Invincibubble
Krabby Patty Perfectionist
Bubble Bass finds himself stranded with Patrick in a mysterious swamp, looking for a lost action figure.
247a. Swamp Mates
- Thread starter Invincibubble
- Start date
SlipperytheTotodile
The Pokemon Enthusiast
Good episode with not much to explain.
Rating: Good Episode
Rankings:
Plankton's Old Chum (Superior)
Stormy Weather (Great)
The Krusty Slammer (Great)
Gary's Got Legs (Great)
Gary & Spot (Great)
The Ballad of Filthy Muck (Good)
Swamp Mates (Good)
FarmerBob (Good)
Pineapple RV (Okay)
King Plankton (Bad)
The Nitwitting (Despicable)
Rating: Good Episode
Rankings:
Plankton's Old Chum (Superior)
Stormy Weather (Great)
The Krusty Slammer (Great)
Gary's Got Legs (Great)
Gary & Spot (Great)
The Ballad of Filthy Muck (Good)
Swamp Mates (Good)
FarmerBob (Good)
Pineapple RV (Okay)
King Plankton (Bad)
The Nitwitting (Despicable)
Pugs4Thugs
#1 SpongeBob Reviewer
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I’ve been excited to get to “Swamp Mates”. Or I guess I’ve been excited to get to its sister episode, so I guess you’ll have to wait until a few minutes from now when I post that one haha. But I’ll just spoil that review slightly and say the reason I’ve been excited is because of the cool story-connecting thing these two episodes did. But I’ll get into that a whole lot more in that review, so let’s move on.
Another reason I’ve been excited to review “Swamp Mates” is because it’s one of those episodes that encapsulates one of the most central features of newer SpongeBob SquarePants—the use of alternate characters and alternate dynamics. This episode is about Patrick and Bubble Bass. Not only is that the use of a recurring character we’ve only recently begun to focus on, but it also gives us a dynamic that we’ve only somewhat seen before (and it’s still a bit different since SpongeBob’s not there). So I’m really, really loving this. These kinds of episodes make the world of Bikini Bottom feel more comprehensive and fleshed out.
This episode actually begins with SpongeBob preparing to tell Gary a bedtime story, which is really cute. And I love how he has all these stories of Patrick doing things for whatever reason (the reason being the pun with Patrick’s name in “Pat-sterpiece Theater” lol. The fact that this episode is SpongeBob telling Gary a story about Patrick makes me think that maybe all of these tales are real and that SpongeBob simply wrote them down at some point, as next episode confirms that the events in this episode did happen…hmm very interesting to think about.
Moving onto the main plot of the episode, it begins with Bubble Bass playing pretend. Though we don’t know that (except we totally do lol) until after a few minutes of watching this. Also, when the Chief appeared, I’ma be honest, I clapped (internally). I love this cameo. Once the fantasy is broken, Bubble Bass being a loser continues to be just as funny as it was in “Moving Bubble Bass”. I loved the delivery on “I’m not 23 anymore, mother!”. Patrick enters the episode as he’s Bubble Bass’s play date. Guess he forgot about Bubble Bass not feeding him and SpongeBob haha.
I really love this dynamic between Bubble Bass and Patrick. It’s similar to Patrick and Squidward, but different because of how different Bubble Bass is from Squidward. I really like it a lot. Patrick pours out a bunch of swamp water out of nowhere so that the two can play “swamp”, but it ends up causing a whirlpool in the room (somehow), and Bubble Bass’s action figure is lost. And then suddenly, Patrick and Bubble Bass are in an actual swamp. I really like the environment, it looks super cool. Patrick’s laid-backness compared to Bubble Bass being grossed out by everything is great.
Patrick and Bubble Bass end up being accosted by a bunch of alligators who are apparently making a stash of illegal hot sauce. I love how oddly specific that is. And Patrick ends up drinking a whole bunch of it, causing Bubble Bass to weaponize him as a flamethrower. I’m loving the directions this episode is going in lol. And then we get a good ‘ol fashioned chase scene, coupled with some really good music. I love everything about this. It’s fun, it’s action-packed, and it’s just thoroughly entertaining. And once they get out of that situation, Bubble Bass is chasing after the mysterious guy who has his Wonder Whale action figure, the mysterious guy who ends up being Hoodoo Guru from Bubble Bass’s daydreaming. Bubble Bass and Patrick end up defeating the guy through their shared stupidity, I love it.
Then the chase is on for a second time, I love a good reiteration. Then the episode hits an emotional beat, but done so out of parody more than anything else, with Patrick calling Bubble Bass friend, and Bubble Bass accepting that. It’s so cliche and funny to me. And then Bubble Bass and Patrick end up falling down a waterfall (hilariously). And then…Bubble Bass wakes up in his basement, which is currently still flooded with swamp water. Turns out, the whole thing was a hallucination caused by Bubble Bass being unconscious. Though I’m slightly doubtful about that account given that the events in this episode do turn out to be real lol. Well…real in another dimension. So does that mean that the dream realm is a dimension, or that when Bubble Bass died briefly, he was in another dimension?
