Episode 34b: Frankendoodle (2024)

“Hooray! I’m not a criminal by association!”

Recommended by: @ladycupid

Synopsis: SpongeBob gets himself into a mess after joining one of the toughest gangs in town.

It was a long, cold month. Not a single review posted by spongebob-reviewed.tumblr.com. Was she dead? Were we never going to see the overall score of popular animated children’s show SpongeBob SquarePants?

Nah, she was just distracted. Call it a hiatus, I suppose. Yeah, I know I said“Walking the Plankton” was supposed to be next… but I can’t keep a promise. And I’m not on vacation anymore. I haven’t for like, a month. But I suppose it’s time to get back to reviewing, no?

SUMMARY:

This episode begins at the Krusty Krab at night, with SpongeBob preparing to clean the place up. He decides to put on some tunes, and begins showing some impressive moves, when a car containing“The Sharks” shows up. They look at SpongeBob, and are impressed by him and his moves. The Sharks are actually pretty goofy characters, playing with some of the tropes you’d expect from those greaser gangs, and they provide some entertaining dialogue throughout the scene, especially Donnie. SpongeBob walks outside, where the Sharks are impressed by his skills. They invite him into their gang, where SpongeBob joins simply for the leather jacket, and his love for making new friends.

The Sharks take off, and drive through town. We see the townsfolk scared by them, and their reactions are in such a cartoony way that they are pretty dang funny. We see a group of girls run around, tangling themselves in a jumprope, a fruit salesman filling their car with fruit. They drive to the Howlin’ Marlin, only to discover they are banned, due to wrecking the place a while back. The Sharks are disappointed, only then to be encountered by their rivals, the Pods. The Pods challenge them to a showdown, but the police show up and attempt to break it up. However, the Sharks are determined to keep it running, scaring SpongeBob.

SpongeBob runs home, worrying he will be a criminal by association by showing up to the showdown. He panics, as he fears the consequences, until he discovers a ransom note. He learns the Sharks have taken Gary, so SpongeBob decides it’s time to prepare for the showdown. He prepares himself with black hair-dye and two spatulas. He walks down to the showdown, joining the other Sharks, and preparing to face the Pods. He walks up to them and announces he’s ready to fight. Squidward turns around, revealing himself to be one of the Pods, and SpongeBob realizes how unprepared he is to fight. Squidward, however, announces they are simply both dance troupes, confusing SpongeBob.

The Sharks reveal that the girls who were screaming were simply their fans, who always scream and faint around them. The fruit vendor was a man who simply wanted to make sure the Sharks stayed healthy, the Howlin’ Marlin banned them for wrecking the place because one of the members, Jonnie, messed up a stunt, crashing to the ground, and they were simply giving Gary a ride because he was their DJ. SpongeBob is relieved that he is not a criminal by association. This scene gives a goofy tie-in before the ending of the episode, since as nonsensical as it is, it allows everything beforehand to make perfect sense with its strange ending.

The Sharks begin to perform their dance, which impresses the Pods, but the Pods try to strike back with an even more impressive dance, when the cops show up. The cops remind both gangs that it’s their turf, and reveal they are dancers as well, when Internal Affairs shows up. Internal Affairs is also revealed to be a group of dancers, much to the Sharks’ disappointment. No one beats the Internal Affairs. Except for SpongeBob. He performs a dance similar to the one at the start of the episode, and wins the trophy, saving the rec center. (”What rec center?” Squidward proclaims.) And everyone’s a winner! (”I didn’t win anything!” Squidward continues.) This scene manages to do a good job finishing off the episode with the silly, yet impressively animated dance sequences, and over all helps the episode stand out a little more, serving as a satisfying conclusion to this overall entertaining episode.

RECAP:

THE GOOD:

• The Sharks are entertaining characters, with funny dialogue, visual gags with toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and even hairdryers in the style of those combs greasers use. What are those called?
  
