Adventure Time Reviews: Season 5 (We Fixed a Truck/Apple Wedding)

This episode is exactly what it sounds like. It’s about fixing a truck.

Finn and Jake have found an old truck that doesn’t work, and they want to fix it but don’t know how. They call Banana Man, the one voiced by Weird Al and whose rocket and house were destroyed by Finn and Jake, because he apparently knows how to fix a truck. So they fix it, and Banana Man thinks that Finn and Jake will be his best friends forever but I’m willing to bet that doesn’t happen. They take the truck for a ride through the Candy Kingdom and see Princess Bubblegum being chased by a mob a Candy citizens who think she’s been replaced by a lizard monster. It turns out they’re right, as “Bubblegum” turns into a giant lizard and starts terrorizing the kingdom. The real Bubblegum comes out of a sewer while Finn, Jake and Banana Man defeat the monster, but the truck is destroyed in the process. They drove the truck toward the monster, using Banana Man’s peel to make the car spin faster because apparently it runs on Mario Kart logic, and then jumped out before the truck crashed into the monster. So the monster is defeated, the truck is destroyed, and Banana Man is arrested for being naked out in public.

Soooo… do you like trucks?

Okay, but seriously, this actually isn’t so bad for an episode that’s basically about nothing. There’s no narrative, really, it’s just them fixing a truck and random things happen, but it’s kind of fun? I probably wouldn’t watch it again but it was at least entertaining enough to make it worth watching once.

I know nothing about cars. If someone asks me what kind of car I would like, I’ll awkwardly say “a red one” and I won’t be able to say much more than that. Also I’m terrified of driving. So I can’t say whether or not what they’re doing/saying in this episode is accurate. Does anyone know if it is?

Rating: 6.5/10

This episode is about Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig getting married, and the weird things that threaten their wedding ceremony. One of them is Princess Bubblegum, who Tree Trunks says has “hijacked” the wedding, having planned most of it. Bubblegum expects to be conducting the ceremony itself, but Tree Trunks tells her that the King of Ooo will be doing this instead. I didn’t know there was a king of Ooo. Bubblegum is furious and calls him a fraud, then goes to investigate and find proof of her claim. Meanwhile, BMO is unfortunately stuck listening to the complaints of Wyatt, one of Tree Trunks’ bitter ex-husbands.

• Wyatt: Hey, did you know I used to be married to Tree Trunks?
• BMO: No!
• Wyatt: Heh, yeah… it’s just me and TT. We had some wild times back in the day. Did you know I once taught her to play tennis?
• BMO: No…
• Wyatt: Yep, tennis! I took her to one of those… uh… paddles… or whatever, you know!
• BMO: No.
• Wyatt: Yeah, she left me. She said I was stifling her spirit… I mean hehe… You know, what? Not enough tennis for ya?

Well, how can a lady resist a man who played tennis with her one time, amirite?

Also, Finn needs to stop LSP from coming to the wedding at all costs. It’s not specified why. LSP, you would be invited to my wedding for sure. Possibly as my bride.

As the ceremony starts, Bubblegum is snooping around in the King of Ooo’s blimp, and Finn encounters LSP.

• [Finn hears some rustling from the bushes and gets up.]
• Finn: Lumpy Space Princess? Is that you?
• Lumpy Space Princess: Let me go to this party…
• [A crow flies out, frightening Finn.]
• Finn: It’s not your party, LSP. [tries to find Lumpy Space Princess.]
• Lumpy Space Princess: Poor Finn. Don’t you know? [flies up from an old well. The wind blows the picnic mat off Lumpy Space Princess, revealing her in a wedding dress. After all, no wedding’s complete without wedding crashers…] Every party is my party.

Omg I freaking love LSP.

Honestly every single LSP line in this episode is gold and I would quote all of them but that would be annoying. Anyway, Bubblegum apparently does find some dirt on the King of Ooo in his blimp, and she crashes the ceremony. Quite literally, actually. She crashes the blimp into where the ceremony is held and basically ruins it. She reveals the King’s outdated marriage license and places him under arrest, only to find out that he has a renewed one right there with him. He asks her if she’s been looking through his stuff, and she nervously says this:

This might be my favorite Bubblegum line, honestly.

Tree Trunks stands up to Bubblegum, which results in all of them being sent to jail. Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig decide to simply have their ceremony in the cell, though the King refuses to do it. He tells Tree Trunks, “You can perform your own dang ceremony,” before escaping the cell. They realize that the King (whether intentionally or not) has given Tree Trunks permission to conduct the ceremony herself, and she does. Bubblegum, who is watching everything on a monitor, is so touched by this that she orders the guards to set everyone free. We end the episode with this:

• Tree Trunks: Looks like we got the whole place to ourselves… if you know what I’m saying.
• Mr Pig: Wait, d-don’t you think there might be cameras down here?
• Tree Trunks: I hope so…

Tree Trunks is so kinky.

All right, so, I actually enjoyed this episode, but I think it’s one of the not-so-popular ones? I’m not entirely sure because I don’t spend a ton of time in the AT fandom aside from looking at Bubbline fan art since I’m still trying in vain to avoid spoilers as much as possible. But I think I’ve heard/seen people express dislike for this one fairly often? Or at least, I’ve seen/heard a lot of dislike for Bubblegum in this episode. Which, um…

Yeah, let’s talk about Bubblegum for a minute.

I may have a tendency to get really defensive of Bubblegum, partly because she’s my favorite and partly because I’m always particularly defensive of female characters that I like. I won’t go into why that is right now, but let’s just say after being in fandoms for so many years I have good reason to be. Still, as much I love Bubblegum and as much as I always want to defend her, I do understand that she’s not a character everyone is going to like. I don’t think a character that’s universally liked even exists, for one thing, and I can see how Bubblegum in particular may be difficult to like for some people.

To be completely honest, though, Apple Wedding was the first episode where I thought, “Wow, Bubblegum is kind of an asshole.” It’s kind of funny, because it’s not like this is the first episode where she’s done something morally questionable or mean or anything like that. It’s just, in all of those other episodes I found it much easier to understand where she was coming from and sympathize. Even in Wizard Only, Fools. I always understood her and what her goal was (which was usually about the greater good), and while that doesn’t mean what she was doing was any less mean/wrong, I never thought “she’s an asshole”, you know what I mean?

This episode, though? Yeah, she’s being an ass here. She’s still my favorite, but what is up with her in this episode? As I’ve said I generally don’t have a problem with characters acting like jerks if it’s in character, and in fact it’s usually when I think they’re the most interesting, but I don’t really get why Bubblegum is acting this way here? I get that she dislikes the King of Ooo for being a fraud, whatever that means, and he does say some suspicious things during the ceremony. So that’s one thing, I guess. But why does she care so much about doing Tree Trunks’ ceremony? From what TT said early in the episode, Bubblegum basically took control over the wedding plans and TT didn’t seem happy about that. Does Bubblegum just like controlling things and being in charge? And why arrest everyone at the wedding? Is it because she doesn’t like being proven wrong and went overboard? It’s hard to say what I think of Bubblegum in this episode because I’m not sure what her deal is exactly.

Anyway, aside from all of that, I really liked this episode. I actually think it’s of the funnier episodes of this show. There are a lot of great lines and character moments that had me laughing (again, every LSP moment was gold), and it was just really well-written comedy.

Rating: 8.5/10

Adventure Time Reviews: Season 5 (One Last Job/Another Five More Short Graybles)

You know how Jake apparently used to be a criminal? Well, we find out a bit more about that in this episode. Jake receives a video from some unknown source, and it shows his daughter, Jake Jr., being held hostage somewhere. A mysterious figure in the video tells Jake that they know about his criminal past, and that he needs to get his old gang back together to steal something from the Candy Kingdom. What he needs to steal is something called the Baker’s Shard, the purest form of sugar.

So, Jake gathers up his old gang, all of whom still seem to be criminals. There’s Gareth, that creepy-looking one with the huge head and a face that sort of reminds me of Ricardio. He has the ability to hypnotize people. Next there are the Flying Lettuce Brothers, those two green ones. These guys are my favorite of Jake’s gang. They have the ability to perfectly imitate anyone’s voice after hearing a short sample of it. It’s pretty awesome. Last is Tiffany, the blond one, and he apparently doesn’t have any powers. He’s just very opinionated and has the voice of a four year-old. Anyway, when the group is together Jake lets them know what they’re going after and they think it’s impossible, but they agree to help him once they find out about Jake Jr.’s situation.

They head to the Candy Kingdom and put their plan into action. Gareth and the Flying Lettuce Brothers enter the control room. Gareth hypnotizes the two Banana Guards that are there and puts them to sleep, and then the FLB get on the intercom. Mimicking the Banana captain’s voice, they order the other Guards to go into the courtyard and scream as loud as they can. This way they won’t hear the explosion that Tiffany and Jake are setting off in the vault where the Shard is held. Once the vault is open, Tiffany, who knows the place well, tells Jake how to get to the Baker’s Shard. The vault is full of traps, but Jake makes it past all of them and reaches the Shard. He then hears the voice of Jake Jr.’s kidnapper inside the vault, telling Jake to throw the Shard to them. Jake does, but it’s then revealed that the voice was coming from the FLB. Jake’s old gang tricked him. The gang runs away, and Tiffany pulls the alarm so that Jake will be caught.

