Accidental Aesop: If you're going to protest, make sure your allies know what your goal is so they don't misunderstand, misinterpret, or take things too far and end up hurting your cause more than they help it.
Franchise Original Sin: This is one of the many pre-Movie episodes where Mr. Krabs showcases Bad Boss traits, having him fire his employees for striking and encouraging them to not give change, both of which are illegal in real life. However, the episode treats Mr. Krabs as its antagonist with the plot focusing on Squidward standing up to him for his unfair policies, and would have had his way had SpongeBob not demolished the Krusty Krab and given Mr. Krabs a more legitimate reason to be furious at his employees and discard the negotiations. Many post-movie episodes have Mr. Krabs carry out many similar unjustified policies towards his employees, but often made them more exaggerated and never had him negotiate new terms or get punished for his treatment of SpongeBob and Squidward, making him come off as worse compared to here.
Hilarious in Hindsight: While striking, Squidward encourages SpongeBob to hold up a picket sign saying "Krusty Krab Unfair" and SpongeBob mishears him and holds up a sign reading "Krusty Krab Funfair" instead, causing people to go to the Krusty Krab instead of stay away from it. In the next season, there would be an episode where Mr. Krabs turns the Krusty Krab into a funfair of sorts called "Krabby Land"... and it would be so poorly-made and cheap that the people who went there turned on Mr. Krabs for his rampant greed, much like Squidward does in this episode.
The bill that Mr. Krabs gives to SpongeBob and Squidward charging them for things like breathing has often been used to complain about companies and organization overcharging and nickel-and-diming people for ridiculous things.
"Krusty Krab Is Unfair" signs have become a common Funny Background Event at protests, often by counter-protestors at the expense of the event's organizers.
Communist Squidward has also been pretty popular thanks to his propaganda against unfair corporate greed. There's several joke videos of his speech with the USSR anthem on the background around the web.
Squidward: The gentle laborer shall no longer suffer from the noxious greed of Mr. Krabs!
SpongeBob and Squidward holding signsExplanationScreencap of SpongeBob holding their picket signs up to the camera, which became popular exploitables online, changing the messages to a number of other statements and slogans.
Misaimed Fandom: Many viewers saw SpongeBob's actions at the end as inspiring to overthrow big corporations, despite the fact it only made things worse in the end.
Alternative Joke Interpretation: Either the Alaskan Bull Worm really did eat the kids' homework and they were happy about it or they lied to their mom about it to cover up the fact they didn't do it at all.
Fridge Brilliance: SpongeBob threatening to trip Sandy unless she admits she was wrong about the Alaskan Bull Worm seems out-of-character at first glance. Until one realizes that, considering how proud Sandy is, she'll absolutely refuse to say she was in way over her head. When she says that she'll say it "later", she really means "never". SpongeBob knew he'd have to force her to confess there and then, otherwise he'd never have the satisfaction of being told he was right.
Genius Bonus: The worm is called an Alaskan Bull Worm, with Alaska being the largest US state, and more than twice the size of Texas.
"We should take Bikini Bottom and push it somewhere else!"ExplanationThis line from Patrick has been used as a stock image meme over the years. A lot of times it's a near word for word recreation "We should take X and push it somewhere else!" Other times it's suggesting society take one thing and what you should do with it. "We should take X and stick it where the sun don't shine!"
"It's big! Scary! And pink!"ExplanationSpongeBob's description of the Alaskan Bull Worm has been appropriated by fans to jokingly describe other things, mainly Patrick himself or a certain part of male anatomy.
