Original air date: 11/24/1999
When Cartman makes a bet with Stan and Kyle that the South wins the Civil War, he tries to change the re-enactment by leading the Confederate army as General Lee.
"The Red Badge of Gayness" contains examples of:
- All Drummers Are Animals: At least Cartman thinks so. When assuming the role of the drummer boy for the reenactment, rather than beat a proper marching rhythm like he's supposed to, Cartman instead wails maniacally on the instrument while screaming like a rock starCartman: Hey, you can't just 'hit' a drum, you have to beat the shit out of it.
- Bland-Name Product: The alcohol sponsor Jagermins is a spoof of Jägermeister.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: When Stan notes that they killed Kenny, Grandpa Marsh shouts "You bastards!" Kyle calls him out on it.
- Chromosome Casting: After the previous episode's production, Mary Kay Bergman, committed suicide. Parker and Stone, still in shock, did not feel like auditioning people right away, which is why this episode features no female voices (Parker voices the S'mores Schnapps Lady and the schoolteacher in Topeka, and Kenny's mother Carol appears with no speaking parts).
- Continuity Nod: The Visitors' home planet is seen, as well as Starvin' Marvin's new home, Marklar, when Kyle rips Cartman's beard off.
- Fabricated Blackmail: Cartman tells Bill Clinton that if the demands of the Confederates are not met, he will be forced to release the tapes he has of the president with Marisa Tomei. Clinton says he must give in even though Cartman made the whole thing up.
- Hey, That's My Line!:
- Hollywood Blanks: The Confederates weapons are props from a reenactment, so they only shoot blanks. This is still enough to conquer cities, as one man notes that the blanks hurt!
- Lampshade Wearing: When the soldiers get drunk again, Ned is seen wearing a lampshade.
- Loophole Abuse: Cartman makes a bet with Kyle and Stan that he will be their slave if the Union wins a Civil War re-enactment, and they will be his slaves if the Confederacy wins. Cartman promptly derails the re-enactment by convincing the Confederate re-enactors to re-enact and win the entire war. Kyle and Stan are able to win at the last minute and begin ordering Cartman around. President Clinton however points out to them that the Union abolished slavery, so it is illegal for him to be their slave and promptly leaves.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: When Kyle rips the beard off of Cartman's costume, he screams so loudly that it can be heard all the way to the planet Marklar (which is in another galaxy altogether).
- Noodle Incident: Courtney Love got trapped somewhere for several days and was forced to eat her own feces.
- Parody Episode: The episode parodies Gettysburg, which Parker and Stone disliked.
- Running Gag:
- Cartman saying and writing how much he hates Stan and Kyle.
- Cartman changing the end of words to "ah" like the Confederacah, Missourah and of course Authoritah.
- Take That!:
- Cartman doesn't need to conquer South Carolina, the entire state joins up on their own.
- Courtney Love was trapped somewhere and forced to eat her own feces for several days.
- An Aide to Bill Clinton says the gathering of the Confederacy is like the Million Man March, except there are actually a million people.
- Bill Clinton is ready to split the United States up over a blackmail threat of a sex tape (and Clinton's reputation as a womanizer was well established anyway). When he puts his hand on Stan's shoulder, he gets a curt "Don't touch me" in response. The last line of the episode has Kyle call Clinton a dick.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Kenny is torched by a warning flare shot by the National Guard. Grandpa Marsh beats Kyle to the "You bastards!" line.
- Vocal Evolution: This episode began the change in Cartman's voice, particularly during the bulk of the episode where he speaks using a Southern accent.
- Voiceover Letter: The letters sent by Cartman are heard in his voice.
- War Reenactors: Cartman not only leads the Confederate army to victory in the reenactment battle, but they managed to take Washington D.C. and almost forced Clinton to recognize Southern independence. Only the intervention of Stan and Kyle reenacting the South's surrender while dressed as Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis stops their coup.
- Xanatos Gambit: The stakes of the bet are that the loser(s) have to act as the winners' slaves. When he loses the bet, Cartman (successfully) argues that since the North won, slavery is abolished.
