Mentions of bullying, death, sex, and animal cruelty.
Summary
SpongeBob SquarePantsis one of Nickelodeon’s most successful and popular animated TV shows ever, and though it’s also one of the most rewatchable cartoons, there are some harsh realities when watching season 1 again. Created by Stephen Hillenburg,SpongeBob SquarePantspremiered on Nickelodeon in 1999, and has been unstoppable ever since. The success of the show made way for a franchise with movies, spin-offs, video games, and more, but the main show continues growing with more seasons.SpongeBob SquarePantstakes viewers to the underwater town of Bikini Bottom to follow the title character and his friends.
SpongeBob, his best friends Patrick and Sandy, his greedy boss Mr. Krabs, and his neighbor Squidward continue to get involved in all types of adventures and fun situations, but the series has definitely changed over the years. The show’s sense of humor isn’t the same as it was in its first seasons and the characters’ personalities have also changed a lot, yetSpongeBob SquarePantsstill has a loyal fanbase. The first season ofSpongeBob SquarePantswill always be special and fun, but some harsh realities come to light when rewatching it 25 years later.
SpongeBob SquarePants: 15 Dark Fan Theories
Fans love to come up with outlandish, disturbing theories about the true nature of Spongebob Squarepants, but could any of them be true?
10SpongeBob & Patrick Don’t Respect Squidward At All
Squidward’s Limits Weren’t Respected
No matter how many limits Squidward established, SpongeBob and Patrick rarely respected them and even put Squidward at risk.
The strongest friendship inSpongeBob SquarePantsis that between SpongeBob and Patrick, and what adds extra fun to it is their relationship with Squidward. Their unfriendly neighbor isn’t fond of them and their adventures, which is why he keeps his distance and does his best to avoid any interaction with SpongeBob and Patrick, including at work. However, no matter how many limits Squidward established, SpongeBob and Patrick rarely respected them and even put Squidward at risk on multiple occasions. While this has continued throughout the whole series, it was very evident throughout the first season.
The episode “Jellyfishing” is a good example of this, when an injured and bandaged Squidward returned home from the hospital and was forced by SpongeBob to go jellyfishing with him and Patrick, despite having been hurt by a queen jellyfish. In “SB-129”, Squidward refused to go jellyfishing with them, but they insisted so much that he had to hide inside the Krusty Krab’s freezer. While Squidward isn’t a good neighbor either and has done some cruel stuff to SpongeBob and Patrick as well (such as when he messed with their friendship for fun),SpongeBob and Patrick aren’t respectful of his personal space.
9SpongeBob Went Through Lengths To Impress Sandy (& Didn’t Have To)
SpongeBob Really Wanted To Impress His New Friend
SpongeBob and Sandy met in the episode “Tea at the Treedome”, and SpongeBob was intrigued by the type of animal Sandy was, and throughout the whole season, he did a lot of things, sometimes extreme, to impress her. In that first episode,he pretended to like air even though he had no idea what it was(and Sandy ignoring that SpongeBob needed water created a plot hole). In “Ripped Pants”, he did what the title says while trying to impress Sandy by lifting heavy weights, and carried on with the joke of ripping his pants to make her laugh until he took it too far.
Sandy’s First SpongeBob SquarePants Appearance Creates A Dumb Plot Hole
Sandy Cheeks' first appearance in SpongeBob SquarePants is funny but makes way for a dumb plot hole that fans have pointed out many times.
SpongeBob didn’t have to go to lengths to impress Sandy as she accepted him as her friend just as he was.
In “MuscleBob BuffPants”,SpongeBob bought fake arms with inflatable muscles to impress Sandyafter seeing how strong she and Larry were. This led Sandy to enroll him in a weightlifting competition, where he obviously failed. SpongeBob didn’t have to go to lengths to impress Sandy as she accepted him as her friend just as he is, andhe only ended up publicly humiliating himself and putting his friendship with Sandy at riskby not being authentic – and that’s a great message for young viewers.
8SpongeBob & Patrick Believed They Killed Squidward
Looking back, it’s actually pretty dark that SpongeBob and Patrick thought they had killed their friend.
In the episode “Squidward The Unfriendly Ghost”, SpongeBob and Patrick thought they had done something horrible: killed Squidward. SpongeBob and Patrick were playing frisbee with a shell and it hit Squidward’s wax sculpture of himself while Squidward took a relaxing bath. SpongeBob and Patrick entered Squidward’s house to retrieve the shell and saw the sculpture, believing it was the real Squidward and they had accidentally killed him. Looking back, it’s actually pretty dark that SpongeBob and Patrick thought they had killed their friend and all their failed attempts to revive him.