Jake chases after them, demanding to know where Jake Jr. is. He catches up to their van and discovers that Jake Jr. is the one driving it. That can’t be safe, she doesn’t have eyes. Jake wants to know why she tricked him, and she says that she had heard stories from Lady about Jake’s criminal past, and she wanted to impress him. Jake tells her that he’s realized his past crimes were wrong, and that he no longer does them. Jake Jr. apologizes and Jake forgives her, and the two walk off together while I wonder what happened to the gang and to the Baker’s Shard.

Well, this is an episode that I would just place in the “okay” category. It’s kind of too bad because I love the idea of meeting Jake’s old gang and of this show doing a heist episode, but I don’t know, it just felt really… blah.

I think there could have been a lot more creativity, in the heist itself and particularly with the gang. I found them and their designs really lackluster. Gareth at least had a cool power even if it’s not one that’s super original, but I just don’t like his design. The Flying Lettuce Brothers also had a great power and one that’s a bit more unique, and as I’ve said they were my favorite part of the episode. Even so, I wish their design had been more interesting. I wish they had all been more interesting, not just in design but in personality as well.

As for the heist itself, for something that they all thought would be impossible, they pulled it off really easily and with a very simplistic plan. I mean, I know the Banana Guards aren’t exactly known for being competent, but they made it sound like getting the Baker’s Shard was going to be a much bigger deal than it was.

There’s nothing bad about the episode per se, I just felt disappointed with it. I think it could have been more, but it seemed lazy. I did discover that Jake Jr. is voiced by Kristen Schaal, the same woman who voice Louise from Bob’s Burgers, though. So that’s a thing.

(As a side note that doesn’t really have to do with this episode, I’ve always wondered about the timeline concerning Jake’s “bad boy” past. Finn and Jake grew up together, right? So, was there just a period of a couple of years where Finn and Jake weren’t in contact, or was Finn just completely unaware that Jake was part of a gang of criminals?)

Rating: 4.5/10

More Graybles! This one is slightly different, since the theme is not told to us in the actual episode, but it appears to be about the stages of grief. Also, rather than going smoothly from one Grayble to another, they kind of just… keep interrupting each other. There’s one about Finn and Jake making a time machine for Jake Jr., who is nervous about the future. There’s another one about Princess Bubblegum forcing Cinnamon Bun to sleep without a nightlight so he can get over his fear of the dark. He gets hysterical with his nightlight taken away and destroys his own residence as well as multiple others trying to find “soft light”. Then there’s a Grayble with Ice King and the penguins voting on what they should watch on TV. There’s a really weird Grayble about the Lemongrabs where they’re playing with a doll and I guess they disagree on what that doll should be doing. They accidentally break the doll, which causes the original Lemongrab to scream, “ONLY ONE!” And then he eats Lemongrab 2. R.I.P, Lemongrab 2. I guess. I don’t even know what I just saw. The last Grayble is about Mr. Fox, alone is his house and seemingly depressed. Something weird happens, where Mr. Fox is able to see his sub-conscious and it draws him a treasure map, but it’s interrupted by Cinnamon Bun bursting through. We then go back to the first Grayble to see the conclusion of it. Jake Jr. is disinterested in the time machine, and BMO’s alarm is going off because of an intruder. It turns out to be Cinnamon Bun, and Jake Jr. gives him a new nightlight, so he leaves happily. And the time machine doesn’t actually work. The theme of each Grayble? Finn, Jake and Jr. are acceptance, Cinnamon Bun is denial, Ice King is bargaining, the Lemongrabs are anger, and Mr. Fox is depression. So the stages are in reverse order.

All right, another one these Graybles episodes. I’m starting to get a little tired of them, actually. Or at least, I’m starting to get tired of reviewing them. I’ve already said what I think about episodes like this, and there’s never a lot to say about each new one.

I guess I can talk a bit about each individual story. I really liked the overall theme of these Graybles, but I didn’t actually care for the stories themselves that much. Cinnamon Bun was incredibly annoying in this episode. Finn and Jake’s story didn’t do a whole lot for me, though I did enjoy Jake’s creative shape-shifting. Ice King’s story was pretty cute. And Lemongrab’s. Oh my God, Lemongrab’s.

When did Lemongrab become one of my favorite characters?! I hated him when he first showed up and now he cracks me up. I mean, I don’t think I’d want him in every episode but still, my feelings about this weirdo have done a complete one-eighty and I still don’t know how it happened.

Rating: 5/10

Adventure Time Reviews: Season 4 (Web Weirdos/Dream of Love)

This episode is about spiders, which both terrify and fascinate me. Finn and Jake get stuck in a web and these two giant spiders show up. The spiders are a married couple and they spend most of the episode arguing while Finn basically acts as their marriage counselor. At the end of the episode the wife tries to eat her husband in anger. So I guess she’s a black widow.

Oh, how I wish it was that Black Widow.

Anyway, suddenly her back bulb bursts, revealing an egg sac. The egg sac bursts open as well and thousands of little spiders shower down on everyone and this is literally my worst nightmare. The two spiders are happy that they’re parents and I guess their marital problems are solved? For the record, having children to save a marriage is a terrible idea.

Yeah, so, I didn’t really like this episode. To be honest, about halfway through I got really bored and started browsing Tumblr in another tab for a bit before I realized I should be paying attention to the episode. So that probably says a lot.

I did like that joke at the beginning about Finn’s fingernails. That was funny. And I also liked when the two bugs who were trapped in the web with Finn and Jake told the spiders that they should just break up for their own good. I don’t think we were supposed to agree with them, but I did agree with them. If you’re that unhappy in a relationship, just break up. It’s better for everyone involved. But I guess divorce is kind of a taboo subject on kid’s shows, or any show really, so we can’t have that even if it probably would be the better option.

Anyway, yeah, I think I’ll be skipping this episode on rewatches.

Rating: 3.5/10

Finn and Jake go to visit Tree Trunks in the hopes that she’ll make them some apple pie. When they arrive at her house, they find her with Mr. Pig, who we last saw in Apple Thief and who apparently never left Tree Trunks’ house. He confesses to Finn and Jake that he’s in love with Tree Trunks, and Finn convinces him to tell Tree Trunks that. He does, and she tells him she feels the same way. Finn and Jake decide to leave them alone for a while, but not before reminding Tree Trunks to bring some apple pie to Bubblegum’s concert later that day.

When Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig arrive for the concert empty-handed, Tree Trunks says that she was too distracted by Mr. Pig to bake any pies. Then she and Mr. Pig start making out, and everyone becomes disgusted by their PDA. Even Bubblegum says she’s too grossed out to continue her concert. For God’s sake, guys, it’s just some PDA. Grow the fuck up. I know I’m talking to sentient candy right now, but still. Finn tells Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig to keep their love private from now on and they agree to do so. Unfortunately, they’re really bad at it. It seems like everywhere Finn and Jake go, Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig are there making out. They even manage to get into a sandwich Finn was about to eat. How’d they do that? That’s kind of impressive. Anyway, Finn is fed up and tells Tree Trunks not to spend any more time with Mr. Pig unless they’re in her home. Tree Trunks argues that an unmarried couple living under the same roof is indecent (oh, please, why is everyone in Ooo such a prude? And wasn’t Mr. Pig already living with Tree Trunks anyway?). So Finn suggests that they get married, but Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig aren’t quite ready for that yet. Finn decides there’s no other option, he grabs Tree Trunks and Jake grabs Mr. Pig, and they take them far away from each other. But after seeing how miserable they are when separated, Finn and Jake decide that it’s wrong to keep them apart and they let them go. Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig reunite, and while most people are still disgusted Finn says that he thinks their relationship is nice.

I liked this one a bit more than Web Weirdos, but not much more. It has Tree Trunks in it, at least, and she’s always cute.

I liked the message of this episode, about how they shouldn’t have been forcing themselves into Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig’s business. Too many people make a big deal out of PDA, and to those people I say tough shit. If PDA makes you uncomfortable, I guess I get it, but it’s not your business to tell people how they should or shouldn’t show affection for each other. And while we’re on the subject, I also hate the “old people kissing is gross” mentality, which was probably the mentality that the characters in this episode had. If you’re disgusted by the idea of old people being affectionate or having sexuality, then I’m disgusted by you.

Now that that’s out of the way, this episode didn’t really work for me because it’s just kind of boring. There aren’t that many jokes and the attempt at the end to make me think Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig really need each other didn’t work because their relationship doesn’t do anything for me, at least not on that level. It’s a romance that works better played for laughs than trying to be genuine.

Rating: 5/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 Overview

Well, people were right. Season 8 was definitely an improvement over previous post-move seasons. The average score it got was 6.5, which is actually less than I was expecting (I was expecting at least a 7), but I did like this Season more than I liked the other seasons I reviewed. In fact, I like it about as much as I like Season 1. Mind you that’s still a lot less than I like Seasons 2 and 3, but it’s something.

Season 8 was an improvement in just about every aspect. Most of the characters have improved, the humor has improved, the writing has improved, and it’s more consistent than other post-movie seasons. One of the main things pre-movie has over post-movie, in my opinion, is consistency. It’s not that post-movie can’t be as good as pre-movie, it’s that it so often just… isn’t. And it’s really frustrating to see great episodes like Krusty Towers or Single Cell Anniversary surrounded by mediocre to just plain shitty episodes. It’s perfectly normal for even the best shows to have weaker episodes. It happens. I get it. Not every episode can be amazing no matter how talented the writers are. Of course they’re going to drop the ball every now and then. What’s important is for the show to have consistency with good episodes, for the weaker episodes to be the exception. That’s not how it is with post-movie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show as inconsistent as post-movie SpongeBob is. It’s kind of incredible how quickly it can go from great to mediocre to awful. It’s such a mixed bag that I can never decide if I feel positively about it or negatively. Even looking at post-movie as a whole and not episode by episode, there are so many aspects of it that I like and so many that I dislike. I love that they developed the relationship between Mr. Krabs and Plankton so much more, I adore what they’ve done with Karen, and I like that they’re generally more experimental and weird, even if it doesn’t always work in their favor. However, they clearly don’t have a good grasp on some of the characters, the writing tends to be lazy, the humor can be really mean-spirited, and the animation tends to be stiff.

