Next up, we've got "Bummer Vacation"! As you may or may not know, I use my old episode ratings to help me gauge opinions on episodes as I review them. They don't guide my current ratings, they're more informative. Actually, this season has shown a significant departure from those old ratings, more than any other season so far. Anyway, I bring this all up to say that my rating for this episode from 5 years ago was quite...low. And because it was so low, combined with my only somewhat decent memory for this episode (I remember the plot vaguely and that one key moment), I decided to go ahead and rewatch this episode in full. And I'm glad I did!
This is another one of those episodes that uses Mr. Krabs' business practices as the basis for the plot. And honestly, it's pretty cool that Bikini Bottom has a fry cook union. It's completely in-character for Mr. Krabs to not have given SpongeBob time off for a vacation all the years that he worked there, so this plot makes sense to me. And I love the diverting of expectations with SpongeBob immediately agreeing to take a vacation. Love a good "I'm ready" moment. And then SpongeBob going straight to bed for his vacation is super relatable. Now, SpongeBob goes to bed for a different reason than I would, because his life and passion is working at the Krusty Krab and so he has nothing else to do (in this episode at least, obviously we've seen him have plenty of hobbies before), whereas I would love to sleep more. Also for some reason the music choices in this first minute or two really stuck out to me. I like the use of "
Sunny Samoa" for the title card, and then we got some good usage of "
Marlin March" and "
You're Nice" in there too. Anyway, I really like the little snippets we see of SpongeBob's everyday life, with the glorious return of the stuffed animal weights and of Kelpo. That flossing face was the stuff of nightmares though...sheesh.
But anyway, I love how shocked SpongeBob is when he learns what a vacation
actually is. SpongeBob's concern is fun to watch, and I love Squidward's line about how he ain't gonna do all the stuff SpongeBob is saying. And then Patrick being an unpaid intern is just hilarious to me, as is SpongeBob's utter disbelief. That joke with Patrick using the spatula as a belly scratcher kind of drags though (not to mention is disgusting). But that dullness ends nice and quick once we get to SpongeBob's house and cut to SpongeBob looking utterly wrecked (and my boy Gary is there). I don't know what was in the air but these animators and storyboarders were really just making nightmare fuel faces in this episode haha. SpongeBob being so desperate to get back to the Krusty Krab is fun to watch, even though I would never, ever do that. I rarely, rarely ever shop or eat at the places I've worked...going there on my day off is bad enough but when I"m on vacation? Absolutely not. Anyway, I love how done Mr. Krabs is. And poor SpongeBob really cannot stop working. Now to be fair, those were legitimate issues he needed to fix lol. Also SpongeBob just kind of floating back to his house is hilarious for no reason. SpongeBob playing with the play set is funny probably because of how sad it is lol. But I love how SpongeBob is literally so obsessed with work that he plays working. Somebody get this little guy a hobby! And then Gary calling him out is hilarious.
This episode really just has the weird, absurd, uncomfortably funny type humor down. Like there's the faces I mentioned earlier, and then the whole part where SpongeBob just stands on Krusty Krab property saying absolutely nothing actually got a pretty hearty laugh out of me. I think it was the combination of both SpongeBob's absolutely blank eyes and how Mr. Krabs and Squidward are literally treating him like he's some kind of vermin or something lmao. SpongeBob at Jellyfish Fields isn't particularly funny but it is enjoyable, though I thought the low salt ketchup thing was funny, as was SpongeBob sneaking back into the Krusty Krab with a disguise. From there, the episode just gets increasingly absurd as SpongeBob's mental state deteriorates, and I love to see it. Him literally coming through the phone is great especially because it instantly fails. The toilet attempt is great as well especially because of Patrick's reaction. Then Mr. Krabs literally drops him in a forest and I just have to laugh.
Then the episode takes a wonderfully weird turn as SpongeBob starts thinking the entire thing was a conspiracy. His muttering is just funny, and then the abrupt cut to Patrick makes us wonder just what's about to go down. And then Patrick opening up his rock and seeing an absolutely demented SpongeBob is just amazing. Tom Kenny acted out SpongeBob's insanity perfectly here. I love the whole "I've given the best years of my life to this place" part lmao. And then, of course, we have the ever iconic "I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU PATRICK" along with the fantastic evil laugh. SpongeBob is just so unashamedly insane in this episode, wearing a whole Patrick suit and cackling.
And then the episode ends with some great reveals, like Mr. Krabs only saving a nickel (or dime?), and that being more than SpongeBob makes in a whole year...perhaps that union needs to come back around.
"Bummer Vacation" is a really fun episode. Its humor doesn't lie in clever wordy gags, or visuals (though there are some great visuals), but in the bizarreness and absurdity of the plot, and I can appreciate that. This is an episode where the enjoyment comes through particularly after watching the whole thing, at least that's how it is for me. I honestly need to start rewatching it again, because I used to dislike this episode for whatever reason, so I avoided rewatching it, but turns out it's really good! A worthy addition to my "Great" tier.
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.4/10
