"Based on a real treasure map!"
Arrgh!
Original air date: 3/15/2000 (produced in 1999)
After becoming obsessed with a treasure hunting board game, Mr. Krabs takes SpongeBob and Patrick in search of real buried treasure.
It's a slow day at the Krusty Krab and Mr. Krabs is bored out of his shell. That is until SpongeBob shouts that he’s found some gold doubloons. Krabs leaps to snatch them up to find that SpongeBob and Patrick were playing a board game called "The Flying Dutchman's Treasure Hunt" (that is claimed on the box to be based on a real treasure map). The thrill of winning gets Krabs hooked and he keeps playing and playing until SpongeBob is forced to push him out of his house and scream at the top of his lungs "I want to go to bed" at Mr. Krabs to get his point across. Krabs realizes that he went overboard and lets SpongeBob sleep. That is, until morning comes and it's revealed that Krabs has gotten himself a real pirate boat and his crew will be Patrick and SpongeBob. The terrible trio then proceed to go on a wild goose chase on boat and on foot when they become marooned, following Krabs' map to find the treasure that takes all day. At nightfall they make camp and the dimwitted duo can’t help but look at the map. They quickly regret their decision when it turns out the "map" is the board game taped to paper... and Mr. Krabs has become mad with greed. SpongeBob and Patrick cower before their "captain" and accidentally find the X where the real Dutchman's treasure is buried. The loyal crew digs up the treasure and ponders what they’ll do with their share, but Captain Krabs won’t give up "his" treasure. The resulting argument wakes up the Flying Dutchman and Krabs sells out his crew to avoid his wrath. Instead of punishing them he rewards them with a doubloon each for their hard work. Krabs demands a piece of the pie as well and gets his fair share: a plastic treasure chest ("It's based on a real treasure chest!"). The episode ends with Krabs sweating and Patrick commenting on it one last time.
"Arrgh!" contains examples of:
- Argument of Contradictions: SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs when they fight over the treasure chest: "All for one!" "One for all!"
- Bait the Dog: Mr. Krabs offering to let Patrick work at the Krusty Krab just to fire him.
- Brick Joke: Patrick pointing out how sweaty Mr. Krabs is.
- Brutal Honesty:Mr. Krabs: So, you think ol' Cap'n Krabs has gone crazy, do ye?!
SpongeBob: Not at all, Captain Krabs! We don't think that at all!
Patrick: I think that.
Mr. Krabs: I'M GONNA THROW YA OVERBOARD FOR SAYING THAT! - The Cat Came Back: No matter how many times SpongeBob tries to get rid of him, Mr. Krabs is always there urging him to play the board game.
- Chew-Out Fake-Out: At first it appears that the Flying Dutchman is angry at SpongeBob and Patrick for taking his treasure, but then he thanks them for digging it up for him and rewards them with a gold doubloon each.
- The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right: Mr. Krabs may have gone loony trying to find the treasure, but it turns out the toy map he was using did lead them to real treasure.
- Deconstruction: Of a typical Scrooge McDuck treasure hunt, portraying the treasure hunter who drags younger, reluctant employees into a fight with a supernatural entity over extremely questionable clues to an ancient treasure as, well, insane.
- Dressed to Plunder: Mr. Krabs gives SpongeBob and Patrick some pirate accessories to wear. SpongeBob puts on two peg legs and calls himself Peggy the Pirate, while Patrick puts eyepatches over both eyes and calls himself Blindbeard the Pirate.
- Dude, Where's My Reward?: After SpongeBob and Patrick dig up the treasure, the Flying Dutchman comes to reclaim it, but gives them each a gold doubloon as a reward. Mr. Krabs demands a reward too, so the Dutchman gives him a plastic replica of his treasure chest.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: SpongeBob gets extremely irritated, to the point of outright anger, at Mr. Krab's obsession with the board game. Given how blindly devoted SpongeBob is to him in later seasons, it can be weird to see him actually getting angry at Mr. Krabs.
