18b. Walking Small

I find it a 62/100.
 
I really like watching this episode. It feels kinda like a sequel to the episode "Plankton!" that expands Spongebob and Plankton's relationship as closely-tied acquaintances. Spongebob's obliviousness to Plankton's schemes actually works, since he has some pretty charming lines and is just trying to turn Plankton's horrible schemes into activities that people can enjoy. Also, i know I don't speak of this too often, but the animation in here is pretty strong here. Aaron Springer really fell off in the seasons to come, but this is one of his best works as a storyboarder. He did some interesting and cool things with the character designs.
 
This episode has always been one of my favorites of season 1. The jokes practically rock. And it was a nice cooldown after the bad clutches of Texas. But the highlight? We have TWO highlights! Steppin on the beach and "You used me... FOR LAND DEVELOPMENT?!" and plus there are no lowlights.

Rating: Perfect Episode

Rankings:
SB-129 (Perfect)
Walking Small (Perfect)
Sleepy Time (Amazing!)
F.U.N. (Amazing!)
Pizza Delivery (Amazing!)
Reef Blower (Amazing!)
Rock Bottom (Amazing!)
Opposite Day (Amazing!)
Help Wanted (Amazing!)
Pickles (Amazing!)
Plankton! (Amazing!)
Naughty Nautical Neighbors (Amazing!)
Arrgh! (Great)
STUFG (Great)
Employee of the Month (Great)
Squeaky Boots (Great)
Bubblestand (Great)
Jellyfishing (Great)
Valentine's Day (Great)
MMABB (Great)
Suds (Great)
I Was a Teenage Gary (Great)
Scaredy Pants (Great)
Karate Choppers (Great)
Ripped Pants (Okay)
Boating School (Okay)
Hall Monitor (Okay)
Culture Shock (Okay)
Tea at the Treedome (Meh)
Jellyfish Jam (Meh)
Sandy's Rocket (Meh)
Texas (Bad)
The Chaperone (Bad)
Home Sweet Pineapple (Bad)
MuscleBob BuffPants (Bad)
The Paper (Terrible)
Nature Pants (Terrible)
 
Sponge's evil laugh in this episode is ADORBS!!
 
Ah, hello most underrated episode of season 1, how are you today? Yep, we're talking about "Walking Small"! I think this episode is extremely underrated, though looking at the page of reviews above me, it seems at least most of y'all agree with me that this episode is excellent, so maybe it's not the most underrated any more.

This episode, just like its sister episode, is a great one for character explorations and relationships between characters. Someone above me said this episode feels like a sequel to "Plankton!", and I 100% agree with that. I'd even say that it builds on some of what we saw in "F.U.N." as well. I also think this episode walked so "The Abrasive Side" could run, but that's a conversation for another day.

SpongeBob, as is the story of season 1, is absolutely adorable in this episode. "Steppin' on the Beach" is just...great. A good establishing character moment, a fun little jingle, and a fun bit of animation too. SpongeBob trying to learn how to be assertive is also very cute, and like the poster above me said, his evil laugh is adorable. I also like that this episode takes place at Goo Lagoon, because I think that's a fun episode location. 3 different episodes took place here in this season, which feels like a lot when you think about how it kind of stopped being used for a while.

Plankton is also great in this episode. His dramatics about admitting that he's small is hilarious and completely in character (dramatic Plankton is the best Plankton), and I love that his evil plot in this episode is just real estate and capitalism (SpongeBob writers are you...you know).

SpongeBob and Plankton's interactions in this episode are great, and this is where I see connections to "Plankton!" and "F.U.N.", because these two characters together is just amazing. It's a testament to the writing ability of the writers of this show that 3+ characters can all act as "straightmen" to SpongeBob's antics, or as the moon to SpongeBob's sun, and they're all done in such varying ways that it never becomes dull or boring. And honestly, because Plankton is so dramatic and crazy sometimes, SpongeBob almost acts as the "straightman" to him at times! This episode does a great job at showing that, I think. SpongeBob is just so pure and good, and Plankton is just so selfish, and it's great to see these two interact, especially when Plankton isn't necessarily a card-carrying villain all the time (one of the reasons I love how modern episodes have these two interact).

I truly don't have any issues with this episode. It's never slow or boring for me, and I find it to be pretty funny way more than once. So, it sits in my "Amazing" tier, and it's in my top 5 episodes of the season.

Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9.5/10
 
I wish that Sponge stayed aggressive. We NEED to make a parody about that.
 
Masterpiece. 10/10.
 
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this episode has the best song in the show
STEPPING ON THE BEACH DOO DOO DOO DOO
  1. Pizza Delivery (10/10)
  2. Ripped Pants (10/10)
  3. The Paper (10/10)
  4. Walking Small (10/10)
  5. Sb-129 (9.5/10)
  6. Suds (9.5/10)
  7. F.U.N (9.5/10)
  8. Sleepy Time (9/10)
  9. Texas (9/10)
  10. Karate Choppers (9/10)
  11. Arrgh! (8.5/10)
  12. Plankton! (8.5/10)
  13. Pickles (8.5/10)
  14. Scaredy Pants (8.5/10)
  15. Naught Nautical Neighbors (8/10)
  16. Boating School (8/10)
  17. Nature Pants (8/10)
  18. Squidward The Unfriendly Ghost (8/10)
  19. Culture Shock (8/10)
  20. Employee Of The Month (8/10)
  21. Mermaid And Barnacle Boy (8/10)
  22. Jellyfish Jam (8/10)
  23. Help Wanted (8/10)
  24. Bubble Stand (8/10)
  25. Opposite Day (7.5/10)
  26. Rock Bottom (7/10)
  27. Reef Blower (6.5/10)
  28. The Chaperone (6/10)
  29. Tea At The Treedome (5.5/10)
  30. Hall Monitor (3.5/10)
  31. Home Sweet Pineapple (3/10)
  32. Valentines Day (3/10)
  33. Sandy's Rocket (2.5/10)
  34. Musclebob Buffpants (2.5/10)
  35. I was a Teenage Gary (2.5/10)
  36. Jellyfishing (2.5/10)
 
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