• Manages to use entertaining reactions to the Sharks, and brings new light on them for an even more entertaining ending.
• Story works well, having you wonder how SpongeBob will solve each problem he’s faced with.
• Manages to have very entertaining ending, with dance sequences that allow for fair amounts of comedy, alongside some impressive animation.
• Characters, particularly Squidward, are given entertaining lines regarding the situation.

THE BAD:

• A little slow to start, but the beginning is still filled with fun gags that help balance it out.
  
• A few scenes could feel funnier, though overall the episode is mostly consistent with having good comedy.

VERDICT:

“Sharks vs. Pods” is definitely one of the many gems produced in the“Season 9B” era. With plenty of good humor, an entertaining story with hilarious characters, and overall keeping up the comedy while still having fun with the story and greaser theme, this is a recent episode I’d easily be willing to recommend to someone looking for good episodes in the latest season. Go ahead and watch its sister episode,“CopyBob DittoPants” as well, which is just as funny, if not, funnier. Really, this is one episode that you should definitely check out if you have the time.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

THE SIDE-NOTES:

• If you’re a fan of some of the older episodes, you’re in for a treat as well! This episode has many fun references to old episodes you can take the time to spot out, even rewatching it, I found things I hadn’t noticed before. For a list, try to find references to“No Weenies Allowed,”“SpongeBob Meets the Strangler,”“Help Wanted,”“Procrastination,” and“Mid-Life Crustacean.”
  
• I know that this isn’t the first time they’ve done a greaser plot, but personally, I think this is their best take on it.
• Speaking of greaser plots,“What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?” is still going to be my next infamous review! We have a couple more episodes to get through beforehand, however! So hang on tight!

<<PREVIOUS REVIEW: MOONCATION
NEXT REVIEW: PROFESSOR SQUIDWARD>>

“Hibernation must mean the opposite of beauty sleep.”

Synopsis: SpongeBob and Patrick play in the snow, while trying to avoid angering a hibernating Sandy.

This episode begins with SpongeBob and Patrick rushing to Sandy’s treedome, excited to see her, only to notice it is heavily guarded. They step inside, where a TV explains that she is hibernating for the winter, and wishes that SpongeBob and Patrick don’t disturb her during this time. Patrick, however, goes inside, revealing her treedome is filled with snow. Patrick discovers they don’t need their helmets, since the snow is much like water itself, until they hear Sandy. They walk up to her, and find that she is huge, and dreaming of Texas outlaws.

SpongeBob and Patrick have fun messing with Sandy, until they catch her half awake, when she starts causing trouble. She prepares to beat them up, only to quickly start dozing off again. They want to make sure she stays asleep while they are playing, so they create a pair of earmuffs from Patrick’s bellybutton lint. Afterwards, they test out the earmuffs, which work pretty effectively. Afterwards, they start running outside, pretending to be“Dirty Dan” and“Pinhead Larry”.

As they continue their games, however, they awaken Sandy, who is quick to rush outside, and throw Patrick, who she believes is Dirty Dan, across the room. She then chases SpongeBob, or Pinhead Larry, as the claims, and smashes him into the ground alongside Patrick. Overnight, they end up under graves, and want to escape, only to discover the door is frozen shut.

The two stand next to each other, frozen, wondering how Sandy is able to stay so warm during the winter. SpongeBob realizes she has a thick coat of fur, and tries to walk up to her. However, afraid of Sandy hurting them, he tries to be careful, only taking individual strands at a time. Patrick, gets fed up, however, and gets out some duct tape, and starts tearing off all her fur, as she constantly lets out loud roars.

The two walk out covered in Sandy’s fur, ready to survive the winter, only for the snow to suddenly stop falling, and all the snow on the ground melts. Sandy wakes up ready for spring, as they rush to the door, which is still frozen shut. She walks up to SpongeBob and Patrick, surprised to see them, only to realize they have stolen all of her fur. She then as them protect her, as she enjoys lemonade in the lovely spring weather.

