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A horrifying White House haunting complicates Trump’s renovation plans, while Stan laments the state of the world – and South Park – in a spooky, self-aware entry.
“The truth is, I just think a lot of people are afraid to admit that South Park sucks now…”
Halloween episodes have been a South Park staple as early as the show’s first season when a zombie/pink eye outbreak overtook the town Ever since, South Park’s Halloween episodes have been some of their strongest and silliest installments, the likes of which are never afraid to embrace gonzo ideas like guest appearances from Korn or a Streisand-infused Spooky Vision border (I was actually a little remiss that “The Woman in the Hat” wasn’t presented in some Kristi Noem-inspired Spooky Vision variation). South Park hasn’t done a Halloween episode every season, but it’s a tradition that always leads to something special.
“The Woman in the Hat” starts strong with an exceptional premise where the White House East Wing’s demolition triggers paranormal activity that terrorizes Trump and his Cabinet. Unfortunately, “The Woman in the Hat” has all the right ingredients, but it amounts to a half-baked seance that doesn’t summon anything spectacular. It’s not the season’s best entry, but there’s still plenty to appreciate in this supernaturally-charged story for the Halloween season.
South Park has rarely struggled when it comes to drawing surreal parallels between its alternate version of the world and what’s actually going on in reality. This season hasn’t held back regarding Trump’s second Presidential term, incorporating a whole cabal of wicked GOP figures, including self-proclaimed Antichrist expert, Peter Thiel. The episode creates tension within Trump’s inner circle as Vance and Thiel take on the role of evil(er) interlopers who are at odds with everyone else regarding the Antichrist’s birth. It’s a case where the broader story beats connect, but it’s the specifics that fall short. The whole “brown noser” angle with Pam Bondi is pretty toothless and uninspired in comparison to this season’s takedown of everyone else.
“Rectoplasm” is also a gag that’s well beneath South Park at this point, especially in an episode that’s meant to be making a point about standards and storytelling.
To this point, it feels a little lazy to turn Melania Trump into the titular “Woman in the Hat” – a Conjuring-esque entity – in a season that’s been full of creative ideas and subversions. Maybe this idea will evolve over the course of the season’s final three episodes, but there’s not enough going on with it here. What’s the joke even supposed to be? That Melania looks ghoulish and that Trump is afraid of her? That’s so void of personality and perspective. There’s so much more that could be done with their relationship, rather than what feels like a first draft take that was meant to be built upon. The White House haunting bears some fun fruit, like a duo of paranormal investigators who are meant to be Ed and Lorraine Warren stand-ins. This culminates in a big seance spectacle that’s rather superfluous and unfulfilling outside of a great Epstein joke. An eventual schism between Vance and Trump is imminent, but South Park isn’t yet ready to pull the trigger on this plot twist.
Juxtaposed with this heinous White House haunting is a self-aware B-story that’s a direct response to not just Trump, but this entire season of South Park’s direction. Stan begins to worry that South Park has become too political, which is perfect meta-commentary for South Park to be engaging in during the tail-end of what’s arguably been its most politically-minded and topical season. Engaging in this level of discussion is a great release valve for the episode’s main story, which is as political as it gets. There have been plenty of discussions this year on exactly what Stan laments. South Park has transformed into this intimidating “ripped from the headlines” totem that’s sometimes more interested in satirizing the times and responding to this call to action, rather than simply telling funny stories about a bunch of four kids in a sleepy Colorado town.
This schism is nothing new for South Park, and it’s not as if the series suddenly decided to become politically-minded with its storytelling. This has been a part of the DNA from South Park’s start, which is why this level of commentary often feels so natural. The series has boldly shifted its storytelling structure and character dynamics for years now in order for Trey Parker and Matt Stone to still find joy in the series and not just go through the motions. “The Woman in the Hat” directly addresses how long it’s been since Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman have actually had something important to do and not just been some vestigial limb to a series that’s perhaps evolved beyond them.
It’s a valid argument that South Park has gotten too political and lost sight of the dynamics that initially made audiences fall in love with the series. However, there’d be more weight to this attack if it were being launched during South Park’s 20th season, when it first attempted to tackle Trump through Mr. Garrison and derailed itself for several seasons. It’s harder to agree with Stan when this season’s political parody has creatively rejuvenated the series and led to some of its best and most inspired work in years. It’s an interesting gambit for South Park to launch this debate during a time when more eyes are on it than ever. If anything, it feels like Parker and Stone want to get back to just telling dumb stories with the kids, yet they can’t deny how much they’re killing it here. As dumb as it may sound, they’re doing something bigger and more important with this season of television.
Stan’s desperate scenario – a flailing attempt to do anything and gain some sense of control – scratches the surface of something very genuine for South Park’s audience. It’s jarring to see South Park pivot this story in such a generic direction that only reinforces what Stan was raging against. This is the point of all this, but it still needs to be entertaining at the end of the day. “The Woman in the Hat” makes its point abundantly clear. It’s just not an especially satisfying way to satirize Stan’s apathy. Stan’s quick turn to a crypto rugpull scam is certainly timely and authentic, but it’s a direction that doesn’t really make any sense for Stan. This soulless crypto storyline, if anything, underscores why it’s important for South Park to remain politically minded if this is what the boys are getting up to in 2025. It pleads for Stan and the audience to power through all this and believe that this season’s energy won’t necessarily define South Park’s future and be its new normal.
Despite this South Park episode’s many misgivings, the episode goes out on a chilling note that rivals season 15’s “You’re Getting Old.” Kyle pushes a message of optimism and reinforces how positivity is important now more than ever, which is definitely true. However, “The Woman in the Hat” creates a free-floating malaise, a purgatory of apathy, that rivals The Shining’s iconic ending. This episode’s final moments and the last shot that it lingers on might be some of South Park’s bleakest storytelling. There’s a heaviness to this episode and the world that almost seems too much for Parker and Stone to rise above. “The Woman in the Hat” is a flawed South Park episode and one of the weaker entries as far as Halloween episodes are concerned, but that ending hits hard and feels like something so much bigger. It’s a chilling funhouse reflection of reality that shines so brightly the mirror shatters. South Park still has to give birth to an Antichrist, but it already feels like Hell is on Earth for Stan and friends.
“The Woman in the Hat” is now streaming on Paramount+.
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