Next up we've got "Bubblestand", known to many as a classic, myself included! This episode really gets into the meat of the Squidward, SpongeBob, and Patrick dynamic, especially of them all as neighbors, which in my opinion is where the dynamic of the three of them truly is at its best. Additionally, this episode also establishes some more character traits. We're introduced to SpongeBob's (and Patrick's) bubble-blowing hobby, as well as Squidward's iconic clarinet playing.
This episode is simply hilarious. The constant back-and-forth between SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward is endlessly entertaining, and the episode is packed with visual gags in a showcase of the best animation seen in the show at this point. The bubble-blowing technique is one of the funniest and most memorable jokes in the entire show, which is very impressive for such an early episode. Patrick also shines with his classic "It's a giraffe!", not to mention his epic failure at blowing a bubble. SpongeBob is once again straddled between the line of adult and child with his lemonade-stand-esque "bubblestand", and it's done excellently. As for Squidward, we finally get to see more of him, as while he was present in the first two episodes, he didn't get to interact with SpongeBob in a vocal way. Now, though, we're treated to our first of many, many Squidward freakouts, and it's a treat.
Something I noticed in this episode is that it uses a lot of quick-cut gags. It's hard to explain what I mean. But like take the beginning of the episode for example, we've got SpongeBob standing outside, then it quickly cuts to him making the bubblestand. Later in the episode, when Squidward is considering blowing a bubble, SpongeBob quickly appears out of nowhere to tell Squidward to pay up. I don't know why this episode had so much of this, but either way it was hilarious.
This actually isn't an episode I find myself rewatching very often. Not for any particular reason, it's a great episode, but that's just how it is. I'm placing it in the "great" tier because while it was excellent and very funny, it doesn't really have that "wow" factor for me that bumps it up to "amazing". I can't put my finger on it, but there's something subdued about this episode. I really can't describe what I mean.
Episode tier: Great
Episode score: 8.7/10