“Swamp Mates” was just a good, fun episode that really shows what I love about these newer episodes. Patrick and Bubble Bass was the duo I didn’t know I needed. And this episode has made me put into words what a good Patrick appearance typically is for me—him kinda being the sounding board that other characters bounce off of. I’ve basically already said this before when I’ve said that Patrick works best when he’s with other characters he’s got a good dynamic with, he’s not that great on his own, and I think what I just said is the other side of the coin of that statement. The reason Patrick works best when he’s with characters he’s got a good dynamic with (so characters that have pretty established or clear personalities), he works because usually in these episodes he’s written a lot more passively, which works better for his character. Anyway, back to this episode, I just really liked it. Clearly an Amazing-tier episode. About on par with “Pineapple RV”.
Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9.3/10
Another reason I’ve been excited to review “Swamp Mates” is because it’s one of those episodes that encapsulates one of the most central features of newer SpongeBob SquarePants—the use of alternate characters and alternate dynamics. This episode is about Patrick and Bubble Bass. Not only is that the use of a recurring character we’ve only recently begun to focus on, but it also gives us a dynamic that we’ve only somewhat seen before (and it’s still a bit different since SpongeBob’s not there). So I’m really, really loving this. These kinds of episodes make the world of Bikini Bottom feel more comprehensive and fleshed out.
This episode actually begins with SpongeBob preparing to tell Gary a bedtime story, which is really cute. And I love how he has all these stories of Patrick doing things for whatever reason (the reason being the pun with Patrick’s name in “Pat-sterpiece Theater” lol. The fact that this episode is SpongeBob telling Gary a story about Patrick makes me think that maybe all of these tales are real and that SpongeBob simply wrote them down at some point, as next episode confirms that the events in this episode did happen…hmm very interesting to think about.
Moving onto the main plot of the episode, it begins with Bubble Bass playing pretend. Though we don’t know that (except we totally do lol) until after a few minutes of watching this. Also, when the Chief appeared, I’ma be honest, I clapped (internally). I love this cameo. Once the fantasy is broken, Bubble Bass being a loser continues to be just as funny as it was in “Moving Bubble Bass”. I loved the delivery on “I’m not 23 anymore, mother!”. Patrick enters the episode as he’s Bubble Bass’s play date. Guess he forgot about Bubble Bass not feeding him and SpongeBob haha.
I really love this dynamic between Bubble Bass and Patrick. It’s similar to Patrick and Squidward, but different because of how different Bubble Bass is from Squidward. I really like it a lot. Patrick pours out a bunch of swamp water out of nowhere so that the two can play “swamp”, but it ends up causing a whirlpool in the room (somehow), and Bubble Bass’s action figure is lost. And then suddenly, Patrick and Bubble Bass are in an actual swamp. I really like the environment, it looks super cool. Patrick’s laid-backness compared to Bubble Bass being grossed out by everything is great.
Patrick and Bubble Bass end up being accosted by a bunch of alligators who are apparently making a stash of illegal hot sauce. I love how oddly specific that is. And Patrick ends up drinking a whole bunch of it, causing Bubble Bass to weaponize him as a flamethrower. I’m loving the directions this episode is going in lol. And then we get a good ‘ol fashioned chase scene, coupled with some really good music. I love everything about this. It’s fun, it’s action-packed, and it’s just thoroughly entertaining. And once they get out of that situation, Bubble Bass is chasing after the mysterious guy who has his Wonder Whale action figure, the mysterious guy who ends up being Hoodoo Guru from Bubble Bass’s daydreaming. Bubble Bass and Patrick end up defeating the guy through their shared stupidity, I love it.
Then the chase is on for a second time, I love a good reiteration. Then the episode hits an emotional beat, but done so out of parody more than anything else, with Patrick calling Bubble Bass friend, and Bubble Bass accepting that. It’s so cliche and funny to me. And then Bubble Bass and Patrick end up falling down a waterfall (hilariously). And then…Bubble Bass wakes up in his basement, which is currently still flooded with swamp water. Turns out, the whole thing was a hallucination caused by Bubble Bass being unconscious. Though I’m slightly doubtful about that account given that the events in this episode do turn out to be real lol. Well…real in another dimension. So does that mean that the dream realm is a dimension, or that when Bubble Bass died briefly, he was in another dimension?
“Swamp Mates” was just a good, fun episode that really shows what I love about these newer episodes. Patrick and Bubble Bass was the duo I didn’t know I needed. And this episode has made me put into words what a good Patrick appearance typically is for me—him kinda being the sounding board that other characters bounce off of. I’ve basically already said this before when I’ve said that Patrick works best when he’s with other characters he’s got a good dynamic with, he’s not that great on his own, and I think what I just said is the other side of the coin of that statement. The reason Patrick works best when he’s with characters he’s got a good dynamic with (so characters that have pretty established or clear personalities), he works because usually in these episodes he’s written a lot more passively, which works better for his character. Anyway, back to this episode, I just really liked it. Clearly an Amazing-tier episode. About on par with “Pineapple RV”.
Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9.3/10