Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers?/A Fish called Sandy

Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers?: A Plankton and Squidward episode is a fun concept that hasn't been done much before, and I do sort of like their dynamic in this episode, but I their constant bickering takes up too much time. They hype up their play so much, but we only get to see the opening scene. It would've been fun to see at least a little bit more of it. It's not a bad episode, though, and I like how SpongeBob is an actual part of the plot instead of just showing up and adding nothing like he does in many non-SpongeBob-focused episodes before BassWard.

A Fish Called Sandy: This episode gets loads of praise, but after watching it myself, I think some fans are blinded by nostalgia. The episode is animated in a retro style mimicking the earlier seasons, but this mimicry's a little off. The colors are all wrong, and the animation feels stiff. As someone who actually likes the bright and fluid style of the recent seasons, I'd rather the show embrace the new than try and fail to mimic the old. The voice acting also feels super stilted - I think Tom Kenny was trying to use the older, lower SpongeBob voice, but it doesn't sound right, and Sandy just sounds phoned in. And while I normally like transformation plots, this episode spends too much time referencing other episodes to let its own plot shine - and referencing classics doesn't make it one. It's a below-average episode slathered in nostalgia-colored paint. It's dying plain tofu brown and calling it vegan steak. I grew up watching old SpongeBob reruns, but I like plenty of newer episodes too, and I don't want the showrunners to think that empty pandering beats genuine attempts at creativity. As Sandy learns, fish are great and all, but a squirrel is better off as a squirrel.

Before the episode A Fish Called Sandy came out, I thought that SpongeBob has been dead since Season 3 or 4. Now, A Fish Called Sandy has provided a new hope for the show. This episode has amazing writing, characters, but most of the praise comes from the animation. It is a lovely blend of Season 1 animation and modern and I love it.

The episode definitely has its flaws, however, with the Sandy's oversimplified scientist trope being my main issue. Although, here this trope is a lot less of an issue in this episode, as most of the episode is just Sandy and SpongeBob running around Bikini Bottom.

Overall, 9/10 episode. Our childhoods are so back.

This episode brought back fond memories of the golden era of seasons 1-3. While I wouldn't call it a perfect episode I gave it a 10 out of 10 simply because it brought hope to me again , not about having a flawless plot or story. What matters to me is that this episode finally revived the core elements that made classic SpongeBob so watchable. It feels refreshingly different from modern SpongeBob and, in many key ways, reminiscent of the classic series we all know and love , like :

Pacing Done Right

One of the standout improvements is the pacing. This episode returns to the natural, well-timed flow of actions, jokes, and dialogue that defined the early seasons. In contrast, modern SpongeBob often feels like a disjointed mix of short, over-the-top gags and rapid actions with little context. It's as if the modern show tries too hard to be funny, resulting in a rushed, clip-like structure that can feel soulless. This episode, however, gets the timing just right.

The return of the good old Art Style

The art style is another welcome change. Modern SpongeBob has become overly saturated, with exaggerated and unnecessary facial expressions popping up every few seconds, which I find distracting and annoying. This episode tones down those excesses, making the visuals more pleasant and aligned with the classic aesthetic we love

Characters and Sound That Feel Familiar

The characters' personalities also bring back the golden era vibe . In recent seasons, they've faded, but here, they feel authentic and true to their original selves. On top of that, the background sound is a highlight calm, relaxing, and infused with that iconic underwater ambiance in the intro especially , complete with iconic music like "Aloha" . Modern SpongeBob, by comparison, leans on excessive, noisy, and often random soundtracks that feel out of place , it has lost the charm and the identity of the underwater world , and started feeling more like a normal cartoon .

When you put these elements together : pacing, art style, character integrity, etc... it's easy to see why classic SpongeBob is so beloved, you don't even have to try too hard to make it work , it's inherently good . Modern SpongeBob, on the other hand, often feels like a soulless production, seemingly aimed at like 5 year olds , just like Patrick Star Show ( which I interpreted after watching a bit from it) . Sometimes the new seasons don't even feel like the same show anymore ...

This was a simple episode , with a simple plot , but felt so special compared to modern episodes for bringing back most of these core elements , which again makes the show enjoyable without even trying . I don't wanna praise the episode specifically , rather I want to praise the comeback to the old golden style .

Message to Nickelodeon

This is a message to Nickelodeon: despite the spinoffs and the changes to the series, please strive to bring back more episodes like this one, it doesn't have to be for a young audience only , I was like 10 years old when I enjoyed the old seasons , just like adults did , because that Spongebob was ageless . As Spongebob fans, that's what we truly want .

Whoever wrote this episode, animated this episode, PLEASE COME BACK AND STAY! This episode not only looked good visually, but was also ACTUALLY. WATCHABLE, kids should be watching this instead of the previous episodes of Spongebob being an insane maniac every single frame!

The episode was enjoyable with a simple story that was executed greatly! Spongebob is such a likable character in this episode acting like a true friend instead of a mental patient. Spongebob is not the only character who is better in this episode, Patrick also has his good moments and Sandy is also very likable.

Clearly they can continue the show and be able to write a good episode, please, we need more like this, not temporary, not for celebration, but permanently.

As everybody has said online, the second segment is definitely one of the best episodes of the series in a long while-and I am really grateful that we finally get to see another glance at the classic designs and storytelling once more...

However, I do believe that this style of episode needs to be relaxed and not be super frequent in the future. There are a LOT of callbacks to older episodes in this, and I don't want the show to be just a vision of what it once was, I think the show needs to evolve and try new things instead of relying on previous conventions for it to be good.

Writing wise though? I would definitely not mind the show going back to being more simpler and having relaxed animation choices like this. Not specifically the classic designs but something simple so that the wacky moments and gross out parts aren't so frequent and hit harder when they do occur. I like the wackier side of this show, but I also do miss when there was a bit of groundedness to the plot of each episode in the classic era, which AFCS reflects perfectly.

SpongeBob has always been experimental, and this is the kind of experimental I like because it still manages to tell a charming one-off story about Sandy wanting to experience the sea in a completely different and new way. If anything I'm honestly surprised this episode was not explored in its early run, it definitely could've co-existed with the old seasons.