THE GOOD:

This episode has bursts of funny moments, where there’s a bit where they move the plot forwards, followed by moments filled to the brim with great gags. This episode takes a handful of minutes to get started, but once it gets rolling, it does pretty well. Hibernating Sandy is actually a pretty hilarious character, and how she believes that SpongeBob and Patrick are Texan outlaws is some pretty funny stuff. Seeing SpongeBob and Patrick trying to enjoy the weather, while still staying safe from the sleeping squirrel, makes for a hilarious episode of this show.

THE BAD:
I don’t really have a complaint of this episode, aside from the pacing. As I said, the humor arrives in bursts, where one bit will be funny, while the next isn’t, but otherwise, this episode is pretty good from start to finish.

THE SIDENOTES:

• How do SpongeBob and Patrick breathe even after all the snow melts?
  
• I’d choose to be Dirty Dan.
• Still not sure what I’m reviewing next. It’ll be one of those big infamous episodes, but which one is a completely different question.
• It was a close call between an 8 and 9 out of 10, but since I’m typically generous with my reviews, I’m gonna go with a 9.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

“We’re not talking about some dumb mail fraud scheme or a hijacking here. We stole a balloon!”

Recommended by: @alisechaffins

Synopsis: SpongeBob and Patrick end up living like criminals after stealing a balloon.

The episode begins with Mr. Krabs watching a TV show about a criminal crab stealing another crab’s shell. The police catch the criminal and put him in jail. Mr. Krabs goes on to rant about how terrible stealing is, and that everyone who steals should be punished for life. SpongeBob however, points out that he seems to have stolen the barrel he’s sitting on. And a towel from the Sizzling Spring Sauna, a Bikini Bell phone, and Sandy’s hedge clippers, and Plankton’s lawnmower, and Mrs. Puff’s hair curlers. Mr. Krabs points out he borrowed it all, and it doesn’t matter what you borrow so long as you give it back before they notice. He then pushes them out of the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob and Patrick wonder what they should do, when Patrick points out that he wants a balloon.

Patrick tries to see if he has money, but he is broke. He asks if SpongeBob can help, but SpongeBob is broke as well. SpongeBob wonders if they could borrow money from Squidward, but Patrick realizes they could just borrow the balloon! Patrick and SpongeBob take the balloon and run into downtown Bikini Bottom, preparing to have a great day with the balloon. Just then, however, it pops. Realizing they can’t fix it, they find themselves as thieves, and try to act natural so no one notices. It goes about as well as you’d expect, as they pull in a large crowd. They try running away, but only encounter the balloon man, who points out it’s Free Balloon Day. SpongeBob and Patrick don’t notice as they run away.

They look over the city, noting how they can never go back, and bring nothing but what they can carry over their backs. Patrick tries to carry his rock, but SpongeBob says they’ll have to carry lighter. Without anything but the clothes on their back, they walk into the unknown. They are gathered around a fire, where they can at least stay warm. However, Patrick points out that if they are underwater, there shouldn’t even be a fire! SpongeBob then points out all the things that they won’t be able to have, since they are now felons. They end up crying, but SpongeBob notes how it can’t be all bad, since they at least have each other, and there are in fact many advantages to being a felon, namely that if you’re a felon, you don’t have to return anything you borrow. They decide being a felon is a good thing.

Patrick, however, is still hungry, but SpongeBob has a solution.“Rectangles!” Patrick shouts, but SpongeBob points out they are even better than rectangles, they’re candy bars! Patrick eats his right away, but forgets he did, and tries to look for his. He notices SpongeBob still has a candy bar, and thinks he stole it. SpongeBob points out Patrick already ate his, but Patrick believes SpongeBob is lying, since once you’re a thief, you’re always a thief. SpongeBob offers part of his bar, but Patrick still thinks that the candy bar is his. SpongeBob decides to torture Patrick with eating the candy bar as slowly as possible. Patrick has enough, and decides he’s going to tell on SpongeBob.

