 Prior to season six , Kenny died in almost every episode . The nature of the deaths were often gruesome and portrayed in a comically absurd fashion , and usually followed by Stan and Kyle respectively yelling " Oh my God ! They killed Kenny ! " and " You bastard ( s ) ! " . Shortly afterward , rats would commonly appear and begin picking at his corpse . In a following episode , Kenny would reappear alive and well , usually without any explanation . Most characters appear oblivious or indifferent to the phenomenon , although occasionally one will acknowledge an awareness of it . In " Cherokee Hair Tampons " , Kenny gets irritated and offended when Stan laments Kyle 's critical condition while utterly ignoring Kenny 's past demises . Eric Cartman commented on Kenny 's deaths in the episode " Cartmanland " , when he is being sued for unsafe rides insisting to attorneys representing his family that " Kenny dies all the time ! " 
