Sigh. Here we go. "Dumped" is the first real dud of SpongeBob SquarePants. It simply ain't all that great. But there are some good moments in here, I will give it that. Let's talk about it.
The episode begins well with SpongeBob and Gary playing tag all cute, you know I love me some SpongeBob and Gary moments, so imagine my surprise and disappointment as the episode goes on. We see Gary starting to show a preference towards Patrick, which to me is already like "wtf" and very out of character, as in-character these people stay in this show at least.
"Dumped" begins to lose me when SpongeBob realizes that Gary isn't following him though. First off, it's unpleasant to watch SpongeBob get increasingly upset by this. And then Patrick's reaction does NOT help at all because he's highkey a little bit of a jerkwad. Like Patrick do you even know how to take care of an animal? (*gets "Pet Sitter Pat" flashbacks...or flashforwards?*). Patrick does not act like a friend towards SpongeBob at all this episode, it's infuriating. Also, another thing about character behavior in this episode, but I keep going back and forth as to whether Gary himself makes me mad and I think I'm going to settle on yes but also no. Because like I would understand if they always made Gary stay more animalistic, but as shown in Sleepy Time he very clearly has a mind of his own, so why exactly are his actions being guided by a cookie???? Especially when SpongeBob could easily get him a cookie if he just asked, because clearly SpongeBob understands Gary when he talks (ignoring episodes like "Chatterbox Gary" in this instance). So like what gives?
This episode is extremely frustrating because of this, and like I said it's not fun to watch SpongeBob be heartbroken this whole time. The montage of new pets isn't horrible, but it isn't fun to see SpongeBob get mistreated by Larry and Rex either. Jerry isn't too bad though. By the time Patrick comes over and starts patronizing SpongeBob, I'm seeing red, so now I'm really not enjoying what I'm watching.
BUT. This episode does improve by the very end. The very end of this episode saves "Dumped" from being in anything lower than my "Mediocre" tier, because it makes the episode almost kind of but not really worth watching. SpongeBob crying over the soap would've been funnier if Patrick wasn't there. But past that, once Gary gets that dang cookie out of Patrick's pants, everything starts coming up Pugs because Gary abandons Patrick and goes by SpongeBob's side, where he belongs. And then once SpongeBob and Gary leave Patrick in the dust, the catharsis pleases me greatly. Fagerbakke's delivery on "I thought what we had was special!" is likewise amazing, and really sells the moment. This is truly the only really great moment in this episode, and it helps save some of its worse qualities for me.
So, clearly, I'm not a fan of "Dumped". It is frustrating, out of character, and not enjoyable. However, the beginning of this episode is cute, and the ending is really good and funny, so that elevates this episode a little bit, landing it right at the edge of my "Mediocre" tier, landing it right above my (Barely) "Tolerable" tier. It better be grateful it doesn't teeter over the edge.
Episode Tier: Mediocre
Episode Score: 5/10