SpongeBob chases Patrick through the desert, as they run off to the Bikini Bottom Police Station. Officer Rob looks at SpongeBob and Patrick as they incoherently babble about their crimes, and asks what he can do. They then both confess they stole a balloon. Officer Rob consults Officer John on what to do. They lock SpongeBob and Patrick in jail. For two seconds. Then they open the cell. SpongeBob and Patrick are still worried, but the officers bring up that it was free balloon day, and offer lollipops for the ride home. SpongeBob and Patrick prepare to put their lollipops together, but Patrick already ate his. Patrick, once again, is convinced someone else stole it from him.

THE GOOD:

“Life of Crime” is filled to the brim with good humor. The quote at the top of this post pretty much summarizes one of the big things that make this episode so funny: they treat stealing a balloon as some horrible heinous crime, when in reality, it’s Free Balloon Day, and no one would probably care anyway. Other great moments are“Buns and thighs”, the“Rectangles” sequence (”All we have to do is make them last for the rest of our lives!”), and the two seconds SpongeBob and Patrick spend in jail. Really,“Life of Crime” is filled with many memorable moments, and is overall a great episode of the show.

THE BAD:

Not too much is wrong with“Life of Crime”. The jokes feel like they could hit harder, but as a whole, the episode does really well.“Life of Crime” is an episode anyone looking for a good SpongeBob episode should check out.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

THE SIDE-NOTES:

• Told you I promised this one next.
  
• My next review should be of“Bummer Vacation” from Season 4, due to a request I received.

“That’s a lot of [dolphin chirp] bad words!”

Synopsis: SpongeBob and Patrick learn a swear word.

The episode begins at night, when Mr. Krabs is having SpongeBob take out the trash. SpongeBob walks to the dumpster, only to read a few phrases. Eventually, he notices one with a word he’s never seen before, which Patrick quickly teaches SpongeBob is a“sentence enhancer”. SpongeBob and Patrick quickly start repeating the word, having a fun time.

The next day, SpongeBob enters the Krusty Krab, now with expanded vocabulary. All the customers are surprised to hear such foul language, and abandon the restaurant, which Mr. Krabs is soon to notice. Squidward tells Mr. Krabs that SpongeBob and Patrick had learned a new word, which Mr. Krabs proceeds to tell them is a bad word. One of thirteen bad words (as long as you’re a sailor)! He then makes them vow to never say it again.

SpongeBob and Patrick then try to enjoy a nice game of Eels and Escalators, however, while Patrick constantly gets Escalators, SpongeBob keeps getting Eels. When SpongeBob loses, he gets fed up with rage, and screams the bad word at the top of his lungs. Patrick proceeds to run to the Krusty Krab, ready to tell Mr. Krabs.

While they’re running down the road, Patrick accidentally screams the profanity as well, giving SpongeBob an excuse to tell on Mr. Krabs. Once they both arrive at the Krusty Krab and tell Mr. Krabs, Mr. Krabs is ashamed of them, and prepares to punish them. However, when he stubs his toe on his rock, he proceeds to scream all thirteen profanities, in which SpongeBob and Patrick then decide they will tell Krabs’s mother.

They run to Betsy Krabs’s house, and start telling her about all the profanities they heard Mr. Krabs shout, only for Betsy to be extremely disappointed, making all three of them paint the house. However, Betsy stubs her toe on a rock, but her swear is censored out by Old Man Jenkins’ jalopy. Though this has me asking.

If the sound effects are used to replace swears

and everyone believed Betsy Krabs was swearing

does Old Man Jenkins have a jalopy that constantly shouts profanities?

Either way, this episode is an instant classic, and is actually one that gets funnier the older you are. This episode is popular amongst most SpongeBob fans, and for good reasons too! It’s a [foghorn] funny episode! The premise is simply golden, and all the creative ways they censor out the swears with sea noises is pretty hilarious, making it so even if you aren’t using your imagination, it’s still a funny episode.

