Proto red V
Moby Dollar
This episode is gross and i love this episode 9/10
i love how experimental season 4 wasNext up, we've got "SquidBob TentaclePants", an episode that walks the thin line between completely forgotten and embedded in meme culture. Because I'm sure we can all remember the last bit of this episode, but what about the 10 minutes before that? For the purposes of this review, I can remember a lot more details about this episode now, but before I was a little hard-pressed to think past the barest plot of this episode.
This episode involves a lot more characters than you'd initially expect. Like Squidward and SpongeBob are here, of course, but then there's also Sandy, who plays an important role in the plot, and then appearances by Mr. Krabs, Mrs. Puff, Pearl, Patrick, and even Larry. Not to mention all the Incidentals too. This is just one of those episodes that makes it clear that this is an ensemble cast show, which I appreciate.
Moving on now to the actual plot, I think this episode's plot is very interesting and unique. It kind of feels like a Phineas & Ferb plot to me, in that an invention wreaks havoc. This isn't a type of plot typically done by this show, so I'll appreciate it while it's here. It's always nice to see Sandy being a scientist as well, even if eventually this aspect of her character will be leaned into a bit too much. Sandy's machine in this episode is pretty cool, and I love the visuals of SpongeBob (and later Squidward) using it. Honestly, this episode brings up a very good point about teleportation, because what happens if someone teleports into something or someone??? Do they fuse together? Does one or both of the things end up destroyed? And I mean if you think about it if we could teleport, we'd be teleporting into a space where there were already particles of oxygen and nitrogen and all the fun stuff in the air, so could that ever work?? Leave it to me to overthink about the mechanics of teleportation when reviewing a SpongeBob SquarePants episode.
I do appreciate that the design of the fused Squidward and SpongeBob isn't really all that much body horror (which we know these animators and designers are capable of, given the end of this episode). Really, this episode balances a fine line between horrific and comedic, which I love. Like for Squidward, this entire episode is a psychological horrorfest, but for SpongeBob it's a dream. And for the audience, we feel both the horror of Squidward and also the comedy in all the jokes throughout the episode. The montage of Squidward and SpongeBob trying to change back is full of so much creative character design and mixed feelings of horror and humor, it's very well done.
From here, seeing SpongeBob and Squidward struggle to do their jobs while fused together is not particularly funny or very engaging, so that's definitely a low point. But things do pick back up again once we're treated to the beautiful sunset background imagery, and the fused duo return to Sandy's place. Because firstly, things just get funnier again. I love Sandals's reaction to Squidward and SpongeBob, and then even better when Sandy says that the machine won't be ready until tomorrow, and Squidward freaks out. SpongeBob's face in that scene is hilarious. Also speaking of that scene, it's the base of a pretty good Sparta Remix, if I do say so myself. Seeing SpongeBob and Squidward struggle that night makes me feel a little sad for them, if I'm being honest.
I love how the next day, Squidward goes out to give his performance anyway, and SpongeBob cheers him on, I thought that was really wholesome. And I also like that instead of watching everything go bad for Squidward for minutes on end (although things start out bad), we actually see him and SpongeBob win as everyone thinks their fused form is pretty cool. I also think that this is what makes the ending stick out even more, because it comes completely out of left field. I love the part with the skeleton, I thought that was hilarious. But anyway, I like that Squidward brought this bad ending on himself in the end by messing with Sandy's machine after she managed to fix him and SpongeBob. The abrupt cut between the machine going off and Squidward in therapy just really makes the whole ending. And man, what an ending that is, with that horrific shot of the fused cast...just nasty. But in a good way.
I think "SquidBob TentaclePants" is a pretty solid episode. It's not crazy funny, but the plot is interesting and the episode only really gets dull during the moment at the Krusty Krab. This episode also has a feeling of waiting for something big to happen, which doesn't really happen until the final minute of the episode. It's just a vibe I get, I can't really explain it. But anyway, all of this together is why I think this episode is a good fit for my "Good" tier. Honestly, this should be marketed as a Halloween episode. Maybe I need to add it to my marathon.
Episode Tier: Good
Episode Score: 7.3/10