It’s been a while since I looked at a Spongebob Season One episode. I’ll explain at the end why I’m back here again.
ONE
Gary the Snail sleeps.
Spongebob cheerfully wakes him. It’s moving day! We’re leaving home, and Gary must eat ground up clamshells!
TWO
When Gary starts weeping, Spongebob shouts, “April fools!”
THREE
Spongebob prepares dozens of lemonade glasses. He must drink them now. April fools to me!
FOUR
Looking out his porthole window, Squidward wonders why Spongebob, walking down the street, looks so happy. It’s April 1st, his favorite holiday. Panicked, Squidward calls in sick to work, but Mr. Krabs tells him someone from the art gallery is here to see him. Squidward dashes in, only to find Krabs and Spongebob giggling at the joke.
Squidward quits. When Spongebob promises to pull pranks on others, Squidward relents.
The “others” end up being Krusty Krab customers. Spongebob is having a blast and the customers willingly chuckle. Squidward, though, is losing his mind. The jokes are stupid and Spongebob’s laughter reverberates throughout the restaurant.
SWITCH
He decides to show Spongebob what a real prank looks like.
FIVE
Squidward laughs hysterically while Spongebob is dragged around the room by a rope. Customers look on in horror. (The rope trick is impossibly complex, which makes the bit funny rather than cruel.) As Squidward triumphantly calls out, “April fools,” Spongebob bursts into tears and runs away. Customers sneer at Squidward and walk out.
SIX
Looking around at the destruction, Squidward reassesses his prank.
SEVEN
He realizes he must apologize, although “sorry” won’t be easy.
EIGHT
At Spongebob’s house, Squidward prepares to squeeze out an apology, but he’s mistakenly speaking to Patrick. When Spongebob finally opens his door, Squidward agonizes over his apology. He cringes, he brays, and his head explodes before he can say the word. He tries everything until the utter shame leads him to say “sorry”. He likes Spongebob! He likes living nextdoor! Spongebob asks if that’s all true.
NINE
Yes, but don’t tell anyone. Spongebob swings his door open, revealing every resident of Bikini Bottom in his house, listening. After an eye twitch, Squidward hits on the perfect solution. Laughing and pointing at the crowd, he yells, “April fools!”
CRITICAL NOTES
What can I say, lol? It’s a straightforward structure. Spongebob’s gentle notion of a prank at the Three becomes Squidward’s review of his elaborate prank at the Six. If I personally liked the April Fools “holiday”, I’d be happy with this episode.
It’s ironic, though, that the next Spongebob episode in the season list — a category I haven’t visited in over three years — is about April. I’ll take it as a happy coincidence. As I was wondering what I could post for Easter, I thought of Spongebob. (I’ll tell you why in a minute.) In past years, my Easter content has focused on Lenten painting. I’ve had a devotional focus that I didn’t have this year. I couldn’t suddenly create a more intense post out of nothing. However, I was reminded that our family, when the kids were little, would watch The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2005) at Easter time because of this scene:
It speaks of sacrifice and love. Yes, it’s a reduction of the Christian message (and hopefully I’m not sacrilegious in saying this), but it’s a simple and heartfelt presentation of how to die in service to a greater good.
How crazy do I sound? Haha.
Spongebob is an enjoyable movie. (Way better than this episode, yikes.) I believe it’s appropriate to contemplate the Crucifixion in ways profound and in ways childlike. May you have a blessed Holy Week.