Every Season 11 Episode Reviewed (Interactive)

hippythehippo

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Hello all, hippythehippo, your least favorite sbm member :sbface: back again with an ambitious project. I want to get to know some of you guys better since I am new to the site, and since season 11 has such a divided response, why not do a review on every season 11 episode. My format is similar to EmployeeAMillions format (I asked permission from him to use the format, don't worry), and am hyped to get started, but I have to let everyone know about the basics.

My reviews will be weekly, so I can do this for about a year (cause there is 50 episodes, so close enough), and if this is successful, I might do it for season 12 too. The reviews will be standard fare. I will talk about each episode in depth from all aspects, such as characters, comedy, story, pacing, and basic premise. Than I will list a pros and cons section underneath that to basically put my points ,positive or negative, in one place for those of you who do not like to read. You guys can also state your opinion below (in fact, I encourage it), and maybe we can have some good discussion (the main purpose of this thread since I like nuanced discussions :thumbsup:). I just ask to keep the conversations civil, and if I come of a bit rude, just tell me and I will apologize and try and keep more calm.

You may ask why I don't just write these in the episode threads? Well some of these episodes are 9 and 10 month old episodes, and you won't get a good discussion over there. I will be doing a weekly format until further notice due to time restraints (maybe over the summer I can amp up production). This way, I can remain consistent in my load, and this will end next year before May, so I won't be stressed about taking AP class exams.

You guys rock, and I hope you guys can find some entertainment from this. Feel free to put criticism about my reviewing too, as long as it is again civil, and I hope to have a fun time doing this. Depending on the polls, reviews might go up as early as tomorrow. Until than, see ya. :sbparty:

QOTD: whats your general opinion of season 11 so far (I know I put this in a status, so you can answer there than here if you want).
 

RDSP

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I've already posted in that status but I'll go a bit more in depth here;

As of yet, I like how Season 11 is going (for the most part). There HAVE been some ups and downs unfortunately but nothing too drastic has happened yet (thankfully). I only consider two episodes from Season 11 to be bad (and even then one of them isn't all that bad). Even then, however, the "ups and downs" bit comes into play with how some episodes are just... alright. That doesn't mean they're BAD per se but just a bit boring to watch. Overall, however, I think Season 11 has been pretty good for the most part and I'd like to see the upcoming reviews on here.
 

SpongeBronyPH

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SpongeBob Season 11 is great but not that perfect.

hippythehippo said:
QOTD: whats your general opinion of season 11 so far (I know I put this in a status, so you can answer there than here if you want).
Pretty good.
 

Klu

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Season 11 is far from perfect, but I still find it the best season since the season 3. IIt's s shame that this season don't get much attention (if positive) at all from a general public.
 

Coffee_lover

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While S11 have some atrocious like The Clam Whisperer,from most part I think this is a really great season
 

hippythehippo

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Disclaimer that I forgot yesterday: I'm also using Employee's grading system.


Episode 216a Cave Dwelling Sponge
Air-date September 23 2017
Plot: When a cave sponge runs loose in Bikini Bottom, Spongebob has to help him before he causes more chaos.
Title Music: Spongebob History Song
Writer: Mr. Lawrence


Oh boy, I'm hyped to get started. I haven't seen this episode since September until a few days ago to get prepared for the review. This episode is definitely divisive, with some people saying that this episode was a leftover from season 10. This had me worried, since I wasn't a big fan of season 10s direction. Quick recap of my thoughts about season 10. The episodes were so hit or miss for me. You could have a poor episode, like Whirly Brains, paired with a fantastic gem, like Mermaid Pants. This kept the season interesting to watch, but I can't call the whole season a good experience. I know many people have said it, but I loved 9b a lot, despite quite a number of bad or boring episodes, and Sewers of Bikini Bottom made me find my love for the show again after a 5 year hiatus. Season 10 overall feels weaker than 9b. Common complaints include little dialogue humor, wacky expressions, and fast pace gone too far. My stance on these episodes is that it depends on how the episode uses it. Mimic Madness had all these characteristics, yet is loved by the fandom. Heck, most people say it's the best episode of Post-Sequel, which might seem like faint praise, but we are about 85 episodes in, so that is no easy feat. Mimic Madness managed to balance everything, creating a great product, which I wish most season 10 episodes followed, and it made me weary of watching this, but I was pleasantly surprised on re-watch.

Let's get started with this journey. The premise of the episode might seem a bit redundant. We already have 2 other prehistoric sponges, so won't a third one be overkill? Well believe it or not, this is actually the first time that Spongebob has interacted with a cave sponge, which sets a new dynamic for the characters reacting to this event. Now onto the actual episode.

