Line #13 Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E17ArrghRockBottom


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arrgh_007.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Based on a ''real'' treasure map!"]]
3
4	'''Arrgh!'''
5
6	'''Original air date:''' 3/15/2000 ''(produced in 1999)''
7
8	After becoming obsessed with a treasure hunting board game, Mr. Krabs takes [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick in search of real buried treasure.
9
10	It's a slow day at the Krusty Krab and Mr. Krabs is bored out of his shell. That is until [=SpongeBob=] shouts that he’s found some gold doubloons. Krabs leaps to snatch them up to find that [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick were playing a board game called "The Flying Dutchman's Treasure Hunt" (that is claimed on the box to be based on a real treasure map). The thrill of winning gets Krabs hooked and he keeps playing and playing until [=SpongeBob=] is forced to push him out of his house and scream at the top of his lungs "I want to go to bed" at Mr. Krabs to get his point across. Krabs realizes that he went overboard and lets [=SpongeBob=] sleep. That is, until morning comes and it's revealed that Krabs has gotten himself a real pirate boat and his crew will be Patrick and [=SpongeBob=]. The terrible trio then proceed to go on a wild goose chase on boat and on foot when they become marooned, following Krabs' map to find the treasure that takes all day. At nightfall they make camp and the dimwitted duo can’t help but look at the map. They quickly regret their decision when it turns out the "map" is the board game taped to paper... and Mr. Krabs has become mad with greed. [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick cower before their "captain" and accidentally find the X where the real Dutchman's treasure is buried. The loyal crew digs up the treasure and ponders what they’ll do with their share, but Captain Krabs won’t give up "his" treasure. The resulting argument wakes up the Flying Dutchman and Krabs sells out his crew to avoid his wrath. Instead of punishing them he rewards them with a doubloon each for their hard work. Krabs demands a piece of the pie as well and gets his fair share: a plastic treasure chest ("It's based on a ''real'' treasure chest!"). The episode ends with Krabs sweating and Patrick commenting on it one last time.
11	----
12	!!"Arrgh!" contains examples of:
13	* ArgumentOfContradictions: [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs when they fight over the treasure chest: "All for one!" "One for all!"
14	* BaitTheDog: Mr. Krabs offering to let Patrick work at the Krusty Krab ''just'' to fire him.
15	* BrickJoke: Patrick pointing out how sweaty Mr. Krabs is.
16	* BrutalHonesty:
17	-->'''Mr. Krabs:''' So, you think ol' Cap'n Krabs has gone crazy, do ye?!\
18	'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Not at all, Captain Krabs! We don't think that at all!\
19	'''Patrick:''' I think that.\
20	'''Mr. Krabs:''' I'M GONNA THROW YA OVERBOARD FOR SAYING THAT!
21	* TheCatCameBack: No matter how many times [=SpongeBob=] tries to get rid of him, Mr. Krabs is always there urging him to play the board game.
22	* ChewOutFakeOut: At first it appears that the Flying Dutchman is angry at [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick for taking his treasure, but then he thanks them for digging it up for him and rewards them with a gold doubloon each.
23	* TheCloudCuckoolanderWasRight: Mr. Krabs may have gone loony trying to find the treasure, but it turns out the toy map he was using ''did'' lead them to real treasure.
24	* {{Deconstruction}}: Of a typical [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] treasure hunt, portraying the treasure hunter who drags younger, reluctant employees into a fight with a supernatural entity over ''extremely'' questionable clues to an ancient treasure as, well, ''insane''.
25	* DressedToPlunder: Mr. Krabs gives [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick some pirate accessories to wear. [=SpongeBob=] puts on two peg legs and calls himself Peggy the Pirate, while Patrick puts eyepatches over both eyes and calls himself [[CaptainColorbeard Blindbeard the Pirate]].
26	* DudeWheresMyReward: After [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick dig up the treasure, the Flying Dutchman comes to reclaim it, but gives them each a gold doubloon as a reward. Mr. Krabs demands a reward too, so the Dutchman gives him a plastic replica of his treasure chest.
27	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: [=SpongeBob=] gets extremely irritated, to the point of outright anger, at Mr. Krab's obsession with the board game. Given how blindly devoted [=SpongeBob=] is to him in later seasons, it can be weird to see him actually getting angry at Mr. Krabs.
