I love their friendship so much. I liked how in the earlier seasons, Squidward never really hated SpongeBob; he was just annoyed by his overly happy attitude that clashed with his more cynical view of the world. Not to mention how he treats this dead-end job at a fast-food restaurant like it's the best thing in the world. But, at the end of the day, he did care for him and stood up for him when needed. I miss that dynamic in the later seasons. also in the golden era of SpongeBob (S1-S3), Squidward and SpongeBob had more of a love/hate big brother/little brother type dynamic, which could be surprisingly sweet and heartwarming at times.
Squidward often got annoyed by SpongeBob’s and Patrick’s playful antics and jokes, and occasionally he went too far in bullying them or getting revenge on them for irritating him. He often claimed to hate them in the first three seasons, but it was obviously a facade, the more the writers delved into his character throughout S1-S3.
Whenever SpongeBob and Patrick were having fun doing something that he initially claimed was “childish” and “stupid,” Squidward would usually feel left out, or take it as an insult when SpongeBob innocently said “Have fun inside,” then join in with SpongeBob’s and Patrick’s activities and games in episodes like “The Camping Episode,” “Club SpongeBob,” “Snowball Effect,” and “Idiot Box.” In “Squidville,” he moved out of Bikini Bottom, and actually missed SpongeBob and Patrick after moving to a town called Tentacle Acres where everyone was just like him because he got bored without their antics to make life more interesting, and even started playing with a reef blower to try to liven things up.
Squidward’s annoyance with SpongeBob, making fun of him, jealousy of him, and teasing of him were very much like that of a bratty, introverted, self-centered, and lazy older brother with a love/hate sibling rivalry relationship with their kindhearted, extroverted, hardworking, and exceptionally talented little sibling. He claims he hates SpongeBob, but he secretly appreciates and loves his happy-go-lucky nature and imagination because he gets bored without him,. He joins in on several of his games that he initially claims are “childish” because he also wants to be able to have fun. He even feels bad, tries to protect him, or goes out of his way to make things right when he sees that SpongeBob has really been hurt or endangered by either him or others in episodes like “Fools In April,” “Pizza Delivery, ”Christmas Who?,” and “Dying For Pie.” In the early seasons, Squidward’s relationship with SpongeBob was more one of that a bratty older brother who secretly loves their little sibling deep down, but likes to tease them, scare them, or prank them to get them back for bugging them, only to take it rather too far at times, make them do the work they are too lazy to do, or steal the spotlight from themselves because they want to be the center of attention instead of their awesome little sibling getting it all the time in episodes like “Employee of The Month,” “The Graveyard Shift,” “The Camping Episode,” or “Squid on Strike.”
In the post movie seasons I’ve seen, Squidward has been flanderdized to generally downright despise SpongeBob and Patrick, almost always tries to avoid them, almost always expresses his hatred for Spongebob and Patrick, and almost never tries to hang out with either of them, or anyone in Bikini Bottom, really. Like, in the early seasons he obviously found SpongeBob and Patrick annoying, he was rather cynical, he had jerk moments, he often acted stuck up, and he was jaded. He obviously was upset that he had to work at the Krusty Krab because he didn’t actually put in any sort of time to take clarinet lessons since he was too proud to admit that he needed to improve.
However, there also was complexity, depth, humanity, and relatability in his characterization. In the first 3 seasons, Squidward wasn’t just SpongeBob’s arrogant, cynical, grumpy, and hateful next door neighbor. His “hatred” of SpongeBob, for instance, was often heavily implied to be a “mask” he wore because he felt jealous of SpongeBob’s ability to just be happy-go-lucky, childish, imaginative, and playful self with no sense of shame or self-consciousness. In the first three seasons, Squidward was often shown to secretly want to be able to be happy and have fun by letting himself be more childish, optimistic, sincere, silly, and spontaneous, like SpongeBob and Patrick, but his sense of pride often made him too cowardly to go through with it. It is why the episodes where he actually felt the desire to join in with their antics or actually missed them when they were gone because he got bored, were so special. He also only got karma from the universe when he was genuinely being a jack, rather than just because he was Squidward, unlike later seasons. He wasn’t so miserable that he’d never had a happiest memory before. He actually gathered the people of Bikini Bottom together to try to start a marching band.
