What are the best TV shows to watch this Thanksgiving?

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South Park season 17 episode 7 — “Black Friday”

Confession time: I’m not a regular watcher of South Park. This episode, however, comes to mind every Thanksgiving, but not because it’s about Thanksgiving itself. What it really captures is the spirit of what comes after: Black Friday.

Black Friday, like Thanksgiving, is a thoroughly American tradition. Although many across the pond have tried to imitate it, none can match the intensity with which Americans approach the shopping fiesta.

The “Black Friday” episode of South Park successfully manages to not only convey this stranger-than-fiction madness but also parody one of the most famous TV shows of all time: Game of Thrones.

The local mall’s security guards become The Night’s Watch in this episode, with Stan’s dad joining up, ostensibly to make some extra cash in time for the holidays. To complete the Night’s Watch feel, the group is led by a wizened one-eyed security veteran who promised his wife this would be his last Black Friday, and features one of the best ‘haunting flashback’ parodies I’ve ever seen.

Cartman takes on the role of scheming Cersei Lannister, albeit in a wizard’s hat, as he plots to get a Xbox One on Black Friday. The fancy garden scenes in which he courts his allies are by far the best and provides the episode’s best running joke.

Take a moment also to think about the music in this episode, without which the pastiche wouldn’t be complete. It adds Game of Thrones gravitas to an episode that is literally about games consoles and the lengths people will go to to get a good deal.

Also the episode is worth watching alone for the quote “You can’t die! Everybody likes you!”, because does anything quite sum up Game of Thrones better than that?

After all, it’s pretty much what I sobbed after the Red Wedding.

Happy Thanksgiving — and here’s to watching these episodes.

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