Ah, if it isn’t the episode I get mixed up with “Fiasco!” from time to time. This episode is better than that one though (from what I can remember), so I really shouldn’t be getting them mixed up.
Y’all know I love a good “Krusty Krab Business Practices” plot, so this episode already has the conceptual advantage, and I think it makes use of this advantage pretty well. The beginning of this episode is fun, with SpongeBob performing his opening duties so…gravely. And I love how Squidward’s simply watching a soap opera, him being an awful employee is always hilarious to me. SpongeBob being so eager to spy on the competition is adorable as well, and brings to mind “Spy Buddies”, which I think works to this episode’s advantage, because that’s a pretty positive association. His disguise actually made me laugh when I first saw it, so that’s great. And I love how in the end, the giant statue ends up captivating SpongeBob too. Great use of the child-adult line that has been oh-so neglected (not by the show, but by me lol).
Moving on, once Mr. Krabs gets the idea to have a statue put up of him for kids to play on, the whole part where SpongeBob makes him guess who he’s thinking of drags on for quite a bit and it’s boring, so that’s definitely a low point for the episode thus far. Things get good again once Squidward fully gets on his “I’m an artistic genius” thing, which is always fun to see. Him being conceited is fun. And SpongeBob acting as his assistant is cute. The montage of Squidward creating the sculpture was also great and visually interesting, not to mention set to one of my favorite tracks, Earl’s Revenge. I think this episode shows that Squidward actually is a pretty talented artist (his problem is that he’s a narcissist).
And then we get the reveal of Squidward’s masterpiece, and Mr. Krabs’ reaction is a great visual gag. I actually like the statue Squidward ends up making, though of course it’s not at all suitable to be played on. And when Squidward starts talking about consumerism and stuff, I start to think of “Squid on Strike”…I swear one of these writers is really anti-capitalist I’m telling you! (no, the real answer is that it’s cool to be anti-capitalist to a certain degree, but never actually being anti-capitalist). When SpongeBob plays on the statue, my mind goes straight to
that one moment in
Gravity Falls with the hot air balloon LMAO. And once again SpongeBob is both hilarious and cute in this episode, I love it. And the ending of this episode is cute as well, and I love a good pun ending.
“The Masterpiece” is a perfectly fine episode. It has one or two not so great moments, but for the most part it’s alright or better than alright. Not particularly great, but not so bad either. I like how even though it uses the very common trio of SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward, this episode shakes things up a bit by 1) making SpongeBob take on a lesser role, and 2) using Squidward’s status as an artist to interact with normal Krusty Krab shenanigans. It makes for some very enjoyable interactions, and I like that a lot.
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.6/10