155a. A Friendly Game

Season: 8

Episode: A Friendly Game

This episode was kinda decent. The plot was kinda creative, but Patrick was a prick here. There were few jokes. 6.5/10
 
Before Squidward's house get demolished 6.5/10

After 4/10

Really Patrick, and really writers? Yet another episode where Squid doesn't do anything wrong. This episode cod have been great and it was. It was only just lacking jokes. If it had more jokes and didn't have annoying Patrick, this would have got an 8. This plot is really cool.
 
I REALLY like this episode, The Squidward abuse in this one was funny, and actually felt accidental (for the most part like when they hit their golf balls in squidwards house) I also thought it had some good humor, only thing lacking was at times the plot was a little uninteresting. Otherwise great episode!

9.0/10
 
A great episode, probably the best from S8. Funny throughout and very well paced.

9.5/10
 
This is a good episode, i'll admit this is a little bit of a Patricks a jerk episode, but there are some funny jokes, and it is entertaining to watch.

7.5/10
 
Remember what I said that one thing can't just ruin a whole episode? The same thing applies here.
I didn't give a ::dolphin noise:: that Patrick was acting like a jerk. It wan't bothering me like the other episodes, though it kinda did. But it's competitive!!! Plus, the STP didn't bother me either. So yeah, this was a great epsiode with some good jokes.
 
I've never got the love for this episode, I personally think it changes from annoying to boring at different intervals 6/10.

Edit: Upon further viewings I like this episode a lot more. While Patrick's a jerk it feels more innocent and funny than usual and shows how competitive things can get when you really get into a game and while Squidward's house being destroyed is somewhat irritating in the context of the story it's amusing imo.

7/10
 
Honestly, I like this episode. I like mini golf too much to care about the minor Squid abuse.

8.5/10
 
SpongeBob and Patrick mini golf, and it annoys Squidward. Another interesting episode idea.
 
Episode: A Friendly Game (S8-E155-A)

I have a mixed feeling in this episode.

Good Scenes:
  • SpongeBob and Patrick enjoying golf.
  • Patrick taking a shower in Squid's bathroom.
  • Playing golf very carefully on Squid's face during his beauty sleep.
Bad Scenes:
  • Patrick hitting Squidward's feet with a hammer. >_<
  • Destroying Squidward's property.
  • SB and Pat not apologizing Squidward for what they did.
Final Score = 5/10

In real life, I like golf.
 
I like this episode, but there are some apparent flaws with it. First and foremost, the "play it where it lands" thing was way too much the focus. I like some of the jokes, but most of them revolve around either Patrick being annoying or the universe out to get Squidward. But they're definitely not the worst offenders at that. Overall, good episode, but relatively close to average.

Ranking so far:
1. The Hot Shot (A+)
2. Drive Thru (A)
3. A Friendly Game (B)
4. Accidents Will Happen (C)
5. The Other Patty (D)
 
There was a lot of funny golf-themed jokes, and some of Patrick's jokes were hilarious, such as him being in Squidward's shower and telling SpongeBob to "watch out for the fire hazard."

Great Episode (8.5/10)
 
Good episode. Its funny and the gags were nice.

Rating: Great Episode

Rankings:
The Hot Shot (Perfect)
A Friendly Game (Great)
Accidents Will Happen (Great)
Drive Thru (Alright)
The Other Patty (Meh)
 
I’ve always thought of this episode as a lesser version of “Pineapple Fever”…and I know a lot of people don’t even like that episode (I do, though, and that’s what matters lol). And yeah, I know that there’s basically nothing that connects those two episodes, other than inclement weather and it taking place on Conch Street, but let me have my random connections and fun.

“A Friendly Game” begins with a gorgeous shot of Conch Street, which already puts me in a good mood for this episode. SpongeBob and Patrick being golfers is definitely not something I ever expected out of these two, but you know what, I like it. And this first scene is pretty funny, not to mention a breath of fresh air as it actually gets moving very quickly. And the “Brief Construction Montage” time card is genius. The idea of SpongeBob and Patrick playing DIY indoor mini-golf is a fun one, and a good basis for our plot. SpongeBob and Patrick being driven not to wake Squidward from his nap is also a good idea, but I don’t think it was necessary in this episode? Even the title of this episode kind of ignores that aspect of it. And it would’ve been better if SpongeBob and Patrick took Squidward more seriously, just like they did with Mr. Krabs in “Wet Painters”. Well anyway, this beginning is still a good set-up for the episode. With such a stellar start, there’s no way this episode can get bad, right?

Yeah, you know where this is going from here. Once Patrick completely fumbles his first putt and starts complaining about not being able to finish his stretches, the direction of this episode is crystal clear, and I don’t like it. I do enjoy the parody of sports people who act like this, and people who take friendly games too seriously, but that doesn’t exactly make it a pleasant watch. And of course it has to be Patrick who starts on the jerk train. Why do we keep doing this, it’s so annoying, please stop it. And it only gets worse as the episode goes on. I’ve said it about 20 times by now, so I really don’t need to get into it, but who’s idea is it to have all of these unpleasant interactions between the two best friends? Can we please stop that please and thank you. And this makes up the majority of the episode, so this review is going to be short and sweet, it seems. It gets more entertaining when SpongeBob starts getting competitive back, but it still isn’t great. The whole “play it where it lies” thing is not funny or even that entertaining, so I’m kinda just sitting here bored and/or annoyed for much of the episode. Even when the duo enter Squidward’s house, I still feel this way.

“A Friendly Game” is just boring and unpleasant. It’s not an episode I’d ever choose to rewatch of my own free will, unless it was a rerun on TV or something. So it’s not an episode I’d explicitly avoid either, I suppose. It just does that thing with SpongeBob and Patrick’s friendship that I hate, and it kind of involves Squidward unnecessarily. If SpongeBob and Patrick were actually afraid of Squidward’s consequences, the episode would’ve been a lot more interesting. But alas.

Episode Tier: Mediocre
Episode Score:
5/10
 
Squidward abuse with the whole Patrick being a jerk didn't sit right with me. I was a little surprised to see how many people like this one. An absolutely fabulous concept for an episode, though. I'm just not the biggest fan of the execution.
 
this was one of the first episodes i renember watching and it was good in my rewatch i didn't mind patrick in this one and there wasn't that much squid abuse
  1. The Hot Shot (10/10)
  2. Drive Thru (9.5/10)
  3. A Friendly Game (8.5/10)
  4. Accidents Will Happen (6.5/10)
  5. The Other Patty (6/10)
 
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