I know I just started another review with this but…when will Squilliam return from war? This is the LAST APPEARANCE of Squilliam. And it’s very minor. And it’s very sad. Because I need him back y’all don’t understand. I need to see this guy in HD. Clearly Dee Bradley Baker still has the voice down, if y’all have seen those Perch Perkins videos on YouTube. So what’s the big idea? Anyway, this has hardly anything to do with the actual episode. This episode is also part of a fun little Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy two-episode special, as I’m gonna call it. See, this episode is actually 16 minutes long (well, 15.5 but I round), and its sister is, of course, just 8. I actually did not remember this episode being longer or its sister being shorter, but that makes a lot of sense the more I think about it. “Back to the Past” is, in general, a pretty fun episode that I enjoy quite a bit. Y’all remember that online game Legends of Bikini Bottom? There was a mini game in that game based on this episode…ah, good times.
The imagery of the invisible boatmobile is always so delightfully silly, and it starts this episode off pretty well. I also can appreciate when an episode gets right to it like this one does. The locker of memorabilia is pretty cool, and so very comic book gimmicky. I like how at the beginning of this episode, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy seem to be pretty friendly with SpongeBob and Patrick (I mean it seems like they possibly don’t know them, but I’m choosing to believe that they’re nearly friends by this point…it feels deserved). This episode also reminds me that the last time we even touched time travel in this show (up to this point) was “SB-129” (I think, and hope because I hate being wrong). So it’s been a while. I love the visuals of the time travel in this episode, and I think it’s inherently hilarious that it’s just this storage crate is the time machine.
One thing that…not necessarily bothers me, but I question, is why didn’t Barnacle Boy and Mermaid Man just take them straight back to the present? Why have them get out and explore at all if y’all were so worried ‘bout changing history? I know it’s so we could have a plot, but they could’ve just stuck in a “the time machine needs to cool down” or even a good ‘ol “we need time machine fuel” excuse in there. And while we’re here, the one other thing that bothers me about this episode is how unhelpful Patrick is here. I mean he's the reason the future ends up being changed, and unlike SpongeBob he doesn't really do anything to try and fix it either, he just goes along for the ride and messes it all up again! It's a bit frustrating.
I appreciate this episode’s inclusion of Man Ray, because I love me some Man Ray. I also love that Adam West and Burt Ward voice MM and BB in this episode, I thought that was super cool and shows that this show has some real pull in its guest stars. And also it’s simply brilliant lol. The parodies meet the originals…I love it!
The way Patrick completely leaves Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy in the dust is a little bit funny lol, like I thought those were your heroes? But anyway, his actions allow us to see this pretty neat alternate timeline where Man Ray wins. And I really love the vibes here. SpongeBob and Patrick’s obliviousness is also pretty funny. That sign over the Krusty Krab reminds me of Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls. I also love how Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy end up aging the exact same way too lol. I also really liked how SpongeBob tried to go the “meaningful writing” route by saying that Mermaid Man had trauma from his defeat, when Mermaid Man is like “no I literally have a collar on my neck”. I feel like this was making fun of comics…I don’t know how but I feel like it was.
From here is where the episode starts going into time travel insanity. See, I suppose this episode does not work on multiverse theory LMAO. But having all of these copies of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy is really fun! Especially once it gets super chaotic. I love how especially in the beginning you can kind of guess where each SpongeBob and Patrick (or MM and BB) came from, before it gets completely unintelligible.
I feel like the ending of “Back to the Past” is its best part. And that’s not a knock on it at all! I just think the ending makes me think so much more positively on this episode as a whole since I like it so much, and that’s the goal for any ending, because that means this episode stuck the landing incredibly. Like I said before, this is a really fun episode that really hams it up with the comic book parody. While this may not be my favorite element of this show, these episodes are wholly necessary, and so I will always appreciate them (especially as we near the last appearances of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy).
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.8/10