Did Reg really fall for the fake fight ploy? Or did he realize SpongeBob was never gonna stop trying? If it's the latter, it's likely he figured the only way he'd learn was if he actually went in, and so he pretended to fall for it so he wasn't liable for SpongeBob getting injured.
There's also that little smirk Reg makes when SpongeBob finally enters the Salty Spitoon: is he happy that SpongeBob got what he wanted, or is he thinking "He won't last five seconds"?
Since we never actually see what happens to Spongebob inside: did he actually just slip on an ice cube, or was Sandy lying to spare his feelings (and/or terror) from worse that he might've suffered inside?
Designated Villain: Reg the bouncer is the antagonist in this episode, barring SpongeBob from entering the Salty Spitoon. While he was pretty condescending about why he keeps refusing him entry (for being a "weenie"), it's made quite clear from the beginning that this was very much for SpongeBob's good.
SpongeBob spends the whole episode trying and failing to prove he is tough. Fast-forward two seasons to "The Inmates of Summer" when he and Patrick accidentally go to prison, and when they are completely unaffected by the warden's tortures one of their fellow inmates gives an impressed, "These guys are tough!"
The drifter looks exactly like SpongeBob, only with black hair. Years later, several users in the GoAnimate community would give Caillou hair, with a few portraying Caillou with hair and Caillou without hair as two different characters.
"Welcome to the Salty Spittoon. How tough are ya?"ExplanationThe question asked to get into the Salty Spitoon. Used for things considered "challenging". (Example: "I watched "2 Girls 1 Cup"." "Yeah, so?" "While eating chocolate ice cream.")
"I'll have you know I stubbed my toe last week while watering my spice garden, and I only cried for twenty minutes."ExplanationSpongeBob stubbing his toe is often replaced with a description of another unfortunate incident.
Similar to the "Krusty Krab vs. Chum Bucket" meme, images of the Salty Spitoon and Weenie Hut Jr. are often used by members of a fandom to mock fandoms they rival with. The favorable thing or fandom will be superimposed over the Salty Spitoon and the unfavorable thing will be over Weenie Hut Jr. Sometimes Super Weenie Hut Jr. is included as well to show something even more unfavorable.
The scene of Patrick beating himself up has been edited by many, placing other characters into the scene as the aggressor.
Squilliam Returns:
Alternative Character Interpretation: Squilliam trying to personally commend SpongeBob for the Krusty Krab's quality: his first-ever Pet the Dog moment, or a last-ditch effort to save some face by passing (correctly, in this case) the credit to someone, anyone besides Squidward?
"Anyone can be a big shot!"ExplanationA line during Squidward and Squilliam's initial exchange that gained a second life in 2021 thanks to the release of Deltarune's second chapter, which features the fan-favorite character Spamton and his manic promises of becoming a "[[BIG SHOT]]". Because SpongeBob and Undertale/Deltarune already have their share of crossover memes, the line became a popular source of edits depicting either of the two cephalopods as Spamton.
"Oh no, he's hot!"ExplanationWhile trying to deflect Squilliam's arrogance, Squidward tries to imagine him in his underwear, only to visualize him with an attractively muscular physique. The bit became popular to parody in reference to male and/or muscular characters from various other media that are considered hot, both in-universe and out. The quote is also commonly used as reaction to cases of Fanservice Pack, Adaptational Skimpiness, or Adaptational Curves.
The scene of Squidward's face shrinking and shriveling when Squilliam announces he'll be going to Squidward's restaurant gets used in a lot of reaction images, with the most notable one probably being the "When I'm in a [X] competition and my opponent is a [Y]" snowclone.
The World's Smallest Violin.ExplanationWhat gets set up as a gag about Mr. Krabs mocking Squidward's insecurity gets turned on its head when Mr. Krabs reveals he actually is playing the world's smallest violin. The initial setup of the gag made it popular to repost as a way of sarcastically commenting on petty concerns being blown out of proportion.
"May I take your hat, sir?"ExplanationPatrick's over-the-top way of acting like a butler when he interprets Squidward's instructions as acting "like a weenie." The silliness of the bit and Squidward's dry disapproval made it a popular subject for remixes and edits.
"Hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina, hommina..."ExplanationEveryone's bewildered reaction to how fancy the Krusty Krab looks after SpongeBob redecorates it. The gag's drawn-out nature and emphasis on repetition quickly made it a popular subject for remixes and edits.
Brain Chaos.ExplanationThere's a shot of SpongeBob's brain that shows his imaginary workers running around screaming while their workplace is on fire. The internet has used this image as a mood for how they feel in regards to moments of anxiety or stress.
Nightmare Fuel: The Appetizer, consisting of mashed up fly bits, is horrifying enough as is. But when it gets bigger and gains sentience, it also contains a human foot. One must wonder where that even came from.
Woolseyism: In the German dub, Squidward's infamous "Oh no, he's hot!" line is changed to be less Ho Yay by having him instead say, "Oh nein, Waschbrettbauch!" ("Waschbrettbauch" being the German equivalent to "fab abs" or "six-pack"). Similarly, the Brazilian dub changes the sentence to "Oh não, ele é firme", which can be either understood as "he's strong/tonned" or "he's solid".
