I can't believe that this episode isn't more highly praised. Personally, I think this ranks right up there with some of the first three seasons.
On the surface, this episode is about Patrick suddenly becoming "smart" and deciding not to hang out with Spongebob anymore. Yet on a deeper level, this episode addresses a situation that I think we all can relate to. As we grow up, we make new friends, but we lose old ones. The people we spent our childhood days with change as the years pass, and by the beginning of our teenage years we sometimes find ourselves on separate paths. One of my best friends when I was growing up soon lost interest in our old hobbies and fifteen years later we haven't talked since.
And yet there isn't a day that goes by that all of us wish we could relive those memories of blissful childhood ignorance. To me, Patrick and Spongebob's friendship represents this pre-teen stage (as evidenced by their very manly scrapbook of friendship). When Patrick trades his brain for a new one, he in essence changes his habits and pursues new interests while leaving Spongebob behind. Thus we see Spongebob pining for the days where Patrick was his friend, knowing full well they may never return again.
All in all I give this episode a 9/10. Sure it's not perfect, but it has some very strong emotional undercurrents that really tug at the heartstrings. And who among us doesn't wish that our old friends feel the same way about us, and would gladly sacrifice the lost time and changed interests to relive the past one more time?
On the surface, this episode is about Patrick suddenly becoming "smart" and deciding not to hang out with Spongebob anymore. Yet on a deeper level, this episode addresses a situation that I think we all can relate to. As we grow up, we make new friends, but we lose old ones. The people we spent our childhood days with change as the years pass, and by the beginning of our teenage years we sometimes find ourselves on separate paths. One of my best friends when I was growing up soon lost interest in our old hobbies and fifteen years later we haven't talked since.
And yet there isn't a day that goes by that all of us wish we could relive those memories of blissful childhood ignorance. To me, Patrick and Spongebob's friendship represents this pre-teen stage (as evidenced by their very manly scrapbook of friendship). When Patrick trades his brain for a new one, he in essence changes his habits and pursues new interests while leaving Spongebob behind. Thus we see Spongebob pining for the days where Patrick was his friend, knowing full well they may never return again.
All in all I give this episode a 9/10. Sure it's not perfect, but it has some very strong emotional undercurrents that really tug at the heartstrings. And who among us doesn't wish that our old friends feel the same way about us, and would gladly sacrifice the lost time and changed interests to relive the past one more time?
