Moving right along in this home stretch of season 5, we've got "The Battle of Bikini Bottom", and, well...it's certainly not the video game lol. And by this I mean the plot is completely different, let's not get into enjoyment factors yet. Battle For Bikini Bottom works best as a video game plot, and the plot of this episode works best for an episode plot. That's all.
This is an episode about SpongeBob and Patrick’s friendship, and I’m typically never opposed to those. And that’s not a set up for a “but” sentence either, because I like their friendship here as well. I think usually the friendship between SpongeBob and Patrick is at its worst in episodes that aren’t necessarily focused on their bond but on some other aspect of their dynamic (“Driven To Tears” was more about SpongeBob’s envy of Patrick, although it was undermined by Patrick being a jerkwad, for example). But episodes that focus on their best friendship like “The Pink Purloiner” are usually pretty good or at least decent. All of this is also to say that the beginning scene of the episode is super cute and wholesome, and I love how their shopping quickly devolves as they take the shirts too literally. I’m ashamed to say that once again I was expecting the joke to fall flat here…modern SpongeBob hate propaganda is still embedded deep in me even as I try to shake it off. But as per usual I keep being pleasantly surprised by how much I’m enjoying myself, such as with the shirt gags. The scene is dramatic but not irritating, and I’m chuckling when they get kicked out of the mall. And I like this as the setup for this episode, with SpongeBob and Patrick wanting to find some clothes that represent their best friendship.
Once we move on to the (loser) battle reenactors, I love how Patrick completely just pulls some BS out about what the Battle of Bikini Bottom was. The story was pretty entertaining and funny too, and yet another good setup for what this episode is gonna be. The concept of a battle being about being clean vs. being dirty is just hilarious to me, and such a perfectly Patrick interpretation. I also like that this is the perfect conflict for SpongeBob and Patrick. Shallow, but also serious enough to warrant a somewhat justified fight over. Much better than something like one of them being a jerk and bad friend for no reason. And I’m definitely with SpongeBob here, Patrick is nasty. Wash your damn hands!
Things continue to be pretty entertaining as the differences between SpongeBob and Patrick begin to show themselves. One thing that this episode does pretty well is fun visuals. I like the way cleanliness and dirtiness are portrayed here. And I love all the quick quips that SpongeBob and Patrick throw around, like SpongeBob being like “you, me, and this can of disinfectant spray”. And as the arguing escalates, I love how SpongeBob and Patrick just steal some people’s clothes. As much as I hate the real life equivalents of these fits, SpongeBob and Patrick are definitely rocking them here.
Once the actual “battling” begins, we get lots of fun back and forth between SpongeBob and Patrick, in the form of words, attacks, and gags of all kinds. These gags range from being simply amusing to being really hilarious, and it feels like “Employee of the Month”, especially with Grass Skirt Chase playing. Except I kind of like these gags more than “Employee of The Month”…kind of. With “Employee of the Month” I liked the questioning of how Squidward and SpongeBob got into these compromising positions, while in this episode we get to see the gags in their entirety. Anyway, I liked all the bits here during their battle in Jellyfish Fields (I’m assuming that’s where they are based on the grass?). I think the part where SpongeBob launches himself at Patrick with a toothbrush and toothpaste is hilarious because of the way he’s smiling like a maniac during the whole thing. Now that I think about it, this episode feels a lot like “To Save A Squirrel” too, with SpongeBob and Patrick getting increasingly insane lol. And the gags are accompanied with some great dramatics too as SpongeBob and Patrick react to being the opposite state of what they want. Another standout from this scene is the booger bit, I love the live-action stills used (a design choice for this show that I’ve always loved but I don’t think I’ve mentioned before…they use it sparingly which makes it never lose its charm, just like the close-up paintings).
And then we suddenly move to the Krusty Krab, which (pretending like I don’t know this episode’s plot here) I was not expecting, but hey I’m not complaining. It’s only that the Krusty Krab’s frequent appearance kind of highlights how…missing characters like Sandy, Pearl, and Mrs. Puff are in this show, especially in this era. But that’s a conversation for another time. The brief Mr. Krabs segment in this part of the episode was really funny, and fully justified the use of the Krusty Krab for this final act. And the new location does lead to some more fun gags, like the onions or the patties, so I really can’t dislike it at all. Speaking of the patties, I love this part a lot lol. Patrick’s ::dolphin noise::-eating grin as he stomps around in the patties is great, and SpongeBob’s reaction makes the whole thing hilarious. And this scene uses a track that I love that is also rarely used,
Hawaiian Party, so it’s really just a win-win-win for me. And once SpongeBob reaches his breaking point, I love how he basically physically beats Patrick lol. A good climax to all of this fun action we’ve been seeing.
See what’s really nice about this episode is that although SpongeBob and Patrick are fighting for most of it, the fighting never feels that serious, so it's fun to watch. And as the fighting ends once SpongeBob gets completely filthy, and Patrick squeaky clean, and the two realize the other made them their own personal heaven, it feels really satisfying to see the two get along again and get something good out of their fight. I also love that SpongeBob basically roasts the battle reenactors with some thesaurus speaking. And it works! Yes, no more battle reenactments! It's loser behavior what can I say? The last shot of the episode is also a lovely view of a Bikini Bottom sunset, closing the curtain on this great episode.
"The Battle of Bikini Bottom" was a really enjoyable episode for me, and one I was pleasantly surprised by because I never remembered liking it so much, but now I have seen the light. There’s no real low point to this episode, because it’s funny and enjoyable from start to finish. The plot of the episode is quite simple, and so the 11 minutes are largely spent like “Employee of the Month”, with a collection of gags. And these gags, although they have the same premises, they never get stale because they vary a lot. And like I said before, I love seeing a SpongeBob and Patrick friendship episode.
Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9/10