Of course, there’s no harm in using your imagination just to find out what the [dolphin chirp] SpongeBob and Patrick are saying.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

“Hi, SpongeBob. I’m going to kick your butt.”

Recommended by: @thorntail02

Synopsis: SpongeBob tries to avoid the new school bully.

The episode begins at Mrs. Puff’s Boating school. Most of the students are tired, until they are woken up by a constant snapping sound. They look over, and see it’s SpongeBob, trying to rearrange his pencils. Mrs. Puff walks in, introducing the a new student, Flatts the Flounder. He says he likes to kick people’s butts. He takes a seat next to SpongeBob and claims he’s going to kick his butt. SpongeBob laughs it off, until Flatts reveals for sure that he means it, in which SpongeBob is frightened.

SpongeBob thinks to himself in the restroom, where he is approached by Flatts. He tries to tell a story to calm Flatts down, but only ends up having him claim he’ll kick SpongeBob’s butt twice as hard. SpongeBob picks up the phone, only to reach Patrick. At first he tries to get counseling from Patrick, but Patrick soon reveals that Flatts was actually an old friend of his from community college.

SpongeBob runs to Mrs. Puff, and tries to ask for help. He fears Flatts will kick his butt, outraging Mrs. Puff, who says that in the class they should behave like adults, and never resort to violent behavior. At lunch, SpongeBob meets back up with Mrs. Puff, who claims that it’s just his way of saying that he wants to be friends, though Flatts’ behaviors in the background clearly reveal it isn’t true. SpongeBob runs over to Flatts’ father, and tries to ask, but after Flatts finds out about the conversation, Flatts’ father gets worried that his butt is going to get kicked too.

SpongeBob tries running away, and speaks of trying to run away to a new town, only to be encountered by Flatts in a garbage truck. However, as a banana peel slips out of the truck, it spins out and gets flipped upside-down, injuring Flatts in the process. Flatts, in the hospital, sees SpongeBob trying to help him out, and claims that he will remember that moment for the rest of his life. Especially when he kicks SpongeBob’s butt.

SpongeBob goes running home, trying to consult Gary for help. However, when Flatts kicks down the door, SpongeBob decides he’ll have to take the harm himself. He prepares for the beatdown, only to realize Flatts’ punches are completely ineffective, since he’s a sponge. He then lives his life as he normally would, only with Flatts punching him constantly. Eventually, back at Boating School, Flatts becomes tired, and faints. Mrs. Puff walks in, seeing SpongeBob with his fist up due to a speech he was giving, and Flatts laying on the floor, and claims she’ll have to kick SpongeBob’s butt.

THE GOOD:

This episode, like most good episodes of SpongeBob, is really funny. As well as that, it has a good story, and Flatts proves to be a pretty funny character. All the build-up in the episode is pretty funny, especially with all the different gags that are pulled. Plus it’s one of the few Boating School episodes without any focus on SpongeBob trying to get his driver’s license! (The other two I can think of are“New Student Starfish” and“Ditchin’”. It’s always kinda nice to see one of these episodes focus on something other than boating, since admittedly, there are only so many ways to do a boating school plot.

THE BAD:

Not too much is going wrong here, though I will say, a few gags could probably hit a little harder, if it is going to warrant a 10/10. Still,“The Bully” is an incredibly funny, and memorable episode of SpongeBob.

THE SIDE-NOTES:

• Hey, it’s Biff Tannen from Back to the Future! Hi, Biff!
  
• Flatts actually appeared a few times before this, in“Texas” and“Sandy’s Rocket”, but this is his first, and currently, only major appearance.
• Gonna focus on Seasons 3 and 6 for my next few reviews, since I don’t have many episodes from those two seasons. Might do some Season 1 as well.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

“It’s like there’s a thumbprint of happiness on my aorta.”