- Everybody Cries: After hearing SpongeBob and Patrick's complaints about feeling tired and hungry, Mr. Krabs laments that he would be nothing without a loyal crew and starts crying. This makes SpongeBob and Patrick feel so guilty that they start crying too.
- Extreme Omnivore: SpongeBob and Patrick find nothing wrong with chewing the gum they scraped off from the underside of the Krusty Krab's tables. Possibly justified since they're a filter feeder and bottom feeder, respectively.
- Eye Pop: When Mr. Krabs' map opens, SpongeBob and Patrick extend their eyeballs and rub them all over it.
- Fictional Mystery, Real Prize: In-Universe. The boardgame is stated to be based on a real treasure map, but there's no mention of a contest. They only follow it because of Mr. Krabs' obsession with finding the treasure.
- Fool's Map: Played with. Mr. Krabs' map turns out to be the gameboard, but that turns out to be based on a real treasure map (as the box said).
- Foreshadowing:
- At the beginning, Patrick stated their board game Flying Dutchman's Treasure Hunt is based on a real treasure hunt.
- When SpongeBob asked Mr. Krabs to see the map, Mr. Krabs said no, closing it in fear that he might be suspicious.
- George Jetson Job Security: Parodied. Mr. Krabs fires Patrick for getting ahead of him in the game. When Patrick points out he doesn't work for him, Krabs hires him just to fire him.
- Glurge: Used In-Universe by Mr. Krabs. When SpongeBob and Patrick are at their limit of exhaustion and hunger, Mr. Krabs breaks out into a sob story of how without a loyal crew, a pirate captain is only a leader of a bunch of sand. Needless to say, this sob story is emotionally manipulative, and SpongeBob and Patrick ultimately fall for it, vowing to stay by Mr. Krabs' side.
- Hoarding the Profits: When SpongeBob and Patrick begin discussing what they'll do with their shares, Mr. Krabs tries to take all of the treasures for himself, which SpongeBob protests, as they found it together.
- It's All About Me: Mr. Krabs reveals to SpongeBob and Patrick that he wants all of the treasure for himself, but SpongeBob objects.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: For the first time in the series proper, Mr. Krabs pays for his greed. After finding the treasure, Mr. Krabs reveals that he has no intention of sharing it with either SpongeBob or Patrick, instead intending to keep it all for himself. Their arguing wakes up the Flying Dutchman, who furiously demands to know who dug up his treasure. Mr. Krabs immediately blames it on SpongeBob and Patrick (and technically he is correct). However, the Dutchman is actually impressed that they saved him the trouble of digging up his treasure and rewards them each with a gold doubloon and Mr. Krabs with nothing but a worthless plastic chest. Had Mr. Krabs just been willing to share the treasure with SpongeBob and Patrick, he would have gotten some, but instead he ends up with nothing.
- Loophole Abuse: SpongeBob warns Patrick that Mr. Krabs specifically told them to never look at the map. Patrick then tells SpongeBob that Krabs didn't say anything about touching it.
- No Sense of Direction: Patrick. "Oh, east! I thought you said 'weest'."
- Offscreen Teleportation: Right after SpongeBob throws him out of the house, Mr. Krabs somehow reappears right back inside.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: While it's not immediately apparent, one early indicate that Mr. Krabs is a bit too into the game is when he throws out a paying customer so he can continue playing.
- Oh, Crap!: SpongeBob and Patrick when they find out that Mr. Krabs' "map" is just their game board taped to a piece of paper. They have an even bigger one afterward when Mr. Krabs appears right behind them.
- Ow, My Body Part!: Fred shouts "My leg!" after Mr. Krabs tosses him out of the Krusty Krab so he can continue to play The Flying Dutchman's Treasure Hunt with SpongeBob and Patrick.
