Tweek x Craig

Last updated
"Tweek x Craig"
South Park episode
Episode no.Season 19
Episode 6
Directed by Trey Parker
Written byTrey Parker
Featured music
Production code1906
Original air dateOctober 28, 2015 (2015-10-28)
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Safe Space"
Next 
"Naughty Ninjas"
South Park season 19
List of episodes

"Tweek x Craig" is the sixth episode of the nineteenth season and the 263rd overall episode of the animated television series South Park , written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on October 28, 2015. The episode parodies the slash fiction genre of yaoi art and the acceptance of the gay community, while continuing its season-long lampoon of political correctness.

Contents

Plot

PC Principal and Wendy host an assembly to introduce students to the Asian art of yaoi, which has increased due to the influx of Asian students. The pictures shown are all manga-style drawings of Tweek and Craig engaged in homoerotic and homosexual activity, and the gang is confused at this. Tweek and Craig are brought in to Principal's office where they both assert that they are not gay, but Principal ignores their denial and tells them that if there is a relationship between them, they must have affirmative consent. Stan talks with his father Randy about his confusion over who "the Asians" arbitrarily decide to portray as gay in yaoi. Randy, who knows nothing about the topic but is desperate to appear politically correct, comes to the conclusion that Asians are allowed to decide who is actually gay or not. Meanwhile, Randy is thrilled at the appearance/coming out of the closet of the "gay couple", citing the Whole Foods Market in town as part of the reason.

At Whole Foods, Craig's father Thomas is congratulated for Craig being gay, but he is unwilling to accept this. At Tweek's home, Tweek's parents celebrate and accept his gay status by rewarding him with money. As Cartman ponders the relationship of Tweek and Craig, he starts fantasizing again about his Cupid-like alter ego Cupid Me (last seen in "Cartman Finds Love"). Cupid Me visits Craig in his sleep and shoots him with a love arrow to help with their relationship. Cupid Me then begins to express his homosexual feelings for Cartman, who rejects him. The next day at school, the growing tension between Tweek and Craig leads to them fighting, but it is dismissed as a lovers' quarrel, and they are given money and dismissed without punishment.

When Randy calls Chinese President Xi Jinping to ask for clarifications about yaoi, the Chinese President angrily replies that the Japanese, not Chinese, do this and begins ranting about the rape of Nanking. As Thomas turns to alcohol, Randy tells him that he has no control over whether or not Craig is gay: it is the Japanese who make those decisions and they even got away with "raping Don King"; at the same time, Kyle explains to Stan and several other students what yaoi really is: an art form "created by girls for girls" as a perverse way to make men seem attractive. Craig convinces Tweek to announce that they are gay and then stage a fake breakup in order to put the matter to rest. Initially reluctant, Tweek gets carried away with the performance, portraying Craig as a manipulative cheater and himself as the wronged party. Craig becomes massively unpopular, with yaoi artists getting even more inspired by Tweek's heartbreak and the town's residents becoming severely depressed.

Cartman meets Cupid Me at a gay bar to ask him for help, and Cupid Me agrees but insists on having a date with Cartman as payment. Tweek apologizes to Craig for making him appear to be manipulative but Craig pushes him away and rejects his idea to pretend to get back together. Thomas becomes willing to accept his son's sexuality thanks to a love arrow shot by Cupid Me, and encourages Craig to be gay and gives him money. Tweek and Craig make amends and begin holding hands together in public and playing games together, bringing joy back to the town. Meanwhile, Cartman has his date with Cupid Me, which involves a massage in his bed. As Cupid Me attempts to molest Cartman, Cartman is revealed to be alone in his bathroom masturbating, having hallucinated Cupid Me the entire episode.

Production

Prior to the airing of the episode, producers solicited viewers to submit yaoi-style fan art drawings of Tweek and Craig, which were incorporated into the episode. [1] [2]

In other media

There is a side-mission for collecting yaoi art of Tweek and Craig for Craig's dad in the video game South Park: The Fractured But Whole .

Reception

IGN 's Max Nicholson gave the episode an 8.5 out of 10, and commented in his review that the yaoi theme "resulted in one of the funniest episodes of South Park for [him] in recent memory – definitely this season". [3] Chris Longo from Den of Geek gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars and stated that "Slowly turning the town of South Park into a liberal bastion of modern Millennial and social media values has opened a whole new side of not just the town folks, but of Matt and Trey's humor. Yeah, the [South Park] residents are still bigoted shit-kickers, but now their hearts are in the right place." [4] Writing for The A.V. Club , Dan Caffrey noted that he did not know of the actual existence of Tweek and Craig yaoi art, while giving the episode an A− rating and commenting: "if anything, 'Tweek x Craig' is critical not of homophobia, but of something much more general, something that's become the target of many, many South Park episodes since the show first aired: following a trend without doing the research". [5]

Series co-creator Matt Stone received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for this episode. [6]

Related Research Articles

"Free Hat" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 88th overall episode of the series, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 10, 2002. The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker, and was originally rated TV-MA in the United States; it was re-rated TV-14 in 2020.

