#but let's face it. sb can come up with very nice concepts but he can't do super varied character types.

[tropical-lazor-beams]

[image description: black and white sketch. dangeresque, further in the background, points his nunchuck-gun forward in a wide stance. dangeresque too, in the foreground, leans back on his feet & points his own gun in the air. they both look seriously to the right at an unseen target. at the left are some crates in the background. the caption is red, blocky & curvy text, reading "you take the big guy". end image description]

i honest to god put more stock into the relationship between these double-fictional characters than sb & hs themselves sometimes

[wayslidecool]

top 10 best spongebob episodes?

okay, so i'll come forward and say i probably can't give you a top 10. i haven't been caught up with the show for a few years now, and it's been a long while since i've seen most of the episodes, even the ones i do enjoy. so instead what i'm gonna do is give more of a generalized "i remember these episodes being pretty damn good". will probably go out of my way to highlight more niche picks. so uh, these aren't my top 10, just ten episodes i like that i felt like talking about.

all this is under the cut because i don't wanna flood peoples' dashboards talking about Sponge Bob lmao

so first thing first, let's get some of the obvious picks out of the way: i think pretty much everyone knows that pizza delivery (s1, ep 5a), band geeks (s2, ep 35b), graveyard shift (s2, ep 36a), krusty krab training video (s3, ep 50b), and chocolate with nuts (s3, ep 52a) are some of the series' best. probably others i'm missing but like. everyone loves those episodes, countless people have talked about why they're great, i don't think there's much i could say that hasn't been said by other people and said better.

so let's highlight some others that i personally found really good that i probably can say more about!

tea at the treedome (s1, ep 1c)

man, talk about coming out swinging. this episode is part of the very first block and i think it is so, so strong. i think what makes this episode work so well for me is how they handle spongebob, how he so badly doesn't want to disturb his new friend that he becomes completely passive and can't even ask for water is so good, feels very relatable. i love the way this episode handles his internal monologue, showing his increasing desperation up until he inevitably snaps. ("I NEED IT!") it's so so good, such a good showcase of his character.

patrick's also great here! he hits such that nice balance of "well-intentioned stupidity" that defines all his best appearances. the way he sees spongebob slowly breaking down and tries to remind him to stay classy ("when in doubt, pinky out!"), eventually coming in himself to show spongebob things aren't so bad and immediately being proven wrong, it's all just so good.

my only real knock against this one is that for sandy's debut episode, i feel like she doesn't really get to do a lot. which is definitely a pity, but i dunno, i don't wanna hold it against this episode too much because they definitely give her some great episodes later on, and this episode otherwise nails the character writing.

sb-129 (s1, ep 14a)

this is a really high-concept episode to put in the show's first season, don't you think? honestly i think this is an episode worth checking out for the spectacle more than anything. don't get me wrong there's some killer jokes, the joke about everything being chrome in the future, the way squidward inadvertently ends up inventing jellyfishing, there's some good stuff, but let's face it. the real reason you come to this episode is for its sheer scale. idk about you, but i can sort of give or take "caveman humor".

but man, this is an episode that goes places. i mean, in eleven minutes, we get a snippet of the future, the past, and the nowhere dimension (the last of which i'll go over a bit later on). on one hand, it kinda feels like the episode has to rush through them all, but on the other hand, it doesn't feel like any of these time periods are meant to be all that fleshed out. they mostly exist to provide an interesting setpiece, deliver a few jokes, and then move the story to the next place. i could see an alternate longer version of this episode feeling like it drags on a bit too much.

and man, that nowhere dimension. i love that scene so, so much. it's surreal, it's memorable, it's a bit unnerving, and it adds so much to this already high-concept episode. that scene's probably the highlight of the whole thing to me (and MIGHT be what elevates it to a personal favorite) but i'd definitely say the whole thing is worth your time.

dying for pie (s2, ep 24a)

i think this is another of those episodes everyone can sorta agree is one of the best, but eh. i wanted to talk about it anyway because yeah it's just that good. i think spongebob and squidward are probably the best character duo in the entire show, and this is probably the best example of said dynamic. i really like how the plot is set in motion by squidward's carelessness, how his apathy is what forces him to realize how much he actually cares about his neighbor. what i love even more is the balancing act they play with the spongebob-squidward dynamic, the way they're still able to keep spongebob a bit annoying to squidward while still letting squidward genuinely care.

besides all the character stuff, man is this episode just funny. the absurdity of the pirates selling pies that are actually bombs, spongebob's sweater of tears, "Eleven times?!", spongebob's bucket list including showing squidward to everyone wearing a salmon suit and open heart surgery? yeah this episode has a lot of heart (hehe!) but never is it at the expense of the episode's comedy.