But like I said, Season 8 is an improvement, mainly because it has more consistency. It does still stumble a lot, but for the most part it’s solid. There are a lot of funny, interesting, and well-written episodes. It’s a relief to see after the incredibly forgettable Season 5, the roller coaster that is Season 6 (which I still think it the most exemplary post-movie season, it’s pretty much the definition of “inconsistent”), and the very “meh” Season 7. And then there’s Season 4.

Okay, I need to say something about Season 4, and I’ll do it here because where else can I do it? I don’t think I was very fair to Season 4. Reading my old Season 4 reviews honestly makes me cringe because they’re so unnecessarily harsh (also, I think I’ve much improved as a reviewer since then, so there’s that too). A lot of the episodes that I was really critical of I’ve now come to appreciate a lot more, and while I still stand by some of what I said and I don’t think Season 4 comes to close to greatness overall, it is better than I gave it credit for. My post-movie bias is clear in those old reviews, but the thing is, I don’t think Season 4 ever really had a chance with me. It was at a disadvantage from the beginning, more so than any other post-movie season, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it’s the first post-movie season, so it’s before I got used to post-movies style and certain aspects of it. I got more lenient with later seasons, and some things stopped bothering me altogether (remember when I used to despise Scientist Sandy? Now I don’t mind it at all). Another thing is that Season 4 is the season that made me quit watching this show. I watched most of it as a kid and hated it so much that it turned me off what was my favorite show at the time. Now I’m not even sure why I had such an aversion to Season 4, let alone one strong enough to get me to quit on the show, but that doesn’t matter now. When I think about Season 4, all I can think about is how much it disappointed me and how it kept me away from this show for so long. It makes it hard for me to like Season 4 at all even though, objectively, it is a decent season and didn’t deserve as much vitrol as I gave it.

However, as embarrassing as those old reviews can be to read, I don’t regret them either. My reviews were never meant to be taken as recommendations or as representations of post-movie, I was doing them more for me than for anyone else (though I am glad that people are apparently enjoying them). This project was about my journey through post-movie, about rediscovering something I’d given up on and figuring out for myself what I liked and disliked about it. I wouldn’t change what I’ve written because it would feel dishonest, and I always try to be as honest as possible in my reviews. I kind of like that my Season 4 reviews are indicative of how much my opinions have grown and changed.

So, with that off my chest, back to Season 8. This season was kind of validating for me, because the majority of my complaints about post-movie were centered on the characters, and Season 8 fixed a lot of the problems I had with them. Well, okay, maybe it didn’t fix them completely, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but it is a good start. I actually found most of the characters consistently enjoyable, which is a good feeling after so many seasons where I liked one or two and had varying opinions of the others depending on the episode.

It’s pretty funny to me to think that back when I first started reviewing post-movie I thought Squidward and Mr. Krabs were mostly fine and I had a hard time liking SpongeBob in most episodes. Now it’s the other way around. I like SpongeBob again. He occasionally lapses back into being too oblivious or stupid, but it’s a lot more rare, and even when it does happen it’s not as annoying as it used to be (thought I’m not sure if that’s a sign of improvement or of me growing accustomed to it and therefore becoming more lenient). Anyway, I’m glad I can actually enjoy SpongeBob as a character again. I’m glad that he’s a lot closer to his sweet, funny, lovable self. I really disliked disliking him, if that makes sense.

Squidward actually didn’t appear in Season 8 as often as he usually does in a season, at least not in major roles. I’m actually okay with that, though, because Squidward has lost nearly all of his charm for me. I don’t like him much in recent seasons. It honestly pains me to type that, because even though I’ve mentioned before that Squidward is my favorite I don’t think I’ve ever really expanded much on my incredibly dorky admiration for this character which would probably be infinitely more embarrassing than my crush on Plankton. I still think of him as my favorite, because I choose to rank characters based on what they’re like when they’re at their best, but if I was to rank them based on what they’re like at this point in the show, Squidward would be waaaaay down on my list. And I hate that. I hate disliking Squidward even more than I hated disliking SpongeBob. I still want to like Squidward in post-movie, but it’s so hard to do when he’s become so unpleasant. That’s really the only word to describe him now. He’s just fucking unpleasant. The only emotions he ever shows anymore are anger, depression, and bitterness, and I know that these have always been part of Squidward’s character, but he was capable of having other emotions too. He had other qualities to balance him out. There’s no balance anymore, he’s just… uuuuugh. I’m probably exaggerating a little, he’s not always that bad, and how much I dislike the changes made to him probably has a lot to do with how much I liked him originally (something similar probably happened with SpongeBob as well). He does still have some good lines occasionally, and some episodes at the end of Season 8 did seem like they were at least trying to improve his character a little bit. I liked him in Squiditis, Hello Bikini Bottom, Chum Fricassee, and It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!, but those episodes have become exceptions. That’s not good. It should not be an exception for me to be able to enjoy or even tolerate my favorite character. It sucks, because I still want to like Squidward. I still want him to be able to make me laugh without fail. I still want him to be the one that I identify with to a point that’s actually kind of uncomfortable. I still want him to be the one who always seems to say what I’m thinking. I still want him to be the one who captures my interest more than anyone else on the show. I still want him to be the one my eyes are immediately drawn to because the simple fact that he’s present makes the episode that much better.

I should really stop talking about Squidward now because I just realized how utterly insane I sound. But I think I’ve made my point. While most characters have been improving lately, Squidward is deteriorating. Those few episodes I mentioned earlier portray him fairly well, but it’s not enough.

Patrick had his ups and downs for this season. In general I think I’d say he’s gotten a little better? I don’t know, Patrick didn’t actually leave much of an impression on me this season. It seemed like whenever he appeared in an episode it was to be a plot-device, or he was just kind of there and didn’t really contribute anything. I do have this vague feeling that I enjoyed Patrick a bit more than I did in other seasons, but maybe that’s because he had less opportunities to be annoying since he was mostly sidelined this season. Yeah, I don’t know, there’s never that much to say about Patrick, is there? I hate how every time I talk about Patrick it somehow ends up sounding like I want him to die in a ditch or something but I swear I don’t.

Mr. Krabs, thankfully, was much improved in Season 8 after two seasons of him being pretty terrible. It’s nice, because I love Mr. Krabs and wasn’t at all happy with the decline of his character in Seasons 6 and 7. Can I just take this opportunity to say that I think Mr. Krabs deserves much more credit then he gets? Seriously, he’s hilarious when he’s at his best, I don’t know why this goes unnoticed so often. Anyway, back to his representation in Season 8. I liked that Krabs seemed to be getting a lot of his humor back, and he also showed hints of his paternal side again.

Oh hey, Sandy actually had a good number of appearances this season! I’ve been asking for more Sandy since, what, Season 5? I’m glad it finally happened, and I liked most of her appearances in this season. I think this is Sandy’s best season since Season 2. That’s partly because this is the most appearances she’s had since Season 2, but also because, well, it just was a good season for her. She rarely felt like she was only a plot-device, she was allowed to be a character. She was allowed to show off her brainy side, her heroic side, her Texan side, and her athletic side. She was allowed to be funny, helpful, interesting, quirky, bad ass. She was allowed to be Sandy. I think Sandy had a lot to do with my enjoyment of Season 8. I’d missed her so much, I’m so happy she was given a decent amount of appereances. Not all of them were great, but a lot of them were, and at least she was given a chance to shine. Besides, this show is such a sausage fest, it would be nice if the few female characters it does have were given more development and bigger roles.

Is it me or did Plankton not get as many appearances this season as he did in other post-movie seasons? I mean, he still got more than he did in any pre-movie season, but it felt like less than other seasons. It’s probably for the best, since in Season 7 Plankton episodes started getting stale and derivative. The fact that they slowed down a little with Plankton episodes meant that the ones we did get had a bit more creativity and energy put into them, and it also meant that other characters (namely Sandy) got more attention. Anyway, for what we did get of Plankton, I really liked him, mostly because he felt like a villain again. I’ve always been satisfied with Plankton’s post-movie portrayal, especially compared to other characters, but there was something a little bit off about him. He had been starting to get too sympathetic. I mean, Plankton has always been pretty pathetic, it’s partly what makes him so funny, and I’m not against the writers trying to make us feel sorry for him, I’m all for sympathetic villains. The problem is I’m not sure if they were trying to make us feel sorry for him or not. I felt weird about pitying him and siding with him because I don’t think it’s what they were going for. It connects to how their portrayal of Mr. Krabs was getting too monstrous as well. Plankton was starting to seem like the lesser of two evils, which he’s not supposed to. Krabs isn’t exactly a saint, he is supposed to have a skewed sense of morality and he can make mistakes, again this is partly what made Krabs such a good character. But despite his flaws, he is ultimately a good person, or at the very least a better person than Plankton. Similarly, Plankton is allowed to have a few redeeming qualities, but he is ultimately supposed to be a villain. You know, the kind that delights in the pain and misery of others, enjoys manipulating others for his/her own ends, is exceptionally cruel and bitter, and has unrealistic goals of world domination. That’s who Plankton is, and I love him for it, but he’s not the sort of character I want to condone or side with. I didn’t like how Krabs and Plankton’s roles were kind of flipped around in post-movie. It didn’t feel right. Now it seems like Plankton is starting to become more like himself again, more diabolical and sadistic and villainous while still being funny and faceplam-worthy. Oh Plankton, never change.

