Original air date: 2/29/2024
The local ice cream man hates Patrick for always ruining his business, Squidward hates that Cecil never pays for his newspapers, the Grim Reaper has been eluded by GrandPat for centuries, Fentin is jealous of Squidina's success, and Gladys has a grudge against Bunny. They join forces to take down the Star family for good.
Best Served Cold contains examples of:
- Brick Joke:
- Bunny throws away a bunch of raw meat. At the end of the episode, Patrick sees some of it and mistakes it for a new ice cream flavor, scooping it up and eating it.
- Plankton kicks out the group at the Chum Bucket for not buying any chum. When they meet up again at the end, he once again kicks them out.Plankton: Maybe next time you should BUY SOME CHUM!
- Call-Back: Patrick's feud with the ice cream man originated in "Enemies a la Mode."
- Dark Reprise: When the ice cream man chases down Patrick, an ominous, minor-key rendition of the ice cream truck jingle plays.
- Double-Meaning Title: A play on "revenge is a dish best served cold" and Patrick's enemy being an ice cream man.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Squidward sets a trap for Cecil: Cecil will pull the newspaper and end up pulling a stake that drags him into a newspaper press. However, Cecil winds up pulling the paper with his teeth, frustrating Squidward. Squidward demonstrates how it's supposed to work and gets caught in the trap himself.
- I Will Show You X!: When the ice cream man chases after Patrick in a spiked ice cream cone vehicle:Ice cream man: What's the matter, Patrick? I thought you wanted ice cream!
Patrick: (crying) I do, but not like this! - Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Gladys runs off saying that she'll "never tell anyone about this" after realizing she accidentally joined a revenge scheme.
- No Name Given: The ice cream man is not given a proper name throughout the episode.
- Nothing Is Funnier: Gladys is currently reading an expose called Secret Evil: The Untold Truth of the Easter Bunny. Exactly what this is "untold truth" is never explained and left to the viewer's imagination.
- Overly Long Gag: Patrick spends 25 seconds trying to decide which flavor of ice cream he wants... even though the only choices are chocolate and vanilla.
- Poke the Poodle: The Grim Reaper's revenge on GrandPat just amounts to pranking him into getting whipped cream in his face.
- Ramp Jump: The ice cream man is driving his truck away from Patrick. The only exit is to launch off a drawbridge that's going up. He jumps out of the ocean and crashes the truck front-first into the ground. Patrick still manages to catch up to him somehow.
- Rewatch Bonus: It's difficult to notice on first watch, but when Gladys is first seen, she's reading the Easter Bunny expose that she brings up later. Also, while Squidward, Fentin, and the Grim Reaper specifically mention their enemies as "[X] Star," Gladys just says "Ooh, that Bunny!" This hints that she wasn't actually in on it for revenge like the others.
- Self-Deprecation: Fentin articulates an emotionally devastating review for Squidina:Fentin: The Patrick Star Show is an assault on every viewer's taste! Shoddy production values, awful comedy, inane and pandering, it's an insult to the medium of television! Worst show! 0 out of 10 stars! Whoever runs this show should be ashamed!
- Special Guest: Gracen Newton returns as Fentin.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Fentin tries to write a bad review of the Patrick Show. However, since he's still very young, he can't actually write and it just comes out as an incomprehensible series of scribbles, which Squidina believes is a fan letter.
- Token Good Teammate: Gladys is the only one who doesn't actually have a grudge against the Star family. She thought they were talking about the Easter Bunny, not Bunny Star, and thought it looked like fun so she stayed. She nervously leaves and promises not to speak of it again once she realizes everyone else is getting revenge.
- Unknown Rival: Patrick doesn't realize that Fentin, Squidward, and the Grim Reaper are also after the Stars. When he gets into the van, he asks if they're running from the ice cream man too, unaware that they were actually working with him.
- Wingding Eyes: When Patrick tries to eat the giant ice cream vehicle, his eyes turn into ice cream cones.
