Patty Caper:
Mr. Krabs has run out of the secret ingredient needed to give Krabby Patties their special taste, and is expecting a new delivery. He orders SpongeBob to guard it carefully so nobody steals it. And yet, someone manages to steal it right under his nose! Who's the culprit?
This was a pretty welldone comical mystery story. SpongeBobs determination as he goes around investigating everyone is a joy to watch. I love when he gets more self confident than usual in order to fullfill a goal. It reminds me a bit of when he was a lawyer in Krabs Vs. Plankton.
Speaking of that, Plankton is naturally the first one to be suspected. He gets caught redhanded eating Krabby Patties cooked by himself... except that he's just been experimenting with different flavors in attempts to figure out what the hidden ingredient is. You gotta feel bad for his complete lack of self awareness in somehow thinking raw sewage would even feasibly measure up to a success.
The second one to be interrogated is Sandy. This is the start of the rollicking running gag where SpongeBob assumes what someone's genius plan was in order to steal the formula. With Sandy he assumes she used an invisibility ray, froze time, shot a laser blast through the suitcase and ran off with the ingredient. Unamused, she tells him to consider the fact that she might have just ordered more food for the winter. She even confronts him with the receipt, which makes SpongeBob recall the large order he had to prepare earlier. It's highly unusual for her to buy tons of Krabby Patties for what I assume is a ghastly amount of money instead of searching for acorns, but works for the scene's pay-off.
The third suspect is Gary. Yes, SpongeBob's own freaking pet. And the plan SpongeBob claims that he had for stealing the ingredient is so wildly convoluted to a hysterical degree. It's so inspired I almost don't even want to spoil it.
After going through the grilling, Gary says that he saw someone leaving The Krusty Krab with a black suitcase. When Patrick hears the description, he deduces that the person seen was Squidward.
SpongeBob and Patrick arrive at his house and indeed see a black suitcase, but instead it contains tap dancing shoes. Understandably upset, Squidward throws them out of the house. Well... actually he *moves* his house instead of simply kicking them out. He's gotten more creative over the years.
SpongeBob's forced to admit to his boss that he never found out who committed the crime. Mr. Krabs unexpectedly then accuses his own frycook of stealing the secret ingredient. He lays out his supposed plan (in the same uproarious fashion as SpongeBob did with the earlier suspects) which involved him planting a decoy as a distraction in order to snatch the briefcase and make a quick buck from Plankton.
After the story is finished, he almost calls the cops before they catch him and makes him admit that he stole it himself so he could save 2 dollars on delivery. This is easily one of the dumbest and meanest things that he's ever done. You question just how much Mr. Krabs values his devoted employee. He does at least get punished at the end when the judge sentences him to give away free Krabby Patties for a full day.
We also get to see him strapped to a chair while watching in horror as the customers line up and SpongeBob happily gives them away. In concept I actually like this idea for an ending, but it's executed way too weirdly. Why does the cops hold his eyeballs and laugh at the same time? It's kinda creepy, but not in a way that I think was intended. This is just a nitpick however.
Plankton's Regular:
I have mixed feelings about this segment. It has a lot of potential, but simply doesn't live up to it.
To start with the positives, Plankton's in very good form. You feel happy for him when someone actually appreciates his incredibly simplistic fast food. And seeing him get to gloat in front of his nemesis is pretty satisfying.
Mr. Krabs' characterization is a bit iffy since unlike other times when he goes against Planky, he didn't do anything to deserve it this time. The fact that he can't let him have one out of his generous amount of customers makes him come across as petty to a borderline childish degree. It does make sense for the story, but pushes his likability even more than Patty Caper.
Some of SpongeBob's attempts to make Nat eat a Krabby Patty are amusing though, such as "tripping" over a rock and trying to get one inside his mouth, plus his godawful imitation and disguise of Karen as he gets into The Chum Bucket.
Mr. Krabs breaking into The Chum Bucket at night with Plankton pointing out how ironic this scenario is gave me the biggest chuckle. Krabs is just completely dumbfounded and somehow can't see how they've literally switched roles.
There are two pain gags on different occasions I found rather strange. First Plankton rips his own skin off out of frustration, then SpongeBob gets his skin ripped off too when a door closes on him. The second instance is especially bizarre given the face that he makes before it falls off. While they are brief and easily ignorable, you still wonder why they're there in the first place.
The main problem I have is the ending. The customer comes storming into The Chum Bucket proclaiming how he can't eat this crap anymore, and has been having stomach problems since he started consuming chum. Karen paid him to be a customer because she got tired of her husband's endless complaining. Plankton breaks down and cries at this revelation while Krabs chuckles at him.
First of all, this puts Mr. Krabs in the worst light possible since we see him laugh at someone who we feel sad for and gets no comeuppance for it. As for the big twist, it would have worked much better if Karen wasn't so cold and unlikable. If she did it because she just wanted to see him happy it could at least have been a solid bittersweet conclusion, where even though things didn't work out for the best she didn't mean anything bad by it. By making Karen act like Plankton's an irritating crybaby however, it results in the ending being far too much of a downer.
The second half of the episode is just okay, but Patty Caper is worth a watch.
