evolves.
    • Sheila is introduced being outraged at Crass Comedy and Toilet Humor, forbidding Kyle from watching it and getting other mothers to do the same with their kids, much to their outrage.
    • This is also the first instance of many we see Kenny save one of his friends' lives despite putting himself at risk, when he takes the time to boost Cartman out of Stan's room through the window instead of going himself. Granted, Death was going for him so it likely wouldn't have mattered much if Cartman got caught.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
    • Cartman is only driven to attempt to murder Grandpa Marsh when he falsely boasts about humping his mother and his dead great-grandma's corpse.
    • Shelley might be a sadistic Big Sister Bully towards Stan, but she gets even angrier at him than usual when she thinks he was going to kill Grandpa.
  • Everyone Has Standards:
    • Brash and politically incorrect as he is, even Mr. Garrison can't bring himself to give Stan advice on assisted suicide. Neither do Chef and Jesus for that matter.
    • When asked, Cartman refuses to kill Grandpa Marsh, saying that he could never kill anybody "unless they piss [him] off". This is mitigated when he tries to kill him after he taunts him over apparently having slept with his mother and grandmother.
    • The TV reporters all look shocked when Mr. McCormick is flung and splattered against the Cartoon Central building.
  • "Everybody Laughs" Ending: After Grandpa Marsh announces his trip to Africa, with the intention of "naturally" getting eaten by a lion, Stan comments "That's my silly Grandpa!", and they all chuckle.
  • Faux Horrific: Stan finally realizes how bad his grandfather has after being subjected to Enya music.
    Stan: I can't take it anymore, this music is terrible, it's, it's cheesy, but lame and eerily soothing at the same time.
  • Foil: Grandpa Marsh is one for Kenny. Both are crass individuals whom Death pays a visit, but Grandpa is an extremely old man who is eager to die but always manages to survive his predicaments, while Kenny is a child who is cursed to die Once an Episode but still tries to futilely run from his fate whenever he can. For added symbolism, at the end of the episode, Grandpa Marsh wore the exact same touristy attire Kenny himself would wear as an adult.
  • Foreshadowing: Two for Bigger, Longer & Uncut:
    • First when Cartman complains about Sheila cancelling Terrance and Phillip, which she will then do again and cause World War III as a result.
    Cartman: Just because your mom is a bitch doesn't mean the whole world has to suffer.
    • Later when Kyle complains about his insults of his mother, much to Cartman's delight. The next time he does it, Cartman will sing a song about it.
    Kyle: I told you not to call my mom a bitch, Cartman.
    Cartman: Oh, biiitch. Your—mom—is—a—bi-bi-bii-biittchh.
  • Forgotten Fallen Friend:
    • After some initial shock, the boys leave Kenny's body to be taken away by a rat, with none of them showing any interest.
    • The fat protester who is accidentally flung after Terrance & Phillip had already been cancelled is also completely dismissed, since everyone was too busy celebrating.
  • Freudian Excuse: Grandpa Marsh was asked to kill his own suicidal grandfather when he was 8, which messed him up for life, so he asked the same thing from his own nephew when he got suicidally depressed.
    Great-Great-Grandpa Marsh: I was wrong to put you in that position, Billy, just like you're wrong to put Little Billy in it now.
  • The Gadfly: The moment Cartman sees that calling Kyle's mom a bitch triggers him, he starts doing it again while shaking his ass at him.
  • Generation Xerox: Stan's great-great-grandfather asked his grandson to Mercy Kill him when he was 8, and now that he's 102 years old, said grandson is asking the same thing of Stan. He also inherited the Accidental Misnaming from him.
  • The Ghost: Great-Great-Grandpa Marsh when Death summons him from limbo. Also Kenny at the end, as all three of them disappear into the afterlife.
  • Go-Karting with Bowser: Death and the boys temporarily give up the chase to watch some Terrance and Phillip together.
  • Gosh Darn It to Heck!: Kyle's mom ends up taking offense to certain words ("ho" and "buttmunch") from a rerun of She's the Sheriff, which seem like family-friendly words compared to Terrance and Phillip.
  • The Grim Reaper: He shows up in the latter half of the episode and goes on to chase the boys as it is their (or rather, Kenny's) time.
