#i’m trying. very hard to remain neutral and Trey centric rn

[victimized-martyr]

to what degree do you think Cartman will grow to be a better person?

According to Trey’s commentary in Tsst, it doesn’t take much: Discipline, a firm male figure in his life. And now, implied by the end of Pandemic Special and towards the end of P.C, time away from friends who enable him are the ingredients for a better Cartman.

As little as it takes for him to be grow, it’s also just as easy for him to regress. Liane giving in on one occasion reverted what was months of firm parenting. A stagnant Kyle in P.C spurred Cartman’s paranoia, and reverted him back to his scheming 10 year old ways. He thinks he’s being talked down to and self sabotages out of spite at the end of Future Me. I think also a contributor to his Cartman-ness is how South Park itself doesn’t let him stay good for long, meager as his attempts may be on occasion. He’s the adults’s scapegoat (Bass to Mouth) as well as the Kids’s (Good Times With Weapons). the kids encourage Cartman to retaliate against Pc principal instead of letting him accept detention, and they smash his things while he was sincerely attempting to be PC.

Anyways, Cartman’s demonstrated he can be good in PC— he’s the father he never had, a loving (perhaps overzealous) husband, embracing the religion he’s constantly belittled.

While it was one off gag in Future Me, Cartman was inspired by end of the episode to study and work at his appearance. His future-self was proof that if he really wanted to, he can turn his life around.

He has the capacity to come to to right conclusions, (“should I just apologize to my friends and ask them to take me back, and tell them I was being a selfish jerk? Admit I was wrong and ask for forgiveness?”) He just… doesn’t have the discipline nor the humility to do so. (“Nah, screw that! I’m just gonna keep being a fucking dick!”)

At this point, we’ve experienced both extremes of the spectrum of goodness Cartman lies— his worst as a homeless drunk, the bastard boob-job narcissist he is now, and his best as a self made millionaire, or a family man devoted to his faith, or the obedient little boy who does his homework before school and eats a gay ass grapefruit for breakfast.

It isn’t a question to what degree Cartman can be good, because he’s shown to be good in various ways. The question is whether Mattrey/ the town of South Park will allow him to realize his potential. Given the very recent circumstances of The Hot Dog… well, it remains to be seen.

#south park #why do i keep doubting if I answered the question right hfkfkfj is it just me #is it my wordiness and tendency to go off topic jfkfkf #I had a whole section of how Cartman’s growth is dependent on Kyle’s #and Kyle’s lack thereof in PC was enough to destroy 40 years of Cartman’s growth overnight #well that and… I don’t think PC Cartman ever got closure or ever reflected on his obsession with kyle #but i took it out bc it ended up becoming very Kyman-y hfkfjd #eric cartman #asks #He CAN be a super fit and mentally healthy millionaire and he CAN be a happy family-man rabbi #but I think Mattrey might put him somewhere in the middle #Maybe still a family man bc it’d resolve his whole drama w/ being fatherless and coming from a broken family #and Trey’s a bitch for happy endings #but also fucked up endings too so maybe he’s a loving family man that’s at the same time a scheming bastard jfkfkfj #firmly kept in check by whoever is insane enough to keep him in check #i’m trying. very hard to remain neutral and Trey centric rn