28	* EverybodyCries: After hearing [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick's complaints about feeling tired and hungry, Mr. Krabs laments that he would be nothing without a loyal crew and starts crying. This makes [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick feel so guilty that they start crying too.
29	* ExtremeOmnivore: [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick find nothing wrong with chewing the gum they scraped off from the underside of the Krusty Krab's tables. Possibly justified since they're a [[FurryReminder filter feeder and bottom feeder]], respectively.
30	* EyePop: When Mr. Krabs' map opens, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick extend their eyeballs and rub them all over it.
31	* FictionalMysteryRealPrize: InUniverse. The boardgame is stated to be based on a real treasure map, but there's no mention of a contest. They only follow it because of Mr. Krabs' obsession with finding the treasure.
32	* FoolsMap: Played with. Mr. Krabs' map turns out to be the gameboard, but that turns out to be based on a real treasure map (as the box said).
33	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
34	** At the beginning, Patrick stated their board game Flying Dutchman's Treasure Hunt is based on a real treasure hunt.
35	** When [=SpongeBob=] asked Mr. Krabs to see the map, Mr. Krabs said no, closing it in fear that he might be suspicious.
36	* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: Parodied. Mr. Krabs fires Patrick for getting ahead of him in the game. When Patrick points out he doesn't work for him, Krabs hires him just to fire him.
37	* {{Glurge}}: Used InUniverse by Mr. Krabs. When [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick are at their limit of exhaustion and hunger, Mr. Krabs breaks out into a sob story of how without a loyal crew, a pirate captain is only a leader of a bunch of sand. Needless to say, this sob story is emotionally manipulative, [[SchmuckBait and SpongeBob and Patrick ultimately fall for it]], vowing to stay by Mr. Krabs' side.
38	* HoardingTheProfits: When [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick begin discussing what they'll do with their shares, Mr. Krabs tries to take all of the treasures for himself, which [=SpongeBob=] protests, as they found it together.
39	* ItsAllAboutMe: Mr. Krabs reveals to [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick that he wants all of the treasure for himself, but [=SpongeBob=] objects.
40	* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: For the first time in the series proper, Mr. Krabs pays for his greed. After finding the treasure, Mr. Krabs reveals that he has no intention of sharing it with either [=SpongeBob=] or Patrick, instead intending to keep it all for himself. Their arguing wakes up the Flying Dutchman, who furiously demands to know who dug up his treasure. Mr. Krabs [[DirtyCoward immediately blames]] it on [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick (and technically he is correct). However, the Dutchman is actually impressed that they saved him the trouble of digging up his treasure and rewards them each with a gold doubloon and Mr. Krabs with nothing but a worthless plastic chest. Had Mr. Krabs just been willing to share the treasure with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick, he would have gotten some, but instead he ends up with nothing.
41	* LoopholeAbuse: [=SpongeBob=] warns Patrick that Mr. Krabs specifically told them to never look at the map. Patrick then tells [=SpongeBob=] that Krabs didn't say anything about ''touching'' it.
42	* NoSenseOfDirection: Patrick. "Oh, ''east''! I thought you said 'weest'."
43	* OffscreenTeleportation: Right after [=SpongeBob=] throws him out of the house, Mr. Krabs somehow reappears right back inside.
44	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[RewatchBonus While it's not immediately apparent]], one early indicate that Mr. Krabs is a bit ''too'' into the game is when he throws out a paying customer so he can continue playing.
45	* OhCrap: [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick when they find out that Mr. Krabs' "map" is just their game board taped to a piece of paper. They have an even bigger one afterward when Mr. Krabs appears [[RightBehindMe right behind]] [[StealthHiBye them]].
46	* OwMyBodyPart: Fred shouts "My leg!" after Mr. Krabs tosses him out of the Krusty Krab so he can continue to play ''The Flying Dutchman's Treasure Hunt'' with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick.
47	* ReadTheMapUpsideDown: Mr. Krabs chooses Patrick to be the navigator for the treasure hunt, but is quick to fire him due to Patrick sending them west when Mr. Krabs asked east. This is due to Patrick thinking Mr. Krabs said "Weast".
48	* RightBehindMe: "Do you think this is a problem?"
49	* RunningGag: [=SpongeBob=] or Patrick pointing out how sweaty Mr. Krabs is.
50	* SanitySlippage: Patrick and [=SpongeBob=] think Mr. Krabs is undergoing this when they see where his map actually came from. [[TheCloudCuckoolanderWasRight Though he did turn out to be right anyway.]]