the only thing i could maybe see someone holding against this episode is that spongebob having not eaten the pie is kind of an ass pull but like. the writers aren't gonna kill off the main character, come on. and besides, i think the twist ultimately serves the episode well, i think getting that scene of squidward expressing his exasperation over everything he had to go through really reminds us why we love this dynamic: no matter how much squidward secretly cares about spongebob, spongebob's always gonna be a little bit annoying to him. d'awwwww.

squid on strike (s2, ep 40a)

speaking of good spongebob/squidward episodes! this one is so, so underrated i think. it's not really one of the show's most quotable episodes, but at the same time, i kinda think that works in its favor, if that makes any sense. jokes aren't as good if you know they're coming, so an episode filled to the brim with really good jokes that aren't especially quotable ends up hitting just as hard on rewatches. it might not have the same staying power as something like band geeks or chocolate with nuts, but because of that it manages to always surprise you with just how funny it is.

and to make it clear: this episode is hilarious. mr. krabs trying to charge his employees for things like "existing" and "breathing", spongebob's idea of getting more from his job just being getting to wear a comically oversized hat, the general cluelessness of both spongebob and the population, spongebob taking squidward's anticapitalist metaphors a bit too literally, there's a lot of good material here. probably also helps that this is the episode where squidward says "Nobody gives a care about the fate of labor as long as they can get their instant gratification." so true bestie.

i think what buoys this episode beyond just its great jokes is once again how it nails the characters. spongebob loves his job, sure, but the only thing he loves even more is his good friend squidward, so of course spongebob will become more passionate about the strike when mr. krabs insults squidward! so much so, that he's willing to dismantle the establishment, board by board! and conversely, the one thing that could make squidward give in is the idea that he might be on strike with spongebob forever. as i've said. spongebob and squidward are the best dynamic on this show.

nasty patty (s3, ep 44a)

this is probably the darkest episode of the entire series, and i love it SO much for that. like, i wouldn't say it's unreasonably dark, they make it apparent from the very first line of the episode that the health inspector doesn't actually die, but we are still looking at an episode of a children's cartoon where the main characters are thoroughly convinced they've murdered an innocent bystander and spend the whole episode trying to cover it up. and it's hilarious.

i think the juxtaposition of such a storyline with a character as innocent as spongebob is what really elevates this episode for me. ("The dark deed you requested is done, sir.") the whole episode ends up becoming this exercise in just how long they can keep up the central joke before the characters inevitably find out what's going on, especially with the multiple fake-outs! i love how there's multiple instances where the health inspector briefly regains consciousness, only to be immediately knocked out again. so good.

and as a result of that structure, it manages to escalate so well, with how they bring in the police and manage to keep coming up with situations where they have to keep the not-so-dead body just barely out of view. the scene where spongebob stuffs the health inspector in his hat (pictured above) is probably the highlight of the episode to me, it just so perfectly illustrates how silly this story manages to get.

fear of a krabby patty (s4, ep 61a)

so most people agree that the series went downhill after the first three seasons. and they'd be right! the first three seasons are absolutely the show at its peak and the show never managed to recapture its glory days in the seasons that followed. but it's not like they flipped some switch and the show was suddenly bad. hell, if anything, "fear of a krabby patty" (the very first episode after the movie!) might be one of my all-time favorites. in fact, and this statement may sound treasonous, but i think i like this one more than their other 24-hour adventure in "graveyard shift". yeah, i said it! bite me!

of course, the krusty krab being open for 24 hours with spongebob and squidward being forced to work the full shift is about all this episode has in common with that one, as the stories go in pretty wildly different directions from there. i love the way plankton is integrated into this episode. his "dr. peter lankton" schtick is so funny in how obvious his intentions are, leading to some killer therapy jokes and a couple instances of being crushed by a piano.

another highlight of this episode is its distinctive animation style! c.h. greenblatt has a very recognizable art style, you can usually easily tell which episodes he boarded (like dying for pie up above!) but you can especially tell with this one. actually, between its loose, expressive animation and its zippier pacing compared to the classic seasons, this almost feels like sort of like a post-sequel episode? i wonder if this episode would be all that different if they made it in season 11. i don't mean this in a bad way, for the record -- i think this episode manages those traits really well.

mermaid man & barnacle boy vi: the motion picture (s4, ep 67b)

i don't really have much to say here i just think this one's funny as hell. it's not like it thrives off these intricate character dynamics, or this elaborate well-plotted story, its plot is just a vehicle for a flurry of ridiculous jokes that all end up hitting for me. you know that thing where you see some bad movie and are like, "i could do better than that!" despite having no filmmaking experience? that's the central conceit of this episode, and it works to hilarious effect.

this episode may not thrive off of intricate character dynamics sure, but i still think it uses its characters very well. it does a good job finding everyone's role in making the movie, from spongebob as director, squidward as the makeup artiste, sandy as the pyrotechnician ("Did somebody say BOOM?!"), plankton as the boom operator ("Did somebody say BOOM?!") and of course, pearl as the boatmobile. it does such a good job putting every character in a position where they have extremely high, extremely unearned confidence.

