This page is to collect and sort varies examples of An Aesop from the SpongeBob SquarePants recap pages, so that we can know what to keep, move to Accidental Aesop, or remove entirely.
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Genuine Aesops (keep)
The episode was meant to have this lesson:
- "SpongeBob SquarePants S2 E12 "Pressure" / "The Smoking Peanut"":
- Pressure: An Aesop: Stated by SpongeBob and Sandy: "Everyone's good at something, but nobody's good at everything." Moral was stated in the episode
- The Smoking Peanut: Don't hide from your mistakes, especially if they're honest mistakes. Confess and explain yourself. The way the episode is set up implies the message is intentional, although I could be wrong.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 8 E 3 A Friendy Game Sentimental Sponge:
- Sentimental Sponge: Hoarding is not acceptable. It's important to throw out the things you no longer need, even if it is hard at first. Despite the joke-y Here We Go Again! ending, SpongeBob's hoarding obsession is mainly dramatic and the episode sympathizes with him for it.
- Spongebob Squarepants S 4 E 4 Skill Crane Good Neighbors
- Good Neighbors: Give people time to relax. You don't always have to be in their life. The episode does have SpongeBob and Patrick apologizing for repeatedly intruding on Squidward.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 8 E 19 Karen 20 In Spongeiac
- InSPONGEiac: It’s important to get enough sleep. The episode has a valid Sleep Aesop involving SpongeBob trying to get to sleep to improve his performance at work.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 5 Eek An Urchin Squid Defense
- Using self-defense should be used for just that; going out of your way to fight your aggressor would make you no better than them. This is the point of the episode, Squidward gets punished for going after his attacker again.
- Martial arts, including karate, all have a code of honor you must follow: for starters, only use them in self-defense, not to beat people up. SpongeBob and Sandy specifically tell this to Squidward.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 9 Dont Look Now Seance Schmeance:
- Don't Look Now: Face your fears. The ending has SpongeBob and Patrick trying to "save" Squidward and thus overcoming their fears, even though they're scared. It seems like an intentional moral.
- SpongeBob SquarePants S9 E10 "Kenny the Cat" / "Yeti Krabs":
- Kenny the Cat: Not everyone is who they say they are. What they claim to do, they actually can’t. SpongeBob's Broken Pedestal moment against Kenny is played for drama.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 26 Mutiny On The Krusty The Whole Tooth:
- The Whole Tooth: It's important to keep your mouth and teeth healthy.
- Your baby teeth have to come out sooner or later; it's important to roll with it. These are both the morals the episode presents.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 10 E 3 Mimic Madness House Worming
- Mimic Madness: You don't have to imitate others for the sake of it, just be yourself. SpongeBob says something like this at the end, and his identity crisis is a major dramatic moment.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 20 Plankton Paranoia Library Cards
- Plankton Paranoia: It's okay to be cautious, but don't get paranoid over something or it will have an effect on your sanity. Keep, Krabs admits that he was wrong to suspect SpongeBob, and his Sanity Slippage is mainly played for drama.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 23 Appointment TV Karens Virus
- Appointment TV: Don't use someone for their kindness out of desperation. Keep. Towards the end, Sandy calls out her friends for taking advantage of SpongeBob's kindness, and they come up with a way to make it up to him.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 12 E 14
- SpongeBob's Bad Habit: It's important to control bad habits, or they could affect your life. While the ending is more of a Here We Go Again!, SpongeBob does try to control his nail-biting when it genuinely stresses him out.
Accidental Aesops (Move)
The episode wasn't intended to teach a lesson, but one can be found anyway:
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 9 Dont Look Now Seance Schmeance:
- Don't Look Now:
- What you see in a movie isn’t real; don’t take them too seriously. This feels justified. SpongeBob and Patrick never consider that the movie isn't real, and it scares them a lot.
- Don’t believe everything you see. Could also work, since they neglect that the movie isn't real.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 8 Sanitation Insanity Bunny Hunt
- Bunny Hunt: Don't bring wild animals into your home, no matter how cute they are. SpongeBob takes in the bunny because it's cute, even though he has no idea how to care for it and struggles to control it. I think this is a valid interpretation of the episode.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 12 Drive Happy Old Man Patrick
- Old Man Patrick: You're never too old to do the things you love. Considering that the old people do have fun at the arcade when SpongeBob takes them there, you can interpret it as this, even if the episode doesn't state a moral.
