"No Free Rides" is simply a fun, enjoyable episode. Not the cream of the crop, but not at all bad.
The beginning gag of the episode is a great way to start us off, and it's followed very well with Mrs. Puff's whole 6...00 thing, love the delivery there from both Tom Kenny and Mary Jo Catlett. Mrs. Puff's desperation to get rid of SpongeBob is absolutely palpable in the beginning of this episode, and I love it. The extra credit scene is perfectly dramatic, and the kind of hysterics I love to see from this show. The daydream Mrs. Puff has is also perfectly morbid and one of my favorite scenes in the episode. I wonder if
Crazy Driving Skills from Yourboysponge was inspired by that daydream a little bit...(if you haven't heard of that channel, please watch the video I swear it's worth it).
This episode is the one with that crazy inception Mrs. Puff painting, and I always wonder just who thought of that painting? Anyway, I think it's very wholesome that SpongeBob's parents + SpongeBob threw a party for Mrs. Puff just to celebrate SpongeBob finally getting his license, because they thought Mrs. Puff was such a great teacher (I mean she is, she's just reached the end of her rope haha).
Mrs. Puff is truly just golden in this episode, and Mary Jo Catlett once again did a great job voicing her. I mean the way she just gets serious with that "not again" line, makes you question...many things about her past haha. The design of the ski mask over her face/body is also great and hilarious. This episode is full of great visuals, especially once the car chase scene gets up and going. My mind immediately goes to SpongeBob coming through the radio.
Speaking of the chase scene, easily the funniest scene in the whole episode. Especially the rule of three joke of SpongeBob getting dragged through those obstacles, just hysterical. The ending of that scene is great too, from SpongeBob realziing it's Mrs. Puff driving the boat, to the random cutaway of him doing that thing with his lips, and then the two crashing into the police boat.
One thing about this episode that makes it super nostalgic for me is that a
YouTube Poop I used to love (and still kinda do, tbh) used its most iconic moment as a joke. I actually just recently re-found that video so I'm happy I can share it haha.
The only thing about this episode that brings it down for me is that it's a bit slow between the extra credit dramatics and Mrs. Puff stealing the boat. Not that there's anything bad about the party scene or the set up to the boat stealing, but it's all a bit more slow compared to the rest of the 11 minutes, which toes the line of becoming a bit too dull for too long. But it doesn't typically cross that line during my rewatches, so this episode fits perfectly into my "Great" tier.
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.7/10
