Next up, we've got "Plankton's Army". And it is here that I realize how little Plankton actually appeared in this season. He was in what, 3 episodes in this season, not counting this one? It's so funny, that Plankton is such an integral part of the show and always has been, but in these first 3 seasons he did not make very many appearances at all, since he'd yet to be upgraded to main character. Soon we'll be in the era with him being a proper main character (though it would be nice if other "main characters" actually acted like them...Sandy, Mrs. Puff, and Pearl I'm looking at you guys. Yeah, this show lowkey has a misogyny problem, doesn't it? That's a discussion for another day though, because today we're going to talk about this season 3 episode).
Even though Plankton has attempted in previous episodes, this episode really feels like the beginning of the archetypal "Plankton Plot" (as I like to call them) that we're all familiar with. And let me break down what I consider to be a "Plankton Plot", because why not. Firstly, Plankton Plots typically (not always, though these locations must be featured in some capacity) take place almost entirely in the Krusty Krab and/or the Chum Bucket. Secondly, the major plot of the episode is Plankton trying to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. Thirdly, Plankton actually gets close (in order to have some actual tension in the episode), but then fails in some humorous way. So, those are the 3 core elements of a Plankton Plot. And at this point in
SpongeBob SquarePants, I feel like only "Plankton!" had completely fulfilled these 3 elements. So I guess really, "Plankton!" started the trend, but "Plankton's Army" made it a pattern.
None of this has any real bearing on the review though, so let me actually get started properly. I like the beginning of this episode, with the montage of Plankton's failures over the years. I think my favorite has to be when he literally just asks for the formula politely, probably because of the subverted expectation of Plankton having a whole scheme. Which by the way, did you know there's a whole page on the SpongeBob wiki for
Plankton's schemes? Fun stuff.
Also, speaking of subverted expectations, I love the whole bit with the robot and how it turns out Plankton was in the dollar bill. The whole part where he doesn't know where to go from here is hilarious, and I like that Mr. Krabs is able to counter with a pretty funny joke of his own (followed by a nasty one). Makes for a very enjoyable exchange between the two enemies.
I like how Karen basically roasts Plankton for the entirety of this episode, and that it somehow leads to there being an entire running gag of a montage of Plankton's failures. I prefer when Karen is helpful to Plankton like this, actually giving him ideas for how to successfully steal the Formula. I even more prefer when Plankton actually listens to her. Plankton's failed attempt at getting some club-goers to help him is pretty funny, and I like how it leads him to think of contacting his family. The montage of him doing just that is entertaining enough as well, nothing special there.
"Plankton's Army" delights in subverting expectations, as we, just like Plankton, are stunned when the door opens to reveal the most stereotypically redneck plankton imaginable. For some reason, when typing that, I got reminded of Mel Medarda and her mother in
Arcane, if any of you have watched that. Not that either of those characters are rednecks, but the whole being
really different from your family thing. But anyway, Plankton is pretty funny in this scene, I love how he gets so tired so fast and just snaps, but manages to regain his composure. I also find it wholesome that Plankton's family is so willing to help him out. I mean, you'd think all of these people would have lives of their own, but they all rushed over to Plankton's aid. It's sweet. And yes, Plankton does promise them rewards, but I mean the fact that they came over in the first place.
And then of course we get one of the more memorable moments in this episode with the whole "Sheldon" gag, which is admittedly pretty funny lol. I always think I'll get tired of it but nope! It's funny every time. Unfortunately from there, though, the episode starts to drag a little. The grass joke is not as funny as I wish it was, although Plankton's laugh has some good visuals. Even Mr. Krabs and Squidward being stuck in the toilet is like...meh. But I will say I do like the part where all the plankton join together to form a hand and an ear, if only because of Mr. Krabs being like "Curse you, Plankton, and your ability to join together to form a working human ear!" You know, now that leaves me with questions. So do the people of Bikini Bottom know what humans are? Or maybe it's just because Mr. Krabs is old and well-traveled. Well, it's actually because the writers were simply making a joke and I'm overthinking it, but hey, that's what I do here.
The episode picks back up again once Plankton has his hands on the Formula and starts reading it. The tension is wonderfully crafted here with every turn of the page, building and building all for that perfect moment, that final reveal that the most important ingredient is...plankton. I like how the toilet magically appears by Plankton's side too, it just makes the joke funnier. We get excellent voice acting from Mr. Lawrence in this scene, as per usual. And I love how Clem just stands there because he can't read. It's those small little touches of humor that make this show so special. Like that definitely did not need to be in there, it wouldn't have felt like a missed joke opportunity if it wasn't, but they put it there anyway.
The ending of this episode is also great. I wonder where SpongeBob was the whole time anyway. And I like how Squidward hardly plays a role in this episode, just to provide audiences with the ending stinger of Mr. Krabs running home just like Plankton did, cursing Squidward's name. It's a good way to close out the episode.
"Plankton's Army" is a pretty good episode. It's also another one of these later season 3 episodes that fly under the radar. Now, I mean, I'm not going to say that it should be a super popular episode, because I don't think that at all. No, "Plankton's Army" is good, but it's nothing special. Just the ending is delightfully morbid. And even though my first instinct is to rate this episode higher than what my final rating is, upon real reflection I think this episode fits best in my "Good" tier. It has some great jokes, but they're spread throughout the episode, the rest either being middling or not landing at all. And the slow part in the middle really seals the deal for me.
Episode Tier: Good
Episode Score: 7.8/10