Okay, Thoughts On The Worldwide Privacy Tour:

Okay, thoughts on The Worldwide Privacy Tour:

This was a solid episode for Kyle’s character development and I really found myself being reminded of You’re Getting Old/Assburgers in the sense that Kyle, rather than Stan this time, is alienating his friends by being a downer. He’s not moping or feeling depressed, but he IS constantly bitching about stuff the other kids don’t want to hear about, and then when they tell him they don’t want to hear it, he promises to stop but immediately starts up again. I do feel bad for him, though, because Kyle has a long history of trying really hard to reach people only to have no one listen to him, especially in recent seasons when other characters have actively shut his speeches down. But at the same time, I know what it’s like to be that annoying friend and also to have that annoying friend… sometimes you just have to know when to shut up about stuff!

But whereas Stan just kind of accepts that people don’t want to be around him anymore and isolates even further, Kyle desperately tries to change himself to fit in again. This is very consistent with Kyle’s character, because historically he often goes out of his way to fit in and really lets other people’s perception of him impact his own sense of self. Butters, I think, stumbles upon this aspect of Kyle’s character accidentally and that’s why it was so easy for him to give the ol’ ‘Vic Chaos sales pitch’ about rebranding. I don’t think Butters intentionally manipulated Kyle, at least not with nefarious intentions, but I think he did see Kyle as an easy target, which he absolutely was.

The fact that Kyle so desperately wants people to like him but not really knowing how to go about it is so relatable. I loved his explanation of wanting his friends to think he’s more thick-skinned and “stronger mentally than I probably am”. He knows himself but he perceives his sensitivity as a flaw because he gets hung up on stuff and takes things too personally. His black t-shirt transformation was so cringey but that’s to be expected - like I said last week, Kyle has a large capacity for cringe! That locker leaning pose though…

Absolutely loved his final speech! “Look, we all have our faults - God knows I do” was a particularly good bit of voice acting. And the ending was super sweet, first with Kyle catching himself still caring what others think and then accepting Ike for who he is, and then with the other boys basically telling Kyle to go touch some grass in the nicest way possible. They were finally able to understand that there was something actually going on with Kyle that they could help with, but the best part is that Kyle had already solved his own problem! Sure he needs his friends too, but he was able to come to terms with himself on his own, which was great to see.

Stray observations:

Kyle saying “I’m not that outdoorsy” instead of denying being sensitive or a victim.

He WOULD call the police to file a noise complaint at 10:30pm.

“I’m carefree and unflappable!” says the LEAST carefree and unflappable person ever. But that’s the point.

Bebe continues to be my favorite girl. Butters has honestly had it coming for a while now.