In Season 7 I noticed that the writers seemed to be trying to develop Gary’s character a bit more and give him a bigger role on the show. I was expecting this to continue in Season 8, but it kind of didn’t. Episodes where Gary had a big role were few, and most of them were pretty standard Gary episodes. I don’t mind because though I like Gary there really isn’t that much you can do with him, but I was a little surprised since they seemed to put so much effort into getting Gary more involved in the show in Season 7. Well, anyway, Gary was… Gary. As usual there isn’t anything to complain about where he’s concerned because seriously how the fuck can you screw up Gary’s character? But at the same time, there aren’t that many compliments that can be given to him. He’s cute and I like having him around, and that’s kind of all I can say.

Now for minor characters. Karen got to star in her own episode, and it was a pretty good one, so that’s cool. I’m really glad Karen has gotten so much more development in post-movie, not just because she ended up being an amazing character, but because, well, remember what I said about this show being a sausage fest? Yeah. At least one female character has received more attention and development, and even though in a lot of ways Karen is really stereotypical, I think she’s a great character. She’s hilarious, she’s interesting, she’s entertaining, and she’s pretty faceted for a minor character. I could go on and on about Karen but I won’t because this post is already really long, but let it be known that Karen is probably my favorite character in post-movie. I actually like her much better in post-movie than I do in pre-movie, which I guess isn’t saying much because she didn’t have much presence in pre-movie, but still. She’s the only character who has actually improved, and that’s pretty cool. My love for her might have something to do with the fact that her humor and attitude are reminiscent of what Squidward used to be, but I don’t think that’s entirely the reason. They share similarities, but I don’t think of Karen as “the new Squidward”. She feels like a unique character on her own.

Oh yeah, I said I was going to stop talking about Karen, didn’t I? My bad. On to other minor characters. I really liked Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy’s appearances, and Pearl was more enjoyable than she usually is. You know, I actually don’t hate Pearl as much as I make it seem like I do. I don’t like her, but I don’t think she’s completely horrible and I think she has a few redeeming qualities. She can be sensible and willful, which are qualities I like, and she can be kind of funny. I think she has the potential to be a decent character if only they’d have her show these qualities more often instead of having her be just a walking teen stereotype. Anyway, Mrs. Puff was all right in her appearances, I liked how they really pushed her to her limits in Demolition Doofus, but I’m still not totally happy with her post-movie portrayal. Man Ray’s one appearance was disappointing, and did the Flying Dutchman appear at all? Oh, that’s right, he appeared in Ghoul Fools. Which was also disappointing. Hm. I don’t think Larry appeared did he? I guess this season was okay for minor characters, at least a couple of them were good. I’m sad that there was no Squilliam, though.

This is definitely way too long now and I’m starting to run out of steam anyway, so let’s wrap this up. I like Season 8. It’s not perfect, far from it, but it definitely feels like an improvement. Most of the characters are seeming more like themselves again and the writing in general has gotten better. I hope this continues in Season 9.

Season Rating: 6.5/10

Best Episode: Frozen Face-Off and It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!

Worst Episode: Squidward’s School For Grown-Ups and House Sittin’ For Sandy (I barely remember these episodes…)

Keep an eye out for my next post, which will be either tomorrow or the day after. It’ll be an important one.

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (The Good Krabby Name/Move It or Lose It/Hello Bikini Bottom)

It begins with Krabs taking pictures of everyone in Bikini Bottom who hasn’t been to the Krusty Krab, which is a little creepy, but let’s not dwell on that. Later he pulls SpongeBob and Squidward into his office and tells them that they need to bring in new customers with advertising. So SpongeBob goes out to advertise (Squidward has no fucks to give as usual) and is later joined by Patrick. And that’s pretty much the majority of the episode. SpongeBob and Patrick find silly and often dangerous ways of advertising that are surprisingly successful, until finally they manage to piss people off when one of their methods goes awry. Well, more awry than their previous ones, I guess. Anyway, angry customers storm the Krusty Krab and of course it ends up destroyed. Can that place ever catch a break?

This episode has an okay premise. It does feel a bit familiar, but it’s original enough. Can’t say I really enjoyed it much, though. I found it rather dull. There are a few funny bits, but nothing that really stands out. Except maybe that one brilliant scene between Mr. Krabs and the last customer needed that looked oddly suggestive. Y’all know what I’m talking about.

I did find it kind of amusing that despite their terrible methods of advertising the Bikini Bottomites couldn’t help being drawn to the Krusty Krab. And Plankton’s cameo was kind of funny too. However, I don’t think the episode as a whole has much worth writing home about.

Rating: 4/10

A notice is put up in between the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket, saying that the restaurants are too close together. Apparently there’s a law about restaurants needing to be a hundred feet from each other, and the Krusty Krab and Chum Bucket are ninety-nine feet from each other. If one of them doesn’t move, one of them will get plowed. Mr. Krab and Plankton are both too stubborn to move, so they start gathering signatures for petitions to let their restaurant be the one to stay. At first it appears that Krabs is winning, but SpongeBob overhears Plankton crying and feels bad, so he lets slip some ideas for how Plankton can get more signatures. Basically Plankton pays people for them, and he ends up getting more, so the Krusty Krab has to be plowed. And by “plowed” I mean it gets pushed one foot away from the Chum Bucket, meeting the requirements.

I was hoping to like this episode more than I did, since I really like it when characters are pitted against each other for an episode. But like its partner, this episode was pretty forgettable. I like it a little more than I liked its partner, but not much more. The ending was really predictable, and I was kind of annoyed at how the whole plot basically came about because of poor communication (the man who left them the notice wasn’t clear about what he meant when he said one of them would be getting plowed). I don’t know, I’m not a fan of plots that rely on characters not being able to communicate properly and tell each other what they actually mean, and while this definitely wasn’t as annoying as most plots like this can be (if anything, it’s probably one of the better examples of this type of plot), I still couldn’t help rolling my eyes a little at the ending’s “reveal”.

I liked how excited Plankton was about the Krusty Krab being plowed, it reminded of the movie, when we was way too excited about Mr. Krabs being executed. I love that Plankton is actually starting to feel like a villain again.

Rating: 5.5/10

Squidward is practicing his clarinet (this is one of those episodes where he’s randomly able to play it well) and is heard by SpongeBob, who tries to join him with his ukelele. Squidward is unhappy about the intrusion, but they’re heard by a fish named Colonel Carper, who says he wants them to form a band with him as their manager. Squidward doesn’t like the idea of working with SpongeBob, but he does so anyway for the possibility of becoming famous. SpongeBob, bless his heart, doesn’t care about the money and fame and is just happy to be in a band with his friend. Mr. Krabs overhears CC talking about how much money they’ll make (a lot of overhearing happens at the beginning of this episode) and he forcefully makes himself band manager, despite CC’s warnings that managing a band is harder than it look. Most of this is explained through song. From there, a lot happens and I don’t want to spend too much time on it, but here’s what you need to know: Mr. Krabs is a terrible band manager, SpongeBob and Squidward are obviously both hoping to get different things out of their band, CC is an asshole but to be fair Krabs did deserve a lot of what CC did to him, and the band eventually fails because, as mentioned earlier, Mr. Krabs is a terrible band manager. After a particularly bad concert experience Krabs, Squidward and SpongeBob (and Patrick who was their roadie, but he doesn’t have much of a purpose in the narrative, really) end up stranded far from home thanks to a flat tire on their tour bus. Squidward decides he’s had enough and gives up on the band. SpongeBob tries to stop him, but Squidward begins walking home on his own. Then we get another song, this time an emotional duet between Squidward and SpongeBob which culminates in the two of them rejoining and playing their instruments together. What happens after this is a bit confusing, but basically the band still ends up failing.

Okay, so I thought this special was really funny. Like, probably one of the funnier post-movie episodes. I found Mr. Krabs especially hilarious, though I’m not entirely sure why since he didn’t have that many lines that were particularly clever or even particularly memorable, I just remember laughing because of him a lot. I think it was mostly his deliveries and facial expressions that made me laugh. Colonel Carper was a pretty funny character too, in a wow-what-an-obnoxious-asshole kind of way, and the fact that he’s voiced by Andy Samberg earns him some extra points in my books. Squidward and SpongeBob both had their fair share of funny moments too.

My only problem with the episode is unfortunately one that’s hard to ignore. I didn’t like the story. No, that’s not it. I liked the story, or I wanted to anyway, but I didn’t like what the story focused on. Wait. No. I can explain this, I swear.

I really liked the portions of the story that focused on SpongeBob and Squidward, and it seemed like that should have been the heart of the episode, but it took a backseat to Krabs’ conflict with Colonel Carper. And yeah, I found most of the stuff with Krabs and CC funny, but I was much more interested in what was happening with SpongeBob and Squidward. I liked that they were both clearly looking for something different out of their partnership, but Squidward eventually comes around to SpongeBob’s way of thinking. And hey, remember that thing Squidward used to do sometimes where he didn’t hate SpongeBob’s guts? HE DOES IT AGAIN IN HELLO BIKINI BOTTOM. It’s small and fleeting, but it’s something. And that’s all I really wanted, just something, however small and short-lived it may be, to show that Squidward’s heart isn’t made completely out of stone. Unfortunately that plotline seemed more like an afterthought. I wish it had been the main plot and that the Krabs-CC plotline was more secondary. It would have made the episode feel a lot more balanced and increased its replay value.

