Oh yes. I am ready for this one, yessiree. “Squid Noir” is an episode that I’ve adored ever since it premiered. Because I did watch it live. And if you’ve read enough of these reviews, I’m sure y’all know why I like this episode so much. But I’ll talk about it at length in any case.
Okay, so, reason number one I like this episode: It’s a mystery! Do you guys know how long I’ve been waiting for this show to do a proper mystery again? Like we had “Patty Caper”, and then nothing. “Spy Buddies” has that air of intrigue, but it’s not the same. So yeah, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. And back when I was offering up improved plots to certain episodes, I suggested mystery-based plots for those too. I’ve been hungry for this sort of thing. And this mystery is really good because the clues for solving it are right there since the beginning of the episode (the first shot is jellyfish flying by).
The second, highly related, reason I like this episode: atmosphere upon atmosphere upon atmosphere. Given that this episode is literally a parody of detective noir, a genre known for its stylistic elements, it comes as no surprise that this episode is dripping with the ambience. I mean, it literally turns black and white. And the lighting in this episode is so awesome. I mean look at
this! Gorgeous background alert
hello! It’s not just the visuals that give this episode it’s atmosphere either, nah, the audio’s got us covered there too. The music and especially the voice acting in this episode are just so good. Rodger Bumpass really went off playing Squidward as the hard-boiled detective, and Tom Kenny got in on some of that action too with SpongeBob.
Speaking of the characters, since it seems we’re doing things not quite so chronological today, they’re great! This is mostly a Squidward and SpongeBob episode, with Patrick getting tacked on at the very end, and their dynamic is wonderful here, especially with the added layer of the genre parody coloring it.
The last thing I wanted to talk about before briefly going over the plot is the humor of this episode. I like it. A lot. The episode uses lots of different kinds of humor. The beginning has a lot of visual gags and slapstick, which work fine with me. Then as we move to the genre parody, there’s more dialogue and dry and witty humor, which is my type of beat. Squidward being this hard detective type is inherently funny to me as well. I also really liked the running gag with SpongeBob and the coins. It was a good way of playing with the tropes of this genre.
Lastly, just wanted to cover the plot for this episode real quick. I mean, I basically already did when I said that this episode was a mystery, but I wanted to reiterate that it was a satisfying one. And I like how full of red herrings it is, it makes it more enjoyable to watch. While the answer is hinted at, it’s not supremely obvious who the culprit is, making none of the episode feel like a waste of time. And also, just the idea of Squidward conducting this investigation is entertaining to me. What can I say? I’m easy to please.
“Squid Noir” is literally one of my favorite episodes in this entire show, no questions about it. It’s funny, it’s atmospheric, and all-around just intensely enjoyable. And it’s also just different, there’s no other episode like it. I adore the creativity.
Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9.7/10
I'm a night owl and despite having a busy schedule I still lurk around so I'll probably do a lot of posting. I've noticed that a lot lately with any forum. :( I think a lot of people sadly just stick to using social media nowadays. I actually still enjoy posting on forums, even though social media exists.
