The One Toxic Trait Of SpongeBob 

In the earlier seasons, Squidward getting hurt was usually the result of his comeuppance for something he did. But now he just gets hurt for so much as breathing

Steven Hillenburg made it clear that Spongebob is _not_ supposed to be a dumb kid but rather a whimsical adult - but the later seasons seem to really try to make him out to be a dumb kid

SpongeBob's Flaws: Being completely oblivious at times, occasionally being a control freak, breaking into Squidward's house all the time, and being overly obsessive.

“You either die a SpongeBob, or you live long enough to see yourself be like Squidward.”

Man, I feel bad for Roger Bumpass. Imagine how much his vocal cords must hurt from ALL THAT SCREAMING.

New SpongeBob crashes into Squidward without realizing Old SpongeBob would’ve noticed he was going to crash into Squidward and try to brake but the car doesn’t start in time causing SpongeBob to crash making for a more funnier moment

Squidward in the older seasons was literally the embodiment of karma. But now things just get thrown at him for no good reason

SpongeBob has become one of those shows that shows the reason why all shows need to end at some point.

Almost sad how far Spongebob has fallen. Not just the show, the character. It's not even like his obliviousness is consistent. From what I remember, sometimes he lacks basic logic, other times, he doesn't

In earlier seasons SpongeBob did act like a child but he still had a some sort of common sense and level headedness. Now in days they make SpongeBob more idiotic, more chaotic, more destructive and overall Bugs Bunny-like.

At this point, it’s Nick’s version of Tom and Jerry

New episode idea: Squidward gets so tired of Spongebob's BS he hires a hitman to off him. And it actually works.

I swear anyone who claims Spongebob stopped being good after season 3 hasn't revisited Season 4A. Yeah its consistency was roughly on par with Season 3B, but when it was good, it was amazing.

SpongeBob is quintessentially one of the most iconic shows of all time, but it’s also the subject of corporate greed. The first few seasons had amazing writing, good characterization, amazing simple stories and lovable characters and songs. But nowadays, most of these episodes need to be “yEllOW spongE, fUnnY rAnDom aNd SiLLy”. You can tell some of these modern episodes are rehashed from the golden age, and some of the voice actors really sound like they have lost their spark. When Hillenburg(R.I.P) passed away back in 2018, it’s like Nick basically gave the biggest fuck you in probably Tv history and did the one thing Stephen did not want: spin-offs. Kamp Koral and the Patrick Star show just have “cash-grab” written all over them. Didn’t help that the third movie is forgettable

Spongebob being annoyingly oblivious was something I always hated as a kid, whether it was in the old seasons (Spongebob not getting it through his head that Ms. Puff didn't want to leave prison when even Patrick did) or the newer seasons (Spongebob scolding Gary as he's getting eaten alive by Puffy), but I could enjoy it when it's done right like in Jellyfishing or Opposite Day. It's a problem that definitely got worse, to an obnoxious degree, as the show progressed and yeah seems they're still running with it.

So basically, I can conclude that Spongebob is now a "Childish Psychopath" Edit: I also noticed that if Spongebob had swearing, you can consider it an adult cartoon, why, its stupid, offensive and theres no consequences for the main character despite their constant harrasment or crime

I feel bad for squidward, i want a squidward show where he gets some redemption for his life where he gets a happy ending. Its just depressing and sad to watch squidward getting destroyed for very few valid reason, probably cause its Relatable, feels relatable to be bogged down and bullied by the world for what feels like no good reason.

Seasons 1-3 and the first movie was the platinum era of SpongeBob SquarePants. The later seasons can't even compare.

Old Spongebob was not dumb. He was just naive and optimisic like many of us growing up. Modern Spongebob is a brain dead lunatic.

It kinda feels like we might be entering another dark age for SpongeBob and that just makes me sad more than anything...

We really need some justice for squidward RIP

I genuinely feel bad for squidward

I feel like the brother episode to this (the one with SpongeBob’s parents) is a much better watch when it comes to SpongeBob’s character due to him expressing a multitude of emotions.

I was disappointed when this episode came on. It was just a remake of Boat Smarts. The other day I saw a commercial saying "Is Plankton Moving Away." They already did that in Plankton Retires a few seasons ago. They should rewatch the older episodes more often.

