CakeCup

Ah, this episode. An episode so controversial, that some people consider it both the worst special AND the worst episode of all time, while others consider it middling or good. Back in 2016, I claimed that this episode was overhated, but as I started to look at my old review, I realized that this episode had quite a few noteworthy problems that I have failed to address back then. One thing that really stood out like an ugly wart was the reference to unemployment. Truth be told, I never took that into account back then, but it really annoyed me when Patrick thought that being unemployed is awesome. No, sir, it's not. This episode really did disparage those who rely on social service programs to, well, survive. I'm middle class, but I can definitely say that the vast majority people that rely on safety net programs aren't lazy. It's just a terrible stereotype. Political messages in SpongeBob can work, but here, it was just botched. At least SpongeBob did say "unemployment may be fun for you, but I need to get a job" in a relatable way, which meant that SpongeBob was indeed motivated to get back to work. All in all, the rather unfortunate portrayal of unemployment wasn't the worst part of this special, but it's still worthy of attention. From the get go, the conceptualization of SpongeBob being fired from his job was pretty derivative. SpongeBob's been fired from his job twice: once in Karate Choppers, and once in Squid on Strike. Here, the reason that Krabs fired SpongeBob was just....preposterous to say at the least. He fired the little sponge over a nickel. It's the equivalent of a manager firing someone just because the manager didn't like the color of that person's hair. Pretty illogical, right? Well, that really took Krabs' greed up to eleven. Krabs' greed in Penny Foolish was also pretty bad, but Penny Foolish was at least somewhat interesting and creative. SpongeBob, You're Fired, on the other hand, is the opposite of innovative. It appropriated so many ideas from seasons past, like Le Big Switch, Bummer Vacation, and Krusty Dogs. I get that coming up with unorthodox storylines for a show that's been on TV for well over a decade is not the easiest feat, but I don't really think that's a valid excuse. Many s11 episodes are proof that the writers can still come up with experimental ideas, and funny thing is that the entirety of s11 came out after this episode. SpongeBob spent a great deal of this episode completely dejected. While being fired from a job can be absolutely devastating for a lot of people, SpongeBob's job is not his only personality trait. If it was, it would make him a flat character. Plus, Bummer Vacation portrayed SpongeBob's workaholic side in a much better way. Well, I will say that SpongeBob did show his caring side towards Gary, which is quite nice considering the trainwreck that was A Pal for Gary. Also, SpongeBob's depression was portrayed in a genuine way. After SpongeBob and Patrick visit Sandy, SpongeBob is motivated to find another job. SpongeBob tried finding employment at 4 different restaurants, but to no avail. Ok, while I definitely think that SpongeBob's saying his classic catchphrase was the best part of the episode since it brought back all of those good pre-movie and early post-movie (s4 and s5) vibes, it was ruined by a parade of filler. Filler isn't inherently bad, but if I can cut out large parts of the episode and lose nothing of substance, it can be a problem. Pointless would be the best word to describe the scenes where SpongeBob worked at 4 different restaurants. Again, it really felt like a poor man's version of Le Big Switch, due to SpongeBob turning everything into Krabby Patties. In Le Big Switch, SpongeBob tried to use all sorts of ingredients, but they all turned into Krabby Patties. It was ridiculous, but hilarious nonetheless thanks to the overall absurdity. In this episode, on the other hand, there's no absurdity or hilarity in the restaurant scenes. Just derivative, unfunny, and tired dreck. Inoffensive, but uninspired. Another thing that really irked me was that SpongeBob was able to successfully prepare delicious food for Gary and Patrick, and he did it without having to put their food between two hamburger buns. Consequently, this rendered the restaurant scenes completely useless. We then get the weenie guy, the pizza man, the taco dude, and the noodle mate all fighting over SpongeBob, until a giant Krabby Patty comes and rescues the sponge. I'll be frank: I actually really enjoyed the fight scene. Quite a bit, as a matter of fact, because it's the most captivating part of the whole episode. It was all the better to realize that the giant Krabby Patty was indeed Squidward, which was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, Squidward's reason for saving SpongeBob was not out of the kindness of his heart, but rather due to his disdain for the smell of burnt Krabby Patties. I will give benefit to the doubt that Krabs at least regretted his decision to fire SpongeBob, but it was not enough to redeem his character here. In fact, Krabs installing a pay toilet contradicted his decision in a really mindless way. Ok, in spite of my utter disdain for Krabs, the uninspired plot, and the loads of booooring padding, I actually don't find this episode terrible. Don't get me wrong; I still don't like this episode at all, but it definitely had a few redeeming qualities that saved it from being a complete and total pain to watch. I liked the very beginning with SpongeBob preparing Krabby Patties as per usual; it was indeed adorable and very SpongeBob-esque. The scenes with Patrick's mutated head were all pretty comical as well. Definitely bizarre, but I would rather have something hilariously ridiculous than painfully boring. SpongeBob caring for Gary was genuinely heartwarming; it was a breath of fresh air to see SpongeBob look after his snail after seeing the sponge severely mistreat him in A Pal for Gary. Heck, SpongeBob himself wasn't half bad in this special. Sure, he did cry for a whole minute, and he did show off his workaholic tendencies, but it was delightful to see SpongeBob return to his good-natured self. It was proof that SpongeBob really does mean well, and he is a genuine nice guy most of the time. Also, it was cool to see Squidward save SpongeBob, despite the fact that Squidward stated that he hated the smell of burnt patties. With all of that being said, this special is still quite boring, unoriginal, and redundant. The plot had very little merit, and the positives are greatly overshadowed by the negatives. I wouldn't recommend this episode to anyone unless they are a dedicated fan of the show. At least it wasn't as bad as The Clash of Triton, but still. In my opinion, this episode is worthy of a 3/10. in hindsight, it's pretty fun to evaluate one of the most controversial SpongeBob episodes.

