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SpongeBob SquarePants S2E9: "Survival of the Idiots"/"Dumped"

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Survival of the Idiots

SpongeBob SquarePants S2E9: "Survival of the Idiots"/"Dumped" Recap

Original air date: 3/17/2001 (produced in 2000)

SpongeBob and Patrick sneak into Sandy's Treedome while she's hibernating, but get locked in when the door freezes over. With no way out, the two must now try to survive until spring.


"Survival of the Idiots" contains examples of:

  • Abnormal Ammo: SpongeBob's snow cannon is also able to fire snow station wagons.
  • All Crimes Are Equal: It is implied that Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry are being charged for tax evasion. Or that taxpayers will have to keep paying taxes to keep Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry fed as prisoners.
    Sandy: I'm gonna catch you and throw you in jail, at taxpayers' expense!
  • Artistic License – Biology:
    • Tree squirrels do not hibernate for the winter.
    • As soon as spring arrives, SpongeBob and Patrick are somehow still able to breathe without their water helmets. To say nothing of them being able to survive at all in snow (this one is, at least, Hand Waved by the fact that snow is still technically water).
  • Bait-and-Switch: When SpongeBob sees the snow in the treedome:
    SpongeBob: What is this stuff?
    Patrick: It's a vast, swirling wonderland of sparkling white pleasure. Let it fill your senses with cascading, fluffy pillows of excitement and comfort as you've never felt before.
    SpongeBob: (crying Tears of Joy) Wow, Patrick... that was beautiful...!
    Patrick: What? I was just reading this candy wrapper, see?
    (hands such to SpongeBob, who is disappointed)
  • Bare-Handed Puppetry: Patrick makes the rolls of his back into "Pat Back".
  • Bears Are Bad News: Bulky!Sandy looks more like a bear than a squirrel, and she also roars like a bear (also squirrels don't actually hibernate in real life, but bears do). Fittingly enough, she's pretty aggressive.
  • Big Ball of Violence: Happens when Sandy (while hibernated) attacks SpongeBob and Patrick during one scene. The dust cloud fills the screen while they are completely obscured with stars, nuts and leaves flying out of it.
  • Big Eater: In the video she left warning potential visitors to stay away while she's asleep for the winter, Sandy is seen wolfing down a huge pile of acorns. Justified in that she's intentionally gaining weight to preprare for her hibernation, where she'll have to live off her fat reserves for three months.
  • Blatant Lies: Spongebob tells Sandy that “Squirrel Pattern Baldness” is common in small mammals, when he and Patrick are clearly wearing Sandy’s fur.
  • "Blind Idiot" Translation: In the Russian dub, instead of "You're nothing but pure evil, just like newspaper comics!" Sandy says "You're pure evil, pitiful comic characters!" It comes out like a weird Non Sequitur.
  • Bottle Episode: The majority of this episode is set inside Sandy's Treedome.
  • Bring It: SpongeBob and Patrick are ready to face the longest, coldest winter ever with Sandy's fur. Then it becomes spring.
  • Bullying a Dragon: SpongeBob and Patrick rudely interrupt Sandy's hibernation by laughing and making loud noise whacking each other with weapons made of snow.
  • Circling Birdies: After being knocked out by Sandy, Patrick sees hot wings flying around his head.
  • Continuity Nod: Two episodes earlier had Sandy preparing for hibernation.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Sandy's very one-sided fight against "Dirty Dan" and "Pinhead Larry".
  • Department of Redundancy Department: Patrick and SpongeBob comment on how cold they are.
    Patrick: I'm so cold I'm shivering!
    SpongeBob: I'm so cold I can use my nose drippings as a pair of chopsticks!
    Patrick: I'm so cold... I'm shivering!
  • Don't Wake the Sleeper: Sandy is incredibly grouchy if she's ever disturbed in the midst of hibernation, and savagely beats Patrick and SpongeBob when they make too much noise. Strangely, even though her eyes are open, she isn't technically awake even when this happens.
  • Especially Zoidberg: The video Sandy left in the entrance to her Treedome ends with her saying "During hibernation, animals don't like to be woken up. So do not disturb! (zoom in on her stern face) That means YOU, SpongeBob."
  • Exact Words: SpongeBob sheepishly tells Sandy "we've got you covered" when she discovers him and Patrick have stolen all her fur. Cut to show this was meant literally, as Sandy is now wearing the two of them like clothes by tying them around herself.
  • The Fat Episode: Sandy spends the bulk of the episode overweight, except with Stout Strength. Justified, since SpongeBob and Patrick visit her while she's hibernating.
  • Frozen Body Fluids: After being locked inside Sandy's tree dome during winter, the saliva around their mouths freeze, as does their nasal drippings, which SpongeBob even points out.
    SpongeBob: I'm so cold, that I can use my nose drippings as a pair of chopsticks.
  • Fully-Clothed Nudity: Sandy screams after she realizes that her body's naked, but she is still wearing her bikini. So, she would be fully naked if she didn't wear a bikini.
  • Furry Reminder: Like with real life squirrels, Sandy has to hibernate during winter, and she does this by eating as many nuts as she could (also a squirrel thing) to make herself fat enough to survive off her fat reserves until spring arrives.
  • Hand Wave: SpongeBob and Patrick are able to survive in the snow without any ill effects (besides being cold), because as Patrick points out, snow is technically still water.
