Breath of Fresh Squidward

Template:Episode/87b

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Squidward Tentacles
• Patrick Star
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Tom
• Sadie Rechid
• Susie
• Sally
• Evelyn
• Harold
• Sandals
• Happy Gland

Synopsis

SpongeBob and Patrick are at Squidward's house to watch the sunrise with him. After Squidward finds out that they have snuck into his room every morning to celebrate holidays like Easter, Valentine's Day, and the Fourth of July, it is told that his brain has a thunder storm every time Squidward sees SpongeBob. His Happy Gland is forced to find shelter in his mind's recesses. But he gets the flu due to no recess deep enough, until the two leave. "Three hours later," sunrise reaches, and the camera cuts to Squidward putting an electric fence around his house to separate the two. He tricks them into picnicing on a catapult, which he uses to fling them out of the fence. They surprisingly return, wanting to be catapulted again, resulting in Squidward asking them to exit resulting in him touching the doorknob of his fence, being electrocuted. It turns out that Squidward's brain storm has gone away, and a rainbow replaces it, thus making Squidward nice.

This continues on for the rest of the day, and even continues through the morning, such as waking SpongeBob up for work and flossing his teeth for him.

At work, SpongeBob is surprised to see Squidward enter the kitchen, saying that he wanted to help SpongeBob work. SpongeBob promptly rejects this, and Squidward is called out front by Mr. Krabs. He gives Susie a free hat, then asks for free refills. This shocks Mr. Krabs, who either calls cheap food or back into the kitchen he goes. Squidward returns to the kitchen, even making a fresh batch of Krabby Patties, but SpongeBob rejects them, calling them "no good". He is stopped by Mr. Krabs when throwing them away, when he finds out Squidward has become a fry cook. Squidward says he wishes he could be employee of the month, SpongeBob already being employee of the month a gazillion times, but SpongeBob corrects him, saying a gazillion and six times. Mr. Krabs then barges in and shows SpongeBob a patty with a smiley face and dimples made out of ketchup. SpongeBob said that Squidward made it, and Mr. Krabs loves the design and makes Squidward employee of the month, much to SpongeBob's horror. Patrick even arrives with a cake for the employee of the month award winner, which SpongeBob erases his name on the cake and replaces it with Squidwards.

Later, a party is thrown at Patrick's house due to Squidward being the new employee of the month. SpongeBob enrages after realizing that Squidward is pogo-dancing with Patrick, and ends up yelling at him and making him exit the party. Squidward attempts to enter his house again, but like earlier, he is electrocuted due to touching the doorknob. SpongeBob and Patrick come for SpongeBob to apologize for his harsh and rude behavior to Squidward, and SpongeBob slaps Squidward's hand, leading SpongeBob to getting electrocuted. Patrick joins too, saying "he wants to dance funny." The generator explodes and Squidward is returned to his grumpy old self, but SpongeBob and Patrick's behavior change to Squidward's usual behavior as well, at the ending to this episode.

Production

Deleted Scenes

These are the storyboads of deleted scenes of this episode's original airing. They all can found on the episode's animanic on Bekini Bottom Adventures DVD release.

Deleted Scene Storyboard: SpongeBob and Squidward

"IN MY RESTAURANT?!?"

"That man was being nice to my little girl."

SpongeBob noticing Squidward stacking up Krabby Patties

"WHOA!"

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Hawaiian Sting 3 - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [title card]
 ‣ Zelle 504 - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob and Patrick in Squidward's room]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch [Squidward furious]
 ‣ Musical Box (a) - David Farnon [storm clouds in Squidward's brain]
 • ? - Nicolas Carr [three hours later]
 ‣ William Tell Overture - Gioacchino A. Rossini [sunrise]
 ‣ Steel Licks (a) - Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward putting up electric fence]
 ‣ Wooden Bear - Gil Flat, Tony Tape, Florian Voelxen [SpongeBob and Patrick catapulted out]
 • Drama Sting - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward electrocuted]
 ‣ Heavenly Voices (c) - David Farnon [rainbow in Squidward's brain]
 ‣ Tomfoolery - David Snell [Squidward wants to go to the petting zoo]
 ‣ ? [montage of SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward together]
 ‣ Hawaiian Sting 9 - ? [the next morning]
 ‣ Boy Scout - Harold Smart [Squidward helping SpongeBob with things]
 ‣ ? [at the Krusty Krab]
 ‣ Spring Cleaning - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["How are we today? Everything a-okay here?"]
 ‣ Steel Licks (b) - Jeremy Wakefield [little kid crying]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact 3 - Ivor Slaney ["FREE?!"]
 ‣ The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band [Squidward in the kitchen]
 • ? - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob's eyes fall out]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch [Squidward sees SpongeBob's Employee of the Month awards]
 • Steel Sting - Jeremy Wakefield ["A smiley face with dimples?"]
 ‣ Drama Link (d) - Hubert Clifford ["AAAH!! DIMPLES?!?!"]
 ‣ Blaze of Brass (d) - Cecil Milner [Squidward's is new Employee of the Month]
 ‣ Gator - Steve Belfer [Patrick enters]
 ‣ Hawaiian Sting 10 - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob crying]
 • ? - Nicolas Carr [transition to next scene]
 ‣ Saxaboogie - Harry Bluestone [party at Patrick's house]
 ‣ Fates - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob chews out Squidward]
 • Hawaiian Trax - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob apologizes to Squidward, who lets bygones be bygones]
 ‣ Chase Cue 1 - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob get electrocuted with Squidward]
 ‣ Hawaiian Sting 3 - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Bikini Bottom Adventures, Season 5 Volume 1, Complete 5th Season, and First 100 Episodes DVDs.