Misuse (Remove)
The lesson is a stretch, either because it involves only focusing on a small scene or misrepresents what happens in the episode:
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 1 E 18 Texas Walking Small"
- Don't make fun of other people's heritages and backgrounds. If you do, don't be shocked if they violently attack you. SpongeBob and Patrick weren't actually making fun of Texas, they were trying to provoke Sandy to lure her to the Krusty Krab.
- SpongeBob SquarePants S2 E12 "Pressure" / "The Smoking Peanut":
- The Smoking Peanut:
- Follow instructions on signs and other given information about how to treat animals in captivity and wildlife. It can be dangerous if you fail to follow these rules, and can result in you receiving a legal penalty. At no point in the episode is a sign seen about how to treat the clam
- Just because it's Free Day, doesn't mean everything's free.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 7 E 21
- Hide and Then What Happens?: You might find your friend where you'd least expect. This feels like it's trying to word the literal ending of the episode as some kind of spiritual message.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 8 E 5 Squidwards School For Grown Ups Oral Report:
- Squidward's School for Grown-Ups: Don't force someone to change just because they annoy you. The episode does have a valid moral about growing up, but this isn't it; Squidward doesn't even want to teach Patrick to be grown-up at first, and SpongeBob's even in on the idea.
- Oral Report: Face Your Fears. The episode doesn't give a moral, and SpongeBob is ultimately unable to speak in front of his class.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 2 Patrick Man Garys New Toy
- Patrick-Man!: Always know the right way to fix a problem. Not really a moral, the episode is more just joke-based.
- Gary's New Toy: Don't get obsessed with something so much as it could cause you to miss out on everything else. Gary does feel regretful, but it's an Ambiguous Situation because the ball is sometimes treated as an Artifact of Doom.
- SpongeBob SquarePants S 9 E 3 "License to Milkshake" / "Squid Baby"
- License to Milkshake: It's important to know the reason behind something you cannot do well. SpongeBob genuinely did forget how to make milkshakes and wasn't used to the new technology, but the episode doesn't present this as a lesson.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 4 Little Yellow Book Bumper To Bumper
- Little Yellow Book:
- Never read someone else's diary, especially when it's a secret diary. That tiny incident will ruin your entire life. Squidward does get away with the end, and says it was Worth It.
- Also, be mindful of other people’s belongings. At the same time, be mindful of your belongings. Don't leave your things unguarded or in the open, especially if they are extremely personal. The episode doesn't suggest this at any point.
- Bumper to Bumper: Don't take someone's advice too seriously. Episode is silliness without a moral.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 5 Eek An Urchin Squid Defense
- Squid Defense: Don't jump into conclusions if you don't know all the facts. Not the moral the episode comes to.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 12 Lost In Bikini Bottom Tutor Sauce
- Lost in Bikini Bottom: The path you choose to take may have its consequences. Not really a moral; it's just a joke that SpongeBob is such a Workaholic that he'd want to try to find the fastest way to work possible.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 10 E 8 The Incredible Shrinking Sponge Sportz
- Sportz?: Always give the proper rules when teaching someone how to play. Squidward doesn't do this for his own amusement, to get SpongeBob and Patrick injured. The episode is mostly silliness without a moral.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 2 Spot Returns The Check Up
- The Check-Up:
- Don't be afraid of doctors, a check-up is important, and you should trust them. Mr. Krabs does avoid seeing the doctor by the end, so I don't think anything is learned.
- Always leave the work to a professional, improvising yourself as a doctor is a terrible idea. While Krabs does end up worse because of SpongeBob and Squidward's attempts to give him the check-up, he didn't know it was their intent. SpongeBob and Squidward also don't try to talk to him directly.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 4 Man Ray Returns Larry The Floor Manager
- Larry the Floor Manager: You can't force people to exercise or eat healthy. Episode doesn't come to a moral.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 9 Squid Noir Scavenger Pants:
- Scavenger Pants:
- Something that might not exist might be real after all. Episode doesn't give either of these morals.
