Season 5’s “Scott Tenorman Must Die” is widely regarded by South Park fans to be the best episode of the entire series, or at least one of the best. It marked a watershed moment for the show, as Cartman transitioned from a regular spoiled brat into the most evil, reprehensible child in the world.
Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have acknowledged the importance of the episode – which they originally envisioned as the fifth-season premiere episode before having to push it back – as a turning point for the show. As one might expect, the episode is filled with classic moments.
Cartman Brags About Reaching Puberty
In the opening scene of “Scott Tenorman Must Die,” Cartman arrives at the bus stop and brags to his friends about being the first member of their group to reach puberty, because he’s got his first pubic hair.
However, when he tells them that he bought the hair from a ninth-grader named Scott Tenorman for $10, they reveal that he has to actually grow them himself and he realizes he’s been ripped off.
Scott Scams Cartman Out Of Another $6.12
Scott manages to scam Cartman out of another $6.12 when he comes to his house to get his $10 back. They have a long back-and-forth in which the $10, the pubes, and the change Cartman has in his pocket keep changing hands.
At the end of this confusing transaction, Scott keeps Cartman’s $16.12, gives the pubes back to Cartman, and shuts the door in his face.
Cartman Goes To Fort Collins
When Scott tells Cartman about a “pube fair” taking place in Fort Collins where he can sell Scott’s pubes for $5 a hair, Cartman hops on a bus and travels all the way to Fort Collins.
However, when he gets there and angers a local citizen by asking him where the pube fair is, Cartman realizes he’s been tricked by his arch nemesis yet again.
Scott Makes Cartman Beg For His Money
When Cartman goes to Scott’s house and asks for his money back, Scott makes him get down on his knees and beg for it while impersonating a pig: “I’m a little piggy, here’s my snout. Oink, oink, oink. Oink, oink, oink.”
He turns out to be filming the whole thing and later screens it for the entire town during Cartman’s own attempts to humiliate Scott with a doctored Radiohead interview.
Kenny Dies Of Laughter
Parker and Stone were concerned that not having a B-plot would be a detriment to “Scott Tenorman Must Die,” but eventually realized that having one strong storyline was better than having two lukewarm ones. This revelation went on to change the writing of the series.
Even Kenny’s death, which used to happen in every episode, is related to the Tenorman storyline. During Scott’s continued humiliation of Cartman whenever he tries to get his pube money, Kenny dies of laughter.
Cartman Tries To Train A Pony To Eat Part Of Scott's Body
After trying and failing to get his money back from Scott, Cartman comes up with a new plan to get revenge: train a pony to bite off his penis.
So, he makes a mock-up version of Scott with a scarecrow wearing similar clothes to him and tapes a hot dog to the crotch. However, he can’t get the pony to bite it off.
Chili Con Carnival
As a part of his scheme to get revenge against Scott, Cartman puts on a big chili cookoff that he calls his “Chili Con Carnival,” a delightfully inventive portmanteau of “chili con carne” and “carnival.”
Although the cookoff only exists as a vehicle to feed Scott his parents, Cartman really puts on an awesome event, with the townspeople all making their own chili recipes and pony rides available for 25 cents a pop.
The Shocking Twist Ending
What makes “Scott Tenorman Must Die” a classic South Park episode, and possibly the very best in the show’s history, is its shocking twist ending, in which Cartman feeds Scott’s parents to him in a bowl of chili.
Scott bursts into tears as he finds his mother’s finger in the chili and, as he’s crying, Cartman rushes over to lick the tears off his face.
Radiohead Makes Fun Of Scott
When Cartman first discovers that Scott’s favorite band is Radiohead, he tries to humiliate Scott by dubbing over an interview with the band with personal insults against him.
It backfires, but Cartman does manage to get Radiohead to come to South Park with a fan letter, so to add insult to injury when Scott is crying about the deaths of his parents, the band shows up and calls him a “crybaby.” The band members actually voiced themselves in the episode.
Stan, Kyle, And Kenny Realize The Depth Of Cartman’s Evil
When Cartman is licking the tears from Scott’s face and everyone around is horrified by what’s come to light, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny realize the depth of their big-boned friend’s evil.
Kyle wisely tells his pals, “Dude, I think it might be best for us to never p*** Cartman off again.” Stan concurs, “Good call.” And thus, the characterization of Eric Cartman was forever changed.