The music in the episode is pretty decent. The ukelele and clarinet combo actually did sound quite nice, and the song sung at the beginning is fun, though it does go on for way too long. The duet SpongeBob and Squidward sing at the end is nice, but I kind of ruined it for myself when this thought entered my mind about halfway through it: “Wow, I wonder how many slash fics were inspired by this scene?” That was all I could think about afterwards. Fandoms have polluted my mind.

I don’t know why, but I laughed really hard at the first line SpongeBob sings in the duet: “Squidward, you must look inward!” I have no idea why this lyric is so funny to me, it probably shouldn’t be. I just think it’s such a clever rhyme and I really wasn’t expecting it when I heard it.

Overall, it’s a good episode, and a good way to end the season.

Rating: 7.5/10

Wait… am I really done with Season 8 already? Didn’t I start Season 4, like, two days ago?!

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!/Chum Fricassee)

Jesus, that title is a mouthful. I feel like I’m never going to remember it and I’m just going to arrange the words in a different order every time I say it. Like one day it will be “Go Evil Super Aquatic Villain Team Up” and another day it will be “Super Villain Evil Team Up is Aquatic” and then another day it will be “No Seriously Fuck Whoever Came Up With This Title”.

Anyway.

Plankton decides that he could use some help with his schemes, so he contacts Man Ray to help him steal the Krabby Patty formula. Man Ray is confused about how this will help with world domination, leading Plankton to explain to him that domination in the fast food industry ensures control over the world. To prove it, he has Man Ray try a Krabby Patty himself. Big mistake, as Man Ray becomes addicted to them and keeps demanding more and more, not letting Plankton have a single one. Meanwhile, SpongeBob is trying to get Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy to help and eventually they do decide to do so. They show up at the Krusty Krab, arrest Man Ray (who has gotten fat from eating so many Patties), and Plankton is left to pay the bill.

Well, this episode started strong. The first half of it is pretty funny and I like the idea of Plankton and Man Ray teaming up, it’s something I’ve been wanting to see for a while, but I felt more and more “meh” about the episode as it went on.

I was a little put off by how uninterested Man Ray seemed to be in the scheme. Even before being introduced to Krabby Patties, he didn’t really seem to care about what was going on. I suppose it could have made for a funny contrast between him and Plankton, who’s obviously enjoying everything they’re doing way too much, but it ended up just looking awkward to me, like Man Ray didn’t really need to be there at all. He didn’t have much presence in this episode, which is unfortunate because I really like Man Ray, and considering how little we see him you’d think that when we do see him it would leave an impression. But somehow he was really easy to look over in this episode.

The sub-plot with SpongeBob trying to get the attention of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy was a little amusing, but I also thought it made the episode feel a bit cluttered. I guess I didn’t like how it seemed to take over the episode, it feels like the episode’s sub-plot was its main plot and vice versa.

I don’t dislike the episode, but I wish it had kept up the momentum it had going during the first half. I guess it’s worth watching just for the first half, though.

Rating: 6.5/10

Squidward is complaining about what a dump the Krusty Krab is, saying that if he had his own restaurant it would be far more successful and classier. Mr. Krabs only laughs at him, which Squidward doesn’t exactly appreciate. Plankton, who had been spying on them, overhears Squidward saying angrily that he could make even the Chum Bucket a success and decides to take him up on his offer. Squidward accepts as a way of getting back at Mr. Krabs, and he and Plankton return to the Chum Bucket. Squidward immediately begins redecorating, and he teaches Plankton his grandma’s recipe for chum, which takes twenty-four hours to cook and tastes delicious. Soon after the restaurant becomes a huge success, even appearing on a show called “Flavors of the Bottom”, and I must still have the mentality of a twelve-year old because I giggled incessantly at that name. Anyway, as more and more customers come to the Chum Bucket, Squidward grows impatient with how slowly they’re being served, so he tells Plankton that he doesn’t care if the recipe is cooked for twenty-four hours or not and that they should just serve it to the customers anyway. Somehow Squidward’s grandmother hears about this and is angered about her recipe being used wrong. She enters the Chum Bucket and gives Squidward hell for not cooking it properly, the other customer overhear and are enraged that they ate undercooked food unknowingly. So, they do they only logical thing: burn down the restaurant, forcing Squidward to go back to work at the Krusty Krab.

Well, another episode centering on Squidward and Plankton. I liked this one more than I liked Sweet and Sour Squid, it’s closer to what I always imagined a Squidward-Plankton episode would be like. I like how Squidward and Plankton sort of bond over their mutual hatred of the Krusty Krab, and I especially liked Karen’s line when meeting Squidward: “Great, two megalomaniacs!” Yes! Exactly, Karen! That’s why I always thought Squidward and Plankton could potentially be such an entertaining duo. They’re both so egocentric and snarky and have very little self-awareness and foresight, the idea of them trying to work together and of such brilliant yet facepalm-worthy egos clashing fills me with glee.

I also like that this isn’t just an episode where Plankton tries to manipulate someone into joining him and ultimately fails. Squidward consciously decides to join Plankton out of a desire for revenge. Though Squidward isn’t a villain, he’s not a saint either, and I like that he’s acting out of his own interests in this episode. He isn’t just a pawn, there’s no realization at the end that he’s being used, he knows exactly what he’s doing. That’s another thing that I always thought could potentially be interesting about Squidward and Plankton’s relationship. Squidward doesn’t necessarily hate Mr. Krabs or the Krusty Krab (no matter what he might say to the contrary), but his viewpoint on them is certainly different from SpongeBob’s. He’s not blindly devoted to them and can easily realize their flaws, which would probably make it easy for him to empathize with Plankton in certain scenarios. His alignment regarding the Krabs-Plankton rivalry is much more ambiguous and flexible, and I like the idea that he could switch sides at any moment if he feels he’d be better off there. It’s interesting, and I’d like to have more episodes that explore this.

I was a little disappointed that Squidward and Plankton interactions were cut down in favor of scenes where Krabs laments over the Chum Bucket being more successful than his restaurant. We get some Squidward and Plankton interactions, and I liked what we did get, but I was hoping for more focus on that and less focus on how their success was affecting Krabs. It’s understandable that an episode like this would have a sub-plot like that, most of them do and it makes sense, but I guess I’m a little tired of it always being executed in the same way. At least the sub-plot doesn’t take over the episode too much, unlike its partner, but it still grated on me that I didn’t get to see more of Squidward and Plankton.

I really liked Squidward’s grandmother, though. You can definitely see where Squidward got his sass from.

Overall I quite liked this one. I thought it was really funny and the Squidward-Plankton interactions we got were fun. I definitely think it’s an improvement over Sweet and Sour Squid, anyway.

Rating: 8.5/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (Treats!/For Here or To Go/It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!)

SpongeBob buys Gary some new treats called Snail Bites, which Gary finds so delicious that he finishes the entire box in one evening. Gary is desperate for more Snail Bites and won’t leave SpongeBob alone until he buys some, but they’re sold out at the pet store. They go to the factory where they’re made to see if they can get a box there, but the factory is closing down because Snail Bites sold so quickly that they ran out of ingredients…? How does that make sense? Is it so hard to get more ingredients? What was in those Snail Bites, dragon blood?! Anyway, Gary still insists on having more Snail Bites (hm, maybe the ingredient in them is crack), so he makes SpongeBob search every pet store in the ocean for them. And they still don’t find any. They return home and Gary still isn’t satisfied. SpongeBob explains his dilemma to Patrick, who tells him he should be firm with Gary and say no. So SpongeBob firmly tells Gary no. Gary accepts this answer and stops demanding Snail Bites. Kay.

Well, if there’s one thing that can be said about this episode, it’s that it’s cute. Real cute. It’s like a goldmine of cuteness. That montage of Gary performing tricks that get more and more impossible elaborate to earn treats? That was cute. Gary’s sad reaction to the box of Snail Bites being emptied? That was cute. Those pictures of when SpongeBob first got Gary? Those were cute. That one shot of Patrick at the end where he’s pretending to be Gary? I don’t even think of Patrick as cute ordinarily but that shit was adorable.

Aside from that, um, there’s not much to this episode. Some jokes were a little funny, but I found the plot a bit stupid because… dude, just say no to your pet. And since when does SpongeBob have an issue with disciplining Gary anyway? I don’t remember him ever being that much of a pushover when it comes to his pet. I guess it was pretty cute how far he was willing to go to make his pet happy, but it just seemed a little stupid to me. I don’t really like how it ended either, it was much too easy.

I find it a little funny when people call Gary inconsiderate or unreasonable in this episode. Guys. Seriously? He’s a cat. I mean, technically he’s a snail, but you know what I mean. He’s a cat for all intents and purposes, no matter how smart he is. You can’t really hold him to the same standards as other characters who are essentially people despite not being human. That said… yeah, Gary is a bit annoying in this episode, isn’t he? The constant meowing… ugh. I wouldn’t mind it that much normally, but hearing it constantly in quick succession like that gets grating fast.

So, I guess I didn’t enjoy this episode as much as most fans seem to. Aside from all of the cuteness, there isn’t much else about it that I thought was worth seeing, and I’m probably not going to rewatch this episode just for its cuteness factor.