51	* ShoutOut:
52	** [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick are forbidden to see the map, but when they go into Mr. Krabs' tent and find he's not there, they look at it and make a horrifying discovery that it's just their board game taped to a piece of paper and that Krabs has gone insane. Then Krabs shows up and tries to hurt them...[[Film/TheShining sound familiar?]]
53	** [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers "All for one!" "One for all!"]]
54	** The treasure chest has a [[Film/TheWizardOfOz ruby slipper]] in it.
55	* SuddenlyShouting: "'''''MR. KRABS!!! I WANNA GO TO BED!!!'''''"
56	* TalkLikeAPirate: Mr. Krabs instructs [=SpongeBob=] on how to speak pirate by saying "Argh!" all the time. It backfires when he spots a reef and takes too much time to warn Krabs by putting "Argh!" after every single word.
57	-->'''Mr. Krabs:''' From now on, only the captain says "Argh!"
58	* TitleDrop: Multiple times.
59	* TreasureHuntEpisode: Krabs takes [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick to look for treasure.
60	* TreasureMap: The Dutchman's Treasure board game is supposedly based on a real treasure map. Later, Krabs claims to have a real map, but it turns out to be the game board. Fortunately, it really was based on a treasure map.
61	* VictoriousChorus: Parodied when the Flying Dutchman rewards [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick for digging up his treasure ("Two gold doubloons!") and when he gives Mr. Krabs a plastic treasure chest. ("Plastic!")
62	* WhamLine:
63	-->'''Patrick:''' [=SpongeBob=]?\
64	'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Yeah?\
65	'''Patrick:''' Did you notice something familiar about this map?\
66	'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' You mean, like that it's our game board taped to a piece of paper?\
67	'''Mr. Krabs:''' ''([[StealthHiBye appearing right behind them]] with TranquilFury)'' Do you think this is a problem?
68	* WhoDares: When Mr. Krabs and [=SpongeBob=]/Patrick arguing over the treasure wake him up, the Flying Dutchman says "Who dares wake the Flying Dutchman?"
69	* WingdingPupils: Mr. Krabs' eyestalks turn into an X when they find the X that marks the buried treasure.
70	* XMarksTheSpot: There's a literal X on the ground where the treasure is buried.
71	----
72	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/25f89156_5477_4e59_b46f_51bd47e7edd0.png]]
73	[[caption-width-right:350:You can't go any deeper than this.]]
74
75	'''Rock Bottom'''
76
77	'''Original air date:''' 3/15/2000 ''(produced in 1999)''
78
79	After a fun-filled day at Glove World, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick board the wrong bus and end up stranded in Rock Bottom, a strange town deep on the ocean floor. After Patrick quickly leaves on another bus, [=SpongeBob=] must try to hitch a bus as well, which is harder than it seems.
80	----
81	!!"These aren't your average, everyday tropes. These are... ''advanced'' tropes!":
82	* AmbiguousGender: As noted in WhichRestroomDilemma, it's hard to tell what sex any of the Rock Bottom residents are. Not helping matters is that one of them lays an egg ([[BizarreAlienReproduction through its mouth]]) and another is a male-sounding anglerfish with the glowing lure of a female.
83	* AmusingInjuries: [=SpongeBob=] keeps whacking the bus driver with his giant glove balloon while searching for change to pay the bus fee when leaving Glove World.
84	* {{Angrish}}: [=SpongeBob=] does it when an egg hatches three more creatures in front of him on line, causing him to sink into his pants and jump around violently while cussing.
85	* AnimalGenderBender: The anglerfish that helps [=SpongeBob=] out has a glowing lure but a distinctively masculine voice--in real life, only the females have lures.
86	* {{Balloonacy}}: How [=SpongeBob=] manages to leave Rock Bottom.
87	* BehindTheBlack: [=SpongeBob=] tries to fake out the bus by placing a cardboard cutout of himself next to the vending machine. Even though the facade of the cutout is on the opposite side of the bus, it only notices that the cutout is not actually [=SpongeBob=] and drives off when it falls down.
88	* BlowingARaspberry: The residents of Rock Bottom blow raspberries within their sentences as their SpeechImpediment, and they cannot understand outsiders unless they do the same thing.
