Now hold the phone…I know that’s not
Hawaiian Train playing as the title card for “The Whole Tooth”, I know it just isn’t…man, haven’t heard that one in a
very long time. Not since season 5. Anyway…wow, we’re at the end of season 9! Honestly, this month has been going very slowly, so I can’t even say anything about being surprised that we’re already here lol. And this season was very much a test of my limits, because why does it have so many episodes ahhhh (season 10 will be my only reprieve).
This episode begins with funny faces that blow the ones in “Face Freeze!” out of the water. And it’s all caused by SpongeBob and Patrick having fun with their saltwater taffy. This gives Patrick a bad toothache, which reminds me that this episode is gonna be leaning heavily towards the child side of the child-adult line. Toothaches are some of the worst pains out there, I hate mouth pains. I’ve read something about how mouth infections are also some of the most dangerous because of the direct line to your brain…makes sense to me!
“The Whole Tooth” is, at least at first, one of those plots about a character with a toothache refusing to go to the dentist because they’re scared of them. It’s like “Suds”, except worse. Oop. But it’s true. For one thing, it’s more boring. And I’ve never much cared for these plots anyway. I do at least appreciate the attempts at making the dentist look like a very horrific place. And at least this part of the plot doesn’t last too long, thankfully. Instead, it becomes a plot about Patrick trying to avoid having his last baby tooth taken out, which is more interesting to me.
I understand why the episode does this, but why am I being forced to listen to a baby tooth cry for way too long in this episode? Maybe it’s because of my current job, but I’ve got a fight
and flight instinct when I hear babies crying, particularly in TV (in real life, of course, I can stand it because it’s real…there’s just something about the real sound vs. fake sound I guess). Like yes, I know the joke is that Patrick is trying to “Rock-A-Bye Bivalve” his way out of this situation, but that doesn’t mean I feel like seeing this.
Moving on, things are better once we enter the Krusty Krab. The joke with the seal was great. And Squidward breaking the news about the tooth fairy is great too. As always, he is meant to stamp on childhood dreams LMAO. But anyway, we move on to my favorite type of scene—a chase scene! (why do y’all think I like
Mission: Impossible,
Fast and Furious, and
John Wick so much? Well, I also adore
The Equalizer, but I don’t remember those movies having chase scenes lol). This scene is full of so much fun visuals and expressiveness. I love SpongeBob’s outfit here, and the music is great. We need more of this music for chase scenes.
The ending of this episode is fun as well. I love Patrick’s betrayal at SpongeBob seemingly pretending to be the tooth fairy, while Squidward acts like a jobless loser about it (I say this with love). And of course, we get the reveal that the tooth fairy is actually the Tooth Ferry, which is some clever wordplay. I also love how SpongeBob and Patrick don’t let Squidward renege on their bet. Love when they’ve got backbones.
Episode Tier: Good
Episode Score: 7.4/10
And that's the end of season 9! It has been quite a ride. Very tiring, very grueling, but as always, very worth it. Overview drops tomorrow, then onwards to season 10!
I also love the crazy gags in this episode, and of course, the animation!
