The Big Fix (South Park)

"The Big Fix (South Park)"
South Park episode
Episode no.	Season 25 Episode 2
Directed by	Trey Parker
Written by	Trey Parker
Production code	2502
Original air date	February 9, 2022 (2022-02-09)

"The Big Fix" is the second episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 313th episode overall of the series, it premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on February 9, 2022. This episode retconned "Token" Black's name to be Tolkien Black instead, after The Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien.

Plot

Randy Marsh attends a cannabis exposition where he learns that some people are boycotting cannabis farms that are not employing people of color. Randy speaks with Sharon, Shelly Marsh, and Stan Marsh about their lack of interaction with black people, especially since Stan never plays solely with Token Black. Stan invites Token and his parents, Steve and Linda Black, to the farm for dinner. During dinner, it is revealed that Token's first name is actually Tolkien in honor of J. R. R. Tolkien. Randy invites Steve to work at Tegridy Farms, and Steve agrees to do some financial consulting for him. Stan is shocked to learn Tolkien's real first name; when he calls Kyle Broflovski and Eric Cartman he discovers that he was the only person who thought the name was spelled Token. When Steve sees a billboard with him promoting Tegridy Weed, Steve is angered, but when Randy gives him some of the profits from Tegridy Weed's recent growth due to the new advertising, he accepts the idea of working with Tegridy Weed even though he realizes he is being commodified.

Stan goes to a doctor and shares his concerns about racism for believing Tolkien's first name had to deal with tokenism. The doctor harshly criticizes Stan's mistake while also breaking the fourth wall to address his speech. He suggests Stan do some reading; Stan begins reading books by J. R. R. Tolkien. Steve suggests a new line of marijuana to Randy which is dismissed, so Steve leaves the farm. In class, Stan shares his learning from Tolkien's books and suggests that the books become required reading for all; Stan later makes a speech in the school gymnasium declaring the day to be J. R. R. Tolkien Day, but when he invites Tolkien up to speak, Tolkien declares he hates everything to do with J. R. R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien meets Stan at his house where Stan confesses his error of Tolkien's name. He forgives Stan and reveals that Steve has bought the cannibis farm immediately across from Tegridy Farms, which Steve has named Credigree Weed. Randy is incensed that Steve is stealing his customers using the knowledge that he taught Steve, and he kicks Tolkien out of his house, promising to take action against Steve. At the end, the doctor appears on the screen to break the fourth wall again regarding Tolkien's name.

Reception

Dan Caffrey with The A. V. Club gave the episode an A rating as he especially praised the Tolkien theme of the episode, stating "of all the outstanding Tolkien episodes throughout South Park's history, I'd be hard-pressed to find one as funny and insightful as tonight's 'The Big Fix,' in which fantasy mythology and weed-farming come together to take on the hefty task of satirizing performative allyship."

John Schwarz with Bubbleblabber rated the episode an 8 out of 10, commenting on South Park's history of racial discussion, stating "'With Apologies to Jesse Jackson' kind of introduced Matt Stone and Trey Parker's misconceived notions from white people as it pertains to black culture, 'The Big Fix' focuses on them just a bit more. It's an interesting conversation, however, it's interesting that we really didn't get a firm grasp on what the 'apology tour' should be, and perhaps, maybe even Matt and Trey are wrestling with this as well."

External links

• The Big Fix at IMDb
• "The Big Fix". South Park Studios. February 9, 2022.