  • Gruesome Grandparent: Grandpa Marsh is constantly antagonizing his grandson and trying to force him to kill him, with no regard for Stan's own well-being.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Exaggerated with Stan's grandpa, who is bitter and depressed, and constantly calling his grandson Stan things like "ingrate" and "son of a whore" for refusing to end his life.
  • Guilt by Association: Though it was Stan the one holding the rope, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny are all blamed as well for the "attempted murder", and are made to appear on television after the fact.
  • Here We Go Again!: After their protest is over, the parents go back to New York to protest when they see the suggestive content in She's the Sheriff.
  • Heroic Suicide: Subverted. Sheila believes the mass flinging of protesters into the Cartoon Central building is this, but as John Warsog later reveals, it did not accomplish anything in the large scheme of things, and it only likely led to some kids losing their parents.
  • Hidden Depths: Nasty as he usually is, Kenny shows himself to be quite an eloquent speaker. The "hidden" part comes thanks to his thick parka which muffles him, making his speech almost unintelligible.
    Kenny: (muffled) You know what I think? Basically, if you let the decision of what you watch stop at the parents' control, then what can you see? It'll stay the same because they'll just get offended although their kids are not delighted with the television series they put on for their kids.
  • Hope Spot:
    • It initially seemed that Death and the boys were done chasing each other and were going to have fun together watching Terrance & Phillip. Then the show gets cancelled.
    • After several protesters sacrifice themselves to get Terrance & Phillip cancelled, the latest man who was going to be flung sees a chance to live when the president of the network shows up to address the protesters. Eventually, they succeed and the show is taken off the air, but the man is accidentally flung anyway.
  • Horrible Judge of Character:
    • Randy and Sharon believe that Grandpa Marsh is being dramatic with his constant requests for death, and even leave Stan alone with him at more than one point, even after Stan has come close to accidentally killing Grandpa once.
    • Kyle here is naïve enough to watch Terrance & Phillip in plain view of his mother, thinking that she'll like it too. After the mayhem she causes in this episode as a result to that, he becomes a lot more Properly Paranoid around her.
  • Hypocrite: Mr. Garrison tells the boys that toilet humor is inappropriate for them because it doesn't expand their minds. This is pretty rich coming from a teacher who spends most of his working hours spouting his political ideologies to the kids, down to making Stan a homophobe in a previous episode.
  • Hypocritical Humor:
    • The adults protest Terrance and Phillip for making fart jokes, while at the same time making jokes about their diarrhea. Even Kyle's mom joins in the fun.
    • Grandpa Marsh gets upset when his grandfather calls him "Billy", despite having been doing the same to his own grandson for years.
  • Irony: What eventually causes the adults to win their case against Cartoon Central is the massive amount of diarrhea they left behind (from the flu which they have been spreading amongst each other during the protest), so they literally combated toilet humor with toilet humor.
  • It's All About Me: All Grandpa wants to do is die, and he doesn't care how much he has to traumatize his own grandson to accomplish it. At one point he even locks him in a dark room and forces him to listen to Enya music as motivation. He also doesn't show any concern for the boys' lives when they're being chased by Death, instead being mad that Death isn't coming for him. His own grandfather, who made the same mistake as him years before, calls him out on this.
    Great-Great-Grandpa Marsh: You're so obsessed with ending your life, you're not thinking about what you're doing to his. You must wait to die of natural causes.
  • Is the Answer to This Question "Yes"?: When Stan and his Grandpa are about to go through with the assisted suicide:
    Stan: Are you ready, Grampa?
    Grandpa: Does the pope crap in the woods?
  • I Cannot Self-Terminate: Grandpa Marsh needs Stan to help him kill himself because he's "too damn old" to do it himself. Being bound to a wheelchair doesn't help.
  • Jerkass:
    • Grandpa Marsh. Since he gave up on life long ago, he deliberately makes himself an insufferable asshole to everyone he encounters, especially Stan. When Stan finally decides to help kill him, he doesn't give him an ounce of sympathy, instead yelling at him to cut to the chase and kill him already. He comes to a Jerkass Realization later in the episode thanks to a lecture from his own grandfather's ghost.
    • Kyle's mom is an Entitled Bitch who has every parent forbid their kids from watching Toilet Humor television, then tries to get Cartoon Central to ban one of their shows when the kids are caught watching it anyways. Furthermore, her ultimate plan regarding the protesting (aside from chaining herself and other parents to the building) is to slingshot some of the protesters into the building, which coincidentally she never commits to herself.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Considering Shelley believed Stan was trying to murder their grandfather, her abuse of Stan isn't completely unwarranted here. She even does the rational thing and tells her mother on him, though only after she has smacked him in the face.