In the early seasons, SpongeBob also had more misguidedly annoying and naïve, but usually well-meaning little brotherly feelings towards Squidward, rather than the creepy stalker with a crush the writers flanderdized him with in the later seasons more often. Of course, he did have his moments where he got ticked off with Squidward, or got competitive with him, such as “Can You Spare a Dime?” and “Employee of the Month.” He helped him out when he noticed he was upset in episodes, sometimes annoyed Squidward without realizing it, and he looked up to him on occasions in episodes like “Band Geeks,” “Frankendoodle,” “Employee of the Month,” “The Camping Episode,” “The Idiot Box,” “Artist Unknown,” “Squidville,” “Pizza Delivery,” “Christmas Who?” However, he didn’t have this creepily and obliviously persistent stalker with a crush obsession with Squidward that he started having in later seasons post the first movie.
In the later seasons after the first movie, the writers mostly reduced the SpongeBob/Squidward dynamic to a cheap and cliché comedy punchline that is very one-note and not very funny. It was much cuter and funnier when SpongeBob and Squidward had a love/hate brotherly dynamic. In the later seasons, it’s mostly SpongeBob stalking Squidward, and Squidward trying to avoid him because he genuinely hates him.
When I watched the later seasons of SpongeBob post the first movie, the heartwarming love/hate sibling dynamic between SpongeBob and Squidward, was the biggest thing I felt was missing in the series. It no longer felt like Squidward even liked SpongeBob and Patrick at all anymore, just hated them. He never really felt bad about being too mean to SpongeBob or Patrick anymore, but genuinely reveled in making them suffer, whereas he had moments of genuinely feeling bad about going too far in hurting SpongeBob in the earlier seasons. Now, if Squidward ever helps out SpongeBob or does something nice, it’s usually just because his being hurt or missing inconveniences him somehow, not because he genuinely cares about him. It also feels like SpongeBob and Patrick became ridiculously oblivious creepy stalkers, who couldn’t or wouldn’t take a hint every time Squidward said he didn’t want to hang out with them in the later seasons, and it seems like they keep bugging Squidward for no good reason at all. Yeah, they have a few nice moments here and there in later seasons, but you can tell the writers stopped putting much care and thought into these characters and their relationships.
Squidward often got annoyed by SpongeBob’s and Patrick’s playful antics and jokes, and occasionally he went too far in bullying them or getting revenge on them for irritating him. He often claimed to hate them in the first three seasons, but it was obviously a facade, the more the writers delved into his character throughout S1-S3.
Whenever SpongeBob and Patrick were having fun doing something that he initially claimed was “childish” and “stupid,” Squidward would usually feel left out, or take it as an insult when SpongeBob innocently said “Have fun inside,” then join in with SpongeBob’s and Patrick’s activities and games in episodes like “The Camping Episode,” “Club SpongeBob,” “Snowball Effect,” and “Idiot Box.” In “Squidville,” he moved out of Bikini Bottom, and actually missed SpongeBob and Patrick after moving to a town called Tentacle Acres where everyone was just like him because he got bored without their antics to make life more interesting, and even started playing with a reef blower to try to liven things up.
Squidward’s annoyance with SpongeBob, making fun of him, jealousy of him, and teasing of him were very much like that of a bratty, introverted, self-centered, and lazy older brother with a love/hate sibling rivalry relationship with their kindhearted, extroverted, hardworking, and exceptionally talented little sibling. He claims he hates SpongeBob, but he secretly appreciates and loves his happy-go-lucky nature and imagination because he gets bored without him,. He joins in on several of his games that he initially claims are “childish” because he also wants to be able to have fun. He even feels bad, tries to protect him, or goes out of his way to make things right when he sees that SpongeBob has really been hurt or endangered by either him or others in episodes like “Fools In April,” “Pizza Delivery, ”Christmas Who?,” and “Dying For Pie.” In the early seasons, Squidward’s relationship with SpongeBob was more one of that a bratty older brother who secretly loves their little sibling deep down, but likes to tease them, scare them, or prank them to get them back for bugging them, only to take it rather too far at times, make them do the work they are too lazy to do, or steal the spotlight from themselves because they want to be the center of attention instead of their awesome little sibling getting it all the time in episodes like “Employee of The Month,” “The Graveyard Shift,” “The Camping Episode,” or “Squid on Strike.”
