Jump to content
  • Advertisement

219a. Man Ray Returns


Jinjo

Episode Rating  

18 members have voted

  1. 1. How would you rate this episode?

    • 5/5 Superheroes: By the power of Neptune, Mermaid Pants and Barnacle Star...UNITE!
      2
    • 4/5 Superheroes: Patrick, wouldn't it be great to have another friend who can join our junior crime breakers?
      10
    • 3/5 Superheroes: Yes, really!
      1
    • 2/5 Superheroes: I'll give you a granny knot!
      2
    • 1/5 Superheroes: Please Squidward, don't move away! You can't leave the neighborhood!
      3


Recommended Posts

ojH533v.png

Premieres: 

Saturday, September 30th @ 10:00am ET/PT

Encores:

Sunday, October 1st @ 2:30pm ET/PT

Plot:

When Man Ray rents Squidward's house for the weekend, SpongeBob and Patrick must stop his evil vacation. 

Clips:

http://www.nick.com/spongebob-squarepants/videos/219-clip/

This is a sequel to "Mermaid Pants" from Season 10. The Mermaid Pants and Barnacle Star roleplays will be replacing Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy episodes.

Edited by jjsthekid
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awful episode. This one did absolutely nothing for me. I did not find SpongeBob and Patrick amusing AT ALL this one, who were the worst part of the episode. They felt like regressions to S6/S7 characterizations. They irritated the living crap out of me the entire time, especially in the beginning with their overreactions to Squidward leaving. The whole "lol they're so hyperactive and crazy and whacky faces everywhere!" shtick has gotten tiresome. I think it's time the crew moved on from that. That shtick was amusing for maybe a few episodes, and then got tiresome further into Season 10, and I hope it's not going to continue throughout Season 11. It bogged down most of the episode, and got stale quick. Oh, and Man Ray was painfully unfunny the entire time. Didn't find him entertaining in the slightest, and the episode seems to have no clue if we're supposed to "feel bad" for him or not. Was he legitimately trying to have a nice vacation and not do any evil, but SpongeBob and Patrick ruined it for him? I'm not sure, because this episode is all over the place. You could say he was faking the whole time, but that's not made clear enough because this episode is lacking subtly. The whole "Man Ray tries to do something normal but is bugged by SpongeBob and Patrick" plot was done before in Shuffleboarding, an episode I didn't care for in the first place, and I found it just as dumb here. Man Ray not recognizing SpongeBob and Patrick (and vice versa) was dumb, but far from my biggest problem in the episode. Oh and of course, Squidward just has to have his house ruined in the end for no real reason. I knew the moment he slammed the door the house would fall apart. Everything about Squidward's role in this episode felt very unnecessary. So many gags in this episode were predictable, and it made for a dull experience. The only thing I found close to entertaining was the fight near the end, but even that felt too little too late, and didn't feel very satisfying after all the build-up. The Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy cameos in their cryogenic sleeping pods also just felt like pointless fanservice because the episode knew it had nothing else to offer, and...kind of left a bad taste in my mouth? I don't think they were intentionally trying to reference Ernest's passing, but I can't not see it. Regardless, I don't mind seeing the two in nonspeaking cameos, but something about the way it was done just rubbed me the wrong way and felt disrespectful to the two, since we know we're not going to hear them talk again. There was no need to tease the audience like that when we knew they aren't going to have major roles anymore, but it didn't affect my grade, so whatever. Probably the worst episode I've seen in a long while. Mermaid Pants itself wasn't a great episode, but at least it felt like it had an identity, unlike this mess. Everything about this just felt really lazy, confused, uncreative, and clunky. 

If this episode is an indication of how the future Mermaid Pants episodes will go, then y'know what? I honestly would've rather had nothing to replace Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episodes. I'll give them another chance for Mermaid Pants III (if it happens), but I won't be expecting much.

Grade: F

Edited by jjsthekid
  • Happy 1
  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's see....

Man Ray had no nuance and none of the jokes hit even close to his most classic appearance of trying to reform. It's like they took the script for a Squidward bothering episode and slightly tweaked it, except Squidward was still bothered in the end despite being absent from most of the runtime.

The cryogenic sleeping chamber felt dangerously on the nose with alluding to MM's death in real life. Maybe they felt forced to give a cameo because of sad fans, but man, last thing I need to see is Spongebob and Patrick scumming around and disturbing their still bodies.

Double F, and F stands for Flubbing (around on the ground having jex with it).

  • Like 2
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, i didn't think this would've good idea to make squeal to Mermald Pants, but this? this is just awful. I mean SB and Pat didn't realize Man Ray was this, and they both messed up big time. I don't really think this handle well because Man Ray trying to be good then turns evil? been there, done that. It just felt this episode is huge mess.