Cave Dwelling Sponge: 7/10 The Clam Whisperer: 3/10 Spot Returns: 9/10 The Check-Up: 7/10 Spin the Bottle: 6/10 There's a Sponge in my Soup: 8/10 Man Ray Returns: 6/10 Larry the Floor Manager: 8/10 The Legend of Boo-kini Bottom: 9/10 Stuck on the Roof: 6/10 No Pictures, Please: 7/10 Krabby Patty Creature Feature: 8/10 Teacher's Pests: 9/10 Sanitation Insanity: 7/10 Bunny Hunt: 10/10 because it has I'M A BUNNY NOW! Unironically, it would be a 6/10 Squid Noir: none from michigan was seen so 0/10 Nah, it's 9/10 worthy Scavenger Pants: 9/10 Cuddle E. Hugs: 5/10 Pat the Horse: 3/10 Chatterbox Gary: 8/10 Don't Feed the Clowns: 5/10 Drive Happy: 6/10 Old Man Patrick: 4/10 Fun-Sized Friends: 8/10 Grandmum's the Word: 6/10 Doodle Dimension: 8/10 Moving Bubble Bass: 5/10 High Sea Diving: 8/10 Bottle Burglars: 9/10 My Leg!: 9/10 Ink Lemonade: 2/10 Mustard O'Mine: 7/10 Shopping List: tba Whale Watching: tba Krusty Kleaners: tba Patnocchio: tba ChefBob: 9/10 Library Cards: 3/10 Plankton Paranoia: 9/10 Surf N' Turf: tba Call the Cops!: tba Goons on the Moon: tba Appointment TV: tba Karen's Virus: tba The Night Patty: tba The Grill is Gone!: tba Bubbletown: tba Girls Night Out: tba Squirrel Jelly: 4/10 The String: 8/10 Top 5 and bottom 5 episodes are coming soon. Stay tuned! General impressions: From what I've seen, s11 has been hit-or-miss, but most of the episodes are worth a rewatch. Gotta admit, the animation in most of the episodes that I have viewed was incredibly polished, and there was an abundance of creative/hilarious visual gags (especially in episodes like Scavenger Pants, The String, and Doodle Dimension). I think that the experimentation of s11 is quite interesting. Some episodes went for different styles (Creature Feature went for a horror movie style, Squid Noir went for a film noir style, Boo-kini Bottom had cute, stop-motion style of animation), while other episodes were a little more outlandish (either in a good way, like in Sponge in my Soup and My Leg, or in a not-so good way, like in Pat the Horse). One thing that I would like to note here is that most of the Patrick-based episodes were really weak; I get that he's supposed to be the ditz, since that's one of his character traits that we've had since the show aired, but the Patrick-centric episodes here really crank up his ineptitude up to eleven. Sometimes, episodes with overly idiotic Patrick can be amusing, but they are predominantly irksome. Sparing the Patrick-centric episodes, this season is a step up from s10, thanks to some more unorthodox storylines, improved animation, and some compelling character dynamics. Of course, this season is also one of the most polarizing, but that is to be expected since some of the more "off the wall" episodes may not be everyone's cup of tea. also, it looks like I gotta watch some of the later s11 episodes; some of them show great potential.

omg....that art piece is AMAAAAAZZZING! The linework, coloring, and shading are all on point.

I am, indeed, older than the universe itself. Gotta admit, watching the Big Bang was quite the spectacle.

"Bad Decisions" - Two Door Cinema Club

this is why you don't do seaweed, ladies and jellyfish.

It's so great to see you again! Welcome to the club, Pearly!

Up is a true classic that few movies will ever surpass. edit: okay, okay, Parasite looks like an intriguing film as well.

