By Robert Scucci
| Published
One of the earliest examples of Trey Parker and Matt Stone exploring causality in South Park can be found in Season 3’s Meteor Shower Trilogy. While later multi-episode arcs lean on cliffhangers and resolutions, this three-part run hits differently.
Using non-linear storytelling, the Meteor Shower Trilogy presents the same night from multiple perspectives, all of which intersect flawlessly. “Cat Orgy,” “Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub,” and “Jewbilee” all work as standalone episodes, yet together they show how one character’s small choices ripple through South Park in unexpected ways.
Cartman’s Actions In “Cat Orgy” Set Everything In Motion
The Meteor Shower Trilogy opens with Cartman’s story in “Cat Orgy.” With his mom, Liane, at Mr. Mackey’s house for the meteor shower party, Cartman is stuck at home under the watch of Stan’s older sister, Shelley. When Shelley’s boyfriend, Skyler, shows up, Cartman’s night spirals, and he calls Liane to complain. She brushes him off, staying at the party.
“Cat Orgy” shines for introducing Skyler’s band and Cartman’s Wild Wild West fantasy with Polly Prissypants, Rumpertumskin, and “Artemis” Clyde Frog. True to the title, Cartman ultimately unleashes a clowder of cats on Skyler, giving him one of his earliest bizarre victories.
But Cartman makes a fatal mistake during his phone call to his mother, setting the rest of the trilogy in motion.
“Two Guys Naked In A Hot Tub” Sneakily Shows The Consequence
Back at Mackey’s party, Cartman’s phone call quietly changes the night for the worse in “Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub.” While the South Park adults experiment with substances and sexuality inside, ATF agents gather outside, convinced they’re investigating a Heaven’s Gate-style mass suicide during the meteor shower. When the lead agent can’t get through by phone, he assumes resistance and orders gunfire on the house.
If you’re watching closely, you’ll spot Liane on the phone in the background, linking the jammed line directly to Cartman’s phone call in “Cat Orgy.” That split-second misunderstanding leads to repeated ATF attacks on the party while the adults remain oblivious. Randy and Gerald are too busy processing their hot tub moment to notice, while Stan, Butters, Pip, and Dougie take it upon themselves to play Charlie’s Angels and stop the raid.
“Jewbilee” Ties It All Together
The Meteor Shower Trilogy closes with “Jewbilee,” following Kyle, Ike, and Kenny at a scout-like retreat run by Moses. Kenny, outed as non-Jewish, is banished but turns back after a change of heart.
On his way, he passes ATF vehicles racing through South Park to Mackey’s house, placing the camp storyline firmly in the same timeline as the party. The connective tissue becomes clear: Gerald and Sheila drop the boys off at camp before heading to Mackey’s party, where the raid is about to explode.
South Park’s Masterclass In Unintended Cause and Effect
The Meteor Shower Trilogy fully embodies Parker and Stone’s “Replace and with but and therefore” storytelling method, showing their instinct for worldbuilding without heavy exposition. Each episode stands on its own, but together they weave a much larger story through causality.
Long before serialized arcs became South Park’s bread and butter in later seasons, the Meteor Shower Trilogy revealed the creators’ ability to converge separate storylines into one night of chaos. A simple phone call in “Cat Orgy” leads to ATF gunfire in “Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub,” which frames the events of “Jewbilee.” It’s an early showcase of how Parker and Stone could expand their universe while still working under their brutal on-the-fly production schedule.