In the post movie seasons I’ve seen, Squidward has been flanderdized to generally downright despise SpongeBob and Patrick, almost always tries to avoid them, almost always expresses his hatred for Spongebob and Patrick, and almost never tries to hang out with either of them, or anyone in Bikini Bottom, really. Like, in the early seasons he obviously found SpongeBob and Patrick annoying, he was rather cynical, he had jerk moments, he often acted stuck up, and he was jaded. He obviously was upset that he had to work at the Krusty Krab because he didn’t actually put in any sort of time to take clarinet lessons since he was too proud to admit that he needed to improve.
However, there also was complexity, depth, humanity, and relatability in his characterization. In the first 3 seasons, Squidward wasn’t just SpongeBob’s arrogant, cynical, grumpy, and hateful next door neighbor. His “hatred” of SpongeBob, for instance, was often heavily implied to be a “mask” he wore because he felt jealous of SpongeBob’s ability to just be happy-go-lucky, childish, imaginative, and playful self with no sense of shame or self-consciousness. In the first three seasons, Squidward was often shown to secretly want to be able to be happy and have fun by letting himself be more childish, optimistic, sincere, silly, and spontaneous, like SpongeBob and Patrick, but his sense of pride often made him too cowardly to go through with it. It is why the episodes where he actually felt the desire to join in with their antics or actually missed them when they were gone because he got bored, were so special. He also only got karma from the universe when he was genuinely being a jack, rather than just because he was Squidward, unlike later seasons. He wasn’t so miserable that he’d never had a happiest memory before. He actually gathered the people of Bikini Bottom together to try to start a marching band.
In the early seasons, SpongeBob also had more misguidedly annoying and naïve, but usually well-meaning little brotherly feelings towards Squidward, rather than the creepy stalker with a crush the writers flanderdized him with in the later seasons more often. Of course, he did have his moments where he got ticked off with Squidward, or got competitive with him, such as “Can You Spare a Dime?” and “Employee of the Month.” He helped him out when he noticed he was upset in episodes, sometimes annoyed Squidward without realizing it, and he looked up to him on occasions in episodes like “Band Geeks,” “Frankendoodle,” “Employee of the Month,” “The Camping Episode,” “The Idiot Box,” “Artist Unknown,” “Squidville,” “Pizza Delivery,” “Christmas Who?” However, he didn’t have this creepily and obliviously persistent stalker with a crush obsession with Squidward that he started having in later seasons post the first movie.
In the later seasons after the first movie, the writers mostly reduced the SpongeBob/Squidward dynamic to a cheap and cliché comedy punchline that is very one-note and not very funny. It was much cuter and funnier when SpongeBob and Squidward had a love/hate brotherly dynamic. In the later seasons, it’s mostly SpongeBob stalking Squidward, and Squidward trying to avoid him because he genuinely hates him.
When I watched the later seasons of SpongeBob post the first movie, the heartwarming love/hate sibling dynamic between SpongeBob and Squidward, was the biggest thing I felt was missing in the series. It no longer felt like Squidward even liked SpongeBob and Patrick at all anymore, just hated them. He never really felt bad about being too mean to SpongeBob or Patrick anymore, but genuinely reveled in making them suffer, whereas he had moments of genuinely feeling bad about going too far in hurting SpongeBob in the earlier seasons. Now, if Squidward ever helps out SpongeBob or does something nice, it’s usually just because his being hurt or missing inconveniences him somehow, not because he genuinely cares about him. It also feels like SpongeBob and Patrick became ridiculously oblivious creepy stalkers, who couldn’t or wouldn’t take a hint every time Squidward said he didn’t want to hang out with them in the later seasons, and it seems like they keep bugging Squidward for no good reason at all. Yeah, they have a few nice moments here and there in later seasons, but you can tell the writers stopped putting much care and thought into these characters and their relationships.
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