89	* ButtMonkey: [=SpongeBob=] ''really'' gets it hard in his attempts to get out of Rock Bottom. Taken to the extreme when [=SpongeBob=] reaches down to grab a candy bar from a vending machine when the bus arrives and the bus repeatedly goes back and forth while [=SpongeBob=] sticks his hand in and out. When he tries to fake out the bus, it just zooms away anyways, and while he's on the other side of a street, a Rock Bottom dweller just takes the candy bar himself.
90	* ChekhovsGunman: The anglerfish who chases after [=SpongeBob=]'s balloon ends up playing a big part in resolving the plot.
91	* CirclingBirdies:
92	** Little scallops swirl around [=SpongeBob=]'s head when he runs into the wall.
93	** The traditional stars variant happens twice to the bus driver that [=SpongeBob=] keeps whacking with his giant glove balloon (see AmusingInjuries above).
94	* {{Cloudcuckooland}}: From what little we see of it, Rock Bottom seems to be this.
95	* DesperatePleaForHome: Patrick twice says "I wanna go home!" after he finds Rock Bottom to be too weird for him.
96	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Ever get lost while taking public transportation? Chances are you wound up in a place that feels just as alien and creepy as Rock Bottom.
97	* DoubleMeaningTitle: Rock Bottom also means you're in a situation where it couldn't be any worse.
98	* DrivingUpAWall: [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick wind up in the eponymous city due to taking the wrong bus. The road from Bikini Bottom to Rock Bottom is a 90 degree slope on a stone wall which the buses have no problem going up and down. Unfortunately, [=SpongeBob=] has no such luck when he chases after a bus leading back to Bikini Bottom that Patrick boards.
99	-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I guess Grandpa [=SquarePants=] was right. Don't run for a bus. ''(imitating Grandpa [=SquarePants=])'' "Especially one that's going up at a 90° angle!"
100	* EldritchLocation: Rock Bottom comes off as one, with strange inhabitants, incomprehensible bathrooms and an illogical bus schedule.
101	* EldritchOceanAbyss: The town of Rock Bottom is populated by numerous deformed-looking fish that terrify [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick.
102	* GeniusLoci: Even Rock Bottom's soil is different as it's capable of talking when [=SpongeBob=] picked up a handful of it.
103	-->'''Pile of Soil:''' Would you ''(raspberry)'' mind ''(raspberry)'' putting me down?
104	* GoodSamaritan: The Anglerfish, despite having no reason at all to help [=SpongeBob=], retrieves [=SpongeBob=]'s balloon to use it as a way to finally get him out of there.
105	* GrowlingGut: [=SpongeBob=]'s stomach growls while he's waiting for the bus. He resolves to stay put until the bus comes, but then his stomach growls again.
106	* HelpMistakenForAttack: How [=SpongeBob=] perceived the Anglerfish.
107	* HereWeGoAgain: [=SpongeBob=] finally makes it back home, just as Patrick passes by on a bus to get him back.
108	* HumiliationConga: This whole episode is one for [=SpongeBob=], as he can't get a bus to escape Rock Bottom.
109	* InstantlyProvenWrong: Becomes an OverlyLongGag as [=SpongeBob=] tries to assert his place in line for a bus pass only to find other "people" got there before him and he becomes 329th ([[TemptingFate then 332nd]]) in line.
110	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Aside from the theory involving the driver that kicked him off (which is later supported by ''Bikini Bottom Mysteries''), [=SpongeBob=]'s trouble with getting a bus could also be from Rock Bottom's obviously strange nature.
111	* MissedTheBus: [=SpongeBob=] keeps missing each bus that comes along. In fact, the buses seem to be actively avoiding him, as if the driver of the bus he was kicked off of radioed to the other drivers to intentionally leave him behind due to his annoying balloon.
112	* NarrativeShapeshifting: [=SpongeBob=] makes himself look like his grandfather, complete with walker, while quoting him.
113	* NiceGuy: The anglerfish that pursues [=SpongeBob=]'s balloon turns out to have been doing so with the intention of helping [=SpongeBob=] get home.
114	* NoodleImplements: Right after Patrick reads the sign that says, "You are now leaving Bikini Bottom," he turns to [=SpongeBob=], who has a miniature glove on his nose for no apparent reason[[note]]It's the glove from Patrick's glove action figure, but why it was on [=SpongeBob's=] nose is unclear[[/note]].
