History TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot / SpongeBobSquarePants

* "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E19JellyfishHunterTheFryCookGames The Fry Cook Games]]" could've worked really well as a half-hour special, showing off all of the events at hand and how [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's temporary rivalry escalates. Instead, all of the additional events are crammed into a five-second montage that's over as soon as it begins. Thankfully, the [[UsefulNotes/PlugNPlayGame Plug 'n' Play Game]] from Jakks Pacific includes all the shown events, as well as adding some additional ones.

TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot for ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.

* "Karate Choppers": Sandy working with [=SpongeBob=] at the Krusty Krab would've been ''awesome''! Unfortunately, due to NegativeContinuity, not only is this development not carried over into future episodes, but Sandy is completely absent from all but a select few Krusty Krab-related episodes afterwards. It would take until "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS13E19HotCrossedNutsSirUrchinAndSnailFail Hot Crossed Nuts]]" for this dynamic to be explored.
* "The Fry Cook Games" could've worked really well as a half-hour special, showing off all of the events at hand and how [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's temporary rivalry escalates. Instead, all of the additional events are crammed into a five-second montage that's over as soon as it begins. Thankfully, the [[UsefulNotes/PlugNPlayGame Plug 'n' Play Game]] from Jakks Pacific remedies this by including all the shown events, as well as adding some additional ones.
* "Atlantis [=SquarePantis=]" has several character arcs that don't really go anywhere, especially with Plankton being shoved into the story out of nowhere and only showing up again at the end. It doesn't help that you have a MusicalEpisode where the character voiced by Music/DavidBowie doesn't even get to sing.
* "To Save a Squirrel" starts in an interesting place, with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick trying to prove to Sandy that they can be good survivalists. Instead, they quickly fall off the truck and burn through all their supplies. Sandy is hardly in the episode afterwards, outside of her cave fish disguise, which isn't revealed to be her until the very end.
* "What Ever Happened to [=SpongeBob=]?" has the premise of [=SpongeBob=] running away after his friends get angry at him, setting up a potential plotline in which [=SpongeBob's=] friends debate about if they really want him back before deciding that they really do like him after all. However, because their anger is caused by accidents rather than [=SpongeBob=]'s flaws, they're able to get over their anger really fast and everyone (except Squidward) immediately wants him back with no conflicting feelings.
* "Boating Buddies": Squidward and Mrs. Puff's CommonalityConnection of not being able to stand [=SpongeBob=] could have led to some connection between these two within the story, but it's never brought up again after a single offhand joke.
* "Truth or Square" crams in so many plotlines that none of them really get much time to develop or are inconsequential. In particular, trailers empathized a wedding between [=SpongeBob=] and Sandy and the Krabby Patty formula being revealed, but the former is relegated to a single flashback (which turns out to be a play) and the latter never happens.
* The first half of "A Pal for Gary" is about [=SpongeBob=] feeling that he is neglecting Gary because of his work at the Krusty Krab and he genuinely wants Gary to feel happy. The beginning suggests that this episode will be about [=SpongeBob=] trying to balance his work at the Krusty Krab and his time with Gary. However, all of this is forgotten when Puffy Fluffy makes his debut, and the episode turns out to be basically about Gary being terrorized by Fluffy and [=SpongeBob=] being oblivious to it and calling Gary out for his supposed jealousy and resentment.
* "Rodeo Daze" finally has [=SpongeBob=] and friends visit Texas for the first time — in ''one'' small scene at the very end of the episode, as nothing more than a gag.
* "Gramma's Secret Recipe" features Plankton having an ImagineSpot in which he attempts to sneak into the Krusty Krab disguised as an old woman to steal the formula. Still, he then shifts his plans to telling [=SpongeBob=] he's his great grammy-ma without even attempting his original idea even for so much as to get a humorous scene in which he immediately fails and has to change plans to the episode's main plot.
* "The Great Patty Caper": It's set up as a classic train mystery, which would have been a fun opportunity for an OutOfGenreExperience. However, not only is the culprit ''really'' obvious (who'd have guessed it's [[CaptainObviousReveal Plankton]]?), but this tone is completely absent from the second half of the episode.
* "The Masterpiece" sets up a plot of [=SpongeBob=] disguising and infiltrating a shoddy restaurant and figure out why they have so many customers. This would be interesting, and there's even a scene of him showing off spy gadgets to Mr. Krabs... but he doesn't use any of them, and it's ultimately just a small part of the episode.
* In "Love That Squid", Squidward falls in love with a female squid named Squilvia, whom he's desperate to impress. The rest of the episode follows Squidward going on a date... with [=SpongeBob=], to practice for his ''real'' date with Squilvia, which we don't even see. Squilvia's status as a OneShotCharacter doesn't help, with many noting that she [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter should have shown up more]] or at least been more involved in ''this'' episode.
