221a. No Pictures, Please

GuyAtWalmart

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You know what? I'm not even gonna explain why I liked this episode.

I'll just say this. They made "Weird = fUnNy" actually funny for once.

8.5/10
 

CheeseCrocker

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This is an episode too funny to not consider amazing. This episode is essentially just Patrick taking a tourist to random places, but they fill this episode with so many gags it feels like a season 2-5 episode. Definitely a must see.

Amazing Episode (9.5/10)
 

YuYuYuuki

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The end with the French Narrator laughing evilly, like, violated me or something. Though it wasn't as good as in Scaredy Pants 'cause the one in SP was, like, more manic, if you know what I mean. Nick got the return of Red Storm whereas CN had Sara, like, die and become evil for some reason. Though know that this was, like, six years ago almost, and moveon.org.
 

Pugs4Thugs

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Now this is an episode that I’ve actually been lowkey excited to get to. Not because “No Pictures Please” is my favorite or anything, but there’s just some elements to this episode that I’ve been itching to talk about, and now I finally can!

Alright, let’s just get this out of the way now: this episode is weird. Well, let me take the emphasis off, because it’s really only the beginning and end of the episode that’s weird, and that’s for a fairly obvious reason that I’ll get to in a second. But anyway, this episode’s weird. And y’all know I eat that right up. We’ve got a “SpongeHenge” situation on our hands y’all! Like that episode, this one doesn’t bother to explain its weirdness. Though I guess it kind of does considering that this whole episode is a Twilight Zone parody (I wonder, do the kids watching this episode pick up on that? I’ve know what the Twilight Zone was since I was about 9, but it was a special circumstance that I won’t be discussing that made me aware of that), and that’s enough of an explanation in itself. But anyway, I love love love that this episode is the show dipping its toes into weird plots again. We need to bring those back, I feel like the last time we had a proper one was “Planet of the Jellyfish”. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if we just got random Tidal Zone episodes. I know there was that whole event in January, but I mean beyond just an event.

Okay, let’s get to the main event now. The episode begins with Patrick complaining to a clearly tired worker at the bus depot abut something delightfully stupid. I love love love how expressive and fluid this scene is. A perfect example of just how good the animation in newer SpongeBob is. That’s one thing I really like about the direction this show’s gone in, it hasn’t skimped in the animation department. And it’s a breath of fresh air for me, because I feel like in a lot of the animated shows I watch nowadays, the animation simply isn’t like this. And that’s not a knock of those shows, many of them have their gorgeous moments, but the focus just isn’t on the animation in the same way. Now, I’m sure there could possibly be something to be said about overworking the animators of this show, which, knowing how the industry is, is probably the case.

Anyway, getting back to the episode for realsies, no tangents this time, after some shenanigans involving a bus full of bathroom-bound tourists and the dropping of a tour guide’s hat, Patrick starts showing a tourist, Rube, around Bikini Bottom. I love Rube. His design is great, and I love the voice acting behind him. He reminds me a lot of Howard, from “New Fish In Town”, for some reason. Patrick and Rube’s escapades are enjoyable to watch, as this is a very unorthodox tour. And every time it involves Patrick having to interact with some random Bikini Bottomite, it’s hilarious. Especially when they turn up in that random man’s house. Too funny. And it’s at this point that I realize that this is a Patrick-focused episode. I didn’t even register that. But hey, so far this is really good, so no need to even start getting concerned.

Soon, Patrick starts showing Rube around more familiar places…and more familiar places. It starts with SpongeBob, when Patrick and Rube crash next to his house, and then watch him while he sleeps. Yeah, no way to not make that sound creepy. At least Gary gets to join in during the raiding of SpongeBob’s fridge. Next up is Squidward, and how am I not surprised that they end up walking in on Squidward taking a shower. That’s a running gag at this point. And as always, it ends up with Squidward screaming and reacting hilariously. Somebody needs to get Rodger Bumpass into a metal band, stat. This part of the episode also has some great visual gags, between Squidward opening his house and the sky, and SpongeBob opening the door right after and the episode seemingly playing with his size. Moving on, we then get to the Krusty Krab, an actual tour destination lol. Rube even gets the genuine Krusty Krab experience, with Plankton attempting to steal a patty right as the two come in. This episode does a good job with including a lot of different members of the main cast, and in actual substantive ways as well. Patrick continues showing Rube around the Krusty Krab, until the two get quickly kicked out by Mr. Krabs after Patrick ruins the toilets.

Next up, Patrick and Rube visit Sandy, and I have to assume that this will end with her having a ruined treedome. Let’s see how it plays out. Well, Patrick immediately cuts the glass to let him and Rube in, but no water seems to follow them. Though they are inside the treedome without helmets, so my guess is that this is a setup for a joke like the one in “House Sittin’ For Sandy”. Now I feel like I’m intruding haha. And I was right, we got one of those jokes. Dang, I’m good at this!

Lastly, Patrick and Rube stop at the graveyard, which is delightfully atmospheric as always. And turns out Patrick is friends with the dead. At least until Rube breaks off a guy’s arm. Then, it’s chaos and past actions coming back to bite the two tourists, as when Patrick and Rube run by the bus with the tourists from earlier, the tour guide makes a beeline for them, since Patrick did indeed steal his hat. And turns out, there’s an angry mob ready for the two of them. Wouldn’t be a SpongeBob episode without an angry mob! Mr. Krabs decides the real priority is the film in Rubes camera, since he took pictures of the Krabby Patties, so the cops prop open the camera…only to find that there’s no film at all. And there’s no camera at all. And…there’s no Rube at all. Well, that’s a good way to dispel an angry mob!

“No Pictures Please” is simply excellent. I love every beat of this episode. The humor is top-notch, the characters involved are excellent and aplenty, and this episode’s got that tinge of weirdness I love to see. And, perhaps most impressively of all, it’s a Patrick-focused episode that I adored. Do you know how hard that is? Very. I would say it’s because of Rube, and he is indeed a big help, but for much of the episode Rube didn’t do much except say “Amazing”. Nah, I think Patrick acting as a tour guide just worked really well for him, and this episode did a great job at understanding the things that can make him a fun character to watch. So without a doubt, this episode earns that rating that Rube would love so much, an Amazing.

Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score:
9.6/10
 

spongie33

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I think this was a good episode. 8/10. I think Rube is a good character.
 
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