There's only a handful of episodes that I declare "irredeemable garbage". (those episodes being Pet or Pests, Summer Job, and Big Sister Sam) Even some of my least favorite SpongeBob episodes have at least one or two parts that I liked or had no problem with. All That Glitters: SpongeBob being reunited with Spat was a heartwarming little moment. Fungus Among Us: decent foreshadowing + the ending got a chuckle out of me To Love a Patty: The grilled shoe joke + SpongeBob's cutesy face when he took his patty out to dinner The Splinter: The beginning was alright, even if it was a little too slow-paced for my taste + "P.S: You're an idiot". Sun Bleached: The radical soda guy. Choir Boys: The talking toilet paper + the return of the grandma from "Have you Seen This Snail?" Squid's Visit: Squidward going insane was actually somewhat funny. Shuffleboarding: "My leg!" + Man-Ray's shrunken head The Clash of Triton: References to the Goofy Goober Stuck in the Wringer: SpongeBob telling Patrick off was cathartic. Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy: "ooh..try again" A Pal for Gary: As much as I LOATHE this episode, I actually gave it a 2/10 instead of a 1/10 because the beginning was tolerable + Gary saving SpongeBob was pretty awesome + the design of monster Puffy Fluffy looks cool + heck, I even don't mind the design of normal Puffy Fluffy. Yours, Mine and Mine: As terrible as the episode is, I actually tolerate it. The 30% cuter gag was kinda funny as well. Rodeo Daze: "How to open things" was a pretty funny little gag and the rodeo song was tolerable. One Coarse Meal: The ending got a chortle out of me, plus the "suicide" scene came across as more of a frivolous segment than a serious one. Trenchbillies: Patrick playing SpongeBob as a banjo. Hide and Then What Happens?: The appearance of Patrick Not-Star. House Sittin' for Sandy: The ending is slightly entertaining, and seeing SpongeBob in a French maid outfit is...rather alluring. Smoothe Jazz at Bikini Bottom: Kelpy G's return Squid Baby: "My face! My face! Also my leg, but mostly my face!" Ink Lemonade: The haunted house scene was intriguing. As far as some other unpopular SB opinions: Jellyfishing was one of season 1's stronger episodes. It's not in my top 5, but it's genuinely hilarious. Ugh was an amazing episode that would easily go in my top 50. Party Pooper Pants and The Sponge who Could Fly are both good episodes. Squid Wood was a decent episode. Just seeing SpongeBob dance with mini Squidward was just adorable and it's very hard for me to find any overt Squidward torture in it. Breath of Fresh Squidward ain't half bad. Sure, the second half was annoying, but the first half was great. It's so charming to see Squidward genuinely enjoying himself. SpongeHenge was just a middling, albeit intriguing episode. If the episode had better pacing, it would have been a good episode, maybe even a great one. Yeah, the ending was pretty agonizing towards poor SpongeBob, but the rest of the episode was at least somewhat captivating. Gone was another intriguing episode. The ending was pretty bad, but I didn't particularly mind it at all. Cephalopod Lodge, while absolutely stupid and mean-spirited, was actually really hilarious. I couldn't take that episode seriously at all, especially with all of those secret society references. One Coarse Meal's biggest flaw was how drop-dead boring it was, not the infamous suicide scene. The Cent of Money was just a mediocre episode. Seeing SpongeBob confront Mr. Krabs of his wrongdoings was just a breath of fresh air, especially after watching A Pal for Gary. Are You Happy Now was an enjoyable episode and the infamous scenes were pretty funny. SpongeBob was also pretty likeable in this one, which was something that I didn't quite expect. I think that the way they portrayed depression was executed in a genuine way. SpongeBob, You're Fired wasn't an abomination. I still don't like it at all, due to it having an idiotic and scatterbrained plot, Krabs at one of his worst appearances yet, and how they turned SpongeBob into a workaholic, but it had several redeeming qualities. Seeing Squidward save SpongeBob was just awesome, the mascot fight was pretty clever, and the scenes with Patrick's mutated second head were all hilarious.

Tootsie rolls are kind of icky to me. The texture feels like old gum that's been sitting out in the summer sun, and they don't even taste that chocolate-y. It's the faintest chocolate flavor that I have ever tasted. Feel free to call me stuck-up, but I prefer finer chocolates like Lindt and Godiva. I say that this is a little bit of an unpopular opinion because most people that I am familiar with don't mind the taste and texture of Tootsie rolls. On the flip side, I think that Whoppers (the malted milk balls) are one of the best products that Hershey's has ever produced. Malted milk balls in general are just divine, but I understand why some people have an aversion to those little morsels.

I actually don't mind most green vegetables (except for that pathetic garden weed that nutritionists call "kale"), but chives are my favorite. They're quintessential in cooking my favorite savory dishes, and they make a great garnish for foods like potatoes or omelettes. Scallions, leeks, and broccoli are all pretty delectable as well. Y'all need to eat your veggies, kiddies.

$100 in cash $50 Fred Meyer gift card Calvin Klein brand pajamas DKNY sweatshirt Nautica brand coat Plaid scarf 2 pairs of black pants 10-pack of black socks Baby animal calendar A whole bunch of Lindor truffles Big box of Godiva chocolates Big box of Land O'Lakes cocoa mix