115	* NoSnackForYou: [=SpongeBob=] tries to get a snack from a vending machine across the street from the bus stop, but every time he tries, a bus passes by and leaves him. He finally manages to get one, but as he reaches for it, the bus arrives, teasing him by going back and forth as [=SpongeBob=] moves his hand in and out and revving up as he touches the candy bar. [=SpongeBob=] makes a break for it, but the bus leaves. And to top it off, someone takes his candy bar, and when [=SpongeBob=] goes after him, ''three'' buses go by.
116	* NowYouTellMe: Before going off to get a bus schedule, [=SpongeBob=] tells Patrick to wait for a bus and call him if one comes. Patrick does... after he's already on it.
117	* OhCrap: [=SpongeBob=] when he sees that the bus is leaving Bikini Bottom.
118	-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Patrick, I think we're on the wrong--''(screams as the bus goes careening down a 90 degree slope)'' BUS!
119	* PlanesTrainsAndImbeciles: For whatever reason, the buses on Rock Bottom refuse to pick up [=SpongeBob=]. It ''may'' have something to do with the bus driver who kept being hit accidentally by [=SpongeBob's=] balloon -- and left him and Patrick stranded there because of it.
120	* PlankGag: Every time [=SpongeBob=] turns around to look for his wallet, he hits the bus driver with his big, glove-shaped balloon. Eventually he gets so fed up with getting hit that he tells [=SpongeBob=] to get to his seat without paying.
121	* RightOnQueue: [=SpongeBob=] goes on an incredibly long line to get a bus schedule. When he finally makes it, the man at the counter tells him the next bus leaves in five seconds. "Ooh, tough luck, kid. ''(raspberry)'' That's the last one 'til morning."
122	* RuleOfFunny: Patrick says "You Are Now In Leaving Bikini Bottom", even though the sign didn't include the word "In".
123	* RunningGag:
124	** [=SpongeBob=] missing the bus, which makes up a large part of the episode.
125	** [=SpongeBob's=] balloon hitting the bus driver by accident.
126	* ShooOutTheClowns: The comically stupid Patrick escapes Rock Bottom early in the episode to make [=SpongeBob=]'s experience there more unsettling and foreboding.
127	* ShoutOut: Glove World appears to be a reference to Disney World's theme parks, as the gloves heavily resemble Mickey Mouse's hands.
128	* SuddenlyVoiced: The anglerfish who chases after [=SpongeBob's=] balloon when he first arrives in Rock Bottom.
129	-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Thank ''(raspberry)'' you ''(raspberry)''!\
130	''[[{{Beat}} (beat)]]''\
131	'''Anglerfish:''' You're welcome!
132	* TastesLikeFeet: [=SpongeBob=] eats some Glove World candy, then spits it out because it's "glove flavored".
133	* TakeThat: Seeing as Glove World is a reference to Disney World however, the park's souvenirs are faulty and of no use to [=SpongeBob=] when he gets stranded at Rock Bottom.
134	* ThisIsNoTimeForKnitting: While [=SpongeBob=] is explaining to him that he's stuck in Rock Bottom and has no way to get home, the anglerfish is blowing up his balloon with more air. [=SpongeBob=] thinks the anglerfish can't understand him and uses Rock Bottom dialect to tell him that his balloon has enough air. It's only when [=SpongeBob=] starts floating off the ground does he realize the anglerfish was blowing it up enough so he could use balloon travel to get home.
135	* {{Troll}}: The buses come ''only'' when Spongebob is occupied or otherwise cannot catch it, to the point that it's clearly being done on purpose.
136	* TrueCompanions: Patrick manages to get on another bus rather quickly, and is seen riding another one to go get [=SpongeBob=] (who's just gotten home through other means) at the end of the episode. The implication is that he [[{{Determinator}} spent all night trying to find another bus]] so he could save his friend, which puts him firmly in this trope.
137	* VotOcksent: Inverted. Rock Bottomites can't understand [=SpongeBob's=] "accent" unless he speaks in raspberries like them.
138	* WhichRestroomDilemma: Patrick can't tell which Rock Bottom bathroom to use, because one is marked with a question mark and the other with an inverted question mark. [=SpongeBob=] suggests waiting for someone to come out so they can tell, but the bizarre creatures that go through the doors don't help.
139	* WrongTurnAtAlbuquerque: The episode begins with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick getting on what they think is the bus home. Turns out it’s the bus to the titular [[ThePlace Rock Bottom.]]

Context Recap / SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E17ArrghRockBottom