Line #87 Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E13ScaredyPantsIWasATeenageGary


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f32ae57d_a575_4379_9172_47348fa47d2e.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Look, it's the [[MaliciousMisnaming Haunted Mattress]]!"]]
3
4	'''Scaredy Pants'''
5
6	'''Original air date:''' 10/28/1999
7
8	It's Halloween in Bikini Bottom, and [=SpongeBob=] wants to be the one who scares people for a change, so he goes as the scariest spectre in all the sea: the FlyingDutchman! But his plan backfires when the ''real'' Dutchman appears.
9	----
10	!!"Scaredy Pants" contains examples of:
11	* AccidentalTruth: Through ExactWords in a form of {{foreshadowing}}.
12	-->'''Patrick:''' There's a whole party just ''full'' of people down at the Krusty Krab! ...And the Flying Dutchman is gonna show up ''uninvited''.
13	* AshFace: Everyone gains one when the Flying Dutchman zaps them.
14	* BedsheetGhost: The extent of [=SpongeBob=]'s Flying Dutchman costume is this and wooden clogs. People keep mistaking him for a haunted mattress due to his square shape. Upon becoming round, he gets demoted to "sleeping bag".
15	* BerserkButton: The real Flying Dutchman hates being impersonated and considers [=SpongeBob=]'s costume the worst one yet, and the last straw. [[AffablyEvil Though he does casually explain how someone like him just isn't scary in general.]]
16	* BodyHorror: [=SpongeBob=] has Patrick shave down his head until it's round enough to make a perfect ghost. It's later revealed that he's been shaved down all the way to his ''brain''. [=SpongeBob=] takes it all in stride, though, and reassures everyone that [[FromASingleCell it'll grow right back]].
17	* ButtMonkey: Because it's Halloween, everyone (minus Patrick) makes fun of [=SpongeBob=] for being scared.
18	* CompressedVice: In this episode, [=SpongeBob=] becomes ''incredibly'' cowardly, to the point of being horrified by Patrick in nose glasses. Perhaps it's just the season?
19	* DelayedReaction: Both from [[TheDitz Patrick]]:
20	** As he lowers [=SpongeBob=] down into the Krusty Krab, a jellyfish comes up behind Patrick and stings him in the butt, and it takes Patrick a few seconds to react before running around screaming in pain.
21	** After realizing that it was [=SpongeBob=]'s brain instead of a pink hat, Patrick runs off like everyone else. Patrick was the one who shaved [=SpongeBob=] down to his brain, and even after [=SpongeBob=] explains to him that it's his brain, Patrick says "Ohhh..." in understanding before showing any fear.
22	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Given Sandy's limitations for a costume idea, she goes with a pet goldfish in a bowl. Squidward is visibly uncomfortable since most of the partygoers are fish themselves.
23	* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Inadvertently so, since [=SpongeBob=] himself wasn't fazed by his brain being exposed, but doing so allowed him to beat the Flying Dutchman at his own game and scare him.
24	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Sandy going as a pet goldfish in a bowl to Squidward's discomfort parallels people who do blackface.
25	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
26	** The opening scenes in the Krusty Krab alone stand in stark contrast to how the character dynamics change in later episodes and seasons. [=SpongeBob=] actually becomes angry with Squidward's teasing when he usually assumes Squidward thinks he's his best friend out of naïveté, and he also gets annoyed with Mr. Krabs, who he usually displays UndyingLoyalty to and quickly forgives him for any mistreatment.
27	** There's also the spider wearing a snorkel and facemask, while later episodes would have spiders in Bikini Bottom who didn't wear any [[WaterIsAir swimming/diving equipment]].
28	* FauxHorrific: One of the things that scares [=SpongeBob=] so badly? A kid in a ''cowboy'' costume.
29	* FemaleGaze: Before he gets stung, the camera shows the audience [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/spongebob/images/1/19/Patrick_About_To_Get_Zapped.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20231110050406 a nice shot of Patrick's butt]].