* For a VacationEpisode, "A [=SquarePants=] Family Vacation" doesn't show much of the vacation. In fact, it doesn't show it at all. Nor do they show the FramingDevice from the start at the end.
* Though "Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!" centers around the idea of Plankton teaming up with Man Ray, the direction the story goes isn't all that different from most other Plankton-centric episodes, seeming to ignore the potential of the team-up.
* "Hello Bikini Bottom!": The idea of [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward touring together as a duet with a manager voiced by Creator/AndySamberg has the potential to be an excellent special, but then Mr. Krabs [[HostileShowTakeover usurps Colonel Carper's managerial spot]], and the rest of the episode involves him trying to take the cheapest venues available, with [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward rarely getting the chance to actually perform in full.
* "[=SpongeBob=] You're Fired": One scene that doesn't have much to do with the rest of the episode has [=SpongeBob=], after [[OneNoteCook only being able to make Krabby Patties]], realizing can make some ''really'' good homemade snail food. There was an opportunity to use this plot point and make it his new job, with at least adding an extended gag of [=SpongeBob=] starting a successful snail-food business to really rub it in for Mr. Krabs' LaserGuidedKarma ([[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E5WormyPattyHype and it's not like he hadn't done something similar before]]). However, this development gets dropped as quickly as it was brought up.
* "Squid's on a Bus" initially sets up a plot that focuses on Squidward without [=SpongeBob=] interfering for once, while [=SpongeBob=] interacts with a new and potentially interesting character, but then abandons it for yet another "Squidward wants to do something and [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick ruin it" plot.
* "Sea-Man Sponge Haters Club" gives us an anthology by some of [=SpongeBob=]'s biggest enemies: Squidward, Mrs. Puff, Plankton, Bubble Bass, and... the mailman? His characterization highly [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the plot]], but he has no notable instances of him opposing [=SpongeBob=]. When the episode's preview came out, fans were interested to see what his story would be like. We never get to hear what it is, besides an OrphanedPunchline at the very end.
* "Food PBFFT! Truck!" actually has an interesting opening where [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward are trying to sell Krabby Patties with a food truck, only for a bunch of other food truck owners to sabotage them and push their car out of the way every time. The "food truck wars" idea would work really well as a full episode, but then [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward crash land in Rock Bottom, at which point it just becomes generic chase scenes with them hunting down a customer who keeps inexplicably disappearing (no explanation is given by the episode). None of the other food trucks even show up again.
* "Upturn Girls" has what appears to be a subplot involving [=SpongeBob=] working at the Krusty Krab with Nobby. It gets one scene and then is dropped for the rest of the episode.
* "Captain Pipsqueak" doesn't make much use of Plankton teaming up with E.V.I.L. He doesn't get any kind of cool gadgets, or even have any real powers. They just order him to do [[YouGetMeCoffee lame, menial tasks]] and cheap pranks. By the time the Krusty Krab invasion happens, the episode is almost over.
* Before the release of "Plane to Sea", many viewers were excited to see what the resort would be like. An episode about Squidward taking a tropical vacation would be an interesting ThrowTheDogABone moment, in the vein of "Enchanted Tiki Dreams". Instead, it ends up being a rehash of episodes like "Squid's on a Bus" and "Jolly Lodgers", but with a CruelTwistEnding very similar to "Good 'Ol Whatshisname" tacked on, and the resort appears for ''one shot'' at the very end of the episode.
* "A Skin Wrinkle in Time" is an episode starring [=GrandPat=] and very few other characters, as he goes through various time periods and surreal situations to make his way home. It's a good premise, but the episode runs for barely three minutes and doesn't have any time to develop. Thankfully, the ''Patrick Show'' would use this plot to its fullest potential in "[[Recap/ThePatrickStarShowS1E18ThePatterflyEffectASpaceAffairToRemember The Patterfly Effect]]" three months later.
* In "Spatula of the Heavens", [=SpongeBob=] undergoes training from a mountain guru to reforge his beloved spatula. At least, that's [[ShowDontTell what we're told]]. We get a FailureMontage, a time card, and then he's suddenly able to do it perfectly, even though nothing he does to reforge it connected to anything he was being trained on earlier. It leaves the question of why we don't actually get to ''see'' this major plot point happening.
* "Big Top Flop" starts with Mr. Krabs having a long-standing (yet [[RememberTheNewGuy formerly unknown]]) rivalry with a circus ringmaster crab, who smugly mocks Krabs and tries to ruin his business. It seems like the episode will focus on their interactions, but Krabs quickly barricades the ringmaster into a trailer and he doesn't appear again until the last two minutes.