I'm tired of squidward getting treated as the universe's punching bag. Him being a douch and then the universe dropping an anvil on him is classic loony tunes. Squidward being a punching bag for no reasin is pretty dangedmessed up. Especially given how Patrick is, frankly, an out and out sociopath that enjoys everyone else being misirable. Yet nothing really happens to him.

The toxic trait of spongebob is its writing as a whole 💀

I've always said an action orientated Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy spin-off featuring our undersea superheroes in their prime would have been superb and a great watch!

Things like this actually make me think that in terms of the Spongebob timeline, the post-movie episodes came *before* the first movie. I think it would make sense because Spongebob and co. are developed more as characters in the pre-movie seasons (ie: Spongebob grows from an oblivious kid to an optimistic adult). Just my headcanon and theory, though.

Dang SpongeBob, you got some other secrets you want to share with us?

I've noticed in the newer seasons Squidward barely ever talks it's always him screaming in fear or pain

What I miss more about earlier seasons was how everything would just explode for no reason and it made toddler me laugh when the old episodes would come on tV as reruns

1:11 Squidward Torturing Machine, 😂 Now That's a good one.

Spongebob never leaves people alone or takes accountability for his actions smh.

I liked Boat Smarts and Yellow Pavement, only flaw is the squidward torture

My main issue with newer SpongeBob episodes is a lot of them follow the same joke which is just Squidward getting tortured for most of the time literally no reason. Back in early SpongeBob you'd have a bit of variety in episode types like one episode SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward would get lost in the kelp forest while in the next SpongeBob would be at the Krusty Krab and have to get a stain off of a plate and end up blowing up the restaurant then the next Episode SpongeBob and Patrick would be having a snowball fight. These newer episodes just do the same thing and follow the same basic plot of SpongeBob being annoying and hurting Squidward for 11 minutes and after seeing like 3 of those in a row you get bored of it very easily. Call me a Spongeboomer, but that's how I see it. If they just had a bit of variety with the plots like with what they did with "Salty Sponge" then the other Squidward torment episodes wouldn't be as big of an issue since the same plot wouldn't be done multiple times in one season

your "second channel" logo makes you look like a cute redhead and im all in for it

okay but boatsmarts was genuinely funny. I've laughed during every rewatch

Maybe I'm an oddball, but I always loved "Boat Smarts" and, for that matter, all the shorts from seasons 4 and 5. What they lacked in story they made up for in pure, concentrated comedy that didn't overstay its welcome but still came fast and hard.

OG bobbob fan. Stopped loving it shortly after the first movie... my friends and I still quote seasons 1-3 regularly

2:00 I’m sorry but I couldn’t help but laugh at that explosion

I still watching spongebob...... as older fan since 2008 (3yr old)

Spongebob is a Nicktoon but has morphed into a Looney Toon

And I thought that Spongebob was getting better. Season 9B to Season 11 seemed like an improvement and seemed to be getting back on track (increasing in quality). Now Season 12 and 13 seems to be going the same direction as it did in Season 6-7 (decreasing in quality)

Your right about SpongeBob not being Invincible. The reason violence works in Invincible because it serves two points that fighting powerful people will be brutal and civilian casualties are horrible. The reason comedy also works in Invincible because it has variety in its comedy.

Exactly. In the first couple seasons, SpongeBob wasn't a Troublemaker!

I feel like if they stuck to what Stephen wanted and ended the show after the first movie, it would have been amazing. Going out with plankton taking over and failing and SpongeBob saving the world. Now, everything feels like it’s made with the purpose of SpongeBob being idiotic, mr krab’s greed, Patrick’s stupidity and Squidward’s depressing life.

I agree completely. I do hope spongebob continues to get better as time goes on.

I wonder what would be the reputation of Boat Smarts if we swapped SpongeBob and Squidward and the episode as a result was Squidward getting SpongeBob hurt by accident.