30	* FlyingDutchman: Making his grand debut.
31	* FurryConfusion: Squidward's reaction to Sandy's costume.
32	-->'''Squidward:''' What are ''you'' supposed to be?\
33	'''Sandy:''' Why, I'm a pet goldfish in a bowl!\
34	'''Squidward:''' ''[[{{Beat}} (beat)]]'' I don't get it.
35	* HalloweenEpisode: The first of the series, and the only one for 12 years.
36	* HorrifyingTheHorror: The Flying Dutchman screams and flees in terror after unmasking [=SpongeBob=] and seeing his exposed brain.
37	* ImplausibleDeniability: When everyone realizes the "ghost" is [=SpongeBob=] due to his pants sticking out upside down, Patrick says, "I am not [=SpongeBob=]! Those are my street clothes!"
38	* {{Jerkass}}: The jellyfish who stings Patrick in the butt [[HandRubbing rubs his hands together]], showing he was intentionally screwing with Patrick.
39	* JerkassBall: Everyone who teased [=SpongeBob=] for being scared.
40	* KidsAreCruel: A group of kids dressed in their Halloween costumes were amongst the people who tease [=SpongeBob=] for being scared. Heck, the ones that dub him the "Haunted Mattress" actually ''refuse'' to take his candy, feeling that the laugh they got at his expense [[WorthIt was treat enough]].
41	* LaserGuidedKarma: Everyone who made fun of [=SpongeBob=] for being scared of Halloween were terrorized when they saw [=SpongeBob=]'s brain.
42	* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: [=SpongeBob=] apparently doesn't know that Patrick cut off so much of his head that his brain is visible. Once it is pointed out to him, he is the only one that ''doesn't'' freak out about it. Though this is justified since [=SpongeBob=] says it will grow back, and he has demonstrated throughout the series to have a HealingFactor.
43	* MaliciousMisnaming: [=SpongeBob=] being called "Scaredy Pants" and the "Haunted Mattress".
44	* NotSoInnocentWhistle: After the Flying Dutchman says how much he detests people who dress like him and mock his name, Squidward (who is dressed as the Flying Dutchman) quickly removes his beard and hat and whistles nonchalantly.
45	* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Patrick has absolutely no idea what his "costume" (a set of Groucho glasses) is.
46	* RealAfterAll: It’s implied the townsfolk believed the Flying Dutchman to be just a myth until he personally lays siege to the Krusty Krab.
47	* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: [=SpongeBob=]'s girly scream is heard a lot in this episode.
48	* ShamSupernatural: [=SpongeBob=] attempts to scare a party of Bikini Bottomites by impersonating the Flying Dutchman, which fails so spectacularly that it even draws the real Flying Dutchman's ire.
49	* SpecialGuest: The Ghastly Ones who perform the end credits song "[=SpongeBob ScaredyPants=]".
50	* WorthIt: Laughing at [=SpongeBob=]'s square ghost costume is enough for the kids.
51	-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Okay, okay, here's your candy...\
52	'''Witch:''' No, please. [[KickTheDog That was enough of a treat.]] Thank you!
53	* YankTheDogsChain: It seems like [=SpongeBob=]'s proper ghost costume might impress the kids who laughed at him earlier, but...
54	-->'''Mummy:''' Wasn't ''that'' the Haunted Mattress?\
55	'''Pumpkin:''' I guess he's been demoted to a Haunted Sleeping Bag!\
56	''[[KickTheDog (all the kids laugh)]]''
57	----
58	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b3e70b37_9167_4c05_9c2f_d6bbe40789dd.png]]
59	[[caption-width-right:350:It must be heavy weathering through all that snail plasma.]]
60
61	'''I Was a Teenage Gary'''
62
63	'''Original air date:''' 10/28/1999
64
65	Squidward agrees to take care of Gary while [=SpongeBob=] is away at the Annual Jellyfish Convention in Ukulele Bottom, but he forgets and [=SpongeBob=] returns to find poor Gary sick. But then things take a turn for the scary when [=SpongeBob=] gets injected with snail plasma meant for Gary, and that night undergoes a strange transformation...