  • Human Doorstop: As punishment for tearing off all her fur, Sandy wraps Patrick and SpongeBob around her body, using them as living clothing to cover her bare skin.
  • Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: SpongeBob (futilely) threatens Sandy with a plank of wood, and after she roars at him, he throws it in her direction... only for it to veer completely off-course and hit Patrick instead.
  • Intentional Weight Gain: Sandy deliberately makes herself obese in order to prepare for the winter, where she won't be able to eat anything else until spring arrives.
  • I Resemble That Remark!: After SpongeBob calls him Pinhead while they are roleplaying as the outlaws from Sandy's dreams, Patrick responds with an incredulous "Who you calling Pinhead" while his head is more pointed (see the above image).
  • I Will Tear Your Arms Off: While talking in her sleep, Sandy threatens to rip Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry's arms off.
  • Jerkass Ball: SpongeBob and Patrick taunt Sandy while she's hibernating and steal her fur to keep themselves warm. Also, Patrick insists on them entering Sandy's house despite specifically being told not to, using "No" Means "Yes" as an excuse.
  • Karma Houdini Warranty: Sandy, getting her fur ripped off, would pay the price for what she did to SpongeBob for doing all the dangerous stunts on Pre-Hibernation week.
  • Karmic Butt-Monkey: SpongeBob and Patrick get put through a lot of hell in this episode at the hands of a fearsome, ravenous Sandy, but they end up bringing it on themselves as they interrupt her hibernation and end up stealing her fur.
  • Laser-Guided Karma:
    • SpongeBob and Patrick ignored Sandy's "Do not disturb" message, leading them to eventually become trapped inside her treedome when the door becomes frozen, as well as some physical damage from the giant Sandy.
    • For disturbing Sandy's hibernation and stripping her of her fur, SpongeBob and Patrick are forced to be wrapped around Sandy's body until her fur grows back.
  • Literal Metaphor:
    SpongeBob: Don't worry, Sandy, we've got you covered.
    (cut to Sandy with SpongeBob and Patrick wrapped around her to cover up her bare skin)
  • Meaningful Name: SpongeBob is quick to label Patrick "Pinhead Larry", for obvious reasons. Patrick though isn't content with this and insists on being "Dirty Dan." When asked why, he proudly proclaims it's because he's dirty.
  • Minimalist Cast: SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy are the only characters that appear in this episode.
  • Naked Freak-Out: Well, lack of fur instead of clothes, but Sandy still freaks out when SpongeBob and Patrick strip her of her fur.
  • "No" Means "Yes": Said word for word by Patrick when he decides to enter Sandy's treedome despite being told by her through video not to.
  • Non Sequitur, *Thud*: "Hot wings."
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • SpongeBob and Patrick's reaction whenever Sandy wakes up.
    • They have a bigger one upon discovering that they're trapped inside the treedome until spring due to the door being frozen shut and are at risk of freezing to death before then.
    • Their biggest one is when spring arrives and Sandy's hibernation ends, with the duo desperately trying and failing to escape through the treedome's still frozen exit before she notices them wearing her stolen fur.
  • Open Sesame: This is Patrick's attempt at opening the frozen door. It doesn't work.
    Patrick: Well, I've done all I can do.
  • Or My Name Isn't...: Sandy, talking in her sleep: "I've had enough of your dastardly deeds, Dirty Dan... I'm gonna catch you and your partner, Pinhead Larry, or my name ain't Sheriff Sandy!"
  • Riddle for the Ages: Were Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry figments of Sandy's dream or an old memory in Texas?
  • Say My Name:
    • When the hibernating Sandy starts to chase SpongeBob around the treedome, she bellows "PINHEAAAAAAAD!".
    • Later on, when Sandy wakes up, she growls SpongeBob and Patrick's names, for 1.) Disobeying her warning video, 2.) Disturbing her slumber all through the winter in her tree dome, and 3.) Ripping off her fur to make themselves warm. Thanks a lot, Patrick Star.
  • Screaming Woman: Sandy, when she discovers her fur is missing.
  • Screams Like a Little Girl:
    • SpongeBob does his trademark shriek when Sandy wakes up for the first time, and another when he sees Sandy behind Patrick.
    • A female example: Sandy, who usually has a fairly deep, nasally scream of fear, lets out a bloodcurdling, shrill shriek very reminiscent of Helga Pataki when she sees that her fur is missing.
  • Sleep Walking: Sandy's clearly sleeping but her eyes are wide open and she thinks that SpongeBob and Patrick are the outlaws she's hunting and they're in a sore need for a beatdown.
  • Snowball Fight: With snow cannons, no less. That fire station wagons with nice paneling.
  • Snow Means Cold: Sandy's Treedome has snow in the winter, even though there is no logical reason for it to snow in a controlled environment such as this.
  • Take That!: "I'll get you [Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry], you're nothing but pure evil! Just like newspaper comics." In the DVD Commentary, Aaron Springer says that this was specifically a jab at The Family Circus.invoked
  • Talking in Your Sleep: Sandy when dreaming of fighting Texas outlaws. It's all fun and games until she starts Sleep Walking and beats down on "Dirty Dan" and "Pinhead Larry."
  • Temporary Bulk Change: Sandy has fattened herself up for hibernation. She loses it all by springtime.
  • Weight Taller: Fat Sandy is about twice as tall as regular Sandy.