The story starts off with Spongebob and Patrick hiking across some national park. They find a cave, and Patrick thinks that the ice is a treat, and licks the ice. Unfortunately, his tongue gets stuck onto the ice, and Patrick panics. However, Spongebob saves him by using hot chocolate (I actually really like this plot device. It seems really minor, but hot chocolate to melt ice seems like such a Spongebob thing, and the joke has a weird charm). Spongebob thaws Patrick, who throws a rock at his tongue to stop it from burning. However, a cave sponge pops out of the ice Spongebob melted, and it immideitly drawn to Spongebob's shoes, and decides to hide in Spongebob's backpack. How is this beginning? I can say that it is...alright. I love the hot chocolate joke, and the animation is smooth, but Patrick is kind of on the loud side, and I feel a few more jokes besides lol Patrick doesn't get life could have been added. However, the episode does pick up some momentum in the following scenes.

Spongebob takes Patrick home, and has to get ready for work. The cave sponge follows Spongebob into the bathroom, where Spongebob has some contraption to get ready. Call it a plot convenience if you want, but I think it serves what the episode wants to do well. One thing I will praise later on in the review is how well they do the doppelganger plot. The cave sponge and Spongebob look similar that too a passerby, they might as well be the same person. Spongebob starts doing his regular activities, such as using a stick to hit a fence, and swinging around a statue. The cave sponge tries to do it too, but ends up being too rash and breaking everything. It's a simple scene, but I really like how the cave sponge tries to copy Spongebob, only to break everything.

When Spongebob gets to the Krusty Krab, the cops are there to arrest him. The cave sponge is hiding in the kitchen confused at whats going on. The civilians that had their property destroyed confirm that it looks like Spongebob was the one who did it. Mr. Krabs however doesn't believe that it was Spongebob, and races to the jail (something else I'll praise later on), and leaves Squidward for kitchen duty.The cave sponge (who from this point on I will refer to as Spongy Spongy) falls on Squidward, and Squidward mistakes Spongy Spongy as Spongebob. Squidward tells Spongy to cook some patties, but Spongy Spongy hijacks a car, takes the engine, and uses that as the patty for the burger. The customers hate it, which causes Spongy to rage, resulting in him going loose.

Spongebob and Krabs are trying to figure out what is going on, while Spongy Spongy is roaming behind the jail hears Spongebobs shoe, and breaks in. Now Spongebob's name is free, but Spongebob wants to help Spongy Spongy. Through some funny exposition from Perch Perchins, the crew head to city hall to confront the cave foe. Spongebob introduces himself to Spongy Spongy, and the two bond (with a fun music number), however Spongy Spongy gets annoyed, and destroys city hall. BUT, it's okay cause.....it was going to be destoyed next week.


16os2l.jpg


Yeah, if there is one thing to complain about, it definitely is how stupid that plot twist is. Considering how they don't say where Spongy Spongy's future is going to go, it just feels stupid. To top it off, the episode just magically ends. It decides to go with the (admittedly hilarious) comedy ending instead of tying loose ends, which loses a couple points in my book.

I feel that the episodes story suffers from the problem that Krusty Katering and Trident Trouble have, which is little focus on the plot. However, to give the episode credit, the problem isn't that bad. The episodes stakes are at rapid fire speed though, and it seems like a machine gun, going from situation to situation. With that being said though, the episode does have some quiet moments which raises the story up a little. I like the jail scene, and the dance number, and they give a bit of breathing room compared to the sugar high Krusty Krab scene (not a jab at it, it has to fill a lot in that scene).

With a semi poor story, there are quite a lot of positives. Let's start with the characters, who are for the most part great. Patrick in the beginning kind of got on my nerves, but I think it's more than made up by how well they got Spongebob down. Spongebob is the perfect protagonist, who has the combination of sympathy for the cave sponge, and worried for his own well being. Mr. Krabs was a big shock for me. Maybe I'm still used to him mentioning money 24/7, but I don't think Krabs mentions money at all in this episode. Perch Perkins is also great too, with his 4th wall breaking. Spongy Spongy is more treated as a scared creature (though treated way better than Squidward in The Thing, where they point blank call him a wild animal), but I think he is alright.

The comedy is also surprisingly strong. When people were calling this a season 10 holdover, I thought there would be nonstop slapstick and wacky expressions, but I saw little here. There was actually some humorous dialogue here, like as I said, Perch's 4th wall breaking at the jail, with Mr Krabs' great "We do?" line back. There's also the joke where Spongebob says hello to Squidward, who reponds with a dead pan line, only for Spongy Spongy to just punch Squid instead. There is not much to say here without just point blank explain the jokes, but I though there was an ample amount to keep me invested in what was happening. For what it's worth, I thought this episode was funnier than 80% of season 10.