66	----
67	!!"I Was a Teenage Gary" contains examples of:
68	* BerserkBoardBarricade: Squidward does this to his window to keep snailified [=SpongeBob=] out. He just squeezes through a knothole.
69	* BigShutUp: Patrick is awakened by Gary and transformed Squidward and [=SpongeBob=] singing "Blow the Man Down" at night on the fence and [[ShoeSlap tosses a shoe at Squidward]].
70	-->'''Patrick:''' Will you clam up?!
71	* BottleEpisode: The entire episode takes place at Conch Street, mostly inside [=SpongeBob=]'s house.
72	* CatConcerto: The episode ends with Gary and the snailified [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward meowing to the tune of "Blow the Man Down" on a fence. Patrick yells at them to keep quiet and tosses a boot at them, hitting Squidward.
73	* CobwebOfDisuse: Gary has cobwebs stuck to his shell when Squidward forgets to feed him.
74	* ComicallyIneptHealing: The veterinarian hired to nurse Gary back to health hands [=SpongeBob=] the snail plasma to inject himself, and when [=SpongeBob=] {{lampshade\|hanging}}s how the vet's supposed to inject it, he leaves, saying that he's too squeamish.
75	* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: After [=SpongeBob=] returns home, Squidward (knowing how sick Gary is) prepares to hurriedly leave. But once [=SpongeBob=] sees Gary and cries out for Squidward, he reluctantly stays behind to help [=SpongeBob=] call a doctor. He has a similar moment later when he prepares to leave [=SpongeBob=] to inject the snail plasma himself, agreeing to do so after Gary begins coughing and [=SpongeBob=] gets worried.
76	* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Squidward sums up this trope during the episode's climax: "None of this would be happening if I only fed the snail!"
77	* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: In a roundabout way. The song that Gary, [=SpongeBob=], and Squidward "sing" at the end of the episode is "Blow the Man Down", which is what the theme song of the show is based off of.
78	* DownerEnding: [[ZigZaggedTrope To a degree.]] [=SpongeBob and Squidward=] are stuck as snails after the episode ends. However, they're all happily meowing to the tune of Blow the Man Down.
79	* DrugsCausingSlowMotion: A variation. Squidward accidentally injects [=SpongeBob=] with snail plasma that was meant to be administered to Gary, causing him to slowly transform into a snail. One of the effects is that [=SpongeBob=]'s walking speed is exponentially slowed down to match Gary's.
80	-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Gary, you're getting a looot faaasteeer.
81	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: This episode has the first instance of a time card. It is not read out loud by the narrator.
82	* EatingPetFood: One of the first side effects of [=SpongeBob's=] snail plasma injection.
83	* EyePop: [=SpongeBob=]'s eyes pop out as he starts to transform into a snail.
84	* FailedASpotCheck: Patrick doesn’t notice that his friends are now snails when he throws the shoe.
85	* FinalSpeech: [=SpongeBob's=] last words before he finally succumbs to the snail plasma, speech turning into meows.
86	-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I take it back, Gary! Something is wrong with meeeee--''ow''!
87	* FiveSecondForeshadowing:
88	** The second the bus leaves, Squidward happily dances and runs back to his house. He then comes out with a beach chair to tan outside and it seems like he completely forgot about Gary, as he’s just thinking about how great it will be without his neighbors nearby. The next scene cuts to three days later, and it turns out Squidward didn’t move a muscle for three days and Gary is now weak and feeble.
89	** Happens again near the end of the episode. If you look closely after the complete destruction in Squidward's house, there's a picture of Squidward with a clarinet on his nose. As soon as Squidward rises from the rubble, the snail syringe is now on his nose, and [[OhCrap Squidward knows exactly what that means.]]
90	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
91	** The doctor's odd diagnosis of Gary definitely being a snail and that snail plasma is the cure hints at what it actually does and what will happen to [=SpongeBob=] after his accidental injection.
