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Recap / South Park S17 E4 "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers"

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Original air date: 10/23/2013

When Henrietta's parents send their daughter to a camp for troubled kids and comes back as an Emo, the other Goths team up with Mike and the Vampire Poser kids from "The Ungroundable" to get her back.


This episode contains examples of:

  • Abusive Parents: Parodied. Henrietta's friends are so appalled that her parents mislabeled her as Emo instead of Goth that they file a child abuse claim against them.
  • Actually Pretty Funny: The Gangsta Vamp was pretty amused when it turned out it was all a reality show.
  • All for Nothing: Firkle's reaction over betraying the Goths and Vamps over a reality show.
    Firkle: I turned traitor for no real reason?
  • Broken Pedestal: Edgar Allan Poe is the hero of all goths, vamps and presumably emo's sine they're all derived from his works, but when they summon his ghost they learn being the original means he has all of their annoying traits combined.
  • Candid Camera Prank: The whole plot turns out to be part of a prank show gag.
  • Comically Missing the Point: Herietta's mother takes Henrietta's Emo rage as an improvement, as she didn't call her a bitch and she "apologized".
  • Continuity Nod: The Goth Kids burning down the Vamp Kids' lair from "The Ungroundable" is mentioned.
  • A Day in the Limelight: The Goth Kids are the stars of this episode. Cartman only appears in the opening sequence and Stan, Kyle, and Kenny only appeared in the gym class sequence and had no lines.
  • Enemy Mine: The Goths are forced to team up with the Vampire Kids.
  • The Friend No One Likes: Even in a pretty effective Enemy Mine situation between the goths and the vamps, no one could stand the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe.
  • Gainax Ending: The whole thing ends up being a prank show gag.
  • Given Name Reveal: The other three Goth kids' names are revealed: the tall Goth is Michael, the red-haired Goth is Pete, and the kindergartner Goth is Firkle.
  • Heel–Face Brainwashing: All the Goths and Vampire Kids being sent to the facility are being turned Emo. Subverted at the end.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Most of the humor is derived from how the Goths, Vamp kids, and Emos are portrayed to be similar with the differences being subtle or just meaningless. Becomes even more explicit when Edgar Allan Poe is summoned and the Goths and Vamp kids become annoyed by his behavior, presumably in the same way normal kids would be annoyed by their behavior. We even get this line from Pete when Poe refuses to save them after being captured:
    Pete: God, he is such a downer!
  • I Am Not Pretty: When Henrietta becomes Emo, she whines about how she doesn't look as pretty or slim as a pretty cheerleader like her parents wanted. In the beginning of the episode, Henrietta even complains to her mother to not call her a "dark little princess", as she's not a beauty queen in a Disney movie.
  • Insistent Terminology: Emos think they themselves are messed up, while Goths think everyone who's not them is messed up.
  • Karma Houdini: While no one gets harmed, the TV execs who set up the prank and got the Goths and Vamps involved get no punishment.
  • Lower-Deck Episode: This episode focuses entirely on the Goth Kids. Stan and Kyle only make a short cameo playing dodgeball in the gym, and Cartman and Kenny only appear in the background of the opening.
  • The Mole: Firkle.
  • Non-Protagonist Resolver: Played for comedic effect. The episode focuses heavily on the Goth Kids, given a situation to save their friend, if not the whole world, from control of the Emos, going as far to team up with their enemies, The Vamp Kids. Together, they summon the spirit of their hero, Edgar Allen Poe who gets to take down the "Emo King". In the end, it turns out that it was ALL a prank show, and they were not EVEN the real targets of the prank at all, and the host of the show himself makes a cheap joke about the heroes their expense. Overall, a "Shaggy Dog" Story for everyone we followed up until the climax.
  • N-Word Privileges: The Gangsta Vamp is the only character to say the word on account of being black.
  • Puppeteer Parasite: Emos are actually plants that live off of human hosts. Subverted: it turned out to be a prank show set-up.
  • Rewatch Bonus: When they were planing to take down the Emo Kids, Firkle asks Pete that if he turns, he should kill him. This scene might count as Foreshadowing when it is reveal that Firkle HAS already turned and was a mole the whole time. Wanting to die IS something an Emo Kid would want.
  • Self-Harm: The Emo kids indulge in this.
  • Serious Business: Michael, Pete, and Firkle try to file a child abuse claim against Henrietta's parents because they confused her for an emo when she is actually a goth.
  • Sophisticated as Hell: Edgar Allan Poe speaking in Goth slang and just acting like a teenager in general.
  • Special Edition Title: A Goth version of the opening sequence is seen, complete with reworded lyrics. (The core four boys can even be seen in the distance at the end, presumably confused as to why the Goth Kids have taken their place in the intro.)
  • Token Minority: The Gangsta Vamp who appears at the Vamp Kids' meeting at the Community Center.
  • Voice of the Legion: Henrietta sports this when she reveals the Emo plan to take over the world after she came back from the troubled kids' camp and became an Emo.
    Henrietta: Join us!
  • You Are Fat: Henrietta's long-suffering and sweet mother's reaction to Henrietta being de-Emo-ed and insulting her?
    Mrs. Biggle: Fatty!

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