Top 10 SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes with the Most Wasted Potential

This is probably the biggest disappointment on this list. The idea of SpongeBob getting fired and having to job hop is not bad on paper and is, as a matter of fact, interesting, especially for a 20-minute-long episode. However, SpongeBob had to be fired because of one nickel? Yeah, one little nickel is TOTALLY worth releasing your best employee, who brings in tons of money from many customers due to his great cooking. Not only is that selfish, but it also doesn't make any sense at all.

There couldn't have been a more legitimate reason to fire SpongeBob (such as getting carried away with karate with Sandy, which results in the Krusty Krab being destroyed)? After that, the next scenes of the episode turned out to be flat-out boring. The scenes with SpongeBob and Patrick carrying out activities while being unemployed are too long and seem to only exist as filler. Even the job-hopping part was not any different than the beginning of the episode. All those bosses were unlikable and no different than Mr. Krabs, as they fire SpongeBob just for making a different dish than they expected, which they haven't even sold to their customers yet.

Yet, they later decide at the last minute they want SpongeBob back due to how good his food was. The only good part I can think of was when Squidward saved SpongeBob from those bosses and brought him back to the Krusty Krab, since Mr. Krabs doesn't know how to cook, which causes the customers to leave. I call that karma for Mr. Krabs, realizing how essential SpongeBob was and what his desire for a tiny coin cost him.

Other than that, the rest of the episode was terrible and a huge disappointment. Overall, good concept but poor execution that greatly hurt this episode. What would have improved it would be a better reason for SpongeBob to get fired and have more interesting scenes, as opposed to having too many boring fillers.

2/10

This was supposed to be an anniversary special, and what do we get as a form of celebration? A boring, nearly hour-long "special." SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and Patrick end up getting stuck in the freezer, so they have to find a way out through the vents.

Ok, I guess it's not a bad story, but the majority of this episode comprises filler that has nothing to do with the story, which makes the episode boring. By filler, I'm especially talking about all those Patchy the Pirate scenes that last way too long and take attention off the main storyline.

Some flashback scenes were interesting though, one being an explanation of how SpongeBob moved to Bikini Bottom. Overall, this could've been better with way less filler.
5.5/10

This is yet again another bad episode with a good concept. I could not forget about how irritating and obnoxious SpongeBob was in this episode. I don't mind SpongeBob crying about his spatula being destroyed, considering how long he used it. But how excessively he was doing it got annoying very fast.

What I also didn't like was the part where SpongeBob was forced to give away everything, including his pants, where he's naked throughout most of the episode, all just to get this one-of-a-kind robotic spatula. To make matters worse, it was all done in vain since the spatula didn't want to cook "disgusting" Krabby Patties, so it ran away. I should also mention the huge amount of fillers, such as the ones that revolve around SpongeBob crying like a big baby for minutes.

But I will also mention the scene where SpongeBob sees his original spatula (that is apparently alive) on a wheelchair, which came along with long flashbacks of the memories with SpongeBob and his spatula. There is another episode known as Evil Spatula with the same idea later in the series, but it was actually great and executed way better than this garbage.

2/10

Squidward converting his house to be luxurious in order to beat Squilliam is not bad on paper. However, what hurts this episode is the amount of filler. For example, I don't see what was necessary about including a scene of Patrick going inside Squidward's house and destroying his (living) toilet, which was not even funny.

Also, I know a lot of people have said this, but I couldn't agree with them more about it. That toenail scene was too graphic to watch for a show like this, so I feel omitting that scene would've improved the episode.

It's not a bad episode, but it could've been done better by having less filler and especially omitting that toenail scene.
7/10

I'll say it again, this is not a bad idea. Patrick being entrusted with the task to babysit Gary while SpongeBob visits his Grandma was good on paper. However, the way it was executed was absolutely terrible. It would have been way better if the episode didn't revolve around Patrick torturing Gary. Patrick may have been very obnoxious in Yours, Mine, and Mine, but at least he was just an infantile jerk in that episode.

Here, Patrick was nothing more than a complete psychopath. I get that Patrick is dimwitted, but his stupidity shouldn't be used to the point where it makes him act like an inconsiderate jerk or even a madman. What kind of person uses a torch as a bath for a pet? Now, I will say the ending was decent, but it still did not make up for the lethal experiences Patrick put Gary through, and he gets no repercussions for his actions.

This would've been a better episode if Patrick was less inconsiderate and less psychotic towards Gary.

1/10

Another bad episode on this list, yet with a good concept. It was interesting and understandable for SpongeBob to make his own version of Squidward. However, what did most of the episode consist of instead? Squidward's entire life being stolen by this miniature puppet, such as his jokes being used, his job taken, and having better dance moves.

I couldn't blame Squidward anymore for why he was torturing mini-Squidward. Although he at least went away at the end, it's all replaced by mini-SpongeBob. It's not a bad idea, but there could've been a better use of it than consisting of Squidward's life being stolen.
4/10

Instead of focusing the episode on Mr. Krabs torturing Plankton by pretending to be Pearl to the point where he's traumatized and almost commits suicide, they should have had Mr. Krabs dress up as Pearl only when Plankton tries to steal the Krabby Patty formula. Plankton would then find out that Krabs was only pretending to be Pearl to keep him from stealing the formula and then use Krabs' worst fear against him.

This is a good episode, don't get me wrong, but I feel like it could've been better. The story about training Gary to win the snail race against Squidward's snail (Snellie), along with Patrick's "snail" (Rocky), was pretty good. What hurt the episode, though, was how unlikable SpongeBob was. SpongeBob shouldn't have been so harsh in training Gary, even when he was exhausted to the point he could not race. Albeit, he at least regretted everything and apologized to Gary when he was badly injured in the race.

But how could SpongeBob not have noticed there was something wrong with Gary when his symptoms of exhaustion made it pretty obvious? However, it was at least made up with a heartwarming moment, where Snellie gave up winning the race to help Gary out. To make it better, Squidward didn't even chew out Snellie for blowing their chance to win, albeit he was sad and shocked. It reminded me of Cars when King was injured, and McQueen gave up the Piston Cup to help him out.

But I have to say Patrick was my favorite character in this episode due to how comedically dimwitted yet kind he was. When his "snail" won, Patrick was generous enough to give up the trophy he earned to Squidward. Now that's what I call the Patrick we know and love - the Patrick that is dimwitted alright but not to the point where he can be overly irritating (such as in Smooth Jazz at Bikini Bottom).

So kudos for the interesting plot, the heartwarming moments at the tournament, and Squidward along with Patrick. But it could've been better if SpongeBob was more likable, as opposed to being excessively harsh and inconsiderate towards Gary until he was already injured. Oh, and I will point out SpongeBob did at least get karma for everything at the end, when Sandy kicked him, which sent him flying in the air.

7.5/10