Rating: 6/10

Mr. Krabs holds a contest where people need to guess the number of sesame seeds in a jar, and if they guess right they win a free Krabby Patty. I’m not really sure why Krabs would want to hold this contest. Publicity? Anyway, Plankton wants to guess, but of course Krabs won’t let him. So Plankton calls a lawyer of sorts and Krabs is forced to let him guess. Plankton uses science to guess the correct number of seeds like a boss and Krabs is forced to give him a free Patty. He stalls for time as long as he can, but eventually he has to give it to him. Before doing so, he makes up a new rule for the contest: Plankton has to eat the Patty on the premises. Plankton swallows it whole and then runs back to the Chum Bucket to have Karen cut his stomach open and take the Patty out. The next day it appears that Plankton is selling Krabby Patties, but his customers soon leave the restaurant in disgust. It turns out that when Karen analyzed the formula she didn’t take into account that the Patty she analyzed had been swimming in Plankton’s stomach acid. Yuck.

I liked this episode. I thought it was funny and it was at least somewhat creative. Though I’m still not sure why Mr. Krabs was holding the contest to begin with, it seems like a weird move for him. I’m also not sure why, instead of going out of his way to stall Plankton getting the Patty, Krabs didn’t just tell SpongeBob to make the Patty wrong or taint it in some way. No one would have had to know and there would be no worries about Plankton getting the formula. Oh well, it’s still a funny episode. A little slow and low-energy, and not very memorable, but funny.

I wasn’t grossed out by the ending, unlike most people. It’s not like we actually see Plankton’s stomach being cut open anyway. Even if we did I probably still wouldn’t have cared because I tend not to be grossed up by gore when it’s animated anyway. Besides, I love how Plankton just walks in and says “Yo Karen I need you to cut my stomach open” and Karen’s just like “lol sure thing, honey *slice*” and they don’t even use anesthesia or anything, they just do it right away like it’s nothing. That is so metal.

Ever notice that Plankton seems to have more success (however brief) when he doesn’t try to outright steal a Patty?

Rating: 6.5/10

Here we have the first Christmas special this show has had since Christmas Who? all the way back in its second season. And it’s entirely in claymation, and if the idea of a claymation SpongeBob episode isn’t the raddest shit you’ve ever heard you can get right off of my blog, thanks (jk plz stay). So, it begins with a song sequence in which SpongeBob briefly visits all of his friends in Bikini Bottom to see how they’re preparing for Christmas. It’s basically a way of showing off the claymation sets (which are wonderful) and the claymation characters (which are wonderful and adorable). At the end of this sequence, we see Plankton in the Chum Bucket, who is angered by the fact that he gets coal every single Christmas. Karen tells him that he probably wouldn’t get coal all the time if he wasn’t the biggest jerk in Bikini Bottom, but Plankton is way ahead of her. His plan is to give everyone in Bikini Bottom fruitcake laced with “Jerktonium”, a chemical that makes people act like jerks when ingested. He thinks that if everyone in Bikini Bottom starts behaving like jerks, he’ll look better by comparison. He tries giving some of his Jerktonium fruitcake to SpongeBob, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect on him no matter how much of it he eats. It does, however, have an effect on everyone else in town, and they all start acting horribly as a result. Since SpongeBob isn’t affected, Plankton builds a robot that looks like him and programs it to wreak havoc around town (I love how the robot has to be wound up like a toy). The next day, SpongeBob is concerned about how everyone is behaving, so he goes to visit Sandy to see if she can help him get everyone back into the Christmas spirit before Santa comes. Unfortunately Sandy has also become a jerk and is unwilling to help him, but when SpongeBob accidentally drops her piece of fruitcake in her analyzer, they discovers the Jerktonium inside it. The analyzer also tells them how to cure the Bikini Bottomites of their behavior. The cure is a song. They sing it to the town and everyone goes back to normal. That’s when Santa shows up, and he reprimands everyone for being jerks, complimenting Plankton for being a saint in comparison. He also tells SpongeBob that he was the worst of all, but of course the robot is really the one to blame. Speaking of which, the robot shows up and SpongeBob defeats it… really easily. So, Plankton gets coal for Christmas and everyone else gets gifts. The end.

This episode was one of the things that convinced me to give post-movie another chance. I was curious about it because I found out that it was done in claymation, and because it was the first official Christmas special since Christmas Who?. Despite my hatred for post-movie at the time, I really wanted to see it.

And I loved it. It had me from the moment we saw Squidward stringing lights on his house to read “Go Away” (even though I know this episode isn’t meant to have any connection to Christmas Who?, I like to think Squidward is still bitter toward Santa about what happened in that episode). I was pretty blown away by it since at the time I hadn’t seen any other post-movie episodes that I liked. Even now that I have, this episode still blows me away a bit every time I watch it.

That’s not to say that there aren’t a few flaws to be found with it, but it won’t lower my score because A) the good outweighs the bad if you ask me and B) lol since when does my rating system make any sense whatsoever. But I do think I should mention the not-so-good things about this episode, it’s only fair. And since they’re mostly nitpicks I’m just going to list them:

• Patchy. I’m sorry, but I will never like Patchy. At least his scenes are brief and can easily be skipped over, but still… Patchy.
• The ending is pretty anticlimactic. The SpongeBob robot is defeated way too easily.
• We don’t actually get to see Gary, we only see his shell.
• If Santa can see everything, how did he miss the fact that Plankton laced the fruitcake with Jerktonium? And how did he miss the fact that the evil robot SpongeBob is not the real SpongeBob? Honestly this show’s Santa isn’t very good at his job. Squidward actually did his job better in Christmas Who?.
• I don’t like the implication that SpongeBob is stupid. I’m talking about the scene where they analyze the fruitcake and Sandy says that SpongeBob’s immunity to Jerktonium is to due to a combination of his “tiny brain and big heart”. It had already been said by Karen earlier that SpongeBob’s immunity was due to his innocence, could they not have left it at that? Did they really have to throw in low intelligence as a factor as well? Ugh, I hate it when they make SpongeBob out to be stupid. Maybe it’s just me, but I never saw SpongeBob as stupid. I saw him as naive, childlike, and weird, but still smart. I would have preferred if his immunity had simply been because of his innocence and “big heart”, no need to imply that he’s an idiot.
• This definitely feels like the cheapest of my nitpicks, but why does SpongeBob not wear a helmet when he goes to Sandy’s treedome? At first I thought it was because putting a helmet on the claymation version of him would have been too difficult, but later they put a helmet on Sandy when they leave her treedome…
• Never mine, this one is the cheapest of my nitpicks. When the analyzer shows the cure for Jerktonium, it prints out a song. As a musician, I couldn’t help pausing the episode to look at the notes to see if they actually do match the song. They don’t. The staff doesn’t even have the right number of lines and spaces.

Now that that’s out of the way, I can talk about what I actually liked about this episode. Did I mention how much I love the claymation? It’s a really nice tribute to other claymation Christmas specials, and since I grew up watching those this episode made me feel really nostalgic. They really did an amazing job with it. To be honest I actually like the way the Chum Bucket looks more in this episode than in regularly animated episodes. I like how the outside of it looks slightly rusty, as if it’s neglected and in need of repair (which it is), and I liked the gloomier, more desolate look of the inside of it, it’s seems more suitable for Plankton’s character and for what the Chum Bucket is.

Getting away from how it’s animated, this is just a really good episode. The story is a little cheesy, but it’s executed well enough that I didn’t really care, and it’s at least creative. Plus, to be fair, all Christmas specials are a little cheesy. The jokes are pretty funny as well, and while I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see Gary, I liked that all of the other main characters were at least in the episode briefly, and they were all great. The songs are fantastic as well. They’re both really catchy, especially Don’t Be a Jerk, It’s Christmas. Speaking of those songs, I found it a little funny that Squidward wasn’t affected by the cure because he didn’t seem affected by the Jerktonium either. I’m guessing it was for the opposite reason of SpongeBob, that he’s already a jerk so he can’t be made jerkier. Or maybe he didn’t eat any of the fruitcake because he’s such a misanthrope that he didn’t even get any.

Although I’ll always prefer Christmas Who?, It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! has a special place in my heart. I love that both Christmas specials have punctuation in their titles, so naming them back-to-back like that in the middle of a sentence looks really weird. Anyway, It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! is funny, heartwarming, entertaining, and I love how nostalgic it is about old claymation Christmas specials. Plus, it’s partly responsible for me giving post-movie another chance, and for this whole project.

Rating: 13/10 (fucking rating systems, how do they work?)

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (Squiditis/Demolition Doofus)

Squidward tries to fake being sick to get out of work, saying he has something called “Squid’s Disease”, but Mr. Krabs doesn’t believe he’s sick and sends him right back to work. However, the naive and hypochondriacal SpongeBob does believe him, and his fear of catching Squid’s Disease is screwing up his performance at work. In order to get SpongeBob working as usual again, Mr. Krabs sends Squidward home for the day, which of course Squidward is ecstatic about. Unfortunately even with Squidward gone SpongeBob is convinced that he has Squid’s Disease, so Mr. Krabs sends him home as well, insisting that he can run the Krusty Krab on his own. SpongeBob goes over to Squidward’s house, hoping that they can spend the day recovering together. You can imagine how Squidward feels about this. Eventually he decides “well, fuck this” and runs back to the Krusty Krab, followed by SpongeBob. When they get there they find Mr. Krabs in a horrible state. It turns out he can’t run the Krusty Krab by himself.

Is it me, or does this episode have a really weird flow? A lot of scenes felt strangely disconnected from each other, and the pacing fluctuates between being too fast and too slow. It’s weird, because the episode isn’t like Ghoul Fools where the episode has a lot of different storylines mixed together, its premise is simple and so is its execution, it shouldn’t feel this unfocused. I’m not sure why it does. Maybe it’s just me.