"Tweek vs. Craig" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 36th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 23, 1999. In the episode Stan, Kyle and Cartman pit Tweek and Craig against each other. Meanwhile, the boys' wood shop teacher, Mr. Adler, struggles to cope with the loss of his wife, who died in a plane crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Park Is Gay!</span> 8th episode of the 7th season of South Park

"South Park Is Gay!" is the eighth episode of the seventh season and the 104th overall episode of the American animated sitcom South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 22, 2003. In the episode, Kyle struggles to understand a new metrosexual fad that has sprung around the men and boys of South Park and is the only one who does not want to conform to it. The episode features a parody of the TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

<i>South Park</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on June 20, 2001. The season concluded after 14 episodes on December 12, 2001. The 14-episode season length would become a standard for later years of the series, starting from the eighth season up until the sixteenth season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Tucker</span> Fictional character from the TV series South Park

Craig Tucker is a fictional character in the adult animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone. One of the main characters' fourth-grade classmates, he debuted in the season one episode "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" with the rest of the third-grade class. His speaking debut was in "Rainforest Shmainforest". A pragmatist, Craig commonly strays from the plans of the main characters in favor of more practical, realistic approaches and solutions to main issues.

"The Cissy" is the third episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 250th overall episode, it was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 8, 2014. The episode explores the controversial subculture of transgender individuals and gender identity. Musician Sia is featured as the AutoTuned voice of Randy Marsh, who is revealed to be the musician Lorde.

"#HappyHolograms" is the tenth and final episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 257th episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator and co-star Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on December 10, 2014. It is the second part of the two-part season finale which began with the previous episode, "#REHASH". The episode makes multiple references to earlier episodes over the season, as well as to previous seasons, while mainly lampooning the trend of culture constantly making trending topics on Twitter with no actual relevance. It also lampoons news events such as the death of Eric Garner, the shooting of Michael Brown, the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, the use of celebrity holograms, and generationism. YouTuber PewDiePie appears as himself, continuing his story line from the previous episode.

"Stunning and Brave" is the first episode in the nineteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 258th episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode aired on Comedy Central on September 16, 2015, and primarily parodies social justice warriors and political correctness within society, with a focus on the acceptance and praise of Caitlyn Jenner. The episode also lampoons Tom Brady and the Deflategate scandal.

"The City Part of Town" is the third episode of the nineteenth season and the 260th overall episode of the animated television series South Park, written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on September 30, 2015. The episode primarily tackles gentrification and continues the season-long parody of political correctness.

"You're Not Yelping" is the fourth episode of the nineteenth season and the 261st overall episode of the animated television series South Park, written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on October 14, 2015. The episode primarily parodies the popularity of Yelp restaurant reviews.

"Safe Space" is the fifth episode of the nineteenth season and the 262nd overall episode of the animated television series South Park, written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on October 21, 2015. It parodies the idea of safe spaces while also continuing the season-long lampoon on political correctness.

"Naughty Ninjas" is the seventh episode of the nineteenth season and the 264th overall episode of the animated television series South Park, written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on November 11, 2015. Continuing the season's theme of political correctness, the plot primarily lampoons police brutality.

"Truth and Advertising" is the ninth episode of the nineteenth season and the 266th overall episode of the animated television series South Park, written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. It is the second part of a three-episode story arc which began with the previous episode "Sponsored Content" and concludes with the following episode "PC Principal Final Justice" that together serve as the season finale. It premiered on Comedy Central on December 2, 2015. Like the previous episode, this episode continues to parody the abundance of online advertising while continuing its season-long lampoon of political correctness.

"PC Principal Final Justice" is the tenth and final episode of the nineteenth season and the 267th overall episode of the animated television series South Park, written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central on December 9, 2015. It is the third and final part of a three-episode story arc that began with the episode "Sponsored Content" and continued in the episode "Truth and Advertising", which collectively serve as the season finale. The episode parodies the abundance of online advertising, as well as gun politics in the United States, as part of its season-long lampoon of political correctness.

"White People Renovating Houses" is the first episode in the twenty-first season of the American animated television series South Park. It is the 278th episode of the series overall, and first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on September 13, 2017.

"Put It Down" is the second episode in the twenty-first season of the American animated television series South Park. The 279th episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on September 20, 2017.

"Sons a Witches" is the sixth episode in the twenty-first season of the American animated television series South Park. The 283rd overall episode of the series, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 25, 2017. The episode was seen by critics as parodying hypocrisy surrounding the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Park: Post COVID</span> Episode of South Park

"South Park: Post COVID" is a 2021 American adult animated comedy television special episode written and directed by Trey Parker. It is the first in a series of South Park television specials for the streaming service Paramount+ and premiered on November 25, 2021. It is also considered to be the 310th episode overall of the television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID</span> Episode of South Park

"South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID" is a 2021 American adult animated comedy television special episode written and directed by Trey Parker. It is the second in a series of South Park television specials for the streaming service Paramount+ and premiered on December 16, 2021. It is a sequel to and continues the storyline of the previous special, "South Park: Post COVID". It is also the 311th episode of the series.

References

  1. Dornbush, Jonathon (October 26, 2015). "South Park wants viewers to submit Craig/Tweek slash fan art for this week's episode". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  2. "South Park wants your yaoi fan art". Comedy Central. October 25, 2015. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015.
  3. Nicholson, Max (October 28, 2015). "South Park: "Tweek x Craig" Review". IGN . Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  4. Longo, Chris (October 29, 2015). "South Park: Tweek x Craig Review". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  5. Caffrey, Dan (October 29, 2015). "Slash art gives way to blind tolerance in this week's South Park". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  6. "68th Emmy Awards Nominations For Programs Airing June 1, 2015 – May 31, 2016" (PDF). The Television Academy. July 14, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2016.