Ah, my least favorite season 1 episode, we meet at last. Yeah, didn't feel like leaving you all in suspense, I'm just gonna say it straight up. I don't dislike this episode, but it's definitely not for me. So let's talk about it!
Let me start with the good here, because there's plenty of it. There's lots of funny moments in this episode. I've said before that the beginning of this episode has one of my favorite jokes in the whole show, SpongeBob throwing the fire extinguisher at the fire. That entire scene was peak comedy honestly. And there's some good moments after that too. Like Patrick chasing SpongeBob had some really funny parts to it, and I loved the whole Sandy and Patrick acting scene, especially once Patrick starts getting hysterical. The ending of the episode is a good stinger too. This episode spawned a couple good memes (savage Patrick, tired SpongeBob) back-to-back a few years ago, memes I still enjoy to this day. I just think it's funny that this episode not only spawned 2 memes, but the scene with the fire extinguisher also makes the rounds on Twitter every few months, and yet this episode is often forgotten about, or isn't very highly rated.
Now, the bad. My perception of "bad" in this episode is definitely super subjective, so I'm sure that there's plenty of people who like the parts I did not. For me, this episode drags immensely during its middle segment, and the chase between Patrick and SpongeBob unfortunately grows stale at some key moments. Even worse, when SpongeBob hides in the jellyfish nest, the episode just outright bores me all the way up until SpongeBob finally returns home. His lamenting walk is good, but at this point I'm already bored so the somber atmosphere doesn't really reinvigorate me. At least the hug between everybody is heartwarming. But this episode feels much longer than it actually is, which can either be a good thing or a bad thing. Considering what I've already said, I'm sure it's obvious that I consider this to be a bad thing for "Nature Pants" specifically.
I also just think this is such an...odd concept for an episode. It's very early in
SpongeBob SquarePants still, so I'll cut everyone some slack, but this episode just feels out of character. Sure, we know SpongeBob likes to jellyfish, but we've seen next to nothing of his love of nature up to this point in the series. And yes, SpongeBob is episodic, but I feel like this episode would've been helped by us knowing that SpongeBob likes nature enough to abandon his whole life in Bikini Bottom for it. I will say, though, that this episode's existence helps future episodes like The Sponge Who Could Fly, so this context works both ways.
You know, now that I'm thinking about it (and this has nothing to do with my actual review), this episode feels like a response to a certain
book that came out a few years prior (a book I was forced to read in high school)...I wonder if this was intentional? Kids, don't go try to live in the wild. It's a bad idea (not to mention supports imperialism).
Anyway, this episode is, to me, this show's first dud. And that's okay! Every show has duds. Because it's a dud that I feel so ambivalent towards, and avoid rewatching, this episode also marks the first to be put in my "Okay" tier, just barely missing the mark for "Good". This isn't a bad episode, but there's just too many problems with it for me to enjoy watching it all that much. I usually watch the first scene and then skip the rest, which isn't a great sign.
Episode Tier: Okay
Episode Score: 6.9/10
