Everyone sound the alarm, because I can’t believe it…we have an episode about Pearl! Well, kind of. It’s more about Mr. Krabs, but he’s doing everything in this episode for Pearl, so I’m counting it. Ugh, it has been too long. Also, before I even get into “Growth Spout”, gotta shout-out pamtri’s
video that is partly about this episode. It’s very disturbing. Okay let’s do it.
The episode takes a second to get moving, but once Mr. Krabs goes over to Pearl’s room, things start getting entertaining real fast. Easily the biggest strength of this episode is that it balances Mr. Krabs being a good father with him being cheap extremely well. Like honestly this might be the best showing of these two things together…ever! I thought “Whale of a Birthday” was pretty good, so it could be on par with that. “Bossy Boots” didn’t have as much of a focus on the father-daughter relationship or even the cheapness. But here, both aspects of Mr. Krabs’ character are focused on, to the point where they
both drive the humor and the plot. It’s amazing!
The plot of this episode is very enjoyable. Like I was saying, I love how it takes elements of Mr. Krabs being cheap and a good father with him stealing from everybody just to feed Pearl. I also love that Mrs. Puff appears in this episode, that’s an instant win right there. And I love how she’s ready to kick butt lol. Mr. Krabs sneaking around Squidward’s house is also pretty entertaining. Squidward keeps his house stocked, dang. Can my place be like that? And then we have Mr. Krabs’ final house call, where he turns up at SpongeBob’s place. I love how they don’t even mess around and SpongeBob just immediately turns the lights on. SpongeBob’s desire for a slumber party is super cute.
And then I love how Squidward just pulls up outta nowhere, somehow knowing that Mr. Krabs stole his food. That whole sequence was pretty entertaining. Mr. Krabs’ despair about not knowing how to feed Pearl is great, because once again he’s a good dad in this episode and I love to see it! And then I love how it’s SpongeBob who comes up with the obvious solution—Krabby Patties! And I love how the episode brings back Mr. Krabs’ cheap self by showing his hesitation towards doing so, which is likely why he didn’t think to go to the Krusty Krab first. It’s called good writing. Once we get to the Krusty Krab, I’m treated with a gorgeous, gorgeous background, so that’s an instant win. And I love the delightfully cheesy and wholesome reveal that SpongeBob simply made the patty with love.
This episode has also got some really great jokes and gags. Like the bit with the cracker and chopped liver was really funny. And then there’s so many great quips and throwaway lines from Mr. Krabs in this episode, like when he’s all dismayed about having paid $30 for the ruined bed. All of Patrick’s food being sand was also brilliant. The bit with the cops and Mrs. Puff was also a very unexpected example of awkward humor being done well. After the mess that was awkward humor in season 6, I needed that. Honestly I just love how incompetent these cops are lol, and I like how they appear more than once. Makes the episode feel more cohesive. When Squidward calls the cops on Mr. Krabs, it was hilarious how the threat of firing didn’t even faze him.
I really enjoyed “Growth Spout”. It was refreshing to not only see Pearl again, but to also see Mr. Krabs simply be a good dad to her. I feel like Mr. Krabs’ fatherly relationships with people have been put by the wayside as of late (I mean chronologically in my reviews, I know that stuff is back in the newer seasons). And I don’t just mean with Pearl, but with SpongeBob too. So this episode was a very welcome return to that. Additionally, the episode was just very entertaining and hilarious. I have no complaints at all. This episode continues season 7’s amazingly strong start. Like this is the strongest start to a season since season 4, maybe even season 2 if we want to measure by exact scores, not just tiers. Too bad the next episode ends this completely.
Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9.4/10
