191a. Squid Plus One

[Clappy]

So just watched both of the new episodes.  I guess I'll start with my thoughts on this one first.

 

It was ok.  The character interactions were easily the best part of the episode.  Norton was freaking hilarious and stole every scene he was in.  Squidward and Larry had great chemistry and even though I know this will be the only time these two will get any sort of extended screen time together, they just did well.

 

Everything else though was just underwhelming.  Of course it was going to be super obvious that SpongeBob was going to end up being the Plus One.  I saw that coming the moment this episode was announced.  Even with all of the images of Squidward and Larry.  SpongeBob was going to be the Plus One this entire time, although I did kinda like the twist of it being SpongeBob pushing around a mirror.  The rest of the episode was just very predictable and you knew that everything was going to end up the way it was when it came to how the budding friendships would falter.

 

Despite that, it was alright.  The only thing I'll remember about this episode is Norton shining.

 

6/10

[Old Man Jenkins]

Yeah, Norton was definitely the best part of this and the Squidward/Larry dynamic was a breath of fresh squidward air. Also nice to see Squidward have a happy ending and actually attend the bloomin gallery, being treated like a (albeit, lonely and pathetic) celebrity without anything screwing him over at the end.

[Space Cowboy]

The ending was funny to me lol, Definitely liked the larry and squidward interaction, overall a decent episode. 

[4EverGreen]

Okay, that's just SPOOKY!!!!  No sooner do I MAKE Larry gay in "Total Cartoon Action," than Nickelodeon decides to tease us with a possible Larry/Squidward relationship?! Spongebob: "It's like they're WATCHING us!!!!" Seriously though, GREAT episode!  And I actually think Spongebob's one way friendship with Squidward was actually toned down in this episode, especially when compared with the GOD-Awful "Boating Buddies" episode, and Spongebob didn't try to push Squidward's decision when Squidward initially refused to to take Spongebob! And who knows? It's possible that a Larry/Squidward relationship isn't damaged BEYOND all repair, Squidward can always apologize for the way he thought about protien shakes, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed! An 11/10! (Yes, it's THAT good!) Enough said!

[Hayden]

I guess I missed the part of the episode where Squidward and Larry were romantically involved.

[BeachBob95]

This was awesome and original. I thought the ending really fits Squidwards character. He's just so darn narcistic

[Jjs Goodman]

Hm. Not entirely sure if I liked this one or not. On one hand, it was a step-up over other Squidward centric episodes as of late (Squid Defense and Squid Baby), but something about this episode felt...off, and I'm not really sure what it was. There were some decent gags (like Norton's spotlight, and Squidward hanging out with Larry), but some of it felt awkward. While Squidward hanging out with Larry was definitely something new, it felt kind of out of nowhere at the same time. The whole episode felt a bit awkward; maybe it had to do with the fact this was Kyle's first episode in 10 years (ironically enough, his previous episode was also Squidward centric) and it blended weirdly with Pendarvis' style, or the episode seemed to suffer from being pretty predictable like Clappy said, like how SpongeBob went with Squidward in the end. I'll admit the ending wasn't what I expected (though did make sense), but at least Squidward did get to go.

 

Grade: B- (and this may or may not change)

[Jane]

I just realized that the characterization is much improved from post-movie. This was of course in SOOW as well but it had a bit of a post movie tinge to it. Here's what I mean:

 

SpongeBob- Like a slightly naive and kinda dumb kid who is inquisitive but wants to have a good time/loves friends and people in general, not a super hyper/obnoxious moron

 

Patrick- Kind of a jerk, and charming but dumb, not overtly dumb and really rude

 

Mr. Krabs- A bit of a fatherly figure who's a cheapskate, not really cheap without any other traits

 

Squidward- He's a bit of an introvert and likes to be by himself, but he's kind of a jerk and self absorbed. Not incredibly depressing.

[BeachBob95]

Hm. Not entirely sure if I liked this one or not. On one hand, it was a step-up over other Squidward centric episodes as of late (Squid Defense and Squid Baby), but something about this episode felt...off, and I'm not really sure what it was. There were some decent gags (like Norton's spotlight, and Squidward hanging out with Larry), but some of it felt awkward. While Squidward hanging out with Larry was definitely something new, it felt kind of out of nowhere at the same time. The whole episode felt a bit awkward; maybe it had to do with the fact this was Kyle's first episode in 10 years (ironically enough, his previous episode was also Squidward centric) and it blended weirdly with Pendarvis' style, or the episode seemed to suffer from being pretty predictable like Clappy said, like how SpongeBob went with Squidward in the end. I'll admit the ending wasn't what I expected (though did make sense), but at least Squidward did get to go.

 

Grade: B- (and this may or may not change)

 

I'm also surprised they went for Larry, in stead of Sandy or any of the main cast.

 

Also, is it me or are the writers correcting their mistakes in these newer episodes, speaking of character designs?

 

SpongeBob actually LISTENS to Squidward when he doesn't want him around.

Patricks actually brings his own MONEY to the KK.

Mr. Krabs gave money to Pearl, just like that!

Squidward had an episode in which he was HAPPY at the ending, in stead of beat up. Although he was kind of losing, he never felt bad about it, since being narcistic is part of his character.

 

These are honest improvements to me and it feels like the writers show us these things on purpose. Like, the scene where Mr. Krabs gave money to Pearl in Totur Sauce felt kind of shocking and out of Nowhere.

 

I'm just very happy and relieved that SpongeBob and Squidward had this episode together in which they were both likable and working together in the end, while remaining true to theirselfs.

[NegiSpongie]

I thought it was a really good episode. The whole thing with Norton was funny, but I really enjoyed the part with Squidward and Larry. The ending kinda threw me off, but I guess it made sense. He did kinda technically take SpongeBob.

[CDCB]

I thought it was a tad better than Executive Treatment, but I still didn't like it as much. Norton was a great and surprisingly likable character, but he sadly wasn't enough to save this overly predictable episode.

4/10

[SquiddyFace]

This episode is one of the best Season 9b episodes. It was really funny like when Squidward tells the mailman to go away (but he thought he was some other idiot knocking) or when Larry smashes Squidward to the ground for his opinion on protein shake and when Squidward randomly leaves the Mailman because of his opinion on clarinets.

Grade: A+