- Read the Map Upside Down: Mr. Krabs chooses Patrick to be the navigator for the treasure hunt, but is quick to fire him due to Patrick sending them west when Mr. Krabs asked east. This is due to Patrick thinking Mr. Krabs said "Weast".
- Right Behind Me: "Do you think this is a problem?"
- Running Gag: SpongeBob or Patrick pointing out how sweaty Mr. Krabs is.
- Sanity Slippage: Patrick and SpongeBob think Mr. Krabs is undergoing this when they see where his map actually came from. Though he did turn out to be right anyway.
- Shout-Out:
- SpongeBob and Patrick are forbidden to see the map, but when they go into Mr. Krabs' tent and find he's not there, they look at it and make a horrifying discovery that it's just their board game taped to a piece of paper and that Krabs has gone insane. Then Krabs shows up and tries to hurt them...sound familiar?
- "All for one!" "One for all!"
- The treasure chest has a ruby slipper in it.
- Suddenly Shouting: "MR. KRABS!!! I WANNA GO TO BED!!!"
- Talk Like a Pirate: Mr. Krabs instructs SpongeBob on how to speak pirate by saying "Argh!" all the time. It backfires when he spots a reef and takes too much time to warn Krabs by putting "Argh!" after every single word.Mr. Krabs: From now on, only the captain says "Argh!"
- Title Drop: Multiple times.
- Treasure Hunt Episode: Krabs takes SpongeBob and Patrick to look for treasure.
- Treasure Map: The Dutchman's Treasure board game is supposedly based on a real treasure map. Later, Krabs claims to have a real map, but it turns out to be the game board. Fortunately, it really was based on a treasure map.
- Victorious Chorus: Parodied when the Flying Dutchman rewards SpongeBob and Patrick for digging up his treasure ("Two gold doubloons!") and when he gives Mr. Krabs a plastic treasure chest. ("Plastic!")
- Wham Line:Patrick: SpongeBob?
SpongeBob: Yeah?
Patrick: Did you notice something familiar about this map?
SpongeBob: You mean, like that it's our game board taped to a piece of paper?
Mr. Krabs: (appearing right behind them with Tranquil Fury) Do you think this is a problem? - Who Dares?: When Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob/Patrick arguing over the treasure wake him up, the Flying Dutchman says "Who dares wake the Flying Dutchman?"
- Wingding Pupils: Mr. Krabs' eyestalks turn into an X when they find the X that marks the buried treasure.
- "X" Marks the Spot: There's a literal X on the ground where the treasure is buried.
You can't go any deeper than this.
Rock Bottom
Original air date: 3/15/2000 (produced in 1999)
After a fun-filled day at Glove World, SpongeBob and Patrick board the wrong bus and end up stranded in Rock Bottom, a strange town deep on the ocean floor. After Patrick quickly leaves on another bus, SpongeBob must try to hitch a bus as well, which is harder than it seems.
"These aren't your average, everyday tropes. These are... advanced tropes!":
- Ambiguous Gender: As noted in "Which Restroom?" Dilemma, it's hard to tell what sex any of the Rock Bottom residents are. Not helping matters is that one of them lays an egg (through its mouth) and another is a male-sounding anglerfish with the glowing lure of a female.
- Amusing Injuries: SpongeBob keeps whacking the bus driver with his giant glove balloon while searching for change to pay the bus fee when leaving Glove World.
- Angrish: SpongeBob does it when an egg hatches three more creatures in front of him on line, causing him to sink into his pants and jump around violently while cussing.
- Animal Gender-Bender: The anglerfish that helps SpongeBob out has a glowing lure but a distinctively masculine voice—in real life, only the females have lures.
- Balloonacy: How SpongeBob manages to leave Rock Bottom.
- Behind the Black: SpongeBob tries to fake out the bus by placing a cardboard cutout of himself next to the vending machine. Even though the facade of the cutout is on the opposite side of the bus, it only notices that the cutout is not actually SpongeBob and drives off when it falls down.