- Some people are better at finding things than you thought.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 12 Drive Happy Old Man Patrick
- Drive Happy: Some things that seem cool can have an adverse affect on your life. The episode isn't stated to have a moral; plus, a sentient car controlling the things you do is a Space Whale Aesop.
- Old Man Patrick: Enjoy your youth while you can, as it won't last forever. The episode is about SpongeBob trying to convince Patrick that he can still have fun even when he's old.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 19 Patnocchio Chef Bob:
- ChefBob: Be Yourself, which is said by Mr. Krabs, along with don't hide behind a puppet. While Mr. Krabs does say that the moral is to "always be yourself and not hide behind a puppet", it's Hypocritical Humor because he uses a puppet to say it. SpongeBob never approved of his puppet insulting people and even tried to fight it off, and it comes to closer to a Space Whale Aesop (puppets gaining sentience can't happen in real life). Plus, the scene ultimately ends up as a Spoof Aesop; SpongeBob pulls out his injured, swollen hand and says he learned to "not slam your puppet hand in a register drawer".
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 11 E 26 Squirrel Jelly The String:
- Squirrel Jelly: Don't try to force others to be as competitive as you. The episode doesn't have a moral, and this isn't the conclusion.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 12 E 4 Garys Got Legs King Plankton:
- Gary's Got Legs: Let people be who they are and don't try to change them. Episode doesn't have a moral.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 12 E 12 Jolly Lodgers Biddy Sitting
- If someone wants to be alone, give them the time they deserve; don't constantly disrupt them. SpongeBob and Patrick don't face much comeuppance for bothering Squidward, doesn't seem to be a moral.
- Don't try to force people to have fun or come to something with you; it'll only annoy them more. SpongeBob and Patrick were actually excited to see Squidward at the convention.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 12 E 18 Knock Knock Whos There Pat Hearts Squid
- Knock Knock, Who's There?:
- It's important to protect your house, but you don't have to keep everyone out. This feels like a reach, the episode isn't trying to make the viewer learn anything.
- Don't mistake people you know for strangers. How is this a moral?
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 13 E 2 Under The Small Top Squidwards Sick Daze:
- Squidward's Sick Daze: No matter what the circumstances are, you should always be upfront with your boss about the struggles of your employment. If that doesn't work, then the best thing to do is to keep your chin up despite all of the struggles. The episode doesn't give a moral.
Uncertain
This is for examples that might need discussion as to where they should go:
- SpongeBob SquarePants S2 E12 "Pressure" / "The Smoking Peanut":
- The Smoking Peanut:
- Don't put down people when they own up to their honest mistakes, not even if you think they are also taking responsibility for someone else's.
- Don't let other people take the blame for what you've done.
- Sometimes, what happened isn't your fault. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- Spongebob Squarepants S 4 E 4 Skill Crane Good Neighbors
- Skill Crane: There's a lot with this episode, but I'm not sure what the outright "correct" morals are, if any.
- Don't get obsessed with trying to succeed at something you aren't good at. Everyone is better at different fields than others. It's more about Squidward becoming obsessed with the crane and wanting to win.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help. This could be valid, since Squidward does have to ask for help.
- In gambling, the only winner is the one providing the gambling. There's a bit of this, with Krabs profiting from the machine? This could be an Accidental Aesop.
- Don't let one victory go to your head. This kind of counts with the end, where Squidward takes control of a real crane after winning the arcade crane? But that could easily be an I Don't Know Mortal Kombat-style Accidental Aesop.
- Although there is a slim chance you may actually win, many crane games are usually rigged. SpongeBob actually does win the crane every time out of skill, and there's nothing about them being rigged.
- Sponge Bob Square Pants S 12 E 11 Mind The Gap Dirty Bubble Returns
- Mind the Gap:
- Don't be jealous of other people's success, and instead be happy for them. While Squidward does end up needing to pay for the damage he causes during his jealous fits, it seems to be more of a joke to cap off the episode rather than something the audience is meant to learn from.
- Don't use people to get what you want.
- Accept people for their faults and don't try and change them.