  • Jerkass Realization: After his grandfather's ghost appears to apologize to him and help him open his eyes, Grandpa Marsh realizes how selfish he had been putting his own grandson in the traumatizing scenario of helping him kill himself, and vows to die of natural causes from then on.
  • Karma Houdini:
    • After killing Kenny, Death is called out by Kyle and then disappears with little fanfare. Justified, as he's The Grim Reaper so taking people is his job.
    • Sheila also manages to get Terrance & Phillip pulled and never receives any punishment for all the people who died meaninglessly in order to accomplish her goal.
  • Kick the Dog: John Warsog mooning the crowd, and telling them to direct their criticisms to a brick wall.
  • Kids Are Cruel:
    • Cartman lashing out at Kyle when his mother gets the other parents to stop their kids from watching Terrance & Phillip, and then calling the latter a bitch despite Kyle's many protests.
    • Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny being quick to help Stan kill his Grandpa on his wishes. Notable because it took quite a while for Stan to agree. Stan himself also counts for mostly caring about getting in trouble if he were to kill him.
      Cartman: Just kill him dude, maybe he'll give you some money.
  • Knight Templar: Kyle's mom and the other parents truly believe they're doing the best for their kids by protesting to Cartoon Central. In reality, they're neglecting their kids and almost cause their deaths by cancelling Terrance & Phillip.
  • Know When to Fold Them: John Warsog and the rest of Cartoon Central's executives eventually give in to their protesters when their diarrhea starts stacking up and forcing him and the others to wear gas masks to breath.
  • Lack of Empathy: Stan is not only unable to comprehend why his Grandpa is suicidal, he refuses to help kill him only because it'll get him in trouble.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: John Warsog laughs in the face of the protesters who are against one of his shows' Toilet Humor and even shows them his ass, only to get stinked out by the protestors' accumulating diarrhea, meaning that he ended up being defeated himself by Toilet Humor.
  • Make It Look Like an Accident: A particularly dumb attempt at this. The boys attempt to make Grandpa's death look natural by dropping a cow on him. He's cool with it, though, as long as he dies.
    Cartman: Why don't we just shoot him?
    Stan: You dumbass Cartman, it has to look natural, or else we'll all get busted.
    Kyle: Yeah, stupid!
  • Manchild:
    • Randy is the only one to laugh at the Terrance & Phillip skit Kyle's mom shows the townsfolk.
    • Death is a more subdued example, having a tricycle and laughing at Terrance & Phillip alongside the other boys. He also throws a hissy fit when they cancel the show.
  • Mercy Kill: What Stan's grandpa asks of him. He eventually gets him to agree, and the boys attempt it by dropping a cow on him.
  • Mooning: When the parents visit the network headquarters to protest the Toilet Humor in Terrance and Phillip, the network executive delivers a brief, defiant statement followed by a mooning.
  • Moral Guardians: The first of many, many Take Thats against them. The South Park parents are willing to do anything to stop the boys from being influenced by Toilet Humor, even if they have to kill themselves to get a show pulled, ignoring the fact that not being around them anymore will affect them even more than any show will.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Upon realizing that his grandson went on to do the same thing he did when he was alive, Great-Great-Grandpa Marsh appeared as a ghost to apologize to him.
  • Negative Continuity: Despite Terrance and Phillip getting cancelled by the end, they're back on the air in later episodes, though considering the parents weren't happy with its replacement either, they likely allowed it to continue in favor of cancelling "She's the Sheriff".
  • Not So Above It All:
    • The Grim Reaper not only uses a tricycle, but he also laughs at Terrance & Phillip's fart jokes.
    • Even Sheila laughs at Liane's poop joke, which makes her a massive Hypocrite considering what she's protesting against.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • Kenny loses it anytime he has to go to the bathroom, since he has the flu.
    • Kyle when Terrance & Phillip is cancelled, infuriating Death.
    • The obese man when he realizes he's about to be flung against the building for nothing, since Terrance & Phillip was already going to be taken off the air.
  • Only Sane Man: Stan is the only one in his family who knows that his grandfather isn't joking when he says he wants to kill himself.
