So you’ve decided to see my long explanation, huh? Well, I’m flattered, honestly. And yeah, the name of the spoiler says it all. This episode really became the face of the show’s post-sequel popularity…just look at the number of people calling this episode their favorite post-sequel or post-movie episode. Enough said. Alright, let’s get into the reasons.
In many ways, the most important reason why “Mimic Madness” got this kind of reception is due to the
timing of it all. This episode premiered when the show was starting to get positive reception even within the critical aspects of the fandom again, AKA during the post-sequel renaissance. That meant that more eyes were on this episode than they would’ve been had this episode premiered in season 8 or even 9. Honestly, had this episode premiered today, it would for sure not see the same popularity. But this isn’t the only reason why this episode got this reception, because as I said earlier, this episode
also helped to usher in the post-sequel renaissance. It became the key example that some people pointed to so they could say “hey! SpongeBob is good again!” or “hey! SpongeBob is still good!”. So it’s not just that.
The next few reasons are all related in that they all have to do with how this episode was particularly
appealing to those who criticized the show starting from season 4. We all know what the most common critiques of these types were: “Flanderization”, “the show isn’t funny”, “stilted animation”, yadda yadda yadda. Well, along comes this episode which is indeed funny, indeed interesting to watch, indeed has interesting animation, and indeed appears to strip certain characters of their “Flanderization”, particularly Patrick, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs.
[Just for the record, I do not, nor will I ever, endorse this idea that the characters in this show have become "Flanderized" at any point. Mostly because I think that term is stupid and frequently used incorrectly. And I think for this show, at least, the people who say that are people who haven’t actually taken the time to sit down and watch the show past season 4. They only hear about the most egregious characterizations of the characters, and assume that every single episode is like that. This has been the underlying thesis statement in pretty much every review I’ve done past season 3.]
The next reason I think this episode was so well-received again has to do with its appeal to people who had already been writing off the show for years—there’s
something nostalgic in this one. I think it might have to do with the characters involved and the music choices, and the fact that this episode had a song that, let’s be real, is reminiscent of “Gary’s Song” and “This Grill is Not A Home”. So I think the nostalgia in this episode really helps to bring in a lot of the people who were already giving it a chance due to the things I said earlier. And related to that, this episode had a couple of old episode references. Not just that, but “tasteful” old episode references, as we all know that a new critique of the show is that it references old episodes too much (which I think is BS).
Lastly, I think this episode had the advantage of not only being a good episode that caught the attention of the show’s critics, but also of being an episode that was similar to not one, not two, but
three infamous or unpopular episodes: “Whatever Happened to SpongeBob?”, “Gone”, and “Face Freeze!”. The latter two are less important, in my eyes, but this episode for sure shares some similarities with them. I mean, people have called this episode a successor to “Face Freeze!”, so “Mimic Madness” being placed in juxtaposition to an episode that was poorly received makes it look even better by comparison,
and makes it look like the show is on the upswing, like it’s learned from its mistakes. I think most people make the association with “Face Freeze!”, which is fair, but in my opinion the most important comparison that this episode has is with “Whatever Happened to SpongeBob?”, as it improves upon that episode in almost every single way. And you should
know, I did not like that episode so…having it be improved like this is much more personal to me.
So, in sum, I think “Mimic Madness”, through a little bit of luck and lotta bit of skill, captured the attention of large parts of the SpongeBob fandom, and then proceeded to change the minds of even the harshest of critics during this era. And that’s why “Mimic Madness” became the face of the post-sequel renaissance. No more, no less.