I love the new seasons of SpongeBob sometimes the episodes are good like doodle dimensions when we get too see what happens to doodlebob and the reference to the magic pencil and more expressions on the characters

Honestly, I grew up watching Spongebob around the season 4-5 era, so I knew his toxic obliviousness as a part of his personality, and as a kid I accepted it. That being said, even I think now that they definitely turned this up to 11 in the later seasons, and most of the characters now feel like manufactured carbon copies of a single personality trait. because at least around seasons 4-6, even though he started to become less mature and logical, he still felt like a character to me, something the newer seasons lack.

SpongeBob is very much a stickler for rules. It's what makes him a good fry cook and a good jellyfisher. Most of his obliviousness and stupidity stems from 2 things. His naivety and his anxiety make him either misunderstand how he is hurting someone, or make him overthink so badly, he ends up hurting someone. We see his anxiety perfectly demonstrated in "Mrs. Puff, you're fired". SpongeBob clearly knows the ins and outs of the boat so well that he can drive blindfolded, but as soon as he takes off the blindfold, he freaks out, gets in his own head, and crashes. His naivety is demonstrated many many times throughout the show. He knows a lot about the things that he loves, but very little about everything else. He's supposed to be a young adult, like a 20 year old. Someone who lives on their own and works a full time job, but also someone who doesn't quite understand romantic relationships and has fun doing kid stuff. It creates an interesting dichotomy. It's difficult to write for this kind of character, which is why he's so unique in the first place, but also why he's changed so much over the years. Unfortunately, over the years, they have dumbed him down to essentially a 5 year old sociopath who doesn't understand basic decency and laws. It's really mind numbing to watch, although there will occasionally be a good episode.

Yeah SpongeBob was optimistic, gullible, and cheerful but he wasn't an idiot he knew when many were insulting him especially Squidward who use to be a little arrogant but still well meaning not some pessimistic loser

I feel like SpongeBob just needs to get new writers or som. The art style is great so I feel like the only thing they need is get the old writers back or just get better ones

"Squirdward torturing machine" Alpha jay 2023

While I did start watching around the time of season 2, I don't mind the trait of Boat Smarts messing with Squidward for no reason. I always just took it as an over the top safety video like it's trying to be. Person A does the thing correctly while Person B messes it up and in turn messes it up for Person A.

I hate the Squidward torture But the episode where Squidward gave up everything just to get the piece of paper spongebob had was hilarious 😂 ( i miss being a kid and watching the older seasons )

I saw the clips and immediately my brain got SpongeBob memes for the clips. Like “Hey squidward!” To “ehhh squidward?”

At this point, the show is basically just Ren and Stimpy mixed with Looney tunes. 🤦‍♀️

WHY WOULD YOU SHOW THE TOENAIL CLIP 😭😭😭

3:16.....I was eating during this

the biggest things that see to be consistently problematic are the fact that spongebob seems like he's in a static state of pure chaotic madness while keeping a psychopathic smile on his face the whole time, as if he's almost not even sentient at this point and is just executing the same task on repeat. on the other hand, we have the squidward issue. squidward is straight up abused just for simply existing, as to where in order for it to work properly you must actually have it be punishment for something awful he did to keep it from being borderline abuse. earlier seasons had some sort of spongebob being positive squidward being negative dynamic that'd have every moment and consequence logically occur after the events of the previous minute or so, with sides swapping in more serious moments. in moments like those, squidward would do something horrible and it'd end up with spongebob in a negative mood, going all out to show that he's really been hurt by what has happened previously. squidward would try to make it up to him at some point, and things would return to normal. if he were to instead make fun of him, he'd be victim to multiple consequences, such as guilt and pain. all in all, squidward's the only character that ever feels "alive" anymore. go watch an episode like "Christmas Who" from season 2 and you'll see this dynamic i explained in full force.

Can squidward just exist in one episode in the new seasons without him getting hurt in some way? It seems literally impossible at this point

I feel like the catering to children part is more of nickelodeon wanting that The crew probably has some pretty good episodes being made but nickelodeon may be rejecting them cuz they might be catering to adults too Using the Bluey and Disney situation as an example the exact same thing happens the crew wants to cater to everyone but Disney wants to cater to kids with it instead The point is it's annoying that it's no longer catering to everyone

It’ll be interesting for you to do a versus of an old episode like Opposite Day to a new episode to give the difference

You could argue that boat smarts is not that bad since a few times it could just been seen as “cartoon bad luck” for squidward a once or twice, he’s still oblivious but it doesn’t become too unbearable or has a decent humor valuable, at least for me anyway Yellow pavement makes SpongeBob feel like he’s both blind and deaf at times

I grew up with the middle seasons of SpongeBob but even I say the pain that squidward goes through is too much. I have a hatred of the newer seasons and think the middle season as much as they are hated are no where as bad as new SpongeBob. At the same time I think seasons 1-3 are the best of SpongeBob!

