“Salsa Imbecilicus” does not have the greatest rep. It also does not have a great title, do you know how annoying it is to spell that thing? This was one of those episodes I hadn’t seen in a very long time, and it was because of the bad reputation of this one.
Just like last episode, “Salsa Imbecilicus” begins with Plankton trying to steal the formula. Well, in this case it’s the direct aftermath of such an attempt, as Mr. Krabs kicks him out of the Krusty Krab, literally. This causes Plankton to crash into Sandy’s boot, which excites me because maybe we’ll see these two interact well like we did in “Perfect Chemistry”! Unfortunately I get…not that. They at least have a present interaction, I guess, but it could’ve literally been anyone who Plankton crashed into. Like Squidward would’ve had the same effect. But I’m glad it was Sandy, of course I am.
The interaction gives Plankton the idea to make Mr. Krabs as dumb as Patrick by literally taking Patrick’s DNA. This scene is decently entertaining, and it includes that one pretty famous joke with Plankton and the tongue. Why Plankton thinks he’s gonna be able to feed Krabs anything, I have no idea, but at least this leads to a funny scene between him and Karen.
Things go awry immediately for Plankton, as a sauce bubble pops on him and he becomes stupid. So I guess the gas of the sauce is enough to turn people stupid, as it somehow gets into a cloud which goes over all of Bikini Bottom. Yeah, a lot of suspension of disbelief in this episode. Anyway, everyone gets stupid except Sandy and Karen because of an air-sealed helmet and technology, respectively. Now, that’s one thing I like about this episode a lot: Karen and Sandy teaming up, because it was about time.
So, big issue number one: seeing everyone be this stupid is not entertaining. Also…Patrick isn’t even this kind of stupid. For me, Patrick’s stupidity was always more about his approach to situations, not how he spends his time, if that makes sense. That was a big issue throughout the last couple seasons, and it’s been brought back in this episode, at least with this episode’s understanding of what Patrick’s stupidity means.
Second big issue: the episode is kinda boring. Like the montage of school? Boring. The plot also bores me. And I already said I don’t find watching everyone act stupid to be entertaining. And then the whole “high school bully” aspect of the plot bores me to death. This show is not one for high school cliches. Not unless it’s a Pearl episode. This school stuff was pretty boring until we get the reveal that Mr. Krabs was acting. That’s the only real entertaining part to me.
“Salsa Imbecilicus” was a dud, plain and simple. It was just
boring, and fundamentally misunderstood Patrick, which does not help at all. At least it ended on a
gorgeous background (basically the same one as last episode, lol), so that’s a high note. But seriously, not a great episode.
Episode Tier: Mediocre
Episode Score: 5.7/10