and that's really just where this episode succeeds! it's not complicated, you throw dynamic characters in a ridiculous situation and mine the comedy gold. helps that this episode has some killer running gags.

boating buddies (s6, ep 109a)

yeah, let's throw a controversial pick on here, why the hell not. so to make things abundantly clear: i do not in the slightest think this is one of the best spongebob episodes ever written. i also totally get why most people hate this one, and i don't think it's unjustified! that being said, when i was watching through season 6, i found this one of the funniest episodes of that season, and after thinking it through a bit, i think i understand why.

i'm not gonna try and dance around the argument that this episode ramps up spongebob's creepiness to absurd levels, or that it's unreasonably cruel to squidward, because it does and it is! HOWEVER. a lot of those criticisms seem to be under the assumption that, like most episodes, we're supposed to root against squidward and for spongebob. and like, that is clearly not the case here. this is very much an episode told from squidward's point of view. squidward doesn't like spongebob, so this episode will show us spongebob's worst side. squidward can't catch a break, because we've all had those days, right? this is an episode that puts the audience in squidward's shoes, and shows us why he's the way he is.

and i dunno, i think when you watch the episode under that pretense, it ends up working! or, at least it does for me. again, i can totally get why someone wouldn't like that characterization even if they understand the perspective this episode is written from. but to me, it ends up making gags like spongebob being able to hear squidward breathing from his house, or the drawn-out blackboard gag set to an orchestral score work that much better. throw in a frenetic boating scene towards the end with that surreal laboratory sequence for a bit of extra energy, and ultimately it ends up being an episode i enjoy. it's definitely not gonna be for everyone, i wouldn't necessarily highly recommend this one, but if you're gonna watch it, at least try to do so with the writers' intentions in mind.

planet of the jellyfish (s8, ep 169b)

you know, for as long as the show's been on the air, it doesn't feel like you really get those big, outside-the-box episodes all that often. spongebob is a show with a comfortable status quo, rarely deviating from its usual character dynamics, locations, and stock stories, so when we get something like this "invasion of the body snatchers" pastiche, it ends up standing out a lot more among its peers.

i think they made a good decision with this episode to keep spongebob oblivious about what's going on just long enough to mine that for its comedic potential, and no longer. if you had that eat away at much more of the episode, i think it could've dragged, but we get the best material of spongebob's obliviousness (like his awkward conversation with the jelly squidward, or seeing the jellien attempting to bite him and assuming it just wants popcorn), and after that the story lets spongebob find out, lets the story move on, and start building the suspense

i think that the monster movie pastiche does a good job giving this episode a unique flavor, it ends up feeling a bit higher stakes than a lot of spongebob episode, while also using this opportunity to riff on the genre and make a lot of silly and offbeat jokes, like the jellies kidnapping spongebob's spatula for some reason, spongebob freaking out about all his friends being kidnapped... and some random incidental, all the jelly clones hissing at a dude for ordering a patty with mayo (which turns out to be their weakness!), it feels like it does a good job making the most of its genre parody.

krabby patty creature feature (s11, ep 222a)

oh hey, another b-movie monster movie pastiche. look, i'm not gonna beat around the bush. i'm a sucker for these things, okay? in general, season 11 is probably one of my favorite seasons of the later part of the show's run, i think it generally does a good job feeling fresh with a mix of new character pairings, offbeat story concepts, and a handful of genre pastiches. like this one! truth be told there's absolutely other S11 episodes i could've picked that'd give this list more variety (squid noir would probably be my next choice, consider that an honorable mention) but listen. monster movie episodes are fun, okay?

compared to planet of the jellyfish, i think creature feature is generally a bit more frantic, really thriving from the sense of urgency the story concept provides. less suspense, more action! unlike the previous episode, this episode puts spongebob at the center of the action right from the start, letting him see the situation unfold and ultimately become the one tasked with stopping it. perhaps you miss out on some of the jokes about spongebob's naivety, but the increased tension more than makes up for it. plus we can now use that time to show how the mayhem is effecting people around town, get gags where bubble bass complains about the cheap promotional stunt, or a cop complaining about the zombie apocalypse interrupting his break. good stuff!

this is another episode where i think i have to give a shout out to the animation. i know some people complain about the recent seasons being overanimated, which is a complaint i definitely feel for some episodes, but i think this episode uses its really expressive, really fluid animation to great effect, really selling us on spongebob's terror with these big expressions. i also gotta shoutout some of the character designs for the patty monster versions of the characters, you can tell the animators working on this episode had to have a blast with it, and i feel like the end result really pays off.

and... that's it for the episodes i feel like talking about right now! is this the Cream of the Crop? probably not, but they're all episodes i've enjoyed, and it's nice getting to sit back, elaborate why i like these episodes so much (even if it's been pretty time-consuming LMAO). thanks for asking!