1. Older SpongeBob was naive. What they did to SpongeBob now is that they made SpongeBob be completely stupid. SpongeBob isn’t dumb! He was naive because people misleaded him 2. They make SpongeBob practically torture Squidward! A lot of the times in older episodes of SpongeBob, squidward did it to himself, Squidward got himself in trouble with SpongeBob because, well he does get annoyed easily. But modern SpongeBob sometimes tortures him for no reason! 3. Modern SpongeBob is sometimes really disgusting! Like in the season 13 episode sea haters club or whatever, when Mrs. Puff was telling her story there was a part where SpongeBob took the girl’s drivers license and was rubbing it on him! He had the weirdest face is fingers looked nasty as heck and he was rubbing it on his skin! That is just nasty! Older SpongeBob was not that disgusting! and there are some other reasons why modern SpongeBob is bad, and not just SpongeBob himself but the other characters too. Modern SpongeBob is out of whack and that’s why I *mostly* stick with the 1st the 2nd and the 3rd seasons. I’d say that 12 and the 13 season are we’re I cross the line

Thank you for helping me find the words to some of my key issues with Spongebob's modern persona.

Y'know, that's just like what I said to myself. I said that this was just "Boat Smarts" adapted for modern spongebob.

The Toxic Trait is the Flanderization, during Season 4 - 7 or 8!

Spongebob started two years before I was born, and I saw reruns of the first 4 seasons sporadically in my early childhood (I even had the entire second season on DVD, which I watched repeatedly as a kid) but I didn’t start watching regularly until the beginning of season 5. By then, SpongeBob and Patrick were really making the switch to their “annoyingly dumb” personalities. I didn’t really notice it as a kid, but I definitely do as an adult.

I kind of agree with Spongebob not being invincible. The show definitely isn't as popular as it was the previous decade or especially in the 2000s. Even the ratings show this in that other Nick shows can actually compete in the ratings with it.

This episode was just ok to me, I didn't like the constant Squidward torture, but I'm not so sure if this episode is better than Boat Smarts or not. The ending did save the episode, though.

I don’t watch SpongeBob but this reminds me of jerk ass Homer but fortunately in the last three seasons or so, the writers noticed their error and changed it and now Homer genuinely cares about his family

I personally really like the boat smarts episode because, since it is set in a documentary world and not in the real world, to me it doesn't feel as canon. So despite disliking it when characters act as assholes normally, I feel like that's a smart way of making an episode where spongebod is annoying to oblivion and yet it doesn't feel wrong.

1:43 “Hi Squidward!” The meme has come full circle

The most disappointing thing about a RU-vidr starting a second channel is when they go mask off as a toxic right wing extreme anti SJW undermining any value their main channel had because I wouldn’t trust anyone to educate me on medieval times if they make stupid “Disney is to woke” conspiracies.

The only drawback that this episode had is that one joke that recalls from Krusty Krab Training Video. If it's utilized correctly, then the joke would've make sense after all. (Accuracy Never Gets Extremely Right -> (goes against) Relax And Go Elsewhere) ANGRY - Squiddy gets angry at Patrick for blocking his way and loses his accuracy on the road. Tends to chase Patrick down when he's in this state. RAGE - He calms down by SpongeBob telling him to "Relax And Go Elsewhere". Stabilizing his accuracy. See the comparison?

As someone who watched Spongebob since day 1 I agree with a lot of what’s been said. Welcome To Randomland is another good example of breaks down to little more than a remake of an earlier episode (Pizza Delivery).

