Tolkien Black? South Park Reveals & Fixes Token's Real Name

Warning: Spoilers for South Park season 25, episode 2.

South Park season 25 has dropped a serious reveal — Token Black, a long-standing character on the series, has been named Tolkien Black the entire time. South Park season 25 episode 2, "The Big Fix," changes South Park lore that is over 20 years old while simultaneously satirizing its own past mistakes. The animated series has never strayed from political commentary in the past, and South Park season 25 is already proving it's no different.

When Randy Marsh realizes their family has "no Black friends," he decides to invite Stan's friend Token and his family over for dinner in an effort to make his marijuana business more diverse. During dinner, it is revealed that Token's name is really Tolkien, after The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. While Randy tries to rope dad Steve Black into his marijuana business, Stan attempts to cope with the possibility that he might be racist as he discovers he is the only one among the South Park crew — even Cartman — who thought their friend's name was Token.

Since it was revealed in South Park season 2, Token Black's name served to play on the trope of the "token Black" character — a character that is typically introduced as a form of performative diversity — as he was the only Black child in the town of South Park. After more than 20 years, South Park season 25 suddenly turns the joke back around on itself for believing his name was actually Token. "The Big Fix" even breaks the fourth wall to drive the joke home, as Stan's pediatrician looks into the camera and demands to know if "anyone else" had "really thought a couple of Black people had a child and named him Token." This shift in blame acknowledges South Park's past mistakes in an intriguing yet funny way, simultaneously acknowledging that the series knows the choice was problematic and moving South Park into the present day.

When a show is on the air as long as South Park has been, there are bound to be pieces of the show that don't translate well as the show ages, especially when those choices were questionable from the start. Instead of doubling down on past decisions, the episode pokes fun at itself in a way only South Park can while satirizing the phenomenon of performative allyship. Stan's efforts to "help" Tolkien wind up being more about assuaging his own guilt than anything else, and actually end up excluding Tolkien from the conversation altogether. Randy only commodifies his new business partner, attempting to turn Steve Black into the "token Black guy" of Tegridy Farms. While Stan and Tolkien eventually reach an understanding by the end of the episode, Randy and Steve prepare for what seems to be an all-out war.

With the season 25 episode, South Park retcons this past controversy and its humor in a meta way. The chastising delivered to the audience via the doctor's fourth-wall break is really directed at the show's creators, who obviously did name the character Token Black back in South Park season 2. While retconning can't undo some of the series' questionable past decisions and controversies, South Park has at least proven it isn't above pointing out its own mistakes.

Next: South Park's Mr Mackey Voice Backlash Explained (Is It A New Actor?)

South Park releases new episodes every Wednesday on Comedy Central.