Yes, there’s some glorious absurdity to be found in the early years, but it’s also fairly simplistic compared to what the show would one day become. That being said, it also feels a little bare-bones in retrospect. It doesn’t seem shocking now (not when considering all the far-more-offensive shows that have appeared since South Park debuted), but it was unlike anything that had been on television before. The show had an immediately identifiable hook: adorable 8-year-olds who spoke like the most vulgar adults. Because the show captivated audiences so quickly, nobody seemed to notice how underdeveloped it was (the same also holds true for the first season of The Simpsons ). South Park is the second most influential adult cartoon of all time, trailing only The Simpsons, and much like that show, it got popular pretty much out of the gate, quickly evolving into a phenomenon.

With that in mind, let’s consider how South Park changed over the years by looking at the five distinct eras of the show’s two decades on the air. In the time since then, the animated comedy about four foul-mouthed boys from Colorado has been a consistent presence in the public conscience, evolving from a show that drew audiences due to its shock humor to one of the most important satirical voices in America. Cartman’s actions in the original timeline of South Park show that it wouldn’t be impossible for him to change for the better, but it doesn’t change the fact that every terrible thing he’s done made his new fate a well-deserved one.This Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of the first episode of South Park.

That being said, despite the implications in South Park: Post Covid, Cartman’s newfound faith and love for his family appeared to be completely genuine, and he even helped Stan and Kyle change the timeline in the end, despite knowing that it could, and evidently did, separate him from his family. Post Covid: The Return of Covid showed that Kyle wasn’t wrong to doubt Cartman’s change of heart, as he spends most of the special plotting to kill Kyle in the past, thus proving that he was still the same monster he was as a child deep down inside. As such, a future where he’s finally pushed his friends too far and doesn’t even have anyone to offend is more than appropriate. This revelation arguably comes across as a little bittersweet, as it's implied that Cartman’s life in the original timeline wasn’t completely an act.

South Park's Cartman has spent the entirety of the show doing one horrible thing after another and has never shown any remorse for being a self-centered, racist sociopath willing to ruin lives for the pettiest of reasons. Cartman’s fate in the new timeline is one that much better reflects on the kind of person he was throughout the core series.

Eric cartman voice change