What’s also dark about this episode is howSquidward took advantage of SpongeBob and Patrick’s concern and fearand posed as a ghost. Not only that, but he used SpongeBob and Patrick as his slaves as punishment for “killing” him, but later,SpongeBob and Patrick tried to bury himso his soul could rest and he no longer was a ghost. Despite its comedic moments, looking back after all these years, this is a dark episode.
7Pearl Cared Too Much About Others’ Opinions & Was Rude To SpongeBob
SpongeBob Helped Pearl & She Didn’t Care
Pearl cared way too much about others’ opinions, particularly her friends, and was constantly looking to have the same things as them.
Mr. Krabs’ spoiled daughter, Pearl, made her debut in the episode “Squeaky Boots”, where she was devastated after her father gave her a pair of old boots as a birthday present instead of the fancy shoes her friends had. Pearl cared way too much about others’ opinions, particularly her friends, and was constantly looking to have the same things as them, to be trendy and fit in. While this is understandable from a (spoiled) teenager,the way she treated SpongeBob when he accompanied her to her prom was plain rude.
In “The Chaperone”, SpongeBob was asked by Mr. Krabs to take Pearl to prom after she and her boyfriend broke up, and SpongeBob did his best to look tall, dark, and handsome. Despite SpongeBob’s efforts to be a good date, Pearl was continually rude to him and didn’t want anyone to see them together, but SpongeBob won everyone over with his good attitude and dance moves. Although Pearl admitted at the end that she had fun,she almost ruined the experience for SpongeBob, too.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Who Pearl’s Mom Is (Explained By Canon)
One of SpongeBob SquarePants' biggest mysteries is the identity of Pearl’s mother, but it has already been addressed in other canon material.
6Patrick Is Very Materialistic
Patrick Valued Gifts More Than Friendship
SpongeBob and Patrick have been friends for years, but there are some things in their friendship that are pretty toxic. In the episode “Valentine’s Day”, SpongeBob, with Sandy’s help, set up a Valentine’s Day surprise for Patrick: a huge hot-air balloon entirely made of chocolate. SpongeBob took Patrick to a Valentine’s Day-themed park to spend the day together and prepare him for his surprise, but Patrick was not only impatient but also turned out to be very materialistic. Patrick was constantly asking what his gift was and, at one point, believed the park was his gift.
Patrick overreacted and completely forgot about everything SpongeBob had already done for him that day.
While all this made for a fun episode, it took a turn when SpongeBob had to improvise while Sandy fought scallops that wanted to eat the balloon and gave Patrick a friendly handshake.Patrick was extremely upset and destroyed the park, and calmed down once he saw the balloon. Patrick overreacted and completely forgot about everything SpongeBob had already done for him that day, and forgot the most important thing:presents aren’t what’s important, it’s his strong bond with SpongeBob.
5Squidward Enjoyed Humiliating SpongeBob In Public
Squidward Took His “Pranks” Too Far
Squidward took his hatred for SpongeBob too far during April Fool’s Day.
As mentioned above, Squidward wasn’t a good neighbor either, as he also meddled in SpongeBob and Patrick’s friendship just to mess with them, but he took his hatred for SpongeBob too far during April Fool’s Day. SpongeBob loved April Fool’s Day and spent the day playing various harmless pranks on everyone at the Krusty Krab. Squidward got very annoyed at SpongeBob’s pranks and laughter and decided to pull his own prank – the problem was thatSquidward went too far and his “prank” was cruel and made to publicly humiliate SpongeBob.
Squidward left SpongeBob physically and emotionally hurtin front of everyone at the Krusty Krab, with SpongeBob running home crying. Even the people at the Krusty Krab who saw the whole thing and had been targets of SpongeBob’s pranks let Squidward know they weren’t ok with what he had just done.Squidward had the hardest time apologizing as he wasn’t being sincereuntil he finally truly felt remorse for what he had done. Squidward truly found it satisfying and funny to humiliate SpongeBob in front of everyone, which is very dark for a children’s TV show.
4Plankton Taking Over SpongeBob’s Brain Was Disturbing
Plankton Went To Extremes To Get The Secret Formula
Plankton got into SpongeBob’s head and installed a mind control device through which he could manipulate him as he pleased.
