“Patrick’s Staycation” is the second episode of the SpongeBob’s Runaway Roadtrip series, and it’s definitely not as good as the first, that’s for sure. Patrick’s slides part is kind of boring compared to yesterday’s slideshow segment, so this isn’t exactly a great beginning. I don’t really understand how Patrick’s stupidity has turned into him being completely and utterly random at any and all opportunities, but this isn’t a very entertaining joke to me, and it rarely ever has been.
I think a big problem that this episode has is that it’s just freaking boring. It’s almost like we’re backsliding back into season 6 territory, except it’s a different flavor of boring. Whereas those episodes felt like reruns on a Sunday afternoon, these feel more like background noise on a weekday after a long day of work and you’re scrolling on your phone. A completely different vibe to me. But anyway, gags just last wayyyy too long and lose all their potential humor by the time they finish, such as this one with Patrick opening up his house when SpongeBob knocks.
Patrick’s “dilemma” here is both funny and also kinda odd considering the existence of “Big Pink Loser”, but I digress. Well, it’s funny until they keep dragging it out, such as when SpongeBob and Patrick go to the travel agent. Like okay we get it Patrick thinks he’s overworked or whatever, let’s move on. At least SpongeBob and Patrick getting kicked out was funny.
Patrick then has his staycation, and I’m torn between being annoyed that SpongeBob pops up immediately, and relieved that we won’t be relieving “Rise and Shine”, which is likely what this episode would’ve turned into without the sponge’s presence. And then we get a less funny joke than anything “Krusty Towers” had to offer, mostly because it’s so dang dull. At least SpongeBob’s reaction was funny. And it uses my favorite steel lick, so I like that at least. I also go back and forth between finding Patrick annoying and finding him funny, because SpongeBob did go to all this trouble to make this staycation feel like an actual vacation, and Patrick keeps making all these stupid requests, but he also did a similar thing in “Krusty Towers” which was actually funny. I think the difference is he was asking these things to a real establishment in that episode, and in this one he is making his best friend do all these things for him, but also he didn’t actually ask SpongeBob to do this so it makes it a lot easier to swallow for me.
The part at the pool is of course very hard to watch, like you might guess, and y’all know I don’t like slo-mo so I’m annoyed. SpongeBob getting dressed in yet another outfit to save Patrick is pretty funny, especially when you think of “SpongeGuard on Duty”. And then the being torn between Patrick being annoying and not continues as SpongeBob serves him food and even entertainment. And also I can’t think of the “SpongeBob follies” moment without thinking of a certain reviewer…I’m telling you I used to be a fan back in the day, and those two list videos were the ones I watched the most…it just makes me laugh today.
Patrick then wanders over to Squidward’s house and starts eating his food. And again, this part isn’t funny, but it isn’t bad. It’s just dull and feels like it drags on and on as I wait to laugh. Like we’re wasting time. And what’s funny is that I can think of a way that this scene could’ve been hilarious. When Patrick acts like Squidward is a waiter, cut back to the outside, right, ad then show Patrick being kicked out of Squidward’s house, just like SpongeBob and Patrick were kicked out earlier. That would be funny and it would be a call-back…a win-win! I at least like that Squidward pushed Patrick off the massage table and had SpongeBob give him one. Though in the end I do just feel bad for SpongeBob, since all he does in the episode is serve other people, to his own detriment, especially as Patrick just ends up sleeping in his freaking house. At least this episode ends on the hilarious joke of SpongeBob sleeping in Mr. Krabs’ house, that was a great ending, and I love that Mr. Krabs was just cool with it. SpongeBob-Mr. Krabs father-son dynamic for the win!
“Patrick’s Staycation” is one of those episodes where it only really gets good at the very end, and by that point it’s much too late to consider the episode good as whole. Honestly, this one is just a boring and dull one, other than a few moments where the only emotion I was feeling was negative. I just don’t get why Patrick has to be a jerk, that’s never been the basis of his comedy, not even when he has good interactions with Squidward (which hasn’t happened in quite a bit, too be honest). This is easily my least favorite in the vacation anthology so far, though as of writing this the only one I haven’t rewatched yet is “Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation”, and I have a feeling that episode will be better than this one.
Episode Tier: Okay
Episode Score: 6.2/10