Reception

• YouTube animation critic TheMysteriousMrEnter placed this episode at #1 on the Top 10 Worst Squidward Torture Por*s video (though counting one episode he had already reviewed it had actually been #2). It wasn't because this episode showed Squidward receiving the most torment; it was because he was apalled at how the episode, despite all the torment Squidward had received at Spongebob's hands in the past, told the audience that Squidward is the antagonist whilst Spongebob is the protagonist. He also stated that barring continuity with prior episodes, he hated how Spongebob was the protagonist in an episode where he gleefully admitted to breaking into Squidward's house every morning ("even the Spongebob we get in this episode deserves his own Spongebob"/"I'd be more sympathetic with Spongebob here if the episode didn't begin with him admitting that he breaks into Squidward's house and watches him sleep every single morning"). He also did an "Extra Thoughts" video on this episode to clarify that point, stating that this is the sole Squidward Torture Por* where he is absolutely sure that Squidward was attempting to be portrayed as an antagonist.
  • However, he did comment that he found the comeuppance Spongebob received in this episode to be cathartic.
  • Mr. Enter also called out the "two grills" animation error (despite the fact that he almost always glosses over these in his reviews).

Trivia

Template:Trivia

• The part where Sadie talked to Susie was cut in reruns, due to the fact that Sadie is not Susie's mother. The part was retained on the animatic on Bikini Bottom Adventures DVD release.
• This is the 1st time Squidward has become Employee of the Month. Usually, SpongeBob is the employee of the month as seen in "Employee of the Month."
  • This also reveals that SpongeBob became employee of the month in the ending of the said episode and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie also reveals the same thing.
• Patrick's Employee of the Month cake still entirely fixed after SpongeBob replaced his own name on the cake with Squidward's. An icing drawing of SpongeBob is still on the cake even though he wasn't the winner of the award.
• This episode reveals there is an employee bathroom in the kitchen. 
• On one scene where SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward had fun together was similar on "My Pretty Seahorse" when SpongeBob and Mystery had fun.
• The Nickelodeon and DirecTV schedules' titles  "Breath of a Fresh Squidward."
• When Squidward made the Krabby Patty with dimples, he became employee of the month on the spot.
• In the scene where both SpongeBob and Squidward were making Krabby Patties on the grill, there is another grill behind them.
• The party hat (Which is yellow/pink,) looks like the Beta Tester Hat from Disney's Club Penguin online world.
• This is the 2nd time that SpongeBob and Patrick were Squidward, at the ending to this. The 1st was "Opposite Day." However, the difference is that SpongeBob and Patrick were shocked into being Squidward after feeling the shock through Squidward. In "Opposite Day." SpongeBob and Patrick only pretend to be Squidward. SpongeBob is also Squidward again in 1 part of "Gone."
• Because the Fourth of July is celebrated, this means Bikini Bottom is part of the United States.
• In "Employee of the Month," Squidward competed with SpongeBob to win the coveted title. However, it was unknown who won. This time, he earns it without even trying.
• SpongeBob shows some audacity in bossing Squidward around in someone else's home (Patrick's). In telling Squidward he was not allowed to pogo with Patrick, he was more or less telling Patrick what he could and couldn't do in his own home.
• Oddly, the guests don't seem to be disgusted with SpongeBob's outburst at Squidward, as the party continues after Squidward leaves.

Cultural References

• The title is a reference to the famous saying, "A breath of fresh air." Which means after several bad events, a good event finally happens, which basically fits along the episode's plot line.
• The smiley face Krabby Patty is a parody of the Smiley cookies at Eat'n Park, a Denny's competitor in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

Errors

• The bathroom for boys was spelled "Buoys." This could also be a pun on the flotation devices.
• At one point, it accidently shows two frying grills in the kitchen instead of 1.

  

  The frying grill error - there are two and there should only be one.

• When the new Squidward showed SpongeBob the Krabby Patties he made, SpongeBob tells him that it takes years to practice. Revealed in "Friend or Foe?," Baby SpongeBob made a perfect patty on his 1st try, meaning he probably just made it up so Squidward would not work as another fry cook.
• In this episode, we learn that SpongeBob has been Employee of the month a gazillion and 6 times. A gazillion and 6 would make him a thousand years old and sponges can only live to be 500, so The Krusty Krab must have Employee of the Month awards more than one day in a month and there were really 42 pictures of SpongeBob that were shown, meaning it was an exaggeration. Also, a gazillion isn't even a real number.
• Even though it appeared that Squidward won the Employee of the Month for the 1st time. He probably won it in the Jim era ("The Original Fry Cook") since he was also happy then.
• When Squidward has an electric shock, the gate's door is open. But when the new Squidward is sad and is going home, the door is closed.
• When SpongeBob is eating cake, the hat he is wearing changes stripe colors. First it is red on the bottom, then it is white.
• At the ending, when SpongeBob and Patrick were electrocuted to become cranky and grumpy as Squidward, their eyes, nose adapted to Squidward's face, but when Squidward became the new Squidward, his face did not change the shape of them.
• It is unknown how the fence turned on at Squidward's house.