That’s the only complaint I have, I really liked this episode as a whole. It’s been a while since we’ve had a decent SpongeBob-Squidward episode, unless you count Are You Happy Now?, but that episode is so polarizing and strange that I’m not sure if it’s fair to count. Anyway, I always like it when Squidward messes with SpongeBob, not in a malevolent way but in the way a big brother would tease their younger sibling. It’s nice to see this part of their dynamic come back. Not that this episode completely fixes everything wrong with their dynamic in post-movie, and I’m not going to get my hopes up about this being a regular thing, but still. It’s nice. Besides, at this point I’ll take what I can get.

Squidward, SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs were all pretty funny in this episode, but Mr. Krabs stole the show. Not just because of how funny he was, but because this episode is probably the most reasonable he’s been in a long time. I like that he had a surprisingly mature (by this show’s standards) approach to dealing with his employees. Even though he knows Squidward is faking his illness, he knows that sending him home is the best way to handle the present situation. And later, he knows to do the same thing with SpongeBob. That’s pretty big of Krabs, considering how he usually is with giving his employees time off. It seems more like his old self.

To sum up, good episode with good characters, but weird flow is weird.

Rating: 8/10

SpongeBob takes his driving test yet again, and this time screws up worse than ever. The accident he causes makes Mrs. Puff inflate until she pops. She ends up in the hospital where the doctor tells her that she’ll never be able to inflate again. SpongeBob, with his incredible tact, says something about how they should start calling her Mrs. Pop now. Dude. Insensitive. Anyway, Mrs. Puff is understandably angry with SpongeBob and refuses to accept his apologies, though he keeps trying to make it up to her. One day, they see patients in the hospital with injuries from a demolition derby. That’s when Mrs. Puff comes up with a plan: enter SpongeBob into the derby where he’ll be killed. No joke, she wants SpongeBob dead. So, she enters him, telling him it’s for extra credit, and eagerly watches for bloodshed. I’m not exaggerating. Out of sheer luck, SpongeBob actually does well in the derby, so Puff enters herself to finish SpongeBob off once and for all. She chases him out of the derby and they somehow end up crashing into the Boating School. The crash causes Mrs. Puff to regain her ability to inflate (because of the shock, I guess?) and everything returns to normal.

So. This episode.

Much like One Coarse Meal and A Pal For Gary, I heard a lot about this episode, mostly negative things, before watching it. I don’t like this episode very much either, but I don’t dislike it as much as I was expecting to, and not for the reasons I was expecting.

The reason this episode gets so much hate is obvious. Seeing a character we’re supposed to like try to murder another character we’re supposed to like is bizarre and disturbing for a lot of people. I can understand that, but surprisingly I wasn’t disturbed by it. Or at least, not in a negative way. I’m pretty sure this episode is supposed to be disturbing. It’s supposed to be dark and hard to stomach, so if you’re reacting that way it’s doing its job. These types of narratives aren’t for everyone, but as I’ve mentioned before I live for this kind of stuff. I love it when a story is trying to elicit a negative reaction from me and actually succeeds. To me, that’s a sign of good writing, that’s a sign that the writer (or writers) have gotten me to care about their story and characters. Plus, it takes a lot of courage on the part of the writer.

Now I’m off on a tangent, back to the episode. Like I said, this episode isn’t supposed to be pleasant, we’re not supposed to condone Puff’s bloodthirsty behavior. We’re supposed to be disturbed by it. And if that’s not your thing, I understand. But it happens to be my thing.

Besides, Puff’s behavior in this episode isn’t entirely unwarranted. I’ve always believed that Puff doesn’t really hate SpongeBob, she’s just traumatized by his driving. I always got the impression that, when she’s not driving with him, she does have some affection for SpongeBob. Similar to Squidward in a way, but there are some differences. For one thing, the relationship between Puff and SpongeBob is a lot less personal. To Squidward, SpongeBob is like an annoying little brother, he gets under his skin a lot and Squidward may at times be convinced that he hates him, but he really does care for SpongeBob and doesn’t really bear him any ill will. Puff and SpongeBob’s relationship is that of a teacher and student. Puff can be caring, and there’s a certain amount of trust and understanding in their relationship, but they don’t really connect on a personal level. Seeing her behave so callously toward SpongeBob is upsetting, but not as much as it would be if Squidward did it. Then again, when my dad and my aunt were young he used to pick on her a lot, and one day he locked her outside in the cold for a really long time, and when he let her back in she chased him with a knife. He had to lock himself in his room until she calmed down, and she even tried to slide the knife under his door. And this is now a funny anecdote in my family, which probably doesn’t say good things about us. What. Still, lashing out at someone in the heat of the moment isn’t the same thing as actually planning out someone’s murder. I could see Squidward doing the former, but not the latter. Mrs. Puff, on the other hand…

Another thing that’s important to remember is that usually the worst thing Squidward can say about SpongeBob is that he’s annoying, Puff can say that he puts her in danger on a regular basis. She’s been injured, arrested and nearly killed countless times thanks to him. If anyone on this show has a right to hate SpongeBob, it’s Puff. It’s pretty understandable that she’d have a breaking point, Squidward had his breaking points too, and since her circumstances are more extreme her reaction to reaching her breaking point is more extreme. In Squidward’s case, all he does when pushed to his limit is try to move away or restrain SpongeBob from him. Mrs. Puff’s case is more extreme, so her actions are more extreme. And when you consider the fact that Mrs. Puff has always been unstable and has an impressive criminal record, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that she would go to such extreme measures.

Putting all of this together with the context of the episode, Puff’s actions make sense to me. In Demolition Doofus, Puff is pushed over the edge. SpongeBob, after years of putting Puff through traumatizing accidents, has finally given her a serious and lasting injury (well, so they thought, anyway). It makes sense that this would be Puff’s breaking point and that she’d flip out on SpongeBob. And it’s obvious that Puff isn’t thinking rationally in this episode. She’s blinded by rage and a desire for revenge. The fact that she doesn’t look like herself for most of the episode is probably supposed to let the viewer know that Puff, for the time being, isn’t herself. At the end of the episode, she regains her normal appearance and SpongeBob says that everything is back to normal. Pretty obvious that this signifies that, well, things have gone back to normal. Puff’s injury has healed and she’s calmed down from her murderous rage. It would have been nice to receive some kind of confirmation from Puff that she no longer wants SpongeBob dead, just a simple “Are you okay?” after they crash would have sufficed, but whatever. Since Puff obviously isn’t in her right mind in this episode, and since it seems like that was the intention of the writers, I can’t be too bothered by what she does here. Not that she shouldn’t be held accountable for what she does, but it’s not like it’s a huge departure from her character.

I feel like this review is really confusing, and it probably makes me sound like I’m totally cool with murder or something. What I’m trying to say is that while I don’t necessarily think Puff is justified in this episode, her actions make sense given the context of the episode and what we know about her character. It’s not the right thing for her to do, but after years of trauma building up to this point, it’s not completely unfounded.  An episode like this could have gone horribly wrong so easily, but the way it’s executed is fine. I wouldn’t want Puff to be all twisted and bloodthirsty like this all the time, and it would be nice to see an episode where she doesn’t completely hate SpongeBob again, but one episode where she reaches her breaking point is all right. I actually find it interesting. That’s part of the beauty of having no continuity anyway. You can push characters to their limit and there are no consequences in the long run, because you can just press the reset button by the next episode.

But yeah, I can understand the hate for this episode. I don’t even like it that much myself, though that’s only because I found most of the jokes annoying and the tone is sort of inconsistent at times. The actual story doesn’t bother me at all, I actually rather like how dark it is, and I like even more that the writers actually did a decent job with its execution.

And by the way, Mrs. Puff’s voice actress is awesome in this episode.

Rating: 5.5/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (Face Freeze!/Glove World R.I.P.)

SpongeBob and Patrick are amusing themselves by making silly faces, when Mr. Krabs warns them that if they keep making faces like that, their faces will freeze that way forever. Wanting to test this theory, they dare each other to hold their goofy faces for as long as possible. As a result, their faces really do freeze that way. Afraid to show his frozen face to Krabs, SpongeBob and Patrick visit Sandy to see if she can fix their faces. She massages their faces to relax the muscles, but that doesn’t work as planned. It just looks like their faces melted. So, SpongeBob must go to work with his face looking like a pancake and he does his best to hide it from Mr. Krabs. Unfortunately Mr. Krabs eventually sees his face, as well as Patrick’s, and he gets angry. Angry enough to make a face that looks like the one that greets you when you go to Hell. And his face freezes that way because of reasons. Then Squidward sees everyone’s frozen faces and laughs so hard that his face freezes too. Um, wasn’t it established earlier that you need to make the face for a long time in order for it to freeze that way? Or at least longer than two seconds? If it takes this short a time for faces to freeze, why aren’t people’s faces freezing all the time?

Well, it’s obvious where the inspiration for this episode came from. As kids, we all heard from adults that if we keep making faces they’ll freeze that way. Well, I didn’t, because I didn’t really make faces as a kid. And even if I did I don’t think my parents would have told me that, I think they would have just told me to stop. But still, I know it’s apparently a common thing for kids to hear. It’s a pretty good idea, I guess. It reminds me of episodes like Sailor Mouth or Hooky, where Mr. Krabs warns SpongeBob against doing something stupid and then he does the stupid thing anyway, so he has to be scared out of doing it. It’s nice to see another episode like this, mostly because it’s nice to see Krabs acting paternal again.

