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SpongeBob SquarePants S 2 E 4 "Dying for Pie" / "Imitation Krabs"

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Dying for Pie:

  • Accidental Aesop: Unintentionally, the episode illustrates that you just can't force two people to be friends, especially if such hatred and animosity is ingrained in one of the people. By the end of the episode, Squidward reverts to his nasty self towards SpongeBob for making him do all those silly activities, showing just how deep-seated his hatred is for him. While Mr. Krabs had good intentions to create the event to bring them closer, it was ultimately doomed to fail when one of them clearly did not want even mandatory friendship. On the other hand, it seemed like a more intentional lesson was that being such a nasty and hate-filled person in the first place will only make things harder for yourself and others if you don't even try to change your ways, which was what Mr. Krabs was attempting to call Squidward out on.
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Was Squidward really trying to give SpongeBob a great last day on Earth for him, or was it only to clear his conscience? On one hand, near the beginning, he was genuinely tearful at the idea of SpongeBob suddenly blowing up, and he later cries when he is reminded again, which both point to the former. On the other hand, his line about saying he is such a good person for doing it and anger that he wasted his day (rather than being grateful SpongeBob is alive) points toward the latter. Alternatively, Squidward started out genuinely sorry, but the continued ridiculousness and dismemberment led to his hate subtly growing back.
    • Also, when Squidward bought the pie from the pirate crew, did he actually take them at their word when they said they were kidding about the pies being bombs, or did he buy it fully aware of what it was but just wanted to get Mr. Krabs off his back? At the end, he does admit to SpongeBob he didn’t know they were actually bombs, implying the former, although he could’ve been saying that to look less guilty.
    • Why did SpongeBob rub his belly and lick his fingers when thanking Squidward for the pie, if he never really ate it? Did he eat something else and the "thanks for the pie" comment was unrelated, or did he not actually eat anything and the finger-licking and belly-rubbing was just intended to communicate that the pie looked tasty?
  • Alternative Joke Interpretation: After Squidward leaves Mr. Krabs's office to spend SpongeBob's (supposedly) final day with him. Krabs takes a note to himself "Watch out for Squidward". Does he think Squidward's recklessness will result in his own death despite the octopus showing remorse for allegedly killing SpongeBob? Does he think Squidward will deliberately try to kill him for an unrelated reason? Or does he think Squidward will come back to kill him so he doesn't tell anyone he killed SpongeBob?
  • Ass Pull: While it was pretty obvious that SpongeBob wasn't gonna die, the way the ending was handled seems pretty rushed. SpongeBob blowing bubble bombs once the sun went down seems pretty contrived in its timing, but more importantly is the twist of SpongeBob still having the pie (which he literally pulls out of his ass). Rule of Funny aside, this throws a lot of things into question. What the heck did SpongeBob eat between him finding the pie and Squidward and Mr. Krabs rushing back to the office? Why did he thank Squidward for the pie after eating whatever the other thing was? And why did smoke rise out of his mouth when something hit his lower intestine, not to mention not recognizing the scent?
  • Fridge Horror:
  • Genius Bonus: The stock footage of the nuclear explosion that appears when Squidward gets hit with the pie bomb is taken from the 1946 nuclear bomb test on Bikini Atoll, the real life location of where Bikini Bottom is set.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: While $25 for a single pie is certainly ludicrous by today's standards, at the time of the episode's release, $25 was the equivalent of $45 in 2025 pricing, and $25 will end up being more reasonable for a pie as years go on due to the accelerating inflation rate.*
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • The scene with SpongeBob with his face pressed against the window and a big smile looking at Squidward as he walks past became a template of showing obsession over something.
    • "Oh, these aren't homemade, they were... made in a factory. A bomb factory. They're bombs."Explanation
    • The Krusty Krab blowing up.Explanation
    • "How do we tell him?"Explanation
    • A frame of Squidward raising his hands in the air with a big smile during the scene where he claims he's going to make SpongeBob's final hours so happy he'll drown in it with the caption "Guess what, nobody cares" is often used as a reaction image to something the poster isn't interested in.
    • British people when they see a droneExplanation
    • "Wearing a salmon suit!"Explanation
    • "GARY! YOU ARE GONNA FINISH YOUR DESSERT, AND YOU ARE GONNA LIKE IT!!!"Explanation
    • The pie explosion.Explanation
  • Spoiled by the Format: After SpongeBob seemingly explodes from the pie bomb and Squidward mourns him, you know there's still more to come from that point as there were about two minutes left in the episode following the explosion.
  • Tear Jerker: SpongeBob supposedly dying as well as Squidward's guilt for potentially killing him. Turns into a Tear Dryer when it was revealed SpongeBob did not explode after all.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome: The sunset scene is incredibly well-drawn, with the color palette being incredibly impressionist and SpongeBob and Squidward's shadows not only following their movement exactly, but also stretching out the further the sun goes down.

Imitation Krabs:

  • Ass Pull: Plankton having a self-destruct coin slot in his Mr. Krabs robot. This was never hinted at beforehand and ensured Plankton wouldn’t win in the end with Mr. Krabs out of the picture at the moment and SpongeBob none the wiser.
  • Franchise Original Sin: There's no denying that SpongeBob is a massive Idiot Houdini in this, bordering on Lethally Stupid, as he's completely fooled by Plankton's Paper-Thin Disguise and lack of trying at hiding its various robotic installments (like laser vision), ends up favoring the fake Krabs over the real one where his spiteful attitude towards who he thinks is the fake can coming off as annoying, rather than amusing and nearly gets the latter Eaten Alive, only to end the episode with a slap on the wrist. But the humor is so fast-paced, witty, and quotable that it's easy to look past the main character's stupidity, plus it has its fair share of Self-Deprecation about the premise's own absurdity. Many later episodes (after the first movie) would have SpongeBob acting just as oblivious to reality, if not more so, but the humor would often not be up to snuff, nor would they have much self-awareness, making Refuge in Audacity much harder for viewers, not helped by how more than one episode would basically retread this premise of Plankton trying to steal the formula through fooling SpongeBob with a disguise.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • "But we did everything you said! I followed all the rules!"Explanation
    • "Ravioli ravioli, give me the formuoli."Explanation
      • "Ravioli ravioli, give me the diplomioli."Explanation

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