Top 10 Worst SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes

#10: “Squid’s Visit”

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SpongeBob desperately wants Squidward to come visit him, but Squidward isn’t keen on leaving the comfort of his own home. Poor choice of words, as SpongeBob “borrows” his vacuum cleaner to trick him into coming over, only to reveal that the little yellow sneak redesigned his pineapple’s interior into an exact replica of Squidward’s house. SpongeBob’s always admired his grumpy neighbor… but this reaches creepy new levels; we can only sympathize with Squidward’s horror at this well-detailed mimicry. Worst of all, Squidward’s real house burns down while he’s trapped in this nightmare, and SpongeBob makes him an offer that mentally destroys him. This plot’s better suited for a horror film than a kids show.

#9: “Pet Sitter Pat”

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SpongeBob is visiting his Grandma, and entrusts Patrick with looking after Gary. Naturally, being the “most trustworthy guy” SpongeBob knows… Patrick completely neglects the poor snail, starves and torments him, and makes a wreck of the house… all without batting an eyelash. Fans have complained about how Patrick’s devolved from a loveable dunderhead to an unsympathetic moron in later seasons; this episode only proves them right as we’re forced to endure Gary’s suffering by Patrick’s incompetence. The ending is also seemed completely rushed – SpongeBob comes home to a flooded pineapple, and Gary and Patrick are friends now… just like that? Out-of-nowhere resolution aside, Gary’s probably better off taking care of himself.

After a dragged-out opening where nothing of substance happens, Sandy announces that she’ll be returning to Texas to defend her rodeo title… after singing a stereotypically bland song about it. SpongeBob believes that she might be in danger for some reason, and plans to lead a rescue mission… but when everyone else rudely declines, he kidnaps them in a bubble that takes them all to Texas. The story overall is unbelievably slow and boring - just 11 minutes of SpongeBob worrying over nothing, and everyone else ignoring his concerns. The finale is also very humdrum - ripping off the above water scenes from an earlier episode, and ending rather abruptly. Overall, a forgettable episode according to fans.

Once again, SpongeBob fails his driving test; but this time, the crash causes Mrs. Puff to “permanently” deflate… and so begins her descent into hate-filled insanity. She decides to enter him into the demolition derby in hopes that he’ll be mauled to death… but that plan ultimately backfires as SpongeBob inadvertently dominates the derby. It’s not clear which is harder to believe – that the sponge who failed hundreds of times can survive a demolition derby, or that a frustrated teacher would go so far as to try and kill her own student. Also, Mrs. Puff SOMEHOW re-inflates in the end… making the whole episode feel uncomfortable and pointless.

While the early days saw Squidward getting his comeuppance for his arrogance or bad behavior, nowadays he seems to take over-the-top punishments for no good reason. In “Boating Buddies,” for example, Squidward is sentenced to Boating School… with a certain annoying yellow neighbor as his classmate. Throughout the rest of the day, he suffers from SpongeBob’s obsessive behavior, getting beaten up for petty reasons, and –worst of all- failing the test… meaning he’s stuck in Boating School for who knows how long. SpongeBob is written in a much more annoying light in this episode, and all poor Squidward wanted was a peaceful afternoon – but instead, his new “boating buddy” torments him.

In the shower, SpongeBob gets stuck in his wringer, and Patrick – being the “helpful” friend that he is – makes it worse by getting him MORE stuck. The wringer hinders SpongeBob’s work abilities, and Patrick’s method for “cheering him up” is basically him having fun while SpongeBob struggles with his situation. SpongeBob rightfully chews Patrick out for all he’s done… but apparently venting your frustration is a big no-no in Bikini Bottom – it’s amazing these two can still be best friends after Patrick’s abuse. Even after SpongeBob escapes the wringer, we’re left with two lackluster morals – standing up for yourself is wrong, and crying solves everything… too bad crying couldn’t make this episode disappear.

While this was technically released as a TV movie, it’s too terrible not to mention – plus it’s been considered the 12th episode of season 5. Here, the gang finds the lost city of Atlantis – or rather, a generic alien-like colony CALLING itself Atlantis - ruled by the Lord Royal Highness – voiced by the late David Bowie. The city feels like paradise… but SpongeBob and Patrick’s bumbling cuts the vacation short… oh yeah, and Plankton’s there just because. While the special was heavily built up, it ultimately failed in execution due to its dull story and rather uninspired, off-key musical numbers – Bowie, the ACTUAL singer, never getting to sing once. Sadly, not even a Patchy the Pirate subplot could save this utter letdown.

#3: “The Splinter”

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At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob gets a nasty splinter stuck in his thumb, and is desperate to not let Mr. Krabs find out. While the premise is nothing to sneeze at, this episode’s ultimate downfall is how needlessly detailed and disgusting SpongeBob’s injury is – viewers wince as he tries to painfully rip the splinter out, and their stomachs churn as his infected thumb pulses and oozes pus. To top it off, Patrick makes it even worse in a graphic, boneheaded manner. Credit to the artists, though, as they go that extra mile to make us nearly lose our lunch – as even SpongeBob finally losing the splinter is too repulsive for words.

#2: “A Pal for Gary”

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SpongeBob feels guilty about leaving Gary home alone when he’s at work – even though Gary doesn’t seem to mind the privacy. So he buys a second pet as a new playmate for Gary. It turns out Gary’s new “pal” is actually a nightmarish monster with an urge to kill everything in its path… including the snail. While Gary does battle with the beast, SpongeBob blindly accuses HIM of being a jealous bully… even when the chaos is happening right in front of him. Even after Gary saves his life, SpongeBob is completely oblivious to what his loyal pet had to endure – abruptly shifting from a concerned pet owner to a negligent idiot. Before we unveil our little square dude’s worst plight, here are a few dishonorable mentions. “Dear Vikings” “Choir Boys” “SpongeBob, You’re Fired”

#1: “One Coarse Meal”

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Mr. Krabs discovers that Plankton is afraid of whales… so he dresses up as his daughter, Pearl, to frighten the devious protozoan. Krabs’ trick goes too far, however, as the fear tortures Plankton with paranoia during the day and horrific nightmares at night. Eventually, he can’t take it anymore and begs to be put out of his misery – all the while, Krabs just laughs at his forlorn foe’s expense. Fans thought this unbelievably dark episode turned normally lovable characters into unsympathetic monsters, and the cop-out ending only makes it worse. After all that he’s been through, maybe Plankton SHOULD get the Secret Formula – Krabs certainly doesn’t deserve it after this.