  • Parental Neglect: Stan's parents not only leave him alone with his unstable grandpa on several occasions (even after Stan is caught trying to "kill" him), but also ignore him when he calls screaming about Death coming for him, not even listening to what he's saying.
    Randy: Did you turn the heat down?
    Stan: Dad, Death is coming!
    Randy: Keep the thermostat under 70, and take care of your grandfather [hangs up].
  • Pet the Dog:
    • Despite being an Apathetic Teacher and calling him a little bastard later, Mr. Garrison allows the sick Kenny to go to the bathroom as much as he needs.
    • When Cartman is about to murder Grandpa Marsh, Stan acts shockingly mature with him, calming him down and offering him some snacky cakes.
    • Though Stan and his Grandpa don't have the best of relationships, Stan does try to give him a proper farewell before finally assisting in his suicide, only for him to shut him down.
    • Death not only takes Kenny's life, he also helps Grandpa Marsh with his quest for suicide by allowing him to talk with his own grandpa's ghost.
    • Kenny saving Cartman by boosting him out of Stan's window before Death arrives.
    • Sheila is very nice to Liane Cartman throughout the protest, guiding her to the bathroom and bonding over a few poop jokes. She also comforts Mr. McCormick before he is to be launched, telling him that he will become a martyr for everyone else.
      Stan: Ok, here we go. Bye grandpa, it was nice knowing you!
      Grandpa: Uhh, cut the damn rope already!
  • Police Are Useless: Officer Barbrady drives up and sees Stan ready to drop a cow on his grandfather. After a tense moment, Barbrady just says, "Carry on," and drives off.
  • Properly Paranoid: A minor example. Later in the episode Sharon assumes Stan called her because he broke something. While that wasn't the reason, a shot of the Marsh' living room shows that Stan and his friends did trash the place while being left unsupervised.
  • Running Gag: Every time Stan asks someone if it's okay to kill someone who is suicidal, they respond with "I'm not touching that with a ___-foot pole". Mr. Garrison starts it at 20, Chef fills it with 40 and Jesus ends it at 60.
  • Self-Serving Memory: Stan claims in this episode that he can't kill his grandfather because he couldn't even shoot a deer in Volcano, when that episode ended with him callously shooting Scuzzlebutt in the head and being initially proud of his achievement.
  • Senseless Sacrifice: At least 14 protesters die via flinging themselves into the Cartoon Central building with a giant slingshot in their crusade to get the president to take Terrance & Phillip off the network. In the end, the show is cancelled, but only because everyone has been soiling themselves due to the stomach flu that had been spreading among the adults, meaning that those people died for no reason, especially the last one who was accidentally flung after their victory. However, Kyle's mom doesn't get this and celebrates the victory regardless.
  • Series Continuity Error: Stan once again claims to be unable to kill anything, even citing an event from Volcano, ignoring the fact that said episode ended with Stan "overcoming" this and callously shooting Scuzzlebutt in the head, unless it's a Self-Serving Memory or was lying to get out of having to kill his grandpa.
  • Skewed Priorities: Though Stan's constant refusal to kill his grandfather is admirable, his reasoning isn't.
    Stan: I'm not gonna kill you, grandpa.
    Grandpa: Why not?
    Stan: 'Cause I'll get in trouble.
    Grandpa: I killed my grandpa when I was your age.
    Stan: Leave me alone, grandpa.
  • Shout-Out
    • Sheila demands more "quality" programming like Full House.
    • Kyle gives his two cents on Stan's predicament with his grandpa by citing Jack Kevorkian's case of assisting with suicide.
      Cartman: Hey, maybe we can get him to kill Kyle's mom!
    • Terrance & Phillip end up getting replaced by She's the Sheriff (which isn't a cartoon).
  • Sick Episode: Started by Kenny who gets Mr. Garrison sick with stomach flu. It spreads to the rest of the adults, to the point where Cartoon Central complains about the diarrhea stench.
  • Storefront Television Display: When the boys are being chased by Death, he stops pursuing momentarily to watch Terrance and Philip in one of these.
  • Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: Grandpa Marsh tries this with Cartman.
    Cartman: I would never kill somebody... not unless they piss me off.
    Grandpa: Ohh, is that a fact? Well, let me tell you something, Porky. Your mom was over here earlier, and I humped her like a little bitch.