- Blowing a Raspberry: The residents of Rock Bottom blow raspberries within their sentences as their Speech Impediment, and they cannot understand outsiders unless they do the same thing.
- Butt-Monkey: SpongeBob really gets it hard in his attempts to get out of Rock Bottom. Taken to the extreme when SpongeBob reaches down to grab a candy bar from a vending machine when the bus arrives and the bus repeatedly goes back and forth while SpongeBob sticks his hand in and out. When he tries to fake out the bus, it just zooms away anyways, and while he's on the other side of a street, a Rock Bottom dweller just takes the candy bar himself.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The anglerfish who chases after SpongeBob's balloon ends up playing a big part in resolving the plot.
- Circling Birdies:
- Little scallops swirl around SpongeBob's head when he runs into the wall.
- The traditional stars variant happens twice to the bus driver that SpongeBob keeps whacking with his giant glove balloon (see Amusing Injuries above).
- Cloudcuckooland: From what little we see of it, Rock Bottom seems to be this.
- Desperate Plea for Home: Patrick twice says "I wanna go home!" after he finds Rock Bottom to be too weird for him.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Ever get lost while taking public transportation? Chances are you wound up in a place that feels just as alien and creepy as Rock Bottom.
- Double-Meaning Title: Rock Bottom also means you're in a situation where it couldn't be any worse.
- Driving Up a Wall: SpongeBob and Patrick wind up in the eponymous city due to taking the wrong bus. The road from Bikini Bottom to Rock Bottom is a 90 degree slope on a stone wall which the buses have no problem going up and down. Unfortunately, SpongeBob has no such luck when he chases after a bus leading back to Bikini Bottom that Patrick boards.SpongeBob: I guess Grandpa SquarePants was right. Don't run for a bus. (imitating Grandpa SquarePants) "Especially one that's going up at a 90° angle!"
- Eldritch Location: Rock Bottom comes off as one, with strange inhabitants, incomprehensible bathrooms and an illogical bus schedule.
- Eldritch Ocean Abyss: The town of Rock Bottom is populated by numerous deformed-looking fish that terrify SpongeBob and Patrick.
- Genius Loci: Even Rock Bottom's soil is different as it's capable of talking when SpongeBob picked up a handful of it.Pile of Soil: Would you (raspberry) mind (raspberry) putting me down?
- Good Samaritan: The Anglerfish, despite having no reason at all to help SpongeBob, retrieves SpongeBob's balloon to use it as a way to finally get him out of there.
- Growling Gut: SpongeBob's stomach growls while he's waiting for the bus. He resolves to stay put until the bus comes, but then his stomach growls again.
- Help Mistaken for Attack: How SpongeBob perceived the Anglerfish.
- Here We Go Again!: SpongeBob finally makes it back home, just as Patrick passes by on a bus to get him back.
- Humiliation Conga: This whole episode is one for SpongeBob, as he can't get a bus to escape Rock Bottom.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Becomes an Overly Long Gag as SpongeBob tries to assert his place in line for a bus pass only to find other "people" got there before him and he becomes 329th (then 332nd) in line.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Aside from the theory involving the driver that kicked him off (which is later supported by Bikini Bottom Mysteries), SpongeBob's trouble with getting a bus could also be from Rock Bottom's obviously strange nature.
- Missed the Bus: SpongeBob keeps missing each bus that comes along. In fact, the buses seem to be actively avoiding him, as if the driver of the bus he was kicked off of radioed to the other drivers to intentionally leave him behind due to his annoying balloon.
- Narrative Shapeshifting: SpongeBob makes himself look like his grandfather, complete with walker, while quoting him.
- Nice Guy: The anglerfish that pursues SpongeBob's balloon turns out to have been doing so with the intention of helping SpongeBob get home.
- Noodle Implements: Right after Patrick reads the sign that says, "You are now leaving Bikini Bottom," he turns to SpongeBob, who has a miniature glove on his nