Let's flashback to several years ago. An episode by the name of Grandma's Secret Recipe premiered on the network. It remains one of the worst of several terrible episodes from SpongeBob's abysmal Seventh Season. However, many years later comes an episode trying to clear the bad name of Plankton's Grandmother, in an episode called Grandmum's the Word, and wow. I really don't know what to say about this episode.
Firstly, this was a really bold move on Mr. Lawrence's behalf. Many episodes in recent time are attempting to cash in on the nostalgia of fan favorites like Bubble Buddy (But that episode came out over 5 years ago! Man how time flies...), Bubble Bass, and even DoodleBob. But this is the first episode I've ever seen in which a despised character makes a comeback, and it worked out perfectly. I mean it, this episode didn't have to exist, but Lawrence had a vision of a story, an actual story that featured Plankton's Grandmother as a character. A genuinely golden story, expressed through one of my new favorites of this Season.
Grandmum's the Word has a very simplistic plot. Plankton lies to his Grandmother that he owns the Krusty Krab, to grant her wish that he'd own it by her 90th birthday. Sounds like a standard sitcom plot. But that's about the closet this episode gets to being a predictable storyline. First off, I absolutely love the whole "wish" element in Grandma's birthday. It is perfect motivation for Plankton, a great way to set up the plot. I think it was a rather genius way to give Plankton's plan a proper purpose to exist in the first place through this motivation. Anyway, the episode completely diverts from a predictable route by completely avoiding the "Liar revealed" trope. Heck, that trope isn't even used in this episode! The plan goes perfectly! Instead, the episode captures how the plan turns out, showcasing various interactions Grandma has with not only Plankton, but the Krusty Crew. And of course, this showcases a good majority of the episode's humor, which there is a lot of, I won't deny that.
Sprinkled throughout the episode are a lot of great little gags. The spa scene was a really funny way to kick off the episode, and I absolutely adored the transformation of the Krusty Krab into the Krusty Plankton, I was surprised by how many funny little visual gags were thrown into the decorations sequence. Kind of funny how this short little bit captures more humor than the grand decoration sequence in Truth or Square (A TV Movie meant to indirectly celebrate the show's 10th anniversary, mind you). The grand amount of mini jokes sprinkled throughout the episode is wonderful, but the absolute highlight is when Grandma falls for Squidward. That my friends, is the funniest scene I've seen since I watched the hilarious There's a Sponge in My Soup. When she falls for Squidward, it's absolutely priceless, especially her love stricken hallucination of the cephalopod. I will admit, there are a few flops here and there (Especially the gags with SpongeBob and the sign, I personally found those cheap excuses for slapstick). But for the most part, this is episode is filled to the brim with excellent comedy.
As for the characters, I must discuss Grandma of course. Plankton's Grandma was already established as a "No Nonsense" chick, revealed in the end of Grandma's Secret Recipe. But, given her small role in that episode, I consider this to be fantastic development of her character. For the first quarter of the episode, I'd say she's established as kind of your regular ol' Grandma. However, this completely changes once she's in the Krusty Krab. She becomes a slight control freak, pointing out flaws with Plankton's "employees". Now during these moments, I was afraid this episode would go down the line of having an execution akin to that of a standard sitcom episode. Needless to say, I was afraid the Grandma would try to help Plankton, by volunteering to take charge of the restaurant, resulting in the "Liar revealed" trope. Thankfully, this completely changes when she lays eyes on Squidward. Again, it was a genius move for her to fall in love with Squidward. It definitely strengthens her personality, giving her a more comedic edge. However, the climax is definitely where her character shines the most. The plot twist in the episode came completely out of nowhere, I think it was the perfectly route for this episode to go into. Grandma's intentions all along to steal the formula and rule the world for her 90th birthday was certainly a fantastic way to wrap up the episode. And yes, there was a way for this concept to have been botched, and I mean botched, severely. She could've struggled to keep her secret, and fail to capture the formula, resulting a "Liar Revealed" trope, causing Plankton to attempt to flee the scene with the formula and his grandma, essentially failing, ending the episode on a bitter note. Thank goodness, this easily generic ending is completely avoided, as Grandma gets away with the formula in a truly exciting fashion, making her character all the more enjoyable to watch. And of course, being just an old lady, she doesn't exactly fail, but we're given a fairly sweet ending, where she's defeated in her sleep.
All in all, I think the rest of the characters are perfect in this episode. I really mean that, Plankton, Karen, Krabs, Squidward, they're all great! I don't find any real flaws within their personalities, or how they behave in this episode.
