Official Description

Mr. Hankey must defend his character or lose everything that is important to him. Mr. Hankey’s offensive behavior puts him in jeopardy of being fired as the Director of the Annual Christmas Pageant. Meanwhile, at South Park Elementary, Strong Woman and PC Principal face a whole new set of challenges in their relationship.

Full Description

The episode starts at City Hall where the City Council are having a meeting about funding. Mayor McDaniels tells everyone she plans to cut the budget of the Christmas pageant, and has called the director in to tell him the news. The mayor tells the director, who is revealed to be Mr. Hankey his budget is being halved, explaining that people find him offensive, upsetting him.

Mr. Hankey gets the South Park Elementary children to practice for the pageant, and is annoyed when they all seem to play terribly.

In the school corridor, PC Principal is walking to Strong Woman's office to ask if there is anything she wants to tell him. She angrily tells him she is fine, and berates him for trying to say it was his fault, saying that they can just move on. PC asks her if they can move on, or is there was any fallout, and she tells him to leave. After he leaves, she walks up to the mirror, to reveal she is pregnant.

Stan, Cartman and Kenny go to Kyle's house to confront Kyle. They show him a tweet Mr. Hankey made insulting the school band. Kyle goes off to berate Mr. Hankey, who is making costumes. Mr. Hankey blames his actions on Ambien, and tells Kyle he didn't mean it.

PC Principal and Strong Woman set up an assembly to discuss In Vitro Fertilization as a cover up for the real cause of Strong Woman's pregnancy. While speaking, Strong Woman starts to get pains, before her waters break in front of the whole school. She acts strong, like it's no big deal. The two then go to the hospital for Strong Woman to give birth. Strong Woman drives and is angry at PC Principal for trying to help, worried people will get the wrong idea.

The city council confront Mr. Hankey while he is setting up the stage, angry about his offensive tweet about them. Mr. Hankey tries to blame it on Ambien, but the council fire him from the pageant. He tries to find a lawyer to take his case, but they all reject him. After Gerald rejects him, he sits outside, ready to give up. Kyle comes up to comfort him, and Mr. Hankey realizes that, because Kyle has "lawyer blood" from his father, he can be his lawyer. Kyle accepts.

At Hells Pass Hospital, the doctor shows PC Principal Strong Woman's 5 babies. He tells them that the babies are all very PC. PC Principal asks if he can hold the babies, but the doctor forbids him, saying only the mother and father can hold the baby, and, according to Strong Woman, the father doesn't exist.

Kyle speaks to the boys at the Basketball Court to tell them about the hearing. He asks them to be witnesses, but the boys reject him, with Cartman warning him that protecting Mr. Hankey is a dangerous thing in 2018.

Back at the hospital, PC Principal goes to speak to Strong Woman. She snaps at him again for suggesting he took advantage of her, and PC Principal tells her he will pretend to be the male nanny. The babies are then brought in, and are upset by the doctor's "Speedy Gonzales" shirt.

At the Mr. Hankey hearing, Mr. Hankey tries to convince everyone that these tweets shouldn't matter, because Christmas is coming. The judge reads out a tweet Hankey made about the mayor, causing Mr. Hankey to flip out with anger.

Kyle and Mr. Hankey discuss the trial at Denny’s after. Craig's Gang stare at Kyle, angry for trying to help Mr. Hankey. Mr. Hankey blames the tweet on Ambien, and then comes up with an idea to bring back the holiday spirit. Kyle reluctantly agrees, only if Mr. Hankey doesn't take any more Ambien.

PC Principal and Strong Woman are struggling to hide their PC babies from the public, with townspeople fascinated by the babies. In the park, the town is distracted from the babies by a Christmas live show by Kyle and Mr. Hankey. The town are initially impressed and happy because of the show, until Mr. Hankey accidentally upsets the PC babies. He eventually snaps because of their crying. Kyle comes to try and calm him down, and the two start fighting, with the town walking away.

Kyle walks down the street alone, covered in shit. Everyone hates him for helping Mr. Hankey. Mr. Hankey then tries to apologize, blaming his actions on Ambien, but Kyle walks away. He tries to persuade him to stay by telling him they're going to throw him out of town, but Kyle, not wanting to be thrown out too, leaves him.

PC Principal and Strong Woman tuck the babies into bed in Strong Woman's office. They walk out and tell each other that the babies must remain hidden, and must never know PC Principal is their father.

On Main Street, the town watch Mr. Hankey leave, sad to see him go. Mr. Hankey says goodbye and is then driven away in a Lyft (or a "pooper"). Stan asks where he will go, so Randy explains that he's going to a place that doesn't care about bigotry and hate.

Mr. Hankey arrives in Springfield, home of The Simpsons. He is welcomed by Bart Simpson and Apu. The town celebrate his arrival, and the episode ends with the hashtag #cancelthesimpsons.

Memorable Quotes

• " Kids, the song's called "Deck The Halls," not "Let's All Suck Balls."" (Mr. Hankey)
• "We can say I'm the manny. And if anyone has a problem with that, then they have a problem with gender biases, and they can take it up with me!" (PC Principal)
• "Sorry, I got the sniffles." (Mr. Hankey)
• "Why are people focusing on a few stupid words I said when Christmas is just around the corner?! It's like everyone's forgot about what Christmas means!" (Mr. Hankey)
• "No goodbyes, Hankey. You just need to go. We've already called you a Poober." Mayor Daniels

Characters

Notable Cameos

• A lot of kids make background appearances in this episode, but a special mention for Heidi Turner, who seems to have returned to her normal weight since her breakup with Cartman last season.

