ScavengerPants was a pretty interesting episode. The plot of it wasn't too original, but somehow the execution of it was surprisingly delightful. The premise of this episode is a pretty standard and basic plot. Probably one of the more basic ones out there. The concept of some character sending a buffoon (Or two) on a wild goose chase to get him/her out of their hair, only to have it backfire has been done tons of times in various cartoons. But I like about this version of that generic storyline is the direction this episode takes. The episode feels much grander than a typical variation of this conflict, focusing on a more adventurous, world-wild atmosphere. Luke (Who I was surprised to see when I saw the opening credits) did a good job giving the plot a little more substance by incorporating much larger and complex sequences in this episode (From the Loch Ness monster scene to the "Long-Lost-Brother" scene). One thing I really like is how this episode managed to stray away from being entirely predictable. A majority of this episode pretty predictable, yet that ending came across as a pretty clever surprise. Unfortunately, Nick did a terrible job by spoiling the ending, making it the thumbnail for the video on their website. Bravo. :facepalm:
When it comes to it, I think the execution of the plot was fairly decent. I was kind of annoyed by SpongeBob & Patrick though. They are represented like little kids in this episode, which I guess is slightly better than the constant brain dead morons they were in these trio episodes around Seasons 5-8. Still, I do find them to be quite annoying at times, especially when they were jumping on Squidward's couch. That was...well...eh...
The set-up to the conflict of this episode was really the worst part of this episode. Before things started picking up with the duo headed out to collect things, a majority of the set-up relied on SpongeBob & Patrick breaking things in Squidward's house. A trope that's been done plenty of times, and just feels annoying an unnecessary. Sure, Sponge & Pat don't mean it, as their actions are merely accidental, but by golly, it's annoying. >_>
The way the two annoyed Squidward at the start of the episode came across as kind of annoying, and really just a lame way to set up the conflict. It didn't feel at all that original, it just felt like a rehash of scenes from A Friendly Game. Anyway, I feel as though these scenes dragged on a little long, as I feel as if the episode should've spent more time focusing on SpongeBob & Patrick's adventures, because really, that was the highlight of the episode.
I wish they spent less time on Squidward, and more time on the actually searching, because those scenes take the characters in a completely new environment, something that's really fun to watch go down. Now once Squid does send SpongeBob and Patrick on their way, I feel as though the episode really starts to improve.
The scenery is gorgeous in the desert scene, I really liked the animation. The flower scene was kind of predictable, but was a decent callback to the first movie, and the Loch Ness Monster scene was fantastic, I absolutely adored the creativity of how SpongeBob & Patrick got to the location where they found the monster.
Squidward's scenes after the set-up are fairly decent, too. I really enjoyed seeing the various different ways he danced around, they were really entertaining.
As far as the whole "Long-Lost-Brother" scene goes, I kind of liked it. It was a neat little twist, and really smart on Squidward's behalf. I like how Luke didn't pull some stupid gimmick that Squidward really did have a long lost brother, but rather shows the cold reality once Squidward's mom appears on camera. Sheesh, she was brutal, but hey, Squidward's cynicism had to come somewhere, right?
The ending, as I mentioned before was a pretty clever resolution, one I wouldn't have seen coming if it weren't for Nick's idiotic decision to spoil it. <_<
Now let's talk about the comedy, this is a fairly funny episode. There are a lot of really pleasant visuals in this episode I really adore (I swear, I don't think I'm going to get over the creativity of that Loch Ness Monster scene), and that allows there to be a lot of funny visuals. SpongeBob super dried up in the desert was kind of funny, and I think the gags with Squidward's heads (Both shattering and exploding) were hilarious. I must say, the writers seem to really like using Live Action, as I noticed they tend to appear much more frequently in episodes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's good to see them experiment, but I am kind of afraid the charm and surprise of Live Action humor will fade away if they end up being overused. Also, I must say the sweater picture at the end of the episode was hilarious. By far the highlight.
Overall, this is a pretty decent episode. It has enough moments that makes it stand out, and while there are some moments that kind of annoy me, they don't seem to be overdone. The good kind of outweighs the bad in this episode, it's a Good Episode. I liked the small little twists added to this episode, they seemed to be the highlight for me, especially that ending. I give it a 7.1/10.