Dumped

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dcbe0109_bf9e_498e_b4e8_a3a3febd63fa.png
"If that's the way you wanna thank me... for all that I've done?!"

Original air date: 5/11/2001 (produced in 2000)

SpongeBob becomes jealous when Gary starts hanging around with Patrick instead of him.


"Dumped" contains examples of:

  • Bindle Stick: Rex the worm (somehow) takes one when he runs away.
  • Blah, Blah, Blah: As Patrick talks to Gary about his plans for their sleepover, we cut to SpongeBob and hear his thoughts, with Patrick going "blah blah blah" in the background. When we cut back to Patrick, we hear what he's actually saying, but when SpongeBob leaves, Patrick starts going "blah blah blah" again.
  • Bottle Episode: Just like its sister episode, only one location is used for this episode. The entire episode is set at Conch Street.
  • Break the Cutie: SpongeBob does not take Gary's rejection well, and spends a majority of the episode depressed over it.
  • Snails Are Mean:
    • Larry the Snail. Not only does he refuse to obey SpongeBob, he forces him to sleep on the floor while Larry takes his bed.
    • Subverted with Gary; it seems like he prefers Patrick over SpongeBob, but he really wanted the cookie in his pocket.
  • Disney Dog Fight: Patrick insists SpongeBob put Gary down and let him decide who's best for him; he ultimately goes to Patrick.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?:
    • Per the title, Gary abandoning SpongeBob for Patrick is treated like a break up.
    • Just as much, Larry's treatment can come off like an abusive relationship with someone tolerating it to feel affection.
  • Worms Are Dumb: Rex, the worm SpongeBob adopts in an attempt to make Gary jealous, comes off as this, as he just stands there staring into space and panting when SpongeBob tries to get him to do tricks (except "stay", which he is already doing). However, he shows intelligence when he packs a Bindle Stick and abandons SpongeBob.
  • Evil Eyebrows: Larry has big bushy eyebrows, and while he isn't exactly evil per se, he sure is one nasty snail.
  • Five-Second Foreshadowing: Gary can be seen looking down Patrick's pants as he heads to the washing machine, and as he is taking his shorts off, Gary seems to follow their sighting before he puts them in.
  • Food and Animal Attraction: Turns out the reason Gary wanted to be with Patrick was because of the cookie he had in his back pocket.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • The first time Gary glomps to Patrick, he is on his middle back, and circles around his waist until nighttime. In fact, he is on Patrick's stomach in most scenes of the two together. This is a clue that he only wanted the cookie in Patrick's pocket.
    • When SpongeBob is dragging Gary away and Patrick insists he put him down and Let Him Choose, Gary appears to be not paying attention to Patrick.
  • Hates Being Touched: Larry's first instinct is to pull back when SpongeBob gives him an Affectionate Gesture to the Head.
  • Here We Go Again!: When Gary bonds with SpongeBob again, Patrick starts to feel betrayed similar to how SpongeBob felt without Gary.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Patrick gives SpongeBob a scolding for mourning so much over Gary leaving him, but after Gary succeeds in getting the cookie out of Patrick's pocket and so goes back to SpongeBob, Patrick doesn't take it too well either.
  • Idiot Ball: The reason Gary was constantly following Patrick was because he wanted the cookie in his pocket, yet throughout the episode, Gary makes no effort to check the pocket until the very end.
  • Inconsistent Spelling: Larry's name is written with two Rs on his model sheet and in the credits (like the lobster), but since SpongeBob just reuses Gary's food bowl (with the G hastily replaced with an L), his name comes out as "Lary" in the episode itself.
  • Jerkass: Larry the Snail, for angrily hissing at SpongeBob all the time and taking away his bed.
  • Jerkass Ball:
    • Patrick is a total bully in this episode; he treats SpongeBob like crap over Gary seemingly choosing the former over the latter. He also exploits his friendship with Gary for his own interests, and does not show any signs of remorse over SpongeBob missing his snail.
