“You can’t do a prequel first,” says one of the characters in Wednesday’s episode of South Park, ‘Franchise Prequel.’ “Then it’s not a prequel. It’s just… first.”
This line is both a dig at the episode itself and part of the conflict that sets up the events of the upcoming game, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, which comes out on October 17 for PS4, PC, and Xbox One. If you want a little taste of Fractured But Whole before then, check out the episode, which also includes Jimmy’s superhero origin story, Facebook lies, and one confusing depiction of Mark Zuckerberg.
Or you can watch the pivotal scene right here. ‘Franchise Prequel’ ends with the declaration of a civil war between the Coon and Friends superhero gang and their new rivals, the Freedom Pals. The final scene is essentially the trailer we saw at E3 2016, setting us up for the video game. If you want to get ready for Fractured But Whole, this is all you need to see:
(In ‘Franchise Prequel’ there are a few tiny differences—for example, Coon now starts off with a Netflix series instead of a movie—but the gist is the same.)
I’ve been playing the new South Park game and will have much more to say in our review next week. It is, as you might expect, ridiculous.