History Recap / SpongebobSquarepantsS1E6MermaidManandBarnacleBoyPickles

* KarmaHoudini: Bubble Bass, as he runs away as soon as the crowd angrily surrounds him, avoiding the punishments he likely would've received if he didn't flee the scene.

** This is the first time that we see apparently human characters, and they are depicted as the same size and in the same style as the rest of the cast. Most future episodes show Bikini Bottomites as far smaller than humans, and often depict humans in [[MediumBlending live-action]]. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy would continue to be depicted as the same size and in the same style as the rest of the cast for the rest of the series. It's usually implied that the two of them were ordinary humans (or at least AmbiguouslyHuman) before they became superheroes -- "Mermaid Man Begins" makes this most apparent -- but because their origin is [[MultipleChoicePast left deliberately unclear]], it's unclear why exactly they are different from other humans.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: This is the first time that we see apparently human characters, and they are depicted as the same size and in the same style as the rest of the cast. Most future episodes show Bikini Bottomites as far smaller than humans, and often depict humans in [[MediumBlending live-action]]. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy would continue to be depicted as the same size and in the same style as the rest of the cast for the rest of the series, making them AmbiguouslyHuman.

** Within ''seconds'' of Spongebob rehabilitating himself and going back to work, Bubble Bass busts into the Krusty Krab to gaslight him a second time and laugh, loudly and obnoxiously, in his face. This ends up getting his trick caught out.

* GroupReactsIndividually: Everyone at the Krusty Krab is waiting with bated breath as Bubble Bass passes judgement on SpongeBob's Krabby Patty. Everyone, that is, except Squidward, who couldn't care less and is busy looking at himself in a hand mirror before realizing what is happening and then pretends to look interested.

* AnAesop: Don't be afraid to meet your heroes. However, if they make it clear they want to be left alone, respect their space.

* AnAesop: Have faith in yourself, even if you think you've made a mistake. During Bubble Bass' first visit, [=SpongeBob=]'s self-confidence is low enough that he falls for Bubble Bass' gaslighting; the second time round, he's confident enough to realise that Bubble Bass must be lying.

* CentipedesDilemma: Seemingly forgetting the pickles shakes [=SpongeBob=] badly, so badly Mr. Krabs finds his home a complete mess and [=SpongeBob=] talking with his words out of order. Even the ''background music'' is played backwards to underscore the problem.

* {{Wangst}}: {{Invoked|Trope}} with [[TheScrooge Mr. Krabs]] crying over losing $2.

* {{Jerkass}}: Bubble Bass. His EstablishingCharacterMoment paints him as a shrill snob and he's eventually revealed to be a crook, since he had [=SpongeBob=]'s pickles under his tongue the whole time, not to mention someone's car keys.

* {{Jerkass}}:
** Bubble Bass. His EstablishingCharacterMoment paints him as a shrill snob and he's eventually revealed to be a crook, since he had [=SpongeBob=]'s pickles under his tongue the whole time, not to mention someone's car keys.
** Squidward as well in the opening scene, making rude and sarcastic remarks to customers' perfectly normal orders.

* KickTheDog: Bubble Bass tossing Squidward around leans closer to KickTheSonOfABitch given Squidward's own JerkAss behaviour, but his {{Gaslighting}} of [=SpongeBob=] ''definitely'' counts.
* LaserGuidedKarma: After spending the entire opening scene acting rude and insulting towards every customer who talks to him, Squidward gets his comeuppance when Bubble Bass tosses him aside.

* KarmaHoudini: Bubble Bass, as he runs away as soon as the crowd angrily surrounds him.

* AnAesop: Have faith in yourself, even when you thought you made a mistake. What saves this from being a BrokenAesop is that during Bubble Bass' first attempt Spongebob had little enough confidence in himself to think he forgot the pickles, the second time he's so confident in himself he knows he didn't forget them and considers the fact Bubble Bass lied.
* AnnoyingLaugh: Bubble Bass's shrill, whinny-like cackle makes Spongebob's famous "dolphin cry" laugh sound like a harp by comparison.
* BaitAndSwitch: After trying to re-learn how to make a Krabby Patty again for several days, Spongebob seems to have a breakthrough as he tells Mr. Krabs that it's all very clear to him now. But what's clear is that he can't do it, and he's a failure. Subverted right afterward though, as he then proceeds to make a perfect patty while ranting that he can't.

%%* BreakingTheFourthWall: (Zero-Context Example)

* CentipedesDilemma: Seemingly forgetting the pickles shakes Spongebob badly, so badly Mr. Krabs finds his home a complete mess and Spongebob talking with his words out of order. Even the ''background music'' is played backwards to underscore the problem.

* DopeSlap: Bubble Bass, upon seeing his rival, slaps Squidward out of his way.

** When [=SpongeBob=] is making Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab, he does it at a table unlike future episodes, where he is seen making them on the grill...though it's possible that patties he used are ready made.

* FlyAtTheCameraEnding: Subverted. It's not for the ending, but Bubble Bass hurtles Squidward into the camera the second time he knocks him around.

* KickTheDog: Bubble Bass' tossing Squidward around definitely qualifies. And then there's his trick on [=SpongeBob=]...
* LaserGuidedKarma: Granted, Squidward ''did'' insult Bubble Bass's weight on sight, and had been insulting other customers, so it's not surprising that he was harmed by Bubble Bass twice.

* MouthScreen: When Bubble Bass is gloating when he claims [=SpongeBob=] forgot the pickles again, the camera cuts to a close up of his mouth as he laughs. This is how Spongebob is able to notice that Bubble Bass keeps tucking his tongue behind his teeth and, as a result, how Bubble Bass has been deceiving everyone.