 

Final Grade: F

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was looking forward to this sequel to Mermaid Pants. Let's the cons out of the way, it had a VERY ANNOYING beginning! SB and Patrick regressed back to their worst selves (seasons 6-7, that is) when they find out that Squidward was leaving. Because, we need a SB&Patrick episode that had to revolved on one scene they bother Squidward for no reason (That's why seasons 6-7 suffered for that reason). Plus, the setup was predictable towards the end, But I digress. Flaws aside, this was a great episode. It is just as great as Mermaid Pants. SpongeBob and Patrick become their post-sequel selves again later on once man Ray came to the picture. Man Ray himself was well-written, even if he didn't really feel too much of a threat until the sudden plot which like I said came off as predictable. Nick Carr surprised me with the tracks here (fitting title card music, check, return of two Hawaiian tracks, check, tons of super hero music, check). Honestly, the action and most of the middle section were the best thing about the episode. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy made cameo. It's a shame Ernest Borgnine isn't with us anymore, but non-speaking is the only way this Mermaid Pants plot is going work. While SpongeBob and Patrick should've been written better here, it was still a fun episode. I hope there's another Mermaid Pants episode later on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well after what I've heard, I was preparing myself to dislike this but I couldn't. This wasn't a good episode by any means but idk, some stuff did entertain me and I didn't find it as horrible as I thought. SpongeBob and Patrick were definitely annoying in this episode but they weren't as awful as I expected them to be. I laughed at a few of gags like them acting like fishes at the beginning and the old lady stealing Patrick's wallet. And the action scenes in this episode were good enough to entertain me, even if the set up was poorly done. My main issue with this one is that how everything came together. How they used Man Ray here was so bad. So he takes a peaceful vacation and we are supposed to root for SpongeBob and Patrick to ruin it all. I get he's evil and all but SpongeBob and Patrick destroying everything in Squidward's house was a lot like season 6-7 SpongeBob and Patrick stupidity and i couldn't stand that. Why do we need to see SpongeBob and Patrick screwing everything up again? It already got old in season 6-7. The ending was a slap in the face. I thought we got over with Squidward getting pain he doesn't deserve. Some gags felt very zany and I was already tired of seeing them in season 10 and carriyng that in season 11 was no good. The non-speaking cameos of MM and BB, it felt forced in my eyes. I get that they'd need MM and BB's help to stop their villain but the whole thing was off for me. I'll say that I'm so disappointed by this. I was expecting another fun Mermaid Pants story and this didn't work for me. after he wrote some good episodes in season 9B, I haven't been a fan of Kaz's episodes with a few exceptions and this episode was certainly not good. I didn't hate it but it was mediocre at best.

Grade: C

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought this was an okay episode. It had a few funny lines here and there like SpongeBob finding stale cookies, "Stale but deadly" and Manray like SpongeBob's "Evil doesn't take a holiday".  I was surprised that Squidward knowingly rented his house to Manray, and that they showed Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy and where they currently are. I never expected that would be their explanation for where they are concerning Ernest Borgnine's death. Overall I thought it was just an okay episode.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, I really like this episode. It's not perfect, but it's overall very funny to me and I don't find Spongebob and Patrick to be very annoying through it. I don't mind that Squidward gets punished at the end either, because Spongebob and Patrick really tried to fix his house. The action scenes were great too.

 

9/10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally written: September 30th, 2017

After last week's awful pairing, I didn't expect much for this week. But, when I did hear about this episode far back in August, I was actually pretty excited to watch it. And when I checked to see which episodes were airing today, I got a pleasant surprise, and guess what? It reached my level of expectations. Well, actually, I think it surpassed my level of expectations.

First off, let's talk about the plot. This is a genius way to keep the Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy characters alive. I know, I know, that's pretty much what everyone said when MermaidPants came out. But honestly, I think this is much better than MermaidPants. I always found MermaidPants overrated. Sure, it was a good episode, but it's nowhere near Top 5 material in Season 10. This episode, on the other hand, has a much more interesting plot. Rather than have SpongeBob and Patrick simply pretend to be Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy, we get conflict that's much more interesting. This time, they're fighting a real enemy, Man Ray.

First off, let me just say, I absolutely love Man Ray in this episode. It's so cool seeing him as a main character (With his latest appearance before this being Super Aquatic Team Up is a Go!), and honestly, I think he's one of the best parts of this episode. There's just a charm to his character, I'm not sure how to put it. To be honest, Man Ray hasn't really been "Evil" since his debut in MM&BB III. He's since been seen doing pretty mundane things, and honestly, the only time we really see him evil, is in Back to the Past (Where the events taking place occurred before MM&BB III). I guess the ending of this episode is the first time we really see him act evil on his own terms. Sure, he's kind of forced into it, but not in a brutal way (Like in Shuffleboarding). In fact, this episode feels very similar TO Shuffleboarding. Man Ray isn't doing anything wrong. SpongeBob and Patrick assume he's up to no good, they dress up as MM&BB, and they have a showdown. Only this version actually is kind of funny, and much more wild and entertaining.

