SlipperytheTotodile
The Pokemon Enthusiast
Discuss the episode here
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Good review i really am hyped to find out what you think of Arbor Day DisarrayA Karen and Spot episode? Sounds very interesting. Don’t disappoint me by having Karen disappear for half the episode, please. Because that’s a recurring issue with Karen episodes specifically. Sometimes this happens with Mrs. Puff but like with “Karen-centric” episodes, it’s almost always an issue. And I would say I don’t know why but I know exactly why. And at this point, so do you, whoever’s reading, if you can think critically and/or have read other reviews of mine.
We begin with, unsurprisingly, Karen, Spot, and Plankton. This beginning is kind of like the opposite of “Plankton’s Intern” as it’s Plankton who’s going on a trip this time around, leaving Karen alone with Spot. I love how Plankton has absolutely no reservations about showering Spot in affection now. It’s cute. And it’s nice to see Plankton have a life outside of always trying to steal the formula. And also…Shell City??? Quite dangerous. Anyway, Plankton leaves a bunch of instructions for Karen to care for Spot. If this plot is what I think it is, I’m going to be disappointed. Because how in the world does Karen need reminders for taking care of Spot?? Did we not see the same “Plankton’s Pet”? Did we not see the same entire series???
I fear we may indeed be going down this plot. But at least it won’t be the “I Was A Teenage Gary” variety. Spot destroys all of Plankton’s carefully curated notes, and Karen decides not to worry about it; surely she can take care of Spot herself. After a basic analysis. Which ends with Karen running Spot over. Uh oh. See, I’m torn. Because on one hand, yes finally give Karen some flaws, which in this case is her being kind of smug I guess (still exceedingly tame). But on the other, it makes no sense for Karen not to know how to take care of her own freaking dog????
Karen’s freaking out is interrupted by SpongeBob and Gary coming over for a pet play date. Okay, I like where this is going. It’s nice to see Karen so…energetic and dramatic. It’s nice to see her given a chance to actually carry an episode. And thank god, they have Karen admit that looking after Spot is harder than she thought. Even though I think the plot point is dumb, it would’ve been dumber if we had Karen keep on being smug throughout the episode because it would’ve been too similar to way too many other episodes. And also, with Karen admitting this here, the episode is now not predictable to me, at least in this moment, so there’s a breadth of possibilities.
Looks like the direction of the episode, at least for the next few minutes, is shenanigans as Karen struggles to get Spot to behave, and so she, SpongeBob, and Gary have to chase the little guy all around town. And then Plankton calls and says he’s coming back early…oh boy. Also, I like all the cameos in the background of his scene. I wonder what the device ex machina Plankton bought does. I assume we’ll find out at the end of the episode.
Spot ends up eating Karen out of house and home. Oh boy. And again this all relies on Karen somehow not understanding how to care for Spot. And it’s annoying because I’m enjoying the episode until I remember that it’s all based on this plot point that irritates me. Sure, it’s a role reversal to the typical “idiot dad can’t take care of his own kids” type BS, but I don’t like it for similar reasons as I don’t like that trope.
Karen ends up feeding Spot a nutrient pill that keeps supplying nutrients forever, which makes him grow to insane proportions, since, you know, when amoebas in this show are fed, they grow. And this is what Plankton walks into. And I guess his device ex machina was useless, so that’s surprising. A red herring, wasn’t expecting that one. This ends up with Plankton and Karen in an argument, where we get the first mention of the episode that Plankton never trained Spot. Say what now? This should’ve been established. But okay, whatevs. SpongeBob manages to solve the problem of Spot by getting him to divide. Well dang, that was actually pretty smart, SpongeBob. Oh and then the other part of Spot eats the sun. So…rip everyone I guess.
“Karen For Spot” was a good episode, for the most part. I did enjoy it, though the ending (AKA last 2 minutes or so) was a bit weak, and there was, of course, the plot point I repeatedly expressed my distaste for. So not a perfect episode by any means. But a serviceable one.
Episode Tier: Good
Episode Score: 7.3/10