All in all, I consider this an Amazing Episode. Truly one of my all time favorites this Season, barely a single element is botched in this episode, even the sign gags which annoyed me played a creative part in Plankton's explaining of his plan. All aspects in this episode are handled perfectly, I give it a 10/10.
Firstly, this was a really bold move on Mr. Lawrence's behalf. Many episodes in recent time are attempting to cash in on the nostalgia of fan favorites like Bubble Buddy (But that episode came out over 5 years ago! Man how time flies...), Bubble Bass, and even DoodleBob. But this is the first episode I've ever seen in which a despised character makes a comeback, and it worked out perfectly. I mean it, this episode didn't have to exist, but Lawrence had a vision of a story, an actual story that featured Plankton's Grandmother as a character. A genuinely golden story, expressed through one of my new favorites of this Season.
Grandmum's the Word has a very simplistic plot. Plankton lies to his Grandmother that he owns the Krusty Krab, to grant her wish that he'd own it by her 90th birthday. Sounds like a standard sitcom plot. But that's about the closet this episode gets to being a predictable storyline. First off, I absolutely love the whole "wish" element in Grandma's birthday. It is perfect motivation for Plankton, a great way to set up the plot. I think it was a rather genius way to give Plankton's plan a proper purpose to exist in the first place through this motivation. Anyway, the episode completely diverts from a predictable route by completely avoiding the "Liar revealed" trope. Heck, that trope isn't even used in this episode! The plan goes perfectly! Instead, the episode captures how the plan turns out, showcasing various interactions Grandma has with not only Plankton, but the Krusty Crew. And of course, this showcases a good majority of the episode's humor, which there is a lot of, I won't deny that.
Sprinkled throughout the episode are a lot of great little gags. The spa scene was a really funny way to kick off the episode, and I absolutely adored the transformation of the Krusty Krab into the Krusty Plankton, I was surprised by how many funny little visual gags were thrown into the decorations sequence. Kind of funny how this short little bit captures more humor than the grand decoration sequence in Truth or Square (A TV Movie meant to indirectly celebrate the show's 10th anniversary, mind you). The grand amount of mini jokes sprinkled throughout the episode is wonderful, but the absolute highlight is when Grandma falls for Squidward. That my friends, is the funniest scene I've seen since I watched the hilarious There's a Sponge in My Soup. When she falls for Squidward, it's absolutely priceless, especially her love stricken hallucination of the cephalopod. I will admit, there are a few flops here and there (Especially the gags with SpongeBob and the sign, I personally found those cheap excuses for slapstick). But for the most part, this is episode is filled to the brim with excellent comedy.
As for the characters, I must discuss Grandma of course. Plankton's Grandma was already established as a "No Nonsense" chick, revealed in the end of Grandma's Secret Recipe. But, given her small role in that episode, I consider this to be fantastic development of her character. For the first quarter of the episode, I'd say she's established as kind of your regular ol' Grandma. However, this completely changes once she's in the Krusty Krab. She becomes a slight control freak, pointing out flaws with Plankton's "employees". Now during these moments, I was afraid this episode would go down the line of having an execution akin to that of a standard sitcom episode. Needless to say, I was afraid the Grandma would try to help Plankton, by volunteering to take charge of the restaurant, resulting in the "Liar revealed" trope. Thankfully, this completely changes when she lays eyes on Squidward. Again, it was a genius move for her to fall in love with Squidward. It definitely strengthens her personality, giving her a more comedic edge. However, the climax is definitely where her character shines the most. The plot twist in the episode came completely out of nowhere, I think it was the perfectly route for this episode to go into. Grandma's intentions all along to steal the formula and rule the world for her 90th birthday was certainly a fantastic way to wrap up the episode. And yes, there was a way for this concept to have been botched, and I mean botched, severely. She could've struggled to keep her secret, and fail to capture the formula, resulting a "Liar Revealed" trope, causing Plankton to attempt to flee the scene with the formula and his grandma, essentially failing, ending the episode on a bitter note. Thank goodness, this easily generic ending is completely avoided, as Grandma gets away with the formula in a truly exciting fashion, making her character all the more enjoyable to watch. And of course, being just an old lady, she doesn't exactly fail, but we're given a fairly sweet ending, where she's defeated in her sleep.
All in all, I think the rest of the characters are perfect in this episode. I really mean that, Plankton, Karen, Krabs, Squidward, they're all great! I don't find any real flaws within their personalities, or how they behave in this episode.
All in all, I consider this an Amazing Episode. Truly one of my all time favorites this Season, barely a single element is botched in this episode, even the sign gags which annoyed me played a creative part in Plankton's explaining of his plan. All aspects in this episode are handled perfectly, I give it a 10/10.
