222b. Teacher's Pests

hippythehippo

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Coffee_lover said:
From all S11 episodes,this one is big mystery for me,why a lot of people love this episode so much?I mean,I’m also really like this one,but it’s not even close to be best-of-the-best.Even people who dislike zaniness in this season loved it(Come on,I’m never believed that Honest Slug give it 9/10),in fact,S11 have episodes that mixed fair wackiness and storytelling much better than this one
I mean, I come to the show for a laugh. This episode make me laugh like I used to watching pre movie for the first couple times. Is it a bit overrated? Ehh, Mimic Madness had more praise than this tbf. Wackiness and slapstick work here because they vary the jokes enough for it to not be predictable, annoying, and boring.
 

Pugs4Thugs

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For today’s first episode, we’ve got “Teacher’s Pests”. This is an episode that I surprisingly haven’t watched very much. And I say surprisingly because right off the bat, I can tell that this episode has got some stuff that I like a lot, and I’ll talk about that in a minute. Since I can’t remember much of this episode enjoyment-wise, I hope my lack of watching it doesn’t have anything to do with that. That would be such a disappointment.

“Teacher’s Pests” does something that I love, which is make use of our ensemble cast. Specifically, this episode brings together characters that don’t normally interact, in this case Plankton and Mrs. Puff. This is what I like to see! In this way, this episode reminds me of “Boating Buddies”, which brought Mrs. Puff and Squidward together, though not in a very effective way, I have to say. This episode is for sure more effective, but the focus is on Plankton and Mr. Krabs’ rivalry, not their interactions with Mrs. Puff. Another thing I like about this set-up is that it places the characters we know in a completely different situation than both they and we are used to. I mean, Mr. Krabs and Plankton in Boating School…we’ve never seen that before. Closest we’ve come is “Salsa Imbecilicus”, and that’s a huge stretch.

This episode begins with Mr. Krabs and Plankton in the same rivalry we’ve seen for 11 seasons on end now. And it’s really a credit to this show that it manages to make the same rivalry fresh almost every time. I feel like this episode uses slapstick on Mr. Krabs more than these episodes usually do, and I like the change. The back and forth between Mr. Krabs and Plankton is really fun to watch, and full of so many great visuals. It’s also just hilarious. Their road rage is palpable and so, so funny. However, while their road rage is funny, it also leads them to get into a serious crash, which means its time for them to go to boating school!

Mr. Krabs and Plankton in boating school is just so delightfully juvenile, and we a continuation of their great banter from before. And when Mrs. Puff walks in, I just know this episode’s gotta be entertaining. She shows that she ain’t the one to be messed with when she pulls out those brass knuckles (oh Gravity Falls, how I miss you). Mrs. Puff is such a fun character. It’s a shame she isn’t used more, and has such limited interactions with people (which is why I really love the direction this episode’s gone in!). Mrs. Puff makes the two students watch a video about driving safety that reminds me a lot of “Boat Smarts”. I mean it even uses SpongeBob as an example of a bad driver, the same way “Krusty Krab Training Video” used Squidward as an example of a bad employee. And that video must’ve invested in the latest 3D technology, because SpongeBob comes crashing in through the screen, completely unexpectedly.

SpongeBob is absolutely adorable as he enters the episode, being so enthusiastic about being in class with Mr. Krabs, and Plankton too. I like how at this point, SpongeBob has dropped any pretenses of thinking Plankton is a villain haha. And then this episode brings back good noodle stars, which fills me with joy. And these stars prove to be a driving motivator for Mr. Krabs and Plankton. I’m realizing now that this episode does something we rarely ever see…it draws that child-adult line with Mr. Krabs and Plankton, of all characters. Now, they’re clearly still adults, but they act quite juvenile throughout this episode, a true inner child moment. I think that’s what makes, or at least part of what makes, their interactions so fun in this one. Also, Clancy Brown and Mr. Lawrence are just stellar in this one.

Plankton and Mr. Krabs keep trying to one-up each other in impressing Mrs. Puff with fruit, another funny iteration of their constant back-and-forth dynamic. I love how utterly done Mrs. Puff is, resorting to literally beating the two of them up. And then we move on to Mrs. Puff trying to actually teach them how to drive, where she keeps being just on the verge of catching them fighting. The way Mary Jo Catlett delivered “WHAT?!” in this part had me rolling. And poor SpongeBob is caught in the middle of their fighting, both physically being beat up, and being unable to tell Mrs. Puff about it. Kinda like “Greasy Buffoons”, now that I think about it. Then, they all get to driving. I love the color-coordinated boats in this part. Somehow, SpongeBob’s not the most chaotic driver in this part, because Mr. Krabs and Plankton keep driving like maniacs. Poor SpongeBob’s just minding his business haha.

Inevitably, Mr. Krabs and Plankton get into a crash and fail the test. And it’s funny. But the funniest part is when SpongeBob rolls up and just a tap from his car causes a huge explosion. Oh random explosions, never go away. We’re not quite done yet though, because we cut to Plankton waking up in the hospital…waking up surgically attached to SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs. Now that’s a horrifically brilliant ending!

Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score:
9.4/10
 
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