In that episode (0:30) it makes sense why Spongebob is at his worst in every scene it is portrayed as a what-not-to-do video, and with him being the worst driver, they only show clips of him at his worst there's no reason for him to do it right because the video has Squidward do that. It might not be great, but the episode had logic to it and had a point to it even if it was used as an in-universe boat training tape.

The part where the glasses came on squidward was the funniest

I think it's becoming more like Ren and Stimpy actually! Stimpy was beyond logic and just tortured Ren all the time, plus the new hilarious and absurdist animation style fits well with Ren and Stimpy.

0:27 People hate Boat Smarts? I always thought it was a pretty good episode. It even got a meme. The bad one is Fungus Among Us. No jokes all gross out.

Hey alpha jay! Could you do a episode on big Nate? I really like the art in that show and it’s pretty fresh

Awesome content alpha jay

It's sad that people on the internet can make better episodes of spongebob then nickelodeon themselves, like uncle al, he's done solid voice work and actually makes interesting stories, or at least he used to, idk if he does it anymore, but even the Mermaid man persona video is actually funny and well thought out too, even if is just a joke video

I wouldn’t say season 4 spongebob wasn’t unapologetic because in good neighbors he did say sorry to squidward for the way he acted. In season 5 I will agreed that SpongeBob started becoming unapologetic and started that trend of making squidward the but of the joke which really isn’t funny.

Love your video Alpha Jay Show

@TheAlphaJayShow I was thinking about if I were to make a SpongeBob reboot set in an alternative universe that takes place after the first movie, I even had an episode idea of Patrick working for Plankton (again) but this time Patrick isn't as dumb as the modern series. The original concept for the episode came from the pitch bible from 1996. In this episode idea, Patrick wants to get a job for the sake of getting a hat after seeing SpongeBob with his hat on. Patrick soon got a job at the chum bucket and gets a helmet but the problem was that Plankton was strict and Patrick kept getting stressful and exhausted, slowly crawling to SpongeBob and telling him how much he hates the job. SpongeBob actually tried to help Patrick by saying that he needs to know what he's coming into because there are a few times in life when you come across the "expectation Vs reality" situation. This is only a rough paragraph of what my intention is, hope you like it. -Walmaker

what is that theme where squidward died???

Most season 13 episodes are actually amazing, but others are just terrible. I feel like more episodes could be good if it wasn’t about Squidward torture and SpongeBob wasn’t so oblivious like his cousin Stanley.

This is why I want to create an Anti-SpongeBob protagonist. Someone who can really give that yellow loofah a run for his money. Just like how Bear was made to be the Anti-Barney. When I say, "Anti", I mean a character that his own identity from something mainstream and not trying to be like said character in any way, shape or form. Nobody has ever attempted to make an "Anti SpongeBob" protagonist and we could really use that in these tough times.

Ahh yes the cushion concept makes me think about 4 things, SpongeBob, Family Guy, Pokémon, and WWE. As ya said with SpongeBob, the other 3 also had leg work in the past that established the IPs to such highs that now they're basically too big to fail which leads them to not care as much which results in mediocrity despite all their budget and potential which is a damn shame.

Spongebob Has Changed A Lot.

7:28 Actually The Patrick Star Show does bring a lot of attention in fact it’s ranked the 2nd most popular animated series on Nickelodeon

I agree that throughout Spongebobs entire run his obliviousnes works based on the context. Even in Seasons 1-3, episodes like the Great Snail Race and Spongebobs House Party are annoying watches because of how oblivouse Spongebob is to things around him. And I think those episodes have better justifications for it than latter episodes do.

Kid Danger: *wearing his big trucker pup outfit and looks annoyed* you are forgetting that that yellow square pain in my flank KICKED rise of the tmnt OFF the freaking network and that it could be milk sooooo dry that the goat will milk blood then white and yummy milk!

I still think this episode was better than Boat Smarts. But I do agree. SpongeBob has just became like a typical French comedy cartoon (like Where's Chicky or Zig and Sharko), even if its made in America. But even then, the show was way better in the first season in my opinion.

Nothing's wrong with Boat Smarts or Yellow Pavement. SpongeBob is supposed to be a bad driver, he's supposed to be doing something (which is usually nothing) that gets Squidward hurt.

Good to know Season 13 goes back to the quality of Seasons 6-8. Greeeeat...