Accidental Aesop: Unintentionally, the episode illustrates that you just can't force two people to be friends, especially if such hatred and animosity is ingrained in one of the people. By the end of the episode, Squidward reverts to his nasty self towards SpongeBob for making him do all those silly activities, showing just how deep-seated his hatred is for him. While Mr. Krabs had good intentions to create the event to bring them closer, it was ultimately doomed to fail when one of them clearly did not want even mandatory friendship.
Alternative Character Interpretation: Was Squidward really trying to give SpongeBob a great last day on Earth for him or to clear his conscience? On one hand, near the beginning he was genuinely tearful at the idea of SpongeBob suddenly blowing up and tears when he is reminded again point to the former. On the other hand, his line about saying he is such a good person for doing it and anger that he wasted his day (rather than being grateful SpongeBob is alive) points toward the latter. Alternatively, Squidward started genuinely sorry, but the continued ridiculousness and dismemberment lead to his hate subtly growing back.
Ass Pull: While it was pretty obvious that SpongeBob wasn't gonna die, the way the ending was handled seems pretty rushed. SpongeBob blowing bubble bombs once the sun went down seems pretty contrived in its timing, but more importantly is the twist of SpongeBob still having the pie (which he literally pulls out of his ass). Rule of Funny aside, this throws a lot of things into question. What the heck did SpongeBob eat between him finding the pie and Squidward and Mr. Krabs rushing back to the office, why did he thank Squidward for the pie after eating whatever the other thing was, and why did smoke rise out of his mouth when something hit his lower intestine, not to mention not recognizing the scent?
Harsher in Hindsight: While $25 for a single pie is certainly ludicrous by today's standards, at the time of the episode's release, $25 was the equivalent of $45 in current pricing, and $25 will end up being more reasonable for a pie as years go on due to the accelerating inflation rate.
"GARY! YOU ARE GONNA FINISH YOUR DESSERT, AND YOU ARE GONNA LIKE IT!!!"ExplanationSpongeBob's response to learning that Squidward expected him to "explode," pretending to scold Gary after interpreting "explode" in its figurative sense. The surprising gusto with which SpongeBob feigns anger made the bit a popular subject of remixes and edits.
The pie explosion.ExplanationA stock clip of one of the Bikini Atoll nuclear detonation tests, used to represent the effects of the pie bomb at the end of the episode. The footage became a popular clip in YouTube Poop videos, often paired with the "WTF Boom" soundbyte, thanks to the episode exposing it to newer generations.
"Oh, these aren't homemade, they were... made in a factory. A bomb factory. They're bombs.ExplanationIn December 2022, it became a meme on TikTok to edit in the pirate warning Squidward about the pies being bombs into scenarios where a person is asked about food that they smuggled in, only to reply with this response.
"Wearing a salmon suit!"ExplanationThe second thing on the list was dressing up Squidward in a salmon suit and showing him around town. This has been used as a meme template where artists draw their favorite characters reenacting that scene with the grumpier of the two in the salmon suit.
"How do we tell him?"ExplanationMr. Krabs talking to Squidward, regarding SpongeBob's fate after supposedly eating the pie with this line as the subtitle. Funnily enough, Squidward asks this very same line before the scene. Commonly used in reference to when a person is unaware of an incredibly unfortunate fact. It often gets edited to refer to any kind of conspiring, in particular one that changes Krabs' dialogue to "Let's kill him."
The scene with SpongeBob with his face pressed against the window and a big smile looking at Squidward as he walks past became a template of showing obsession over something.
Tear Jerker: SpongeBob supposedly dying as well as Squidward's guilt for potentially killing him.
Visual Effects of Awesome: The sunset scene is incredibly well-drawn, with the color palette being incredibly impressionist and SpongeBob and Squidward's shadows not only following their movement exactly, but also stretching out the further the sun goes down.
Imitation Krabs:
Franchise Original Sin: There’s no denying that SpongeBob is a massive Idiot Houdini in this, bordering on Lethally Stupid, as he’s completely fooled by Plankton’s Paper-Thin Disguise and lack of trying at hiding its various robotic installments (like laser vision), ends up favoring the fake Krabs over the real one, and nearly gets the latter Eaten Alive, only to end the episode with a slap on the wrist. But the humor is so fast-paced, witty, and quotable that it’s easy to look past the main character's stupidity, plus it has its fair share of Self-Deprecation about the premise's own absurdity. Many later episodes (after the first movie) would have SpongeBob acting just as oblivious to reality, if not more so, but the humor would often not be up to snuff, nor would they have much self-awareness, making Refuge in Audacity much harder for viewers.
"Ravioli ravioli, give me the formuoli."ExplanationPlankton's modified version of the Italian food rhyme that he and SpongeBob recited earlier in the episode, said in an attempt to coerce SpongeBob to believe that the real Mr. Krabs is a faker. The silliness of the phrase made it a popular source for edits related to other fandoms.
"Ravioli ravioli, give me the diplomioli."ExplanationA common phrase used for graduating college students who want their diploma or "diplomioli".
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