92	** In addition to [=SpongeBob=] saying he feels funny after his injection, he uncontrollably eats Gary’s snail food, meows out of nowhere, and finally loses his speed before his physical transformation.
93	* ImmediateSelfContradiction: Squidward claims to have "the memory of an elephant" before misremembering Gary's name as "Fred".
94	* ImpactSilhouette: Patrick leaves a star-shaped hole in [=SpongeBob's=] wall ''and'' in the bus when it arrives.
95	* KarmaHoudini: At least as far as we know, the doctor gets away with refusing to inject the snail plasma into Gary himself. That also makes him responsible for [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward transforming into snails.
96	* LaserGuidedKarma: Because he neglected [=SpongeBob=]'s snail during the three days the snail's owner was away, Squidward gets a dose of this when he is pursued by the snailified [=SpongeBob=] (who he injected with the snail plasma) and becomes affected by the snail plasma himself.
97	** One could count the shoe thrown by Patrick hitting him as an extra dose of karma if they ''really'' loathed Squidward's neglect.
98	* LuminescentBlush: After Patrick wildly swings around his jellyfish net and accidentally breaks something of [=SpongeBob=]'s off-screen, he blushes in embarrassment and tries to pass it off by changing the conversation.
99	* MixAndMatchCritters: The snail plasma injection causes [=SpongeBob=] to turn into a snail-sea sponge hybrid. Ditto for Squidward.
100	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Squidward says this almost word-for-word whilst hiding from the [=SpongeBob=] transformed snail.
101	* NeverMyFault: Zigzagged. Squidward is horrified when he sees what accidentally injecting [=SpongeBob=] [[TransformationHorror caused,]] only for him to take out the snail plasma and blame ''it'' specifically for his current dilemma (he could also be referring to himself alongside it). When he's hiding in the closet, however, Squidward concedes that none of this would've happened had he just cared for Gary properly instead of using the weekend to tan.
102	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Twofold for Squidward. He neglected Gary the whole time [=SpongeBob=] was away, causing them to call a veterinarian who recommended snail plasma, which [=SpongeBob=] was too squeamish to give Gary, making Squidward try to use it and accidentally injected his neighbor with instead. It turns out that Gary was only dehydrated. Lampshaded by Squidward himself when [=SpongeSnail=] comes into his home.
103	* NoEnding: The episode ends with [=SpongeBob=] and eventually Squidward turned into snails, [[SnapBack with no explanation how they got back to normal]].
104	** Some airings actually leave out Patrick throwing the shoe for unknown reasons.
105	* NoodleImplements: It's never explained why [=SpongeBob=] keeps leaving his undergarments on Squidward's front lawn.
106	* ObliviousToHatred: The only reason Squidward agrees to take care of Gary is because he wanted [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick gone for three days, but they don't realize this. Patrick thought Squidward would want to participate in a jellyfishing convention at the latter’s house, which was ultimately what made Squidward agree to watch Gary.
107	* OhCrap: Happens many times.
108	** Patrick, at the beginning after breaking [=SpongeBob’s=] vase.
109	** Squidward, when he realizes he forgot to take care of Gary for three days, right before the bus arrives to drop off [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick.
110	** [=SpongeBob=] has this feeling after being injected with the snail plasma, with Squidward wrongly predicting he’ll be fine.
111	** Gary has this reaction at one point when he watches [=SpongeBob=] transform into a snail.
112	** Squidward again, after he is injected with the snail plasma through his nose.
113	--->'''Squidward:''' Uh-oh...
114	* OneWordVocabulary: When [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward turn into snails, they lose the ability to say anything other than "meow".
115	* OverlyLongGag: The squeamish [=SpongeBob=] repeatedly pulls Gary away and shouts "WAIT!" whenever Squidward tries to inject him with snail plasma.
116	* PainfulTransformation: [=SpongeBob=] has one as he slowly transforms into a sponge-snail hybrid due to the snail plasma injection.
