I love all the banter that's been going on since I put "The Cent of Money" on my list so here's the 16th episode and it's one that's much more commonly talked about. Here you go.
16.
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash, and Steven Banks
Storyboards by Luke Brookshier and Nate Cash
SBMania Rating: 3.5
There haven't been too many episodes on my countdown that have appeared on this list that had Luke Brookshier's involvement in them. The worst that he's had his name on so far have been episodes where they are either remakes of a previous episode or episodes where the concept was interesting by itself but the execution itself was boring as can possibly be. I personally find him to be one of the best of the people that were hired to write for SpongeBob after the movie so it's no surprise that there are many of his episodes that I do like and that I feel are the most faithful to what SpongeBob is actually about. It's no surprise that he found work on Gravity Falls after SpongeBob and has also been on Uncle Grandpa lately, which I have really started to like as of recently. But it doesn't excuse episodes like this which seem to be a lot more mean spirited in nature. It's also another Steven Banks premise gone wrong. Note to self, be more cautious whenever I see him credited for an epsiode, unless it's my favorite post movie episode "The Two Faces of Squidward." Let's examine why this episode is so bad. Oh yeah, another putrid purple title card. This will be good.
The episode starts out with Patrick ordering a meal at the Krusty Krab. Nothing really wrong here. Patrick's being goofy and silly and not braindead or anything. He orders a kids meal and all is right with the world until he finds that he doesn't have any money to pay for the meal. He starts to cry and Spongebob suggests that they share the meal together. Okay, so I'm not really seeing what's so heinous about this episode yet. They have a good setup with regards to the plot so far but quickly after this is where the episode starts to fall apart.
As SpongeBob is explaining what sharing is to Patrick, Patrick for no reason whatsoever decides to act like an ::dolphin noise:: and takes SpongeBob's wallet without asking him for permission. I mean wow. SpongeBob hasn't even done anything wrong to the guy and he's already getting pissed off. I don't get it and the weird part is that SpongeBob yet again doesn't notice what happened. Already this episode has a major plot hole.
Patrick eats his food and then again, for no reason starts to act like a ::dolphin noise::. Just look at his expression on his face. At least with "I'm With Stupid" there was much more context to the setup and why Patrick acts the way he does (he's so worried about trying to impress his parents that he gets carried with it. Remember, Patrick can also be really stupid so he kinda forgets that Spongebob is just trying to help him out and if you watch that episode, it's sort of like he's just playing along and really starts to think that SpongeBob is stupid. I don't think he intentionally meant to act like a jerk in that episode and I think it gave his character a little bit more dimension and real life kind of substance. The episode isn't organized that well but it still manages to make the most out of the comedy for me. Intention and context really matter for me and that's what can make or break an episode possibly more than the ending of one). This is what separates episodes like "I'm With Stupid," "Rule of Dumb", and "Driven to Tears" from stuff like this for me.
(for no reason basically. This is the kind of Patrick i HATE. You know, the guy who takes wallets from people without asking)
vs.
(I really think Patrick makes a great point in this scene. Life isn't all about what SpongeBob wants to do and I really appreciate that.)
Anyway, Patrick angrily demands a refund and Mr. Krabs hears this from his bathtub of money. Mr. Krabs comes up with an idea of making a toy of a Krabby Patty so Patrick won't be so upset. Some people have said this is a reference to "To Love a Patty" but I'm not really seeing the resemblance there in all honesty.
There's actually a good scene where SpongeBob is in awe of the toy that Krabs made. That's actually a pretty nice touch in my opinion. Sometimes bad episodes can have at least something good to talk about. And pretty much the only funny scene in the episode.
And okay, I can sort of now see where people are getting To Love a Patty here but they luckily don't take it that far so I'm willing to also let that slide. I can interpret this scene as more SpongeBob playing make believe with the toy and being overly happy about it. Nothing romantic was implied as far as I can tell. It's still sort of a believable situation.
Patrick sours the mood by acting like a jerk again. He's really starting to annoy me and it only gets worse from here. The episode stops to a grinding halt in terms of pacing and humor because Patrick just won't stop being so angry and mean and he even makes fun of the way SpongeBob talks and stuff with his face. Not good, guys. Not good.
SpongeBob didn't even have the toy for that long and Patrick's all angry and wanting to take the toy from him. That is just wrong on so many levels on top of not making any sense. The rest of the episode is just Patrick continually hogging the toy for himself. No humor and no sign that he isn't intentionally trying to do this on purpose. He is hellbent on making sure that SpongeBob doesn't have a single minute to play with the toy.
Later that night, Patrick has a party with the Patty Pal for loud music and everything just when SpongeBob didn't think he'd be playing with the toy that much. In the morning, SpongeBob decides to go over to Patrick's rock to see if he'll share the toy with him now and Patrick tries to try that trick he did back in "Suds" to keep SpongeBob away. I guess that's a good callback and it doesn't excuse all the wrong that this episode has committed in the first six minutes.
Patrick asks if Spongebob has any ID and he gets out his milkshake dispenser license (I think this episode inspired "License to Milkshake." Weird how a much better episode can be inspired by such a crappy one.). This scene is dragged out for way too long and eventually the two start to fight over the toy. Patrick out of nowhere makes a reference to Facebook. Hmmmmmm....I wonder if anyone noticed that when they were watching this episode. It's so weird how this episode can be so bad but still manage to have these random jokes here and there.
I think that's really the last saving grace to this episode because Patrick acts like even more of a jerk fighting with SpongeBob over the toy. SpongeBob keeps trying to convince Patrick to let go of the toy for just a couple of seconds and NOTHING seems to work. They trade the toy every second and finally they realized that not even that's working so they chase each other out of anger and frustration and end up at Sandy's. Sandy decides to be the mediator in the conflict and SB and Patrick forget that they don't have their helmets on (weird how they made the same mistake in "House Sittin' for Sandy" and "Face Freeze." I wonder if that was intentional). I wish they had just ended the episode right there with Sandy solving their problems. I think it would have made this episode a lot more bearable because even though Patrick acts like a jerk for no reason, there are surprisingly some decent jokes here and there and combine that with a really good ending and wow, I doubt the episode would be so high on my list or even on my list at all. What a shame that wasn't the case.
To add insult to injury, when SpongeBob and Patrick run outside, SpongeBob for no reason forgets who Sandy is. Ummmmm.....okay?????? Having learned nothing, the two continue to fight over the toy and roll over each other all throughout town and end up in a subway and continue to fight. This scene also drags out for too long and really comes across as being unnecessary and over the top when they could have just ended the episode right then and there. They end up at the Krusty Krab and Patrick decides that if no one can have the toy, he'll just have to eat it for himself. What a fat, smug, selfish pig. I hate Patrick so much in this episode.
Mr. Krabs comes in and SpongeBob and Patrick try to explain what happen. Patrick actually lies to Mr. Krabs if you pay attention closely by saying that he didn't have the toy for that long when he had it the ENTIRE time. Turns out Mr. Krabs had a bunch of toys made and all seems right with the world again, right? WRONG again. Patrick SAYS that this time he'll pay for it, but instead grabs SpongeBob's wallet without asking and says the worst line in the entire episode. "Have you learned nothing about sharing?" WHAT??????????????????????? How the hell did Patrick not learn anything this entire episode even after fighting with SpongeBob constantly because Spongebob wanted to have the toy for just a couple of seconds. This not only makes no sense at all but it's one of the most mean spirited endings I've ever seen on this show. Wow.
Hint for the next episode: Another Season 7 episode that makes even less sense than this episode.
