So...“The Krusty Slammer” is basically a critique of the prison-industrial complex.
I’m all the way kidding, but y’all know I couldn’t resist, this was quite low-hanging fruit. Not but seriously I think there’s gotta be some critique of private prisons buried in here somewhere, please let there be please please please.
Okay let’s get to talking about the episode for real. I love how over the years, Plankton’s plans have gotten pettier and pettier, to the point where we’re now at comedic vandalism insulting Mr. Krabs. This gets Plankton arrested (by the same cop from “Call The Cops”…that’s another thing I’m liking about these newer seasons, they’re using the same characters and giving those characters a bit of personality. Makes the world feel smaller and more expansive at the same time). Because the jail is full, Plankton is forced to go free, much to the dismay of Mr. Krabs. Once Mr. Krabs realizes there’s money to be made in jailing Plankton, he decides to enter the prison business. I like how this episode basically just spells out how corrupt the prison system is in this country—I mean what? Yeah I can’t even pretend like that’s not what I’m saying.
You know what I’m really excited about with this episode? Squidward finally getting some lines. It feels like forever since we’ve seen him lol. I know it hasn’t been long at all, it just feels that way. He makes the predictable joke about having been a prisoner at the Krusty Krab for years. And no, predictable isn’t a problem here, especially with the way the episode treats the lame joke. Plankton manages to fool Mr. Krabs and escape…at least until he walks straight into a bear trap. His exaggerated reaction here was hilarious to me. So Mr. Krabs puts him in the “hole”, which is funnily one of SpongeBob’s pores. The empty look inside of SpongeBob looked really cool.
We then move to the “escalation” portion of the episode, as more prisoners get moved to the Krusty Krab. Of course, Mr. Krabs doesn’t mind cuz he keeps getting his cold hard cash. I feel like putting a prison inside a restaurant has gotta be breaking all kinds of codes. Though SpongeBob goes manage to make the layout look decent. And his little guard outfit is cute. I like how Mr. Krabs is truly a businessman, because he thinks on his feet and lies through his teeth saying that the Krusty Krab is now “prison-themed”.
We check back in on Plankton, who’s been in what is basically solitary confinement. And he’s gone insane. I promise you I am doing my best not to think of real world things, but I can’t help it, because solitary confinement is real and it does horrible things to one’s mental state, that kind of punishment is inhumane. And so that’s what I’m thinking about while watching this. Sure, it’s fun to watch Plankton be loony, but the real-world context is waiting in the wings, breathing its nastiness all over me.
Moving on, I love the
look of the Krusty Krab as a prison on the outside. It looks really cool, kinda like an apocalyptic Krusty Krab. After a neat mail call scene, we see Mr. Krabs continue to brutalize Plankton. Hey, at least there’s lots of visual gags here. But Mr. Krabs’ fun ends all too soon, as Plankton’s sentence is finished. And Mr. Krabs realizes that perhaps the prison business isn’t as lucrative as he thought, given how humane the prison is. Again, I feel like there’s a criticism of private prisons buried here somewhere…let me dream. Mr. Krabs trying to instill cheapness causes him to lose all of his customers though, so Mr. Krabs decides that it’s time to get out of the prison business, and so he simply kicks everyone out.
Surprisingly, the episode doesn’t end right there. Cuz turns out that the prisoners liked being at the Krusty Krab, so they seek SpongeBob out to break back in. Mr. Krabs’ yelling faces in this episode are really funny to me, they’re so expressive! And then Mr. Krabs gets arrested for releasing the prisoners. With the Krusty Krab full, he’s forced to stay at a new prison…the Chum Bucket. You know what? Deserved.
“The Krusty Slammer” was a good episode. I don’t have much to say about it. I don’t think it’s Amazing tier because it doesn’t quite have that “wow” factor for me, and besides the reminding me of real life issues always docks at least a few points, depending on how bad it is. This episode wasn’t that bad when it came to reminding me of real-world problems, mostly because it managed to be quite entertaining otherwise. So this episode still gets to be Great tier, although on the lower end.
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.3/10