Character Debuts

• We meet a ton of new characters in this episode, from PC Principal and Vice Principal Strong Woman's five adorable children, to a number of new lawyers in town, some new nurses, and various townspeople.

The Simpsons

Costume Debuts

• A few familiar characters get new looks in this episode, like PC Principal and Vice Principal Strong Woman's special disguises in the park.

Locations

Location Debuts

Continuity Nods

• This is Mr. Hankey's first big role on the show since way back in season 4's "A Very Crappy Christmas", though he made a key appearance in "Red Sleigh Down", and some big cameos in "201", and "I Should Have Never Gone Zip-Lining".
• PC Principal and Vice Principal Strong Woman began their relationship last season in "SUPER HARD PCness".
  • The same doctor who appeared in that episode, examining PC Principal for the music in his ears and identifying it as evidence of his feelings for Strong Woman, appears again here to oversee their newborn babies in the nursery.
• The PC Babies all wear Oakleys, like not only their father, but his PC frat brothers, and briefly Ranndy; they signify their politically correct views.
• After three seasons primarily (but not exclusively) with Bill Keegan as the main anchor for the South Park local news, veteran anchor Tom Thompson makes a return.
• One of the shoppers at Food 4 Little complimenting the PC Babies is Mrs. Galtman, who appeared last season in "Holiday Special" as Pete Galtman's wife.
• Seen briefly in the background in music class, Heidi Turner has returned back to her normal weight since breaking up with Cartman, but she's still rockin' the stylish hat.
• After his status as a Christmas icon is revoked, Mr. Hankey is seen wearing his original Sailor hat once more at the end of the episode.
• Stan mentions Mr. Hankey helped the boys out "once, kind of" - probably a reference to his surprise appearance saving them in "I Should Have Never Gone Zip-Lining"... though he also helped the boys out at the end of "A Very Crappy Christmas".
• We met Mr. Hankey's wife and children, the nuggets, also way back in season 4's "A Very Crappy Christmas", and they had a decent role in South Park: The Stick of Truth, but it seems the years of discord among the family are finally over.

Behind the Scenes

Where Did The Idea Come From

Pop Culture References

The episode explores modern political correctness as the people of South Park turn against longtime recurring character Mr. Hankey, and Vice Principal Strong Woman and PC Principal deal with the fallout from their fling at the end of the previous season. These themes are also seen in the episode's references to the documentary The Problem with Apu, the cancellation of Roseanne after controversial tweets by the show's eponymous actress, and the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

• The title is a reference to the documentary film The Problem With Apu, which uses the character, Apu from The Simpsons to illustrate racial stereotyping.
• The male nurse at Hell's Pass Hospital is wearing a Speedy Gonzales shirt; for a brief period, Warner Bros. pulled Speedy Gonzales shorts from syndication when they were considered racist, but Mexican-American groups campaigned to bring him back, and he's been returned to his rightful place as a staple of the Looney Tunes ensemble since.

Shout Outs

Pwn'd

• The many references to Mr. Hankey taking Ambien and then tweeting "horrible, racist" things are a reference to comedian Roseanne Barr, creator and star of Roseanne , who took Ambien and famously used it to justify a particular tweet that was widely criticized as racist. Network executives had previously asked her not to tweet, much like Hankey, and she was ultimately fired.
• Mr. Hankey's hearing is based on the hearings surrounding Brett Kavanaugh, who had then been nominated for the United States Supreme Court by President Donald Trump but came under fire due to sexual misconduct allegations.
  • Mr. Waithouse, the criminal justice lawyer who questions Mr. Hankey, is visually inspired by Sheldon Whitehouse, the junior Senator from Rhode Island, who questioned Kavanaugh.
  • Mr. Hankey's lines about how the whole thing is a "sham" and part of a "smear campaign" against him are lifted from Kavanaugh's comments during his hearing.
• Mayor McDaniels calls for a 'Poober', which Mr. Hankey disappointedly realizes moments later is only a Lyft.

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

• In the baby aisle at Food 4 Little, various brand names are substituted, most notably Pampers diapers to Pompers. There are also Nuzzies (instead of Huggies) and Gurbur products (instead of Gerber) as wel as Hearts (instead of Luvs)
• When Strong Woman's water breaks during the school assembly, almost every child in the crowd is horrified... but Terrance Mephesto looks pretty pissed off!

Errors and Goofs

• Previous episodes indicated Mr. Hankey could only come out from the sewers around Christmas time or he would dry out within a short amount of time, particularly in "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" when the sewer ecosystem was ruined, but he proves able to last a lot longer after being fed Chef's trademark snack. This isn't addressed in the episode directly.
• Mr. Hankey's job as the planner for the Christmas pageant is initially under threat, but he's later fired as the 'Executive Planning Manager of the City Council'.

Season 22

e1 Dead Kids

e2 A Boy and a Priest

e3 The Problem With a Poo

e4 Tegridy Farms

e5 The Scoots

e6 Time To Get Cereal

e7 Nobody Got Cereal

e8 Buddha Box

e9 Unfulfilled

e10 Bike Parade