Synopsis: SpongeBob loses the use of his thumbs.

Alright, I’ve mentioned this episode twice now in my“big bad” reviews, so let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

This episode begins at SpongeBob’s house, where he and Patrick are doing a thumb war. SpongeBob wins the fight, and they place their fingerprints on a treaty, stating they shall never fight again. SpongeBob then gives Patrick a thumbs up, to make him feel better. SpongeBob realizes how nice thumbs up feel, and decides he will use this tactic at work.

SpongeBob goes to work, and gives thumbs up to all his customers to make them feel good.“It’s like there’s a thumbprint of happiness on my aorta,” an Angry Jack lookalike says. He proceeds to give Squidward thumbs up, and after finishing his shift, walks out into town, to make more people feel better. First he confronts Sandy, who appreciates the thumbs up, but worries that they may lose their meaning, or even worse, lead to him losing the use of his thumbs, but he doesn’t mind, as he gives out another thumbs up to a man looking for directions to Goo Lagoon.

Afterwards, SpongeBob hands out a few more thumbs up to some people in town, who are starting to get confused as to why he’s doing it, until the inevitable happens: he breaks his thumbs. He ends up in the hospital, where Dr. Manfish tells him he may never be able to use his thumbs again. SpongeBob tries to go to work, but can’t utilize the spatula without his thumbs. Patrick then takes his place as fry cook, as SpongeBob walks into the open world.

A musical number about thumbs plays, as SpongeBob looks around town, seeing all the uses people have for their thumbs. SpongeBob gradually becomes depressed and lonely, and moves inside his house, only talking to people as they walk by. Sandy comes in telling SpongeBob he has more to live for, but SpongeBob isn’t sure if he can make it with his horribly mangled thumbs. Sandy leaves, and SpongeBob finally decides he has to take action.

We get a montage of SpongeBob trying to get his thumbs back in shape, by doing workout routines with them, playing video games, and breaking them free from their bandages. He walks up to Patrick, ripping up the treaty from earlier on in the episode, and declares another thumb war. As the two fight, Patrick slowly gains a clear advantage, but SpongeBob tries to avoid giving up, receiving encouragement from all the people in the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob wins the fight, and wins his job back. Patrick is simply fine with it - he hated working anyway. SpongeBob and Patrick then exchange thumbs ups, and the episode ends.

This is an interesting, and pretty damn funny episode of the show. I love how it sort of plays with the drama elements, despite it being a not-so-serious issue, while, unlike certain other episodes, it is made clear that it is joking. I’ve brought up this episode a few times in the past about being a better version of“The Splinter” and“Face Freeze” (both of which at the time, have 1/10), and while it does have its similarities to previous episodes, it feels like it has enough of its own to get a good score. Contrary to the episode’s name, this episode gets two thumbs up.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

“Thanks. I’m gonna go look for one so I can stop mooching off my friends and they can get back to their lives!”

Synopsis: SpongeBob has to take care of Squidward after he quits his job at the Krusty Krab.

This episode begins at the Krusty Krab, after closing time, when everyone is counting their work, when Mr. Krab notices something strange about his profits. His first dime has gone missing! He blames Squidward, who sits at the cash register all the time, who denies taking Mr. Krabs’s dime. Squidward then quits his job at the Krusty Krab so he can go become famous. SpongeBob claims that if Squidward isn’t doing well, he can come stay with him.

The scene cuts to Squidward, now homeless, living on the side of the street. SpongeBob confronts him, asking him how he’s been. He learns Squidward’s life has been going nowhere, as he signs away the cardboard box he’s been living in. He remarks about how we couldn’t sell his paintings, so he ate them. SpongeBob then asks if Squidward wants to live with him until he can get a job. At first Squidward finds SpongeBob too kind, but SpongeBob doesn’t seem to mind.