A lot of people find this episode disturbing and scary because of the faces. I don’t. I joked about being scared by Krabs’ face at the end, but I really wasn’t. I don’t think these faces are scary, I think they’re ugly. They’re just… not pleasant to look at. I guess that’s the idea, but it does cut back the episode’s replay value a lot. It’s hard for me to want to watch something that I don’t like looking at. And it is possible to have “ugly” imagery that’s still enjoyable to look at, but I just don’t really like looking at most of the images in Face Freeze!. They’re a little too Ren-and-Stimpy-esque, and I’ve never liked the Ren and Stimpy aesthetic to begin with.

Still, I am glad I saw the episode at least once, there were a couple of things that made it worthwhile. It might even be worth watching a couple more times. Some of the dialogue was funny (Sandy in particular had some great lines) and I like how Mr. Krabs sort of goes back to his father-figure persona again, it’s nice to see.

Rating: 6.5/10

This title card made it seem like the episode was going to be much less light-hearted than it was.

SpongeBob and Patrick are saddened to find out that Glove World is going to be closed down because it’s outrageously unsafe, so they decide to spend one last day at the park, all the while wondering why they would close it down. Eventually they realize how unsafe it is, and they decide that they should save the park by fixing all of its problems. They are successful and soon Glove World is good as new. Just kidding, they fail spectacularly, as one would expect. So now the only way to save Glove World is to chain themselves to the gate so that it can’t be demolished. Hell yeah, fight the power! Anyway, the guy who owns Glove World tells them that the reason Glove World is closing is because they’re opening Glove Universe, a bigger and better theme park. Oops.

I don’t like this episode. I know it’s a pretty well-liked episode among fans, but I didn’t enjoy it. Sorry. Not that I hate it, far from it, but I definitely don’t think it’s one of the better post-movie episodes, or even one of the better Season 8 episodes, like most people seem to.

I just didn’t find it that funny. I can barely remember any jokes from the episode and the ones I can remember were annoying gags. The story seemed kind of all over the place, and I guess I couldn’t help being a bit disappointed because the title card made it seem like it was going to be at least a little dark. Or maybe not “dark” per se, but not as silly and light-hearted as this.

I did like the sort of bittersweet ending, though. I’m big on nostalgia, so I know I’d be upset if one of my favorite places to go was being closed down. This episode is pretty relatable in that sense, and I like that the ending isn’t a cheesy one that has them saving Glove World. It just closes, which is sad, but the opening of Glove Universe at least eases the pain a bit. Though I wonder why they had to build an entire new theme park. Could they not have used that money to repair and improve Glove World?

Anyway, aside from the ending and the relatable plot, I didn’t enjoy this one much. It’s not bad, just not my kind of episode.

Rating: 5.5/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (Karen 2.0/Inspongeiac)

Okay, so it starts with Karen making dinner for Plankton, and he gets mad at her when it’s not what he asked for. lol gender roles. Karen tells him that her memory is full, which is why she forgot what he wanted, and Plankton tells her that he’ll soon have her memory problem solved. It turns out he’s making himself a new computer wife that he calls Karen 2, she has the latest software and more memory. And more curves. Seriously, this computer is probably hotter than I am. But that’s not what’s important here, what’s important is that Plankton is replacing his wife for a newer model without a second thought. Poor Karen! Plankton, you’re an asshole. Anyway, Karen is understandably upset and she begins attacking Plankton with her laser. Karen 2 shuts her down before she can hurt Plankton, and they dump Karen in a box on the side of the road. Ouch. She’s found by Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob and, thinking they just got a free computer, they take her back to the Krusty Krab and boot her up. Karen immediately starts crying about Plankton dumping her. SpongeBob is worried that this is a scheme and that Karen’s loyalties still lie with Plankton, but Karen angrily declares that she never wants to see Plankton again, which is apparently enough to convince SpongeBob and Krabs, so they give her a job at the Krusty Krab. The next day at work, Karen obviously still isn’t over Plankton, and of course Plankton chooses that day to break into the Krusty Krab with Karen 2. Plankton is hurt to see Karen working at the Krusty Krab, and Karen and Karen 2 begin to argue when they see each  other, culminating in a fight between them. During the fight, Karen 2 accidentally runs over Plankton. Karen is horrified while Karen 2 doesn’t seem to care, which infuriates Karen enough that she destroys Karen 2 with one punch. Karen makes sure Plankton is okay and Plankton realizes how wrong he was to replace her. Then Karen’s power runs out for some reason, so Plankton repairs her by using one of Karen 2’s parts, and he and Karen return to the Chum Bucket, happily reunited.

I was initially excited to see a Karen episode, as I’m always happy to see more Karen, but the more I heard about it the more skeptical I became. Specifically, I was skeptical of the plot itself. I tend to get nervous when shows portray female characters fighting, especially when that fight is over a male, because it so often becomes a big sexist mess of LOL WIMMINS ARE CRAZY AMIRITE. And I know that Karen is a computer, but she’s a sentient, personified computer who is deliberately depicted as female, so I think I’m justified in being concerned about gender roles and misogyny regarding her.

However, this really wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I always dislike saying that because it makes me think of that scene in Avatar where Toph is defending Zuko by saying that he could have turned out a lot worse considering his messed up family, to which Katara sarcastically replies that they should give him a medal, the “not as much of a jerk as you could have been” award. I love that quote because it touches on something that I think a lot of people forget. “Not as bad as it could have been” is not the same thing as “good”. But on the other hand, when you’re expecting something bad and you get “not as bad as it could have been”, you can’t help feeling more optimistic about the thing in question. Considering how a plot like this in most shows would make me want to tear my hair out and this one didn’t, it’s kind of hard for me to not feel positive about this episode.

The fight between Karen and Karen 2 is the scene that I’m mostly referring to when I say it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I mean, at least they weren’t fighting in mud or jello or something, right? The fight is short too, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t entertaining. I liked the computer-related insults they were throwing at each other, and I like to think that when they actually started fighting it was more about who’s technology was better and less about Plankton, it makes it easier for me to stomach. Although Karen does call Karen 2 a home-wrecker, and Karen 2 calls her a sorry excuse for a housewife so, um, not sure what to do with that. The beginning made me rather uncomfortable too, but I think that’s mostly because of how callous it is.

About that ending. I found it a bit contrived that Plankton had a change of heart so suddenly. I mean, he was perfectly fine with dismantling Karen and leaving her in a box on the side of the road earlier, what made him change his mind? Did seeing her work with his enemies make him jealous, so he realized how much he loves her? Did seeing how she still loved him and was still willing to defend him after everything he put her through make him realize that he could never really replace her? Why did he change his mind so suddenly? I know that the reason it seemed so sudden is just the time limit, but it actually made me think that this episode might have made a good special. It would have been interesting to see how Plankton was getting along with Karen 2, maybe they could have shown how he was more compatible with the original Karen, so his change of heart at the end would make more sense. I also find it a bit strange that Karen forgot her anger toward Plankton so quickly. I guess he makes up for what he did by repairing her, but that was afterwards. Considering how callously he dumped her it’s a little weird to see her suddenly forget all of that when she saw him hurt. Also, wasn’t she perfectly willing to vaporize him with a laser before? I guess that was the heat of the moment. Whatever, I don’t even care that much because the ending is still really sweet. I don’t know what it is about Plankton/Karen, but somehow they always manage to make me melt, and I don’t even like romance.

To wrap up this confusing review, I liked this episode despite the fact that it made me slightly uncomfortable now and then. I thought it was funny and interesting, there weren’t as many “lol wimmins” jokes as I was expecting, and the ending, though flawed, is really heartwarming. Besides, I think this episode has earned a Not As Uncomfortable As It Could Have Been award.

Rating: 7.5/10

Creepy title card. I like it.

SpongeBob is at work and Mr. Krabs gets mad at him for using too much mustard on the Krabby Patties, as well as other stupid, trivial mistakes. He asks SpongeBob if he’s been getting enough sleep and SpongeBob tells him that he went to bed a few minutes later than usual the night before, so Krabs think that SpongeBob is an insomniac and he sends SpongeBob home to get some sleep. Unfortunately SpongeBob has a really hard time getting to sleep (even after Patrick’s “help”), which leads to a weird scene where he begins hallucinating from the lack of sleep. When he finally makes it to work the next day, he’s in worse shape than ever, and tries to sleep in a barrel of mustard. Krabs pulls him out and asks what’s wrong with him, and SpongeBob confesses that he couldn’t beat his insomnia. He starts to cry and Krabs discovers that he cries exactly the right amount of mustard that he wants on the Patties. Kay.

This episode is an interesting idea, but I wish the beginning wasn’t so contrived. It was really strange for Mr. Krabs to care so much about how SpongeBob cooks the Patties, and the whole sequence felt like a forced plot point to drive the episode forward.

Oh, and Mr. Krabs. God damn it, man, I was starting to like you again! Okay, so it’s only one episode, but I really didn’t like how heartless and crazy he was being in this episode. I can see him being paranoid about how much mustard SpongeBob is using, that’s actually pretty in character, but would he really care about how SpongeBob flips the patties? Or about him going to bed two minutes later than usual?

Well, at least this episode does have an interesting plot, even if it is extremely forced in some parts. The scene where Patrick tries to help SpongeBob get to sleep and fails miserably is pretty funny, but I did find it tiresome after a while (pun not intended). I liked SpongeBob’s weird dream sequence because, well, I like weird dream sequences. It’s an okay episode, I guess. It could have been better, but it’s passable.

Rating: 6/10