Plankton made his debut inSpongeBob SquarePantsin the episode simply titled “Plankton!”, and he wasted no time in showing how far he’s willing to go to getthe secret formula of the Krabby Patty. Plankton tried to trick SpongeBob into giving him a Krabby Patty, but SpongeBob refused, so Plankton went too far: he got into SpongeBob’s head and installed a mind control device through which he could manipulate him as he pleased. Plankton forced SpongeBob to go to the Krusty Krab, prepare a Krabby Patty, and take it to the Chum Bucket.
There, Plankton planned to drop the Krabby Patty into a device that could analyze every single ingredient, but SpongeBob was stronger. In the end, Plankton lept out of SpongeBob’s head to land on the Krabby Patty but missed and fell into the analyzer. Plankton taking over SpongeBob’s brain is actually quite disturbing asit’s unbelievably invasive and evil, and though it’s played for laughs inSpongeBob SquarePants,it’s actually a pretty sensitive subject when compared to real-life actionslike gaslighting and other forms of manipulation.
3Mermaid Man’s Mental Health Problems Aren’t Funny
Mermaid Man’s Condition Was Used For Laughs
SpongeBob SquarePantsmade it clear that Mermaid Man had some mental health problems due to his old age.
SpongeBob’s heroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy made their first appearance in the episode appropriately titled “Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy”. In it, Squidward told SpongeBob and Patrick that Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy lived in a retirement home, and they went to meet their heroes. SpongeBob and Patrick wanted to bring them out of retirement, but Mermaid Man and Barnacle only wanted to watch TV in peace. Mermaid Man and Barnacle decided to treat SpongeBob and Patrick as villains to force them away, and they succeeded.
Since their first appearance,SpongeBob SquarePantsmade it clear that Mermaid Man had some mental health problems due to his old age, ashe was often confused, had no idea where he was, and didn’t recognize people he had just been talking to. Mermaid Man’s health is played for laughs throughout his entire history inSpongeBob SquarePants, butit’s a very sensitive subject, and how the show used it is quite disrespectful.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Why Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy No Longer Appear
Viewers met SpongeBob’s heroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy early on in the series, but they were retired years ago and no longer appear. Here’s why.
2Squidward’s Animal Abuse Against Gary
Squidward Proved He Can’t Be Trusted With Pets
Squidward said he would look after Gary, but didn’t even pay attention to SpongeBob’s instructions because he didn’t care.
Despite Squidward’s efforts to not get involved with SpongeBob in any shape or form, SpongeBob needed his help once, and he was terrible at it. In “I Was a Teenage Gary”, SpongeBob had to go to an event with Patrick but had no one to look after Gary. Hearing that SpongeBob and Patrick would be leaving for a couple of days, Squidward said he would look after Gary, but didn’t even pay attention to SpongeBob’s instructions because he didn’t care.Squidward ended up completely forgetting about Gary, leaving him without food and water for days.
What Squidward did to Gary was a form of animal abuse, and it’s obviously a form of animal cruelty, too. Squidward’s hatred for SpongeBob is understandable to an extent, but Gary was innocent and shouldn’t have been mistreated, more so when Squidward offered to look after him. Squidward had a very easy task, but once more, his selfishness and ego took over and an innocent pet paid for it. Luckily, Gary recovered shortly after.
1The Not-So-Subtle Sex References Through Karate
Karate Isn’t Exactly Used As A Sport In SpongeBob SquarePants
“Karate Choppers” has some not-so-subtle sex references that become very obvious when rewatching SpongeBob SquarePants season 1 as an adult.
The episode “Karate Choppers” was the first time SpongeBob and Sandy’s love for this art was shown, and it continued to be a constant activity between them. However, this episode in particular has some not-so-subtle sex references that become very obvious when rewatchingSpongeBob SquarePantsseason 1 as an adult. Karate, for some reason, wasn’t well seen by those around SpongeBob and Sandy, particularly Mr. Krabs, especially after they started to scare customers at the Krusty Krab.
The scene at the park, where SpongeBob and Sandy were preparing a picnic after promising Mr. Krabs they wouldn’t do more karate, was very heavy on sex references.SpongeBob and Sandy’s behavior in that specific scene has been compared by viewers to that of sex addicts, and the part where SpongeBob and Sandy were lying down after all the karate was also a not-subtle-at-all sex reference. This episode has been called out for this, and though these references won’t be obvious to young viewers, it’s hard to unsee them as an adult.
SpongeBob SquarePants
Spongebob Squarepants is an animated comedy created by Stephen Hillenburg and starring voices from Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Rodger Bumpass. The series revolves around a sea sponge that goes on many misadventures with his friends Patrick, Squidward, and Sandy Cheeks in the lands of Bikini Bottom and the surrounding sea.