The next morning, Squidward wakes up to breakfast in bed, as SpongeBob tries to treat him well. SpongeBob asks if there is anything else he could do to make Squidward feel better, and while at first he denies, eventually he decides for a little bit of help from SpongeBob. We get a montage of SpongeBob helping out Squidward. SpongeBob admits that it’s hard work to take care of Squidward, but he’s glad to help him out.

That is, until Squidward has stayed for so long, that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one. Squidward starts acting nearly abusive towards SpongeBob, forcing him to wear a maid outfit and do his every will, criticizing him if he even messes up in the slightest. SpongeBob starts ranting about how Squidward needs a job, spelling it out in alphabet soup, giving him the job listings in the newspaper, and replacing his favorite show with a cheesy puppet program about jobs.

Squidward, still denying a job, makes SpongeBob snap. SpongeBob pushes his bed all the way to the Krusty Krab, and yells at Mr. Krabs to re-hire him, giving him all the dimes he has to offer, but Mr. Krabs still denies, since none of them are his first dime. Eventually, SpongeBob starts shaking Mr. Krabs, until a large, stone wheel falls out of his pants.

His first dime.

Mr. Krabs, happy to be reunited with his dime, lets Squidward take his job back. However, he starts to inquire Squidward about why he misplaced Mr. Krabs’s dime, in which Squidward starts denying again. As the argument trails on, SpongeBob puts back on the maid outfit.

This episode is seriously funny. How it cuts through time to show drastic changes in how everything is, from Squidward claiming he’ll be a star to hardly being able to afford living on the streets, from SpongeBob calmly pampering Squidward to snapping at him to get a job, this whole episode is filled to the brim with great jokes. Mr. Krabs’s first dime being a huge stone wheel is hilarious, “I’ve been in business a long time, boy,” he claims. This episode hits all the right marks of good things in a SpongeBob episode.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

Episode recommended by: @jurassic-marsh

Welcome to the very first episode of Every Episode of SpongeBob Reviewed! Today we will be reviewing the Season 4 episode “Krusty Towers”.

Synopsis: Mr. Krabs transforms the Krusty Krab into a hotel.

Alright, right off the bat, this is a good episode. It has a creative premise, and hits all the right notes with it. In this episode, Mr. Krabs transforms the Krusty Krab into a hotel after going on a vacation, only to discover how high the bills for the hotel were,“Twenty-five dollars for a burger!” Of course, Mr. Krabs, realizing the opportunity, makes the Krusty Krab into a hotel, despite the fact that, as Squidward puts it, is in the middle of“scenic nowhere”.

It goes about as well as you’d expect. They have a customer walk in, asking for a Krabby Patty, only for Mr. Krabs to explain the rules of the hotel. The customer quickly walks away, noting he only has an hour for lunch. Squidward snobbily replies, only to be put at the head of the hotel itself, in which no one other than Patrick shows up. It goes about as well as you’d expect, for a hotel with the motto“We shall never deny a guest, even the most ridiculous request.”

Eventually, Squidward gets fed up with Patrick’s antics, and quits, only to visit the hotel itself, and torture Mr. Krabs in return, asking for him to eat a Krabby Patty with cheese, toenails, and nosehairs (but it’s not really that. They were all out of cheese), to redecorate the room until it’s just how it started, and to move the swimming pool indoors.

Overall, it is a really funny episode, which makes good use of the characters for their humor. A largely gag-based episode, much like most of SpongeBob, the episode seems to work well with call-back gags, such as the reason they were out of cheese being that Patrick had rented a room full of cheese earlier on, and Patrick’s line of“That was a hotel?” towards the end. (Of course, the funniest part of the episode was neither of those, but rather, the rather dark“laundry in the trunk” gag. You have to see that one for yourself.)

Truly, I can’t think of many points where this episodes suffer. It’s an overall solid episode from start to finish, while it may not be SpongeBob’s best episode, it’s still definitely one you should check out.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

“Butter invent a different game?”

