This Classic 10/10 South Park Episode Made Cartman The Villain He Is Today

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South Park is a long-running and incredibly popular animated show for adults, having been on the air since the late 1990s. It’s well-known for its over-the-top, often shocking, humor, which is central to what makes the show unique. The series has become increasingly edgy over time, with a noticeable change in style happening in the summer of 2001.

Eric Cartman is a hugely popular character on South Park, and remarkably, he hasn’t changed much since the show began. However, he wasn’t always portrayed as completely villainous. Before the episode “Scott Tenorman Must Die” in Season 5, many viewers still saw a glimmer of good in him. That episode definitively showed everyone that Cartman is truly evil and will stop at nothing to achieve what he wants.

Eric Cartman Is Now Considered Pure Evil, But That Wasn’t Always the Case

Cartman Hasn’t Always Been An Evil Mastermind

Eric Cartman appears as a boisterous and rude fourth grader with a bad temper. However, beneath the surface, he’s actually a cold and manipulative person who will do anything to achieve his goals. While he’s always been a strong personality, he didn’t become truly malicious until later in the show’s run.

In the early seasons of South Park, Cartman is clearly a troublemaker, but not necessarily beyond saving. He’s very self-centered, which leads him to make mistakes, but some would say this comes from being immature rather than intentionally cruel. The show suggests he struggles with kindness, but that’s likely just because he’s a selfish child.

Cartman’s personality likely started with a self-centered, immature attitude. Over time, his behavior became increasingly awful, and he moved far beyond typical childhood antics. He evolves from a simply annoying and inconsiderate kid into a truly cunning criminal throughout the series. However, a specific episode during the summer of 2001 – from Season 5 – revealed just how capable of evil Cartman could be and marked a turning point for his character.

One Incredible Season 5 Episode Changed Everything For Cartman

Cartman Met His Greatest Enemy and Stooped To Their Level

In the South Park episode “Scott Tenorman Must Die” (Season 5, Episode 4), Cartman gets into a conflict with a high schooler named Scott Tenorman, who tricks him out of some money. Scott constantly teases and outsmarts Cartman, leading Cartman to devise a cruel and elaborate plan for revenge. He uses a local chili cook-off as the setting for a scheme to deeply upset Scott.

Scott confidently enters the chili cook-off, believing his recipe will finally put an end to Cartman’s troublesome behavior. However, Cartman is one step ahead and convinces Scott to taste his chili first. Scott enjoys the flavor, but is horrified to discover a severed finger inside. Cartman then cruelly reveals the chili’s secret ingredient: Scott Tenorman’s own parents.

As a critic, I’ve seen a lot of villainous turns, but Eric Cartman’s transformation in that one episode… wow. It wasn’t just childish mischief anymore; it was a genuine leap into darkness. He went from being a frustratingly self-centered kid to someone capable of truly awful things, and it was all meticulously planned. While Cartman tormented plenty of people throughout the series, nothing ever hit quite as hard as his feud with Scott Tenorman. That rivalry? It was genuinely heartbreaking, and remains the most impactful of all his conflicts, in my opinion.

Scott Tenorman Must Die Is One of South Park’s Most Popular Episodes

The Episode Is Easily Considered the Best of Classic South Park

Many fans consider the fourth episode of South Park’s fifth season to be one of the show’s highlights. It features a wildly over-the-top and sometimes disturbing storyline, but Eric Cartman’s cheerful attitude makes it surprisingly funny. Despite being potentially shocking, the episode’s consistent humor makes it watchable. However, the animation style is key to making the more outrageous scenes work.

The South Park episode “Scott Tenorman Must Die” is widely considered a high point for the show. It’s what many fans and the creators themselves use as a benchmark for quality, and it’s often seen as the moment when the characters really came into their own. For Eric Cartman, this episode showcased a level of villainy so extreme it even worried the show’s depiction of the devil.

Some viewers are concerned that Cartman might become less of a troublemaker, similar to how the character Stewie from another show softened over time. But thankfully, Cartman’s mischievous behavior is essential to what makes the show funny and engaging. Many of the show’s key storylines wouldn’t exist without his bad behavior. In the end, the show relies on Cartman not being a good person, at least in the usual sense.

Recent Episodes Have Proven There’s No Going Back For Cartman’s Evil Antics

Cartman Has Only Grown Worse With Time

Ever since Cartman’s infamous chili incident with Scott Tenorman’s parents, his behavior has steadily declined. He now actively causes trouble and suffering just for his own amusement, moving beyond simple selfishness into outright sadism. Luckily, karma always seems to bring the mischievous fourth grader down to earth.

In episodes 200 and 201 of South Park, it’s revealed that Eric Cartman’s father is actually Jack Tenorman – the father of Scott Tenorman, the boy Cartman famously tormented. This means Cartman unknowingly turned Scott’s parents into chili and fed his own father to his half-brother. Surprisingly, this shocking reveal isn’t what bothers Cartman the most; he’s far more upset to discover he’s related to redheads.

Many viewers hold onto the idea that there’s still some goodness in Cartman, but he’s consistently demonstrated that isn’t true. He only cares about what benefits him and never learns from his mistakes. Luckily, his friends Stan, Kenny, and Kyle often counteract his bad behavior. While Cartman wasn’t always portrayed as purely evil, making the chili was a turning point. He’s never shown remorse, and seems to have no conscience. Though his actions in “Scott Tenorman Must Die” are notoriously awful, it remains to be seen if he’ll ever stoop to even lower depths.

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2026-01-24 23:35