No matter how I slice it, this episode is genius. Combining a dark atmosphere, yet making it witty and fun is what I thought to be impossible. It's basically a Courage the Cowardly Dog premise implemented into SpongeBob. It doesn't mess around, it gets to the point, and it gives great jokes a long the way. No one is ill meaning, no one feels intolerable, even Mr. Krabs who for once doesn't care about money at all (for most of the episode). I love how the cops are put here, they make it very dark yet understandably fun. Because we know the inspector isn't actually dead, so it works in a way that makes light of the situation. Krabs and SpongeBob didn't intend to kill him, they thought he was trying to steal. The touch of it being a fly at first, is great, because he didn't even eat the patty. Their continued missteps harming him is also accidental. It doesn't feel like a torture, considering SpongeBob is very remorseful. There are still stakes, of them landing in jail, so I still am invested, and the ending is also really funny. I felt kind of bad for the inspector throughout this, but it's not like a Squidward incident, because like I said, it revolves all around it. This is episode is awesome, I love it, a great Halloween episode to watch right after Scaredy Pants, and I will always save a spot for it in my Season 3 top 10.
I thought this episode was GREAT: 9.7/10