Synopsis: Patrick invents a board game.

The episode begins with SpongeBob and Patrick playing a round of“Certified Public Accountant”, what appears to be a parody of Monopoly. However, they do not understand the rules, much to Squidward’s annoyance. Squidward eventually tells Patrick that people have to invent games after he made a statement about the game not being ripe enough, so Patrick decides to invent a game of his own. Squidward sarcastically wishes him the best of luck, as Patrick is on his way.

Patrick shows up to the Krusty Krab, presenting his new game: Tic-Tac. It’s a simpler version of Tic-Tac-Toe, which only utilizes a 2x2 grid. However, when Squidward realizes the person who goes first always wins, Patrick tries again. Patrick then invents a new game called“Rock, Paper, Butter”, followed up by another game called“Whose Rope is Longer?”. None of them go well with Squidward, so Patrick asks Sandy for advice. Sandy tells Patrick that he should attempt making a game from the elements of many other games he enjoys, so Patrick gets to work making the Frankenstein’s monster of board games.

SpongeBob, Squidward, and Sandy walk over to Patrick’s rock, ready to test out his new game. Squidward, expectedly, doesn’t have high hopes for it, especially when he hears Patrick hasn’t come up with a name yet. Squidward quickly decides the order of players, after getting fed up with Patrick’s complicated system of deciding who will go first. Squidward watches the other people play, and is quickly befuddled by the rules, especially once he ends up in jail. (The only way to get out of jail is to roll a 6, but you can’t roll in jail.)

The game continues, only for Squidward to end up more fed up with the game. Luckily, Patrick changes the rules so Squidward can get out of jail if someone else says his name. After a few more rounds, Squidward gets fed up with the game and tries to leave, but after everyone declares his name, he gets out of jail and suddenly wants to play more. However, he gets annoyed, as he quickly ends up in jail again, and complains about how random Patrick’s game is, jumping from one point to another, and walks outside.

Outside, they continue the game, pulling cards with nonsensical rules, declaring they all giggle, or all make silly faces. Squidward, noting how Patrick constantly made up rules, tries making up a rule himself, and declares himself the automatic winner, but Patrick writes another rule to repeal Squidward’s rule, and he gets so fed up, he destroys the board. For destruction of another person’s property, he ends up in jail.

THE GOOD:

This episode is seriously funny. I can’t exactly put my finger on what makes this episode so funny, but the jokes throughout this episode hit just about every mark, and never do the characters feel too overbearing. While Squidward’s snarking is a bit mean-spirited, he receives comeuppances for it, and at the same time, it remains pretty entertaining. Really, this may be one of the funniest episodes after the movie, and is able to show that Hillenburg’s return to SpongeBob may be one of the best things to happen to the wiki in a long time.

THE BAD:

I will admit, the plot of this episode was pretty weak. I know, SpongeBob is a primarily gag-based show, and that as far as this episode goes, it does very well with gags. However, I feel like there could just be a little more of a push, that could give this episode that final point it’s missing out on.

THE SIDE-NOTES:

• While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a board game focused plot on SpongeBob (see“Arrgh!”), I feel like this episode was unique enough to avoid the clause of“we’ve already seen this before”. Besides, it’s not like the time we had three“Plankton disguises himself as X character to steal the formula” episodes in ONE SEASON.
  
• And this episode was already done with“Imitation Krabs”!
• But I will say, I try to avoid using“we’ve seen this before” as a way to take off points in my reviews. It’s why people still find The Simpsons entertaining! Because they haven’t seen the first nine seasons, where just about everything was done.
• “Butter invent a different game.” That pun is so awful. And I love bad puns! So I don’t mind at all.
• The ending for this episode isn’t the most solid of the series, but Squidward’s line of“Somebody shout my name!” is pretty hilarious as he gets sent off to real jail.
• Thus-far, this is probably my favorite post-movie episode.
• See? I told you I was ditching the every-five-episodes rule.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10