117	* PlotHole: The snail plasma ends up in Squidward's nose, even though it shattered from Squidward throwing it beforehand.
118	* ProperlyParanoid: After getting injected with snail plasma, [=SpongeBob=] worries that something will happen to him, but Squidward tells him he'll be fine. Turns out [=SpongeBob=] was right.
119	* RapidFireNo: The doctor does this when [=SpongeBob=] asks if he’s going to inject the snail plasma into Gary, then says he’s too squeamish.
120	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
121	** When [=SpongeBob=] arrives back home from the Jellyfish Convention, he finds Squidward who tells him he's been taking care of Gary. Squidward tries to flee the scene before [=SpongeBob=] finds Gary in a helpless condition, but [=SpongeBob=] tells him to come back.
122	** When [=SpongeBob=] asks the doctor if he will inject the snail plasma into Gary, the doctor states he's too squeamish and abruptly leaves.
123	** Squidward also tries to leave once again after the doctor leaves, but [=SpongeBob=] stops him since he's also too squeamish. Squidward then begrudgingly agrees to inject the snail plasma.
124	* ShaggyDogStory: It turns out Gary was only dehydrated and needed water.
125	-->'''Squidward:''' [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe He just needed]] ''[[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe water?!]]''
126	* ShoutOut: The title is one to ''Film/IWasATeenageWerewolf''.
127	* SmallRoleBigImpact: The Purple Doctorfish appears midway through the episode to give [=SpongeBob=] the snail plasma (which turns [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward into snails after being injected with it), but doesn't appear again for the rest of the episode.
128	* SuperPersistentPredator: A non-malicious example. After being transformed into a snail, [=SpongeBob=] goes over to Squidward's house, causing Squidward to freak out and start boarding up his door and windows. With the malleability of his new snail body, [=SpongeBob=] squeezes through a hole in a board on the window, slides himself underneath the door of the closet where Squidward's hiding, and continues to chase him all around the house.
129	* TemptingFate: After going through the ordeal of Gary being sick, Squidward comments "I hope I never see another snail again". Sure enough, ten seconds later, he encounters the transformed [=SpongeBob=].
130	* ThereWasADoor: When the bus for the convention arrives to pick them up, an overly excited Patrick smashes through the wall in [=SpongeBob=]'s house, right next to the open door. And then through the bus itself.
131	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: When Squidward digs himself out of the damage done to his house, he notices the snail plasma injected in his nose and says “Uh-oh,” knowing what will happen to him after seeing what happened to [=SpongeBob=].
132	* TimeSkip: After [=SpongeBob=] leaves for the convention, Squidward gets ready to relax... then it jumps to three days later when [=SpongeBob=] is coming home and Squidward neglected Gary the whole time.
133	* TooDumbToLive: Even though [=SpongeBob=] said he felt uncomfortable after being injected with the snail plasma, Squidward takes the snail plasma to his house for some reason. The snail plasma ends up in Squidward’s nose after some havoc when the now snail-form [=SpongeBob=] breaks into Squidward’s house.
134	* TransformationDiscretionShot: While [=SpongeBob=]'s transformation into a snail is entirely on-camera, Squidward's transformation into a snail occurs offscreen; he's last seen accidentally injecting himself with the snail plasma, before appearing fully transformed singing on the fence alongside [=SpongeBob=]. There was an urban legend that the transformation actually happened on screen in the original airing, but this has since been debunked.
135	* TransformationHorror: Parodied when the snail plasma turns [=SpongeBob=] into a snail. Currently provides the page quote:
136	-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I take it back, Gary! Something is wrong with meeeee--''ow''!
137	* TheUnReveal: We never actually get to see the Jellyfish Convention nor Ukulele Bottom.
138	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Squidward, who agreed to take care of Gary while [=SpongeBob=] was away, but accidentally forgot until ''literally'' the last minute.

Context Recap / SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E13ScaredyPantsIWasATeenageGary