Feral Friends (Season 10, Episode 11a)
Original Airdate: October 7 2017
Episode 410 in standard order, Episode 416 in airing order
Plot: Neptune’s Moon passes over Bikini Bottom devolving everyone except Sandy
Written by Mr Lawrence
[titlecard]215A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Peg Leg Waltz
You don’t see an episode like this everyday (and if you do, you’d probably go insane after a month). People were already in the groove for Season 11 when 10’s penultimate episode aired, due to Nickelodeon’s infamously sporadic schedule, though this gave the short stack one last hurrah. There’s just so much content here, so many characters being used, and such a strange concept that manages to make you think about Bikini Bottom in a different way. I guess that’s why they chose to make this 16 minutes, they just had so much they wanted to accomplish, and it pays off big time.
Making this episode stand out automatically is that it starts with Patchy the Pirate, rowing to the Bikini Bottom island in a little boat. He doesn’t have his own segments or anything, he’s flat-out in the episode, and closer to Bikini Bottom than he ever got in Truth or Square. It’s rather fun seeing Tom Kenny back in his old pirate get-up after so long, hearing Potty being voiced by Stephen Hillenburg again, and that campy, low budget charm flushing back. It’s awkward to still be using it so many years on, and after the show’s become a multi-billion dollar industry, but I honestly wouldn’t have Patchy’s appearances look any different.
The reason Patchy’s at Bikini Bottom is because he wants to see a rare event that only happens every 100 years, and no it isn’t a star bit festival. Instead, we cut to the animation and see most of the main and secondary characters of the cartoon at a picnic, celebrating Sandy’s birthday. This very neatly sets up that she’s going to be a main focus in the episode, and I also like the gag of Patrick eating the birthday cake whole, then Sandy gets another one that she karate chops for everyone. It gets you to know about Patrick’s gluttony, Sandy’s strength, and even SpongeBob’s consideration, as he brought the spare.
Before anymore celebration, an earthquake hit the field SpongeBob and gang are in, followed by a green sphere rising from a volcano. I like the sphere’s design, with it having dark spots that look like a derpy face, and the presence it has, with its bright rays and otherworldly sounds. It seems most of the characters like the sphere a bit too much, as it grabs them into a hypnotice trance. Of those onscreen, only Sandy doesn’t seem to be affected, maybe because it’s her birthday, maybe because she’s wearing a suit, or maybe because of some third reason I’m forgetting. One thing’s for certain- the sphere is a moon for some reason, not just a random orb that comes out of volcanoes. SpongeBob and Patrick liken it to a rather mouldy cheese moon, and a certain guest star confirms it’s a moon later on, but more on that in a minute.
The moon just floats across the sea sky, with its beams hitting every fish in its direct light, and devolving them from anthropomorphic, cartoony fish into dangerously realistic ones. I’m not going to hide my excitement, this is just an awesomely surreal concept. We’ve seen Bikini Bottom behave cartoonishly for so long, that there’s a shock factor in making it more lifelike. I feel like this is an episode idea that Stephen Hillenburg really loved (or probably even came up with himself), and that’s why there’s just so much to it, to the point it had to be extended to 16 minutes. If the “Neptune’s Moon” idea doesn’t directly relate to him, then it’s just a clear sign that the Post-Sequel crew were geniuses.
Of course, the main cast gets affected and devolved, starting with SpongeBob and Patrick turning into an actual sea sponge and starfish, just barely classifying as living creatures. Mr Krabs, Mrs Puff and Larry then all turn into real crabs, pufferfish and lobsters respectively. Mr Crab and Lobby look exactly like their real species, though I’m like how Mrs Puffer still has some blue. Then Pearl gets zapped and turns into a giant whale, giving us an idea of just how severe the situation is. Pearl is a massive threat to certain fish (and her phone), and it goes out of its way to show that fish do genuinely get eaten and die in this episode! It’s super dark, but just the circle of life doing its thing.
This leaves only Sandy, who’s invulnerable to the rays because she’s not a sea creature (makes sense), and Squidward, who was in an outhouse, and delivers a pretty good joke about how the last one there must’ve been an animal. Even if they weren’t devolved, he’d be right. So Sandy tries to save Squidward from being devolved by keeping him under a shady rock, and this adds some brief but great tension. Will Squidward be hit, or will he be safe? As I’ve watched the episode several times, I already know the answer, but to a kid watching this for his first time, he could be on the edge of his seat. Or maybe just laughing at how forcedly Squidward’s shoved under said rock by Sandy.
She calls another character on her wristwatch to get an explanation of what’s going on, and that character happens to be the French Narrator. I love how we now get an idea of what he looks like (not his face, but how he dresses), and the fact that he and Sandy somehow know each other well. It’s some sort of fourth-dimensional fourth wall breaking. Frenchie, as Sandy refers to him as, gives her the gist of Neptune’s Moon- it comes out of a volcano every 100 years, devolves all the fish surrounding it into their primal forms, then goes back down another volcano after two hours, reversing its effects. It’s a given that this whole Neptune’s Moon business is crazy, and up there with the most mind-screwing things the show’s ever done, but I’m happy that it’s got some lore behind it, and a thorough explanation of its cycle.
