Eric Cartman’s Most Evil Moment Isn’t From The Episode You Think

By Robert Scucci
| Published 52 seconds ago

Any South Park fan will tell you that Season 5’s “Scott Tenorman Must Die” was the turning point for Eric Cartman. After Scott Tenorman stole $16.12 from Cartman, he had his parents murdered, ground them up into chili, and then fed them to him. It was the singular moment where everybody living in South Park, the parents, the teachers, and, most importantly, the boys, realized they should never mess with Cartman because they now knew what he was capable of when crossed.

Up until this point, Cartman’s behavior was problematic, but it never crossed the line in such a brutal way. Not only was he able to anticipate everybody’s moves and counter them with alarming precision, he was also able to feign ignorance and play along just enough to make everyone think he was falling into their trap. “Scott Tenorman Must Die” transformed Cartman into a Machiavellian genius, but what’s more alarming is his behavior in Season 15, specifically in “Bass to Mouth.”

Cartman is at his most evil and manipulative in “Bass to Mouth,” and it’s worse because everybody encourages it. By this point in the series, 10 years after “Scott Tenorman Must Die,” everybody in South Park knows that Cartman is a full-blown sociopath who feels no remorse and only cares about self-preservation when push comes to shove. When that behavior is enabled by authority figures and he’s given free rein to do whatever he wants, it becomes dangerous for everybody.

You Never Go Bass To Mouth

While I’d love to talk at length about Lemmiwinks’ return, his long-lost brother Wikileaks, the sage-like advice from the Catatafish and the Sparrow Prince, and what the rest of the boys are up to when their private information gets leaked through the Eavesdropper app, none of that really matters when it comes to Cartman’s behavior in “Bass to Mouth.” It’s important to frame the story, but Cartman is going to do what Cartman does whether there’s an Eavesdropper app or not, so let’s focus on what he actually does in this South Park episode.

In “Bass to Mouth,” the Eavesdropper app leaks information that Pete Melman went number two in his pants, and Cartman immediately starts fanning the flames. He’s called to the office, where Principal Victoria, Mr. Mackey, and Mr. Adler confront him. We learn that a year prior, a similar incident happened with a boy named Corey Duran, who was bullied so relentlessly by Cartman that he was driven to suicide. In a Hail Mary attempt to prevent another similar incident, the faculty allows Cartman to do whatever he thinks is necessary to make sure Pete Melman’s life isn’t ruined.

Cartman, in his infinite wisdom, decides the best course of action is to make another student crap their pants, shifting attention away from Pete’s embarrasing incident. He gives Jenny Simons cupcakes laced with laxatives, and she takes a trip to brown town in the middle of class. He then jumps on a desk to loudly broadcast what just happened. Jenny’s suicide attempt is a failed one, but she’s left with a shattered pelvis from the fall.

Knowing full well he won’t get in trouble, Cartman explains to the South Park Elementary faculty that every single student needs to suffer the same embarrasment. His logic is simple: if everybody craps their pants, then nobody can be made fun of.

The real smoking gun is the exchange between Principal Victoria and Cartman. Exasperated, she says, “That’s insane!” and without missing a beat, Cartman flatly responds, “Okay. Well, if you have a better idea, then why am I here?” He knows he has total control over the situation, and he knows he won’t face any consequences. In fact, he knows he’ll be rewarded, because the only thing anybody cares about is avoiding bad press. They’re all pawns in Cartman’s game, and Cartman knows it.

The Entire Season Is Like This

Mr. Mackey’s plan in “Bass to Mouth,” once every one of Cartman’s ideas backfires, is to throw him under the bus. Literally. Even then, after the Lemmiwinks and Wikileaks subplot hits its boiling point, Cartman still gets the last laugh by sabotaging Mackey using the same methods he was encouraged to use earlier. Laxatives and Arby’s Horsey Sauce go into cupcakes, Mackey eats them, and erupts like Vesuvius. It’s crystal clear what Cartman’s intentions with Mackey are here, considering that everybody this has happened to previously has tried to take their own life, or succeeded in doing so. Cartman is 10 years old in this episode.

The wild part about Season 15 is that this is par for the course for Cartman. By this point in South Park’s run, everybody should know better. Two episodes later, when he’s told by the rest of the boys that he needs to stop playing with his dolls and grow up, he orchestrates an elaborate scheme to eliminate them that ends with Token’s house being shot up. Earlier in the season, Cartman measures every boy’s wiener length and posts the results. He steals crack babies from the hospital and forces them to play basketball so he can make internet money. The season closes with him getting his well-intentioned but militantly agnostic foster parents arrested, effectively orphaning the children they were caring for.

Season 5 may be the moment where Cartman’s true evil first shows itself, but it doesn’t fully evolve into its darkest form until Season 15, when everybody knows exactly what he’s capable of and still chooses to enable him when it benefits them. Cartman isn’t at his worst when nobody understands him and he’s lashing out. He’s at his worst when everyone does and they let him get away with it.

South Park is streaming on Paramount+.