TheGreatServer
NOT a Bunny now!
Okay, not a great plot and it doesn't have many good jokes, The beginning is nice though.
6/10
6/10
i rewatched this episode yesterday and i really enjoyed it, i do agree that the plot is creepy considering friend or foe confirmed they're the same ageNext up, we've got "Enemy In-Law"! What a fun title lol. This episode is also just a very...interesting episode. It's way before its time I'll give it that. Because why on Earth is Plankton, who is the same age as Mr. Krabs, getting with his mom???? He really is the embodiment of this meme. Except, you know, not quite...
ANYWAY, the beginning of this episode is fun, with Plankton using a giant robot to try and force people to eat at the Chum Bucket. This episode also does its best impression of animated sitcoms by having Karen and Plankton bicker like the old married couple they are. Though in this episode Plankton is pretty egregiously bad towards Karen given that he literally becomes infatuated with another woman.
I love how Mama Krabs enters this episode just to get money from Mr. Krabs. Like mother like son I suppose. She's given a lot of character in this episode and I appreciate that. I think we need more Mama Krabs, honestly. The bit with Plankton looking through the telescope and seeing a live-action crab is pretty clever, I'll say that much. The way Plankton tries to woo Mama Krabs is very...bad lmao. That's all I can say. I don't mean bad as in unenjoyable, although this segment of the episode isn't all that enjoyable or funny, but I mean bad as in Plankton literally has 0 braincells when it comes to how to talk to another person. Which given what we saw in "Plankton's Army" is pretty in-line with his character. I do think it's kind of funny after multiple failed attempts, when Plankton finally succeeds he's like "I'm smooth" like boy no you ain't. Also the part where Mama Krabs is like "are you spying on me" and then we see a bunch of different feeds of her in the Chum Bucket is pretty funny.
There really are a lot of funny moments in this episode. Mr. Krabs shoving his wallet in SpongeBob's mouth is hilarious, and then him using it as an excuse just makes the moment even better. I love how he literally stole a hat off a corpse to give to his mother as well, man this guy is cheap!!! They even did a cutaway gag for that, which I'm a fan of. I love a good cutaway gag. And then I love when Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob he's working late with no overtime, and SpongeBob just launches himself at the door, and then we cut away, like that was great.
The next segment of the episode feels reminiscent of "Squilliam Returns", though with less stakes. I love how Plankton gets all mad that Mama Krabs doesn't recognize him. Other than that, this first part of the scene drags. That is, until we have probably one of my absolute favorite exchanges in this entire show between Krabs, Plankton, Mama Krabs, and SpongeBob. The fact that they do the joke twice makes it even better. It's like the exchange in "Imitation Krabs" but even better.
Once that joke ends though, we're left with the weird feeling of why is this woman dating someone the same age as her son??? I mean, I guess there's a pass here because she doesn't know who Plankton is, and therefore probably doesn't know his age, but it's just...weird. Thank god everyone involved in this episode is a middle-aged adult or older, or else I would have real concerns. This episode also goes against what we'll learn later in "Friend or Foe" by saying the secret formula is an old Krabs family recipe, but I don't quite care about that, so that's whatever. The next few minutes of this episode, while enjoyable, are not particularly funny. Seeing Mr. Krabs be protective over his mother is sweet enough I suppose, and we see him put his foot in his mouth when he realizes that Plankton didn't know that his mother knew the formula, which is nice enough. I like the joke where Mr. Krabs is like "nah I'm gonna act like a man" and makes to attack Plankton, before just jumping in his mom's lap and begging her not to marry Plankton lol.
This episode also lowkey has a feminist undertone if you think about it, as Krabs and Plankton are doing all this fighting over Mama Krabs, without considering what she herself thinks of the situation. And in the end, she solves the entire situation herself. I love the bit with the robot, that was hilarious. Sorry Plankton, your robot has more game than you. And then I love how Mama Krabs just ends up kicking Plankton's butt, throwing him back to Karen who also ends up kicking his butt. A great bit of universal justice all around.
"Enemy In-Law" is a decently enjoyable episode, with a muddling middle part. Other than that, it's pretty funny, although the plot is just kind of weird. I think this episode is a good edition to my "Great" tier, leaning close to "Good", but I think it pulls through in the end.
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8/10