I really thought this episode was “Bubble Buddy Returns” the entire time I was looking it up. But I mean, that episode is coming up real soon so this is justified, I think. And also, I had forgotten about this episode a lot before rewatching it, which…now that I’ve rewatched it, that’s a real shame, because this is a good one.
I kind of love that the title card is literally just from the hay in a needlestack scene from Prehibernation Week. I didn’t even need to look that up to know that. I’m not sure if it’s the exact background, but it’s pretty darn close. Anyway, I appreciate that this episode gives some focus back to the bubble-blowing hobby that SpongeBob (and at times Patrick) have. This first scene is kinda boring though (except for when Patrick shouts “monosodium glutamate” lol, that was pretty funny and it does a few things I like in this show: 1) use big words that kids don’t know for no reason, and 2) make Patrick sound smart for no reason for the purposes of a joke. Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, by the way, is a flavor enhancer used in foods. Have you heard of the umami taste? Yeah, that’s MSG.)
I also think it’s kinda funny that Patrick says MSG and then all of a sudden the two are talking about spicing up their bubble blowing with hot sauce. MSG isn’t hot sauce, but I think it’s funny that these two food related things have been put together. SpongeBob and Patrick’s idea to use hot sauce is as predictably bad (in a good way) as it sounds, and it is a source of some great reaction images that I’ve been using for years. Eventually, after shenanigans of burning their eyes with hot sauce, they end up burning Squidward with the hot sauce (the part with the bonsai was hilarious). But this is just a gag, as the real conflict of the episode is when they go to Sandy’s treedome with the hot sauce bubbles while she’s fixing her air supply. Also in this scene, something monumental happens. Okay, I want everyone and sit down and hear this—Patrick is a smug jerk…IN A FUNNY WAY. I know, I can hardly believe it myself. You know why it works? Because it’s for one joke that lasts like…15 seconds. That’s it. Future episodes, take notes right now. Honestly, there’s lots of great jokes in this part, because I loved when Patrick was like “even I knew that was dumb”. Just amazing. More of this please!
It’s also great that this is a Sandy episode, as I’m prone to say every time I see her. And for once, she’s in a real pickle, a pretty dark one considering she’s facing drowning in this episode. It’s like “Pressure” but they actually obey some kind of physics. Anyway, I like when Sandy goes bats*** (which now makes me feel like the title card reference to “Prehibernation Week” was intentional for just this reason lmao), and this episode delivers. The shenanigans of SpongeBob and Patrick trying to get Sandy some air while she’s losing it are super funny, and Carolyn Lawrence does an amazing job here, she sells Sandy losing her mind so very well.
Things only get worse for the three as they crash into the Krusty Krab, as Sandy’s suit completely runs out of air (it’s here that she would obviously d!e, but can’t have that in a kid’s show!). SpongeBob’s euphemism is great too. And this episode does actually lean into some ocean facts really nicely in a way I haven’t seen it do in a while, as the solution with Mr. Krabs actually makes sense, I think? And then when Pearl comes in, first off this entire thing is hilarious because yeah that’s a very…precarious situation to walk into, and second off the solution becomes obvious, as whales are mammals.
SpongeBob then goes up to the surface to get some air, and this entire bit reminds me of “Scaredy Pants”, because we all know what’s gonna happen when he entrusts Patrick to bring him down after he gets some air. Also the reveal that they had an oxygen tank all along was hilarious. But anyway, Patrick obviously doesn’t pull on the rope when he needs too, instead freaking out about the mystery rope on his head, thinking its a rope lol. But this ends up being the exact thing that saves the day, as the air bubble SpongeBob brings gets into the treedome. See that’s another thing I like about this episode—Patrick’s stupidity is not only entertaining, but it doesn’t even hurt anyone here, it just makes the scenes play out in a different way. After episodes upon episodes, most notably the one I just reviewed yesterday, of Patrick’s idiocy hurting people, this is a welcome change.
“Bubble Troubles” is just a hilarious episode, and one that I needed for a lot of different reasons, from Patrick, to Sandy, to other characters interacting, because it was nice to see Sandy interact with Pearl and Mr. Krabs, even if it wasn’t a true interaction because she was delirious and dying LMAO. I also think this episode is probably a hidden gem of this season, because I hardly see it talked about, but then again I don’t see many people talk about any of the good episodes of this season, so that’s unsurprising. The only thing I didn’t like here was the very beginning, and even then that lasted maybe 30 seconds before things got actually interesting, so all in all this was a really great episode.
Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9.3/10