Anyway, back to the plot of the episode, I really like this episode's premise. Putting a real villain, Man Ray, in the mix of SpongeBob and Patrick's serious attitude about fighting evil makes for a really entertaining episode. I think it's a cool idea to have Man Ray (An arch rival of SpongeBob and Patrick's heroes) rent out Squidward's house while he's on vacation. Plus, this episode's layout doesn't come off as forced. It actually comes off pretty naturally, if you ask me. The way this episode progresses, Squidward leaves on vacation, SpongeBob/Patrick try to meet up with the person renting his home, they discover he's Man Ray, they go to MM&BB for help, etc. is laid out really well. This is probably one of the best paced episodes in a while, some moments are fast paced, while others are a little more relaxed, and laid back. I really love how Kaz laid out the episode, I feel as if he did a great job transitioning from one plot point to the other. It's something I can't really describe. The most I can say is "See for yourself.". 

The humor in this episode is pretty good. In fact, there are a lot of really funny jokes in this episode. From the adult humor regarding the "Unmentionables" (I can't believe SpongeBob has made a bra joke for the first time in over a decade), to the silly visual humor involving SpongeBob & Patrick putting Squidward's house back together. A lot of the jokes, as expected, are based off the animation. And I must say, I really love the animation in this episode. The more wacky, and crazy animation we're now familiar with, perfectly fits within this episode, seeing it's a much more action packed episode. There are some moments when it's unnecessary (Particularly when Patrick yells in Squidward's face at the beginning of the episode, or when the old lady steals Patrick's wallet), but I think this episode gets more wrapped up in it's plot than it's humor. Honestly, I'm perfectly fine with that. The plot is really interesting, and I got really invested into it. Sure, it's kind of a ripoff of Shuffleboarding. But, this is so much better than Shuffleboarding, in which this episode is actually exciting! SpongeBob & Patrick don't come off as ignorant jerks in this episode, they come across as two guys wanting to make society better, abolishing crime. They have good intentions, but they're not aware of Man Ray's side of the story, and that's what separates this from Shuffleboarding. There are multiple times SpongeBob & Patrick abuse their power, just because they think it'd be cool to be Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy. However, the only reason they take their places in this episode, is because they're taking their [Insert word they used in this episode that's slipping my mind] naps. It's a perfect way of featuring MM&BB in this episode (Not only for cameo appearances, but to also be a pretty big plot point).

So, to sum this episode up, I think the beginning of the episode properly set up the conflict, with Squidward leaving for vacation, and telling the two to leave the person who is renting his house to alone (Not to mention, establishing the fact that SpogneBob and Patrick are trying to keep the neighborhood crime-less). Then, we see the big surprise, Man Ray is renting the house. Curious, the two try to figure out who is renting Squidward's house (With some funny gags included, particularly the gag with Patrick knocking on the window). They go inside the house, and interact with Man Ray (Unaware who this person is), until the reveal that he is Man Ray, forcing SpongeBob and Patrick to assume the worst, and flee to Shady Shoals for help. Their heroes, however, being unable to help them out, SpongeBob & Patrick ensue the role of their heroes (In probably one of the best scenes in the episode), and then head to Squidward's, ensuing in the highlight of the episode, the climax.

I absolutely love the battle between Man Ray and SP&P. This scene looks great, it has fantastic animation, and a lot of pretty funny gags (My favorite being the "Evil never takes a vacation" line). Man Ray realizes that he just can't escape from being evil, and giving into the battle, resulting in some pretty epic sequences. A storm ensues, and Squidward decides to return home early, since the weather isn't good. Rather than go the predictable route, Man Ray actually abandons SpongeBob & Patrick, leaving the two to do the greater good, by cleaning up Squidward's house. These last few minutes of the episode are awesome. Yes, the three wrecked Squidward's house, but SpongeBob and Patrick acted like true heroes, by being kind enough to restore Squidward's house to it's former glory, in probably the funniest scene in the episode.

While not my favorite at first, I think this episode has really grown on me. It's probably my favorite episode of Season 11. It has a lot of funny jokes, great characters, beautiful animation, incredible directing, it's an Amazing Episode. All in all, I give it a 10/10.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe some of the arguments for episode begin not good are acceptable,but the whole "Man Ray torture"is one of the most ridiculous and stupid shit I’ve ever seen towards Season 11’s criticism.Like,even despite MR barely getting physical damage,I can’t really say that he didn’t deserve it,it’s not like he take a vocation to be a good guy or something,he just take a break from evil stuff for a bit for doing it again later,it’s not like A Breath of Fresh Squidward where character actually become a nice person but get poor treatment for that.And eeeeeeeeven if all of what I say before is a bullshit of an defense,Man Ray himself say that he already give Squidward a fake check,so he deserved what he get.

 

Also lol don’t even compare Spongebob and Patrick’s characterization in this episode with S6-8’s characterization.Here they had actual reasons and motivation for what thay did.In trash like Shuffleboarding both do everything for incredibly lazy and cheap reasons.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...