Well this is gonna be an interesting one, I can already feel it. I could already remember this episode pretty well before rewatching it, mostly because I feel like this is one of those episodes that more frequently is rerun, but I’m not sure. I feel like "No Nose Knows" is an episode that doesn't really stick out either. That doesn't mean it's necessarily bad, though.
For some reason the beginning of this episode just makes me feel an irrational amount of happiness…like literally just seeing Squidward go about the ending of his errands does this…I think it’s because it kinda fulfills the desire I have to see what characters do in their daily, non-crazy lives? Or maybe it’s just the dullness yet perfectness of Squidward setting his keys on the table. Or maybe it’s the fact that Bikini Bottom is a walkable city and I cri everytim. Or maybe it’s just because these are all such little details that they included anyway and didn’t need to. Not sure. The moral of the story is that I probably have a problem LMAO. Anyway, I love the (even funnier) repeat of the joke from “Giant Squidward”, with SpongeBob this time now just appearing in Squidward’s flowers, and I love how this gets us started pretty quickly. Squidward is great in this first minute or so, from his unintentional roasting of Patrick to his exclamation about his floors when Patrick starts crying. And speaking of Patrick, his lamenting about not having a nose is actually reasonable (because it is something that makes him stick out from most of the main cast, and I also like how this is lampshaded too since the typical background fish don’t have noses either), and it also reminds me of the brief phase I went through as a child where I was upset that I didn’t have a hitchhiker's thumb while everyone else I knew did.
Moving on, I do like the pacing of this episode, as once we hit the 3 minute mark, Patrick’s already got his nose, which is an improvement to “Giant Squidward”. And the part where Patrick removes his bandages is pretty funny, and reminds me of “Wet Painters”. And speaking of improvements, there’s an awkward moment between SpongeBob and Patrick that actually isn’t horrible to sit through! So it can be done well! If only it was always like this.
I really like how uncanny Patrick with a nose looks. Even if it wasn’t purposeful, it helps the episode out a lot because yeah, Patrick isn’t supposed to have a nose. He just isn’t. And I think the plot of this episode is pretty interesting with having Patrick get this nose, and making this big change to him. Unfortunately the pedant in me is bothered by the inconsistency of this episode. Not the inconsistency in Patrick having a nose or smelling things in other episodes, but in the fact that he has repeatedly been shown to enjoy the flavor of food, and a lot of food’s flavor comes from our sense of taste (woo educational moment time! so our taste receptors, or our taste buds, detect sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and savory tastes, but our sense of smell greatly enhances our perception of the food we eat). I’ll just chalk it up to him enjoying the flavor of food that he just gets from his taste buds, and now with his nose he’ll be able to enjoy it even more. And I guess since I’m on this pedant stuff, I’ll make my other point about how Patrick later becoming a clean-freak actually makes sense when you think about how this is his first time being able to use his sense of smell, so he’s probably experiencing sensory overload, especially with the bad smells. Kinda smart idk.
The montage of him enjoying pleasant smells is good, with a few good visuals here and there, and at the very least it isn’t boring. And then of course, things take a turn as Patrick experiences his first bad smells. At least it inspires him to clean up his act with a 48-hour deep clean (good lord, that’s so long! especially for a house as small as Patrick’s lmao). Of course, cleaning his own house is not enough for Patrick, because bad smells are everywhere, and he doesn’t care about privacy lol. Bill Fagerbakke’s delivery throughout this episode is just fantastic, from “I can’t live in these conditions” to “this is inexcusable”. I go back and forth as to whether I find Patrick’s behavior from here on out to be annoying or not. Because I did joke about him not respecting privacy, but I am also serious; he breaks into Squidward’s house because of imported cheese, and then he literally harasses SpongeBob who is working out in his own house! He then candles and sprays the Krusty Krab, although this part was actually kinda funny. And worst of all, he sprays down Sandy for simply walking because she has fur, not even because she stinks or anything, which is very….hm. Personally I think Sandy shoulda pulled a “The Great Snail Race” after that. And of course Patrick is on his holier-than-thou attitude throughout it all, which makes things quite a bit more grating. But I’m coming across more annoyed by this than I actually am, as I’d count this as a medium offense at worse (as opposed to minor or major).
And then we get the lead-up to and the climax of this episode, with Sandy, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and (a reluctant) SpongeBob banding together to get rid of Patrick’s nose. And I’m with them, because Patrick’s behavior is egregious, if at many points entertaining. I love how both hilarious and dramatic this last scene is, with Patrick’s nose flying off, and Patrick crying in despair. And then of course the grave of Patrick’s nose, which is just hysterical. And the ending stinger of the episode is fantastic and unexpected.
“No Nose Knows” is…a good episode. Because let’s put it this way. There are times where Patrick’s behavior gets annoying, but it’s not horrible or even all that irritating, unless they catch me on a wrong day. And Patrick ends up punished for it anyway. And beyond that possible problem, this episode is pretty funny and very enjoyable. So I think this episode belongs in “Great”.
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.4/10