Now onto my biggest praise for the episode. They did the doppelganger plot beautifully. In these plots, the person accused is faced with mass scrutiny and backlash which he doesn't deserve, therefore killing an otherwise decent episode. Heck, if this episode was made in season 6, it probably would have been as bad as I have been describing it, as that season didn't have the good atmosphere that post sequel has. The similarities between Spongebob and Spongy Spongy are noticeable, and from a distance, I can see how someone could mistake the two, and it isn't as bad as some of the disguises in the Imitation Krabs imitations (see what I did there? :sbface:), and I can tell the writer didn't want this episode to be totally nonsensical. Also, I appreciate how the writers didn't dwell on Spongebob's suffering in prison, like Gone and The Splinter. It's a quick scene of him going to jail, and a quick scene of Spongebob at jail. They treat it realistically, which doesn't make this episode frustrating, like Gone.

Pros:
Ample amount of good jokes that keep me invested
Good use of the doppelganger plot
Strong character leads in Spongebob and Mr. Krabs
Fluid animation
Doesn't feel too fast paced or wacky


Cons:
Still, there are no clear stakes. There is little transition from point to point, and the story feels weak
The Krusty Krab scenes after Spongebob is arrested do feel on the pointless side
I have no stong feelings for Spongy Spongy


With that all in mind, I was conflicted of the rating. This episode is definitely between a 6 or 7. Heck, I would have given it a 6.5 if I had the rating, but I am going to use full integers. The positives are pretty good, but the episodes story was a bit weak, and the story doesn't have any real stakes. However, i still do enjoy watching the episode, and it does feel like a fun ride that I can safely call it a GOOD episode, albeit barely.

Rating: GOOD
Score: 7/10
Thoughts: (An enjoyable experience)
Place: #1/1

Season 11 as a whole
7/10
1. Cave Dwelling Sponge


Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the review, even though I thought it might be a little shorter than this. Tune in next Sunday for an episode that gets even worse on rewatch. Until than, hippythehippo signing out. :thumbsup:

QOTD: Who is your favorite prehistoric sponge?
 

Klu

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Pretty good review overall! You summed up my feelings on the episode pretty perfectly. At first I though myself that this episode was one of the leftovers of season 10, but after few rewatches, this episode really grown on me and I appreciate it a lot more.

QotD: Nah. it's a hard question, because I don't have any particularly strong feeling for any of prehistoric sponges. Probably SpongeGar.
 

Random Guy

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Cave Dwelling Sponge is a bit all over the place. It's a bit meh.
 

RDSP

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I'd say Cave-Dwelling Sponge was pretty good. Not perfect, no, but not bad in the slightest.

QotD: SpongeGar, I guess...?
 

Coffee_lover

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Eh,CDS is pretty bad episode with no structure and have awful running gags.Anyway,good luck with reviewing his sister
QotD:Don’t care about it that much,but I must to say I really liked design of Spongy-Spongy
 

Jai The Guy

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I thought that CDS was an alright episode. Some flaws, and not particularly funny, but not bad.
 

hippythehippo

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Wow, I didn't expect a lot of people to see this, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a bunch of notifications just now. :rofl2: Anyway, I have some more good news. I think I will put more than 1 review up per week, as I have been thinking, and I do want to finish this before season 12 begins to air. Expect Clam Whisperer to come out around Wednesday or Thursday (will toy with dates for this second upload). Wait till you see me rip this episode a new one :hehe:.
 

hippythehippo

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Episode 216b The Clam Whisperer
Air-date September 23 2017
Plot: Spongebob has to tame a flock of clams
Title Music: Kuali Jubilee
Writer: Ben Gruber

Strap in folks, I have a lot to say. Ben Gruber's episodes are some of the most bipolar of the entire series. Sometimes, he has a good premise with flawed execution (Tridnt Trouble), and sometimes he hits a gold mine (Unreal Estate, Plankton Gets the Boot, most his season 11 episodes that we will get too). His style does employ a lot of screaming and crying, but I think that a fine tuned Gruber can produce quality episodes. This one tho uhhhh...it's a messy one for sure. Enough beating around the bush, I'm ready to start.

The premise is a simple one. Spongebob taming nature has had it's ups and downs. For reference, you have Rock a Bye Bivalve, which shows his care for creatures that can't help themselves, Spongehenge, which I don't even have to explain why it fails, and than there's that Too Love a Patty scene....uhh, hey wait. Isn't it a good idea to have an episode were Spongebob tames nature right after an episode where he does the same thing. Except this time, we will remove all the good jokes and character interactions, and replace it with screaming and wackiness. I might be exaggerating a bit, but you'll see what I mean.

