History Recap / SpongeBobSquarePantsS7E11OneCoarseMealGaryInLove

-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Mr. Krabs, I know you and Plankton are sworn enemies and all, but... Putting on a dress to frighten him? Isn't that taking it a little too far?

* DarkerAndEdgier: Sure the episode is comedic as usual, but Mr. Krabs using Plankton's fear of whales to his advantage to scare him into eventually committing suicide is what takes the cake.

* DownerEnding: Essentially, in Plankton's perspective, his attempts at a well-deserved revenge at Krabs only get him scared by [=SpongeBob=] with Krabs getting away in driving Plankton to suicide in the end.

* LackOfEmpathy: Mr. Krabs torments Plankton using his fear of whales for over two weeks, to the extent that he's nearly DrivenToSuicide. When [=SpongeBob=] calls him on it and tells him he's going to far, Krabs just laughs it off.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: The whole plot of the episode is Mr. Krabs tormenting Plankton via his fear of whales to the point where the latter contemplates suicide.

* ShooOutTheClowns: [=SpongeBob=] is absent for about 50% of the episode to make Plankton's fear and torment more unsettling and foreboding.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Mr. Krabs gets his proper comeuppance at tormenting Plankton when [=SpongeBob=] tells Plankton of his secret fear of mimes, and one comes over while he's trapped, creeping him out.

* PetTheDog: [=SpongeBob=] actually shows sympathy for Plankton when he is tormented to the point of suicide, and even defends him against Mr. Krabs.

Upon realizing this, [=SpongeBob=] he confronts Mr. Krabs about the ethicality of his actions, to which Mr. Krabs refuses to listen, instead of brushing him off by reminding him of the fact that he accidentally gave away the location to the formula earlier. [=SpongeBob=] then returns to Plankton and informs him that Mr. Krabs had been dressing up as Pearl all along to scare him, and reveals Mr. Krabs secret fear of mimes as a way for Plankton to get payback. Plankton returns to the Krusty Krab, getting out a mime and using a robotic arm to detain Mr. Krabs, forcing him to deal with his fear. Plankton is then scared off again when he discovers an entire pod of whales lurking outside for a feeding -- or apparently so until it is revealed to the viewers to be a holographic projection set up by [=SpongeBob=].

* EvilVSEvil: On one side, Mr. Krabs tries to drive Plankton to suicide. On the other hand, Plankton is a persistent thief who torments the crew day after day, and on occasion has even put Mr. Krabs and [=SpongeBob=] lives in danger as well in his attempts to steal the formula.

* WhatTheHellHero: [=SpongeBob=] felt this way toward Mr. Krabs disguising as Pearl and scaring him.

* CallingTheOldManOut: [=SpongeBob=] gives one to Mr. Krabs using his fear of whales to his advantage and upsetting him to the point of eventual suicide, but he refuses to listen to him.

* DrivenToSuicide: By Plankton, who willingly wants to get run over by the next 4:00 bus before [=SpongeBob=] stops him.

* AnAesop: Everybody has fears, but you can’t use them to your advantage as it would hurt them even more.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Not too often does one see a suicide attempt in a kids' show, particularly one that's PlayedForDrama and an important plot point at that. Even some of the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons (e.g. "WesternAnimation/TortoiseWinsByAHare") have had suicide gags cut out in syndication.

!! "One Coarse Meal" contains examples of: (YMMV goes ''[[YMMV/SpongebobSquarepantsS7E11OneCoarseMealGaryInLove here]]''. Please.)

* EvilVSEvil: On one side, Mr. Krabs tries to drive Plankton to suicide. On the other hand, Plankton is a persistent thief who torments the crew day after day, and on occasion has even put Mr. Krabs and [=SpongeBob=] lives in danger as well in his attempts to steal the formula.

* DownerEnding: Essentially, in Plankton's perspective, his attempts at a well-deserved revenge at Krabs only get him scared by Spongebob with Krabs getting away in driving Plankton to suicide in the end.
* DrivenToSuicide: By Plankton, who willingly wants to get run over by the next 4:00 bus before [=SpongBob=] stops him.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: The whole plot of the episode is Mr. Krabs tormenting Plankton via his fear of whales to the point where the latter contemplates suicide. While Plankton is by no means a good guy, the sheer amount of psychological pain he goes through and the glee Krabs derives from inflicting it makes the whole thing come off as KickTheDog instead.
* KnightOfCerebus: Mr. Krabs becomes a serious threat here where he ''almost drives Plankton to suicide'' and loves every minute of it.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: Krabs' torture of Plankton is considered by many fans to be this trope done very, VERY wrong.

* SympathyForTheDevil: Many fans started to feel this way towards Plankton given what Mr. Krabs puts him through this episode.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: The whole plot of the episode is Mr. Krabs tormenting his former best friend via his fear of whales to the point of the latter being pushed to suicide, all for sake of tormenting him. While Plankton is by no means a good guy, the sheer amount of psychological pain he goes through and the glee Krabs derives from inflicting it makes the whole thing come off as KickTheDog instead.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: The whole plot of the episode is Mr. Krabs tormenting his former best friend via his fear of whales to the point of the latter being pushed to suicide, all for sake of tormenting him. While Plankton is by no means a good guy, the sheer amount of psychological pain and the amount of glee Krabs derives from inflicting it makes it veer into KickTheDog instead.

* KickTheDog: The whole plot of the episode is Mr. Krabs tormenting his former best friend via his fear of whales to the point of the latter being pushed to suicide, all for sake of tormenting him.

* KickTheDog: the whole plot of the episode is Mr. Krabs tormenting Plankton via his fear of whales to the point of the latter being pushed to suicide, all for sake of tormenting him.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: On one side, Mr. Krabs tries to drive Plankton to suicide. On the other hand, Plankton is a persistent thief who torments the crew day after day, and on occasion has even put Mr. Krabs and [=SpongeBob=] lives in danger as well in his attempts to steal the formula.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: On one side, Mr. Krabs tries to drive Plankton to suicide. On the other hand, Plankton is a persistent thief who torments the crew day after day, and on occasion has even put Mr. Krabs and [=SpongeBob=] lives in danger as well in his attempts to steal the formula.

* UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode: "One Coarse Meal" deals with one of the main characters trying to scare another character, eventually to the point of the latter attempting suicide. Granted, the plot is still tame compared to the likes of, say, "[[SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E4NastyPattyIdiotBox Nasty Patty]]", which involves the plot element of [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs trying to bury a person that they mistakenly think they have killed PlayedForLaughs, a dark, rainy environment for half of the episode, and even the version of the NeverSayDie trope through the use of the word "kill". Nevertheless, "One Coarse Meal" is still a subtle sign of this trope happening to the post-movie episodes.