    • Subverted with Gary, who seemed to deliberately follow Patrick despite SpongeBob blatantly showing his depression over being separated from him, but in reality, he only wanted the cookie in Patrick's pocket.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: As much of a jerk Patrick was to SpongeBob in this episode, he is correct in stating that the briberies SpongeBob gives to Gary at such a desperate attempt to get him to return home (denying his litter box and free to rip up the sofa) were indeed pathetic.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Patrick gets his comeuppance for the way he treated SpongeBob when he discovers Gary was only interested in the cookie in his shorts pocket.
    Patrick: Gary? ...I thought what we had was speciaaaaal!
  • Let Him Choose: When SpongeBob tries to take Gary back from Patrick, they both decide to let Gary choose who he wants to go with. Gary chooses Patrick.
  • Malicious Misnaming:
    Patrick: Hold it right there, DadMom AngryPants!
    SpongeBob: What's that supposed to mean?!
    Patrick: I don't know, but I do know Gary knows who he wants to go with.
  • Medium-Shift Gag: One of the snails SpongeBob gets to replace Gary is a live-action garden snail named Jerry.
  • Minimalist Cast: Much like its sister episode. Only SpongeBob, Patrick, and Gary are present, as well as SpongeBob's few temporary pets.
  • No Sympathy: When SpongeBob is about to start crying when Patrick asks to do laundry with Gary, Patrick's response is an annoyed, "Here it comes..."
  • Ocular Gushers: Done by SpongeBob when he begs Gary to come home; his tears cause the bottles of laundry detergent he's holding to overflow.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Patrick gives one to SpongeBob, saying that it's SpongeBob's fault that Gary doesn't want to be with him anymore. But afterwards, Gary eats the cookie in Patrick's pocket and goes back to SpongeBob.
    Patrick: I'm sorry, SpongeBob, but Gary's with me now. You had your chance, and you failed! You have to stop living in the past. Face it, SpongeBob, you're only hurting yourself. It's what Gary wants. And what Gary wants... is me! Right, Gary? [Gary does not answer] ...Gary?
  • Replacement Goldfish: Subverted. SpongeBob tried replacing Gary with Rex, Larry, and Jerry. But none of those three work out, and SpongeBob breaks down and reduces to just pleading Gary to come back home promising maximum freedom.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here!:
    • About a minute after SpongeBob brings Rex the worm home, he hops on a bus and leaves. For added irony, this happens right after SpongeBob comments on how Rex is loyal, trusting, and always by [his] side.
    • Happens again with Larry when SpongeBob tells his "snailor" joke, which Larry clearly didn't respond well to.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: It turns out Gary was only around Patrick because of the cookie in his pocket. Once he ate that, he immediately returns to SpongeBob, which Patrick doesn’t take well.
    Patrick: Gary!? I THOUGHT WHAT WE HAD WAS SPECIAAAAAAAALLLLLL!
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: After SpongeBob's "snailor" joke, Larry shoves off, and isn't seen again for the rest of the episode, which then transitions the episode's comedic center back into the heavy melodrama.
  • Skewed Priorities: Gary thought that a single cookie was more important than his owner's feelings.
  • The Snack Is More Interesting: We see that Gary didn't really care for Patrick, he just wanted the cookie hiding in Patrick's back pocket.
  • Theme Naming: All of SpongeBob's replacement snails have names that rhyme with "Gary."
  • Verbed Title: "Dumped."
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: We don't see Larry again after SpongeBob reunites with Gary. We also don't see what happened to Jerry, either.

 
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Well, I've Done All I Can Do

Patrick tries to open Sandy's frozen door by saying "Open Sesame". It doesn't work.

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Main / OpenSesame

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