211b. Trident Trouble

[Jjs Goodman]

 

Premieres: 

Saturday, March 25th @ 10:15am ET/PT

Encores:

Saturday, March 25th @ 4:15pm ET/PT

Sunday, March 26th @ 11:45am ET/PT

Plot:

When SpongeBob accidentally picks up Neptune's magic trident, there is no telling what trouble he may cause.

Clips:

1.) 

 

We haven't seen Neptune since The Clash of Triton, so that's a welcome return. This plot could be interesting if done right.

Edited March 25, 2017 by jjsthekid

[Jjs Goodman]

Promo:

 

[Sauce Mama]

CUT ME UP GOOD, GIRLFRIEND! *snap snap*

[WhoBibbles]

That line sold me. I'm hyped.

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by jjsthekid

[SG19]

Who's the writer for this episode?

[Jjs Goodman]

8 hours ago, HelloMisterSpringtime said:

Who's the writer for this episode?

Ben Gruber.

[Jjs Goodman]

This episode is...weird. It has an interesting premise, and seeing Neptune again was cool. But unfortunately, that's about as far as my positives go. I really didn't like how this episode kind of was a return to the "SpongeBob is oblivious to the world around him" plot. Not as bad as some other ones, but it was kind of annoying how he didn't hear the chorus fish for 90% of the episode, or notice he was holding a trident, or...yeah, SpongeBob was honestly really stupid in this episode, which was my big issue, and I didn't find his stupidity amusing. He's supposed to be naive, not an oblivious idiot. Honestly, he almost felt like a regression back into S6/S7-ish characterization here. The chorus fish also got really annoying after a while, and either could've had their appearances cut down a bit, had more of a point than pointing out the obvious, or been removed entirely from the episode, because I really don't know what their point was (were they supposed to represent the audience?). I did like the ending with Neptune and SpongeBob fighting the krakens, that was kind of amusing. But overall, this episode just seemed...odd, and not a typical amusing SpongeBob kind of odd. Much like how Life Insurance relied on mostly the same type of humor last week, I feel like using sentient objects as most of the episode's humor isn't automatically comedy gold (although I guess the kelp attacking the fish was kind of amusing). I just feel they could've done more interesting things with the trident's power. A lot of other things throughout felt awkward and poorly timed, or just kind of were "there", like Mr. Krabs giving out free money. It wasn't outright bad, but it felt lacking and off, like several other S10 episodes so far. Cool premise, meh execution.

Grade: C

Edited March 25, 2017 by jjsthekid

[So Sejima]

31 minutes ago, jjsthekid said:

The chorus fish also got really annoying after a while, and either could've had their appearances cut down a bit, or been removed entirely from the episode, because I really don't know what their point was (were they supposed to represent the audience?).

I might be wrong here but weren't chorus like that commonly used in ancient Greek Theater? Considering one of the earliest forms of mythology is Greece I think that might be what it was a reference to, except they did it in a different way to try and fit it in the story?

[Hayden]

A talking title card. Don't see that every day....

Kind of creepy for the old lady to eat Squidward's tentacle. In general the customers were downright obnoxious and brainless at the beginning.

I agree with Jjs. It didn't even remotely look like a freaking spatula. Could've easily had Spongebob notice but still get corrupted by the trident.

The Fish Chorus would've been the most unique aspect of the episode if they did more than constantly tell us how stupid Spongebob is. Something we can observe and get frustrated about on our own. "Not helping" indeed.

Ice Cream Geyser was over the top and didn't include strawberry flavor. Krabs giving away money was just another unfocused side plot that Gruber is famous for. Making everything go insane at once is a total FOP move done only because the writer doesn't trust kids to pay attention unless everything is hyper.

How was Neptune even able to fend off the magic with a spatula if the spatula's not powerful? Krakkens felt like s6-s7 gimmick monsters. 

This gets a D from me. 

Edited March 25, 2017 by jjsthekid

[NegiSpongie]

I really liked the episode. It thought it was really funny. I enjoyed the Greek Chorus commenting on everything and their appearance in the title card. I thought the things SpongeBob did with the spatula was funny, especially the dancing krabby patties bit (kinda reminded me of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"), didn't expect the trident to have a mind of its own though. I kinda expected SpongeBob to get corrupt with being a god, but surprised the episode didn't take that route. I still really enjoyed it and thought it was the better of the two episodes.

[4EverGreen]

For me, this episode had a vibe that was like this: "It's so STUPID, it's BRILLIANT!!!!"  It's the same kind of approach that often went into a lot of "Ren and Stimpy" episodes. And to be fair, Spongebob DID notice that he now had magical powers, and he wanted to use it to help others. Of course, the main problem was that he had absolutely no training in USING a trident. And to be fair, the Trident's face is REALLY tiny! If you're not looking right AT it, it's very easy to not notice that it's purposefully NOT behaving!  The Greek Chorus was totally random, but since Neptune IS a Greek God (even ZEUS was mentioned), it kind of made the whole thing fit! Kind of surprised by the Spongebob/Neptune team-up at the end, and it's interesting that Kraken's are now officially a creature of the ocean that Spongebob and others can meet. With the Kraken's, there's a bunch of story possibilities that can be explored for Spongebob and his friends! It looks like Ben Gruber might just have what it takes to be a writer on "Spongebob Squarepants" after all! A 10/10!  Enough said!

[WhoBibbles]

cannibalism at the begining, just saying  

I really have to say I was pretty disappointed by this and this stinks because this episode felt fun sometimes but other times, it felt pretty annoying and too fast. Pacing felt so odd here. The begining was really fast paced and it really got on my nerves. There were amusing moments like an old fish eating Squidward's hand and "CUT ME UP GOOD GIRLFRIEND" but I was so tired of this episode already. I was finally glad they toned down the fast pace and it had a good part with alive grass but once it got to Patrick, it felt more crazy again and it was annoying. The narrator fishes got on my nerves quickly. I get they have to point out the obvious but their apperance just felt forced. SpongeBob not recognizing them until the end felt so weird but I admit SpongeBob telling them they are not helping was funny, especially considering the fact this is SpongeBob showing his bitterness for the first time in a long time. I enjoyed King Neptune and SpongeBob teaming up at the end too but it felt weird to me that King Neptune wasn't that angry to SpongeBob. I wasn't fan of SpongeBob's apperance here, except for the ending. His obliviousness appeared in this episode and it really got tiresome for me. I feel like this episode has same issue with Krusty Katering, which was also written by Ben Gruber. Tons of stuff happening without the audience's able to breathe for a second and not enough good story development. I'll say that at least randomess here fits better than Krusty Katering because this episode is about Neptune's trident being so powerful but still this episode could have been calmer. Overall, this episode didn't work for me at all.

Grade: C+

[Cha]

Intriguing from start to end, especially with that weird choir lurking over them the entire time. Wouldn't say it was my favorite but at the same time it was interesting enough. I liked the ending with Neptune and SpongeBob though. B+

[FAS]

Well, this episode kinda made up for the last rather disappointing segment. I excepted to not really like that much, but the only thing that dragged down the episode was the Greek chorus. Yes, this includes the title card. They weren't really needed in this episode and make SpongeBob too oblivious. On the subject of the title card, they really didn't need to explain themselves who they are. Therefore, it's my least favorite usage of such. Anyway, the rest of the episode was really good to watch, although it can be a little bit disjointed as times. It's the same writer as Krusty Katering, but I think Ben Gruber handled this writing a lot better and I wasn't having a headache by the end of this episode. It still had his weird sense of writing style that present in all of his episodes. I liked seeing King Neptune again, even though I wish he has a little bit more screentime. 8/10