Unfortunately, Squidward gets scared of all the feral fish coming around, and runs for his life, only to trip over and get cornered by a fish. I should’ve warned him about crawling. The good news is that he eventually gets hit by the moon rays, so he turns into a giant octopus capable of defending himself. The bad news is that he’s now a bigger threat than everything else combined. Speaking of the morphing, it’s something worth noting due to its animation. You generally see two quick transitions for most, one where they turn into a blob, and then more realistic. With Squidward, the transformation’s a bit more complex, which makes me buy into this being a bigger and more threatening event.
This leaves Sandy the only main character (in the episode) who can help out (I’d assume Plankton and Gary’s transformations wouldn’t be that major), and she grabs all her smaller friends and puts them in a net. It’s honestly slightly cute seeing them all huddled up and primitive, but there’s also some action in Sandy escaping Squidward and riding Pearl back to her treedome. On her way, she briefly falls into Pearl’s blowhole, in what’s not the first time she’s interacted with it, and Pearl breaches, getting Patchy’s boat wet and putting him in danger of sinking. Oh, and there’s also a plane of devolved fish that crashes and some fighting over a parking ticket, but that’s not a major concern.
After that underwater rodeo, Sandy makes it safely to her treedome with some of her friends, puts them in a fishtank she had out already for some reason, and gets the French Narrator to narrate over them acting natural. This is my favourite part in the episode, for being factual and funny at the same time. You see Larry molting and eating his old skin, Patrick ejecting his stomach to eat in a way that’s not nearly as gross as WatchMojo made it sound, and SpongeBob filter-feeding, just like he did all the way back in 2003. The best bit however has to be when Mr Krabs and Mrs Puff attack each other, as pufferfish actually eat crabs. Sandy even comments that she knew she had to seperate them, in a surprisingly cute double entrede.
The cold squishy facts don’t last long however, as Squidward comes to the treedome and wrecks it...while the French Narrator describes the impending doom. I honestly didn’t know octopi had teeth, so I have to thank this episode for teaching me at least one thing. That is before Pearl comes by to duke it out with Squidward in an epic monster battle. I haven’t watched mich of Godzilla, but I think it’s taking hints from that franchise, with the mix of collateral damage and weird mutant monsters, at least mutant by cartoon standards. This is just how nature functions, and it’s awesome. When I mean collateral damage, I mean Sandy’s treedome is eventually destroyed, but all the critters are safe, and Sandy puts her helmet back on.
The characters then become even safer, as Neptune’s Moon sets and everyone returns to normal. Well, almost normal, they’re all naked now. This includes Pearl and Mrs Puff, who are female characters, but at least no naughty bits are shown. Regardless, this is the risk of owning cable TV. I can get why you wouldn’t like this scene, as nudity in and of itself isn’t much of a joke, but I think it’s justified by them turning back into their evolved selves, and facing the fact that something about them had changed, and they need a good rest. The only thing I don’t like about this scene is that SpongeBob and Patrick are against Sandy’s suit, and Sandy gets a view of Patrick’s rear end, which is really stretching it in terms of maturity. Thankfully, it’s the only butt joke here, and it at least prepares me for those in Season 11, because there are a lot.
With a story as out-there as this, of course there has to be a “here we go again”-type thread to be left, and that’s the arrival of Neptune’s Sun. It’s a red sun that comes around and devolves Sandy into a normal squirrel, though her cartoon tail stays on her suit for some reason. SpongeBob and Patrick say the episode’s catchphrase, “You don’t see that everyday”, while Sandy screams internally. Remember, this was her birthday at one point. We then get to see Patchy and Potty one last time, with the former’s ship close to sinking. That isn’t an issue for long due to Neptune’s Sun, which the French Narrator comes to warn him about. It’s just so enlightening to see these two live action characters finally interact after so long, it just sends me into a fangasm nirvana state. Patchy doesn’t listen however, and he turns into a caveman (donning his SpongeBob BC costume), and Potty turns into a pterodactyl that picks him up and flies away, planning to eat him. It’s such a wacky ending, capped off with Patchy’s flailing being sped up to look more exaggerated, reminding me of that old Patchy charm.
In case you couldn’t tell, I love this episode to death, so much so that I didn’t segment my review like with every other Season 4-present episode. In terms of concept and presentation, it fits right at home in the Classic era, with only a couple indecent and repetitive jokes getting in the way of it being perfect. This is simply how you do an experimental episode, make it unique and fresh, add in an awesome idea and use it to its fullest potential. Most of all, it doesn’t forget to be funny. There are tons of great, well-written jokes that still get a laugh out of me a year on, and that’s how I know this is just waiting to be a classic.
Final Verdict:
Spongy 9/10
Lame and Fortune < Feral Friends < Squid Plus One
Question of the Day: How would you feel about Neptune’s Moon passing over your area?
I wonder if the Season 10 finale will be one of those sleeper hits. Before that,
I haven’t listened to this on the show in ages, and it’s so satisfying.
:sbthumbs:
This review is dedicated to the life and work of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants. He was also a visionary, dreamer, and all-around chill dude with a great sense of humour. Without his imaginative show and characters, I wouldn’t be half the writer I am today, and I’d never be able to thank him enough for that if I met him in person. Farewell, captain.
1961-2018