The story starts on an even poorer note than Cave Dwelling Sponge. Spongebob is enjoying the migration season, when Patrick comes around to kill the episode from the start. Patrick is one of the overarching problems of the episode. He represents a lot wrong, even though he is in it for only 2 minutes. He's loud and obnoxious, and only there to make some "jokes". Except, I'd rather not be ear-r*** while watching a Spongebob episode. Sorry for the tangent, but Patrick is pretty intolerable here. Spongebob decides to feed the clams, and Patrick eats all the crumbs Spongebob put for the clams. Thankfully, the big doofus is put to sleep by all the food he ate, and the episode improves. Squidward tells Spongebob to not feed the clams, but gets instantly crapped on (literally 0-0). Spongebob decides to go to work, and leave the clams alone, but they follow him to the Krusty Krab.

The clams cause havoc at the Krusty Krab, so Krabs tells Spongebob to get rid of them, only for him to realize that they shoot pearls for a poor running gag. It's not annoying, but still pretty weak. Spongebob takes the clams to many locations to calm them down, but they still cause havoc everywhere. Eventually, Squidward and the rest of the citizens tell Spongebob to get rid of the clams, so Spongebob decides to act like a clam. The scenes here aren't annoying, but they are a bit dry. You already know the "punchline" (I'll get to this in the analysis, and how this episode is a disaster plot wise) that the clams will muck everything up, so I ask whats the point? This transitions to my favorite part of the episode, which is Spongebob and the clams exploring nature. It has nothing to do with the main plot for sure, but it's fun and entertaing. Nothing funny, but still enjoyable. However, migration season ends, and the clams have to leave. The episode has a decent endi-HOLY CRAP WHY ARE THEY GOING BACK TO ZANY SQUIDWARD AND INSUFFERABLE PATRICK. Yeah, the ending is the same as the beginning. Now I realize that my summary is only 2 paragraphs, and we will get onto the problems of the episode.

First off, the characters are loud and annoying. Patrick, Krabs, and Squidward kill an otherwise decent story with them trying to break my eardrums. If there is a scene with more characters than Spongebob, you bet your butt that there will be some wackiness or screaming. The clams don't annoy me for some reason. I actually kinda like them. They are equally loud, but they are wild animals, so what can you expect. :P Spongebob is charactherized perfectly, and he is the highlight for not being annoying. He makes the episode more tolerable than it would have had he also been zany.

Next off, the episode is too fast paced. CDS was fast paced, but it had a couple of moments to let me breath. This episode just fires it up to a 10. So much is cluttered in one scene, it's ridiculous. The only calm scene is when Spongebob is a clam, but thats at the end, and we still have to deal with Squid and Pat at the VERY end. The episode has screaming and arm flailing in every scene. I want to give this episode some mediction to just chill a bit.

Lastly, the episode doesn't know what it wants to be. I chuckeled a few times, but most of the episode was pretty unfunny. Thats okay though, it can have a decent story right? It would have, if the episode wasn't trying to force wackiness down my throat. A more story driven episode should FOCUS on the story. Don't add forced wackiness, have faith in your story. High Sea Diving is good almost exclusivly because the story was excellent. The episode wants to tell me how Spongebob manages the clams, but shoves down loud zaniness every moment.

Thats not to say there arent positives. I like the Squid poop jokes. And Spongebob being a clam. And uhhhh......thats it.

The bad elements though, besides Patrick, aren't awful. I can tolerate it, and this is upper bad material. I can sit through this, and it doesn't tick me off in a way like Sportz does.

Pros
Spongebob is a likeable lead
The clams are pretty cute
The story feels fun
Uhhh...thats it lol

Cons
Poor characterization for everyone besides Spongebob
Zany+Wacky=No Fun
Fast paced for little reason
Patrick..just Patrick

Rating: Bad
Score: 4/10
Thoughts: (Not worth your time)

Season 11 as a whole
7/10
1. Cave Dwelling Sponge
4/10
2. The Clam Whisperer

Luckily, the next episodes are way better. I have nothing else to say. See you guys next time.
 

RDSP

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The Clam Whisperer was... far from perfect, to say the least. While I don't think it was TOO bad, it also wasn't great either.

Also, no QotD this time? Alright then.
 

Klu

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I have exactly the same thoughts on this episode. It's so ticked me off, I haven't rewatched it once since the first time.
 
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