Mr. Krabs has run out of the secret ingredient needed to give Krabby Patties their special taste, and is expecting a new delivery. He orders SpongeBob to guard it carefully so nobody steals it. And yet, someone manages to steal it right under his nose! Who's the culprit?
This was a pretty welldone comical mystery story. SpongeBobs determination as he goes around investigating everyone is a joy to watch. I love when he gets more self confident than usual in order to fullfill a goal. It reminds me a bit of when he was a lawyer in Krabs Vs. Plankton.
Speaking of that, Plankton is naturally the first one to be suspected. He gets caught redhanded eating Krabby Patties cooked by himself... except that he's just been experimenting with different flavors in attempts to figure out what the hidden ingredient is. You gotta feel bad for his complete lack of self awareness in somehow thinking raw sewage would even feasibly measure up to a success.
The second one to be interrogated is Sandy. This is the start of the rollicking running gag where SpongeBob assumes what someone's genius plan was in order to steal the formula. With Sandy he assumes she used an invisibility ray, froze time, shot a laser blast through the suitcase and ran off with the ingredient. Unamused, she tells him to consider the fact that she might have just ordered more food for the winter. She even confronts him with the receipt, which makes SpongeBob recall the large order he had to prepare earlier. It's highly unusual for her to buy tons of Krabby Patties for what I assume is a ghastly amount of money instead of searching for acorns, but works for the scene's pay-off.
The third suspect is Gary. Yes, SpongeBob's own freaking pet. And the plan SpongeBob claims that he had for stealing the ingredient is so wildly convoluted to a hysterical degree. It's so inspired I almost don't even want to spoil it.
After going through the grilling, Gary says that he saw someone leaving The Krusty Krab with a black suitcase. When Patrick hears the description, he deduces that the person seen was Squidward.
SpongeBob and Patrick arrive at his house and indeed see a black suitcase, but instead it contains tap dancing shoes. Understandably upset, Squidward throws them out of the house. Well... actually he *moves* his house instead of simply kicking them out. He's gotten more creative over the years.
SpongeBob's forced to admit to his boss that he never found out who committed the crime. Mr. Krabs unexpectedly then accuses his own frycook of stealing the secret ingredient. He lays out his supposed plan (in the same uproarious fashion as SpongeBob did with the earlier suspects) which involved him planting a decoy as a distraction in order to snatch the briefcase and make a quick buck from Plankton.
After the story is finished, he almost calls the cops before they catch him and makes him admit that he stole it himself so he could save 2 dollars on delivery. This is easily one of the dumbest and meanest things that he's ever done. You question just how much Mr. Krabs values his devoted employee. He does at least get punished at the end when the judge sentences him to give away free Krabby Patties for a full day.
We also get to see him strapped to a chair while watching in horror as the customers line up and SpongeBob happily gives them away. In concept I actually like this idea for an ending, but it's executed way too weirdly. Why does the cops hold his eyeballs and laugh at the same time? It's kinda creepy, but not in a way that I think was intended. This is just a nitpick however.
Plankton's Regular:
I have mixed feelings about this segment. It has a lot of potential, but simply doesn't live up to it.
To start with the positives, Plankton's in very good form. You feel happy for him when someone actually appreciates his incredibly simplistic fast food. And seeing him get to gloat in front of his nemesis is pretty satisfying.
Mr. Krabs' characterization is a bit iffy since unlike other times when he goes against Planky, he didn't do anything to deserve it this time. The fact that he can't let him have one out of his generous amount of customers makes him come across as petty to a borderline childish degree. It does make sense for the story, but pushes his likability even more than Patty Caper.
Some of SpongeBob's attempts to make Nat eat a Krabby Patty are amusing though, such as "tripping" over a rock and trying to get one inside his mouth, plus his godawful imitation and disguise of Karen as he gets into The Chum Bucket.
Mr. Krabs breaking into The Chum Bucket at night with Plankton pointing out how ironic this scenario is gave me the biggest chuckle. Krabs is just completely dumbfounded and somehow can't see how they've literally switched roles.
There are two pain gags on different occasions I found rather strange. First Plankton rips his own skin off out of frustration, then SpongeBob gets his skin ripped off too when a door closes on him. The second instance is especially bizarre given the face that he makes before it falls off. While they are brief and easily ignorable, you still wonder why they're there in the first place.
The main problem I have is the ending. The customer comes storming into The Chum Bucket proclaiming how he can't eat this crap anymore, and has been having stomach problems since he started consuming chum. Karen paid him to be a customer because she got tired of her husband's endless complaining. Plankton breaks down and cries at this revelation while Krabs chuckles at him.
First of all, this puts Mr. Krabs in the worst light possible since we see him laugh at someone who we feel sad for and gets no comeuppance for it. As for the big twist, it would have worked much better if Karen wasn't so cold and unlikable. If she did it because she just wanted to see him happy it could at least have been a solid bittersweet conclusion, where even though things didn't work out for the best she didn't mean anything bad by it. By making Karen act like Plankton's an irritating crybaby however, it results in the ending being far too much of a downer.
The second half of the episode is just okay, but Patty Caper is worth a watch.