* "The Fry Cook Games" could've worked really well as a half-hour special, showing off all of the events at hand and how [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's temporary rivalry escalates. Instead, all of the additional events are crammed into a five-second montage that's over as soon as it begins. Thankfully, the UsefulNotes/PlugNPlayGame from Jakks Pacific remedies this by including all the shown events, as well as adding some additional ones.

* "The Fry Cook Games" could've worked really well as a half-hour special, showing off all of the events at hand and how [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's temporary rivalry escalates. Instead, all of the additional events are crammed into a five-second montage that's over as soon as it begins. Thankfully, the [[UsefulNotes/PlugNPlayGame Plug 'n' Play Game]] from Jakks Pacific [[AuthorsSavingThrow remedies this]] by including all the shown events, as well as adding some additional ones.

* In "Love That Squid", Squidward falls in love with a female squid named Squilvia, who he's desperate to impress. The rest of the episode follows Squidward going on a date... with [=SpongeBob=], to practice for his ''real'' date with Squilvia, which we don't even see. Squilvia's status as a OneShotCharacter doesn't help, with many noting that she [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter should have shown up more]] or at least been more involved in ''this'' episode.

* "Rodeo Daze" finally has [=SpongeBob=] and friends first visit Texas. In ''one'' small scene at the very ending of the episode that is nothing more than a gag.

* "To Save a Squirrel" starts in a interesting place, with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick trying to prove to Sandy that they can be good survivalists. Instead, they quickly fall off the truck and burn through all their supplies. Sandy is hardly in the episode afterwards, outside of her cave fish disguise, which isn't revealed to be her until the very end.

* "Atlantis [=SquarePantis=]", has several character arcs that don't really go anywhere, especially with Plankton being shoved into the story out of nowhere and only showing up again at the end. It doesn't help that you have a MusicalEpisode where the character voiced by Music/DavidBowie doesn't even get to sing.

* "Whatever Happened To [=SpongeBob=]?" has the premise of [=SpongeBob=] running away after his friends get angry at him, setting up a potential plotline in which [=SpongeBob's=] friends debate about if they really want him back before deciding that they really do like him after all. However, because their anger is caused by accidents rather than [=SpongeBob's=] flaws, they're able to get over their anger really fast and everyone (except Squidward) immediately wants him back with no conflicting feelings.
* "Boating Buddies": Squidward and Mrs. Puff's CommonalityConnection of not being able to stand [=SpongeBob=] could have led to some connection between these two within the story, but it’s never brought up again after a single offhand joke.

* The first half of "A Pal for Gary" is about [=SpongeBob=] feeling that he is neglecting Gary because of his work at the Krusty Krab and he genuinely wants Gary to feel happy. The beginning suggests that this episode will be about [=SpongeBob=] trying to balance his work at the Krusty Krab and his time with Gary. However all of this is forgotten when Puffy Fluffy makes his debut, and the episode turns out to be basically about Gary being terrorized by Fluffy and [=SpongeBob=] being oblivious to it and calling Gary out for his supposed jealousy and resentment.
* "Rodeo Daze" finally has [=SpongeBob=] and friends visit Texas first. In ''one'' small scene at the very ending of the episode that is nothing more than a gag.

* "The Great Patty Caper": It's set up as a classic train mystery, which would have been a fun opportunity for an OutOfGenreExperience. However, not only is the culprit ''really'' obvious (who'd have guessed it's [[BigBad Plankton]]?), but this tone is completely absent from the second half of the episode.

* Though "Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!" centers around the idea of Plankton teaming up with Man-Ray, the direction the story goes isn't all that different from most other Plankton-centric episodes, seeming to ignore the potential of the team-up.

* "Squid's on a Bus" initially sets up a plot that focuses on Squidward without Spongebob interfering for once, while Spongebob interacts with a new and potentially interesting character, but then abandons it for yet another "Squidward wants to do something and Spongebob and Patrick ruin it" plot.

* "Rodeo Daze" finally has [=SpongeBob=] and friends visit Texas first. In ''one'' small scene at the very ending of the episode that is nothing more than a gag.

* "Captain Pipsqueak" doesn't make much use of Plankton teaming up with E.V.I.L. They just order him to do [[YouGetMeCoffee lame, menial tasks]] and cheap pranks. By the time the Krusty Krab invasion happens, the episode is almost over.

* "Truth or Square" crams in so many plotlines that none of them really get much time to develop or are inconsequential.