The episode, which parodies support for Donald Trump among white middle-class Americans,[1] depicts the people of South Park as they deal with sightings of President Garrison that frighten their children, likening him to the antagonists of popular works of horror, including Stranger Things and the 2017 feature film adaptation It.
The episode's title is a reference to the icon used to denote films with low critical scores on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
President Garrison has been spotted repeatedly in South Park, frightening the young daughter of Bob White and his wife with his constant inquiries about his approval rating.
According to a local law enforcement official, Officer Bright, Garrison has become desperate and dangerous ever since he was given a "splatty tomato" approval rating.
In the aftermath of his attack upon Toronto with a nuclear bomb in the previous episode, which killed over a million Canadians, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demands that Garrison be handed over to Canada, a call to which the Canadian-born Ike Broflovski responds.
Randy and his neighbors search the woods, and when they find a campsite, they discover in the tent PC Principal and Strong Woman in bed together.
"[3] Joe Matar with Den of Geek gave the episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars rating, stating in his review "I don't usually find South Park laugh out loud funny these days and Season 21 has been mostly weak, so 'Splatty Tomato' was a nice surprise in that it was well-plotted, had some clever gags, and ended with a clear moral for Heidi, Cartman, and the Whites: 'if you always make yourself the victim, you can justify being awful.
Despite the show's reputation for reckless offensiveness, I would argue that South Park is one of the few voices of reason in the media landscape today.