    Cartman: What?!
    Grandpa: That's right.
    Stan: Grandpa!
    Grandpa: And then, I dug up your great-grandma's skeleton, and had my way with her too.
    Cartman: Hey!
    Grandpa: Choice piece of ass, your great-grandma.
    Cartman: You piece of crap! I'll kill you!
    Grandpa: That's the spirit, Tubby.
  • Stupid Sacrifice: Senseless or not, there was no reason for the adults to immediately resort to flinging themselves face-first into the Cartoon Central building to cancel a show that they found offensive.
  • Suicide as Comedy: Grandpa's suicidal feelings are played entirely for laughs, particularly since he continues to act like a Grumpy Old Man about it. Similarly, the deaths of the parent protestors who flung themselves into the Cartoon Central building with a giant slingshot are also played for comedy.
  • Suicide is Shameful: Grandpa Marsh's grandfather tells him that it's wrong to commit suicide, and that he should wait until he dies of natural causes. Marsh protests that he's been waiting for over 25 yearsnote .
  • Super-Senses: Jesus seems to know the private lives of all his callers, and also overhears Stan saying "goddamit" after he's hung up.
  • Take That!: Grandpa Marsh finally gets Stan to assist him in suicide by getting him to know what being old is like. He proceeds to lock him in a closet and forces him to listen to Enya music.
  • They Killed Kenny Again: After a long chase, The Grim Reaper kills Kenny with a single touch, likely because he should've been killed by his stomach flu, which he somehow managed to survive for most of the episode.
  • Pet the Dog: When Grandpa Marsh shows up to ask Death to take him with him, Death refuses and instead allows him to talk with his Grandpa's ghost from Limbo, to put an end to his constant attempts to get Stan to kill him.
  • The Problem with Fighting Death: Subverted. When Death shows up to claim Kenny, the boys all wisely retreat, although they fail to stop him from claiming Kenny. The only one willing to fight was Grandpa Marsh, who wanted to die, but he was too slow and never got to touch him.
  • Toilet Humor: Even more than usual this episode, to the point that it's constantly lampshaded and mocked.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Grandpa Marsh after being reprimanded by his own grandpa. Though he's still depressed, he's a lot nicer to his nephew, and gets a lot closer to the "silly grandpa" image Randy and Sharon had of him.
  • Troll:
    • Though he caters in the end, John Warsog does everything he can to taunt the protesters, and even when he gives up, the new show he puts on is as bad as the one he cancelled, likely as a final jab at them.
    • In their show, Terrance and Phillip are constantly telling each other that they're not going to fart on each other, only to do so anyway.
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: When Terrance & Phillip is cancelled, the boys resort to breathing gas fumes, smoking crack, or watching porno movies.
  • The Unfettered:
    • Sheila and the other parents are willing to do anything to get Cartoon Central to cater to their demands, including committing mass suicide.
    • Death is willing to chase the boys across the town with the sole intent to kill Kenny.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
    • Kyle watching Terrance & Phillip in plain view of his mother, and then telling her that "everybody watches it" as an excuse, causes her to tell all other parents to ban the show for every other kid.
    • Stan agreeing to hold a rope for his grandfather (which he then uses to try and hang himself) because he was too invested in Terrance & Phillip to focus causes all other parents to blame the show for the near-death and protest for its removal.
    • Kenny coming to school with diarrhea causes him to spread it to Garrison, who then spreads it to most other protestors. The massive amounts of feces that accumulated from that incident is what eventually drives John Warsog to cater and give in to the protestors' demands, getting Terrance & Phillip cancelled.
    • The parents getting Terrance & Phillip cancelled leads to Death (who was avidly enjoying it) to have a fit and kill Kenny.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: The adults are willing to kill themselves en masse to stop their kids from being influenced by Toilet Humor.
  • When I Was Your Age...: A particularly disturbing example. Grandpa Marsh killed his own suicidal grandfather when he was a kid, and is now upset with Stan for not doing the same.
    Grandpa Marsh: What has America's youth come to? Kids won't even kill their own grandparents.
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Cartman suggests this trope word-from-word to Stan on killing his grandfather, yet Stan shoots it down by wanting the death to look natural.
  • Would Hurt a Child: The Grim Reaper doesn't care if his victim is 8-years-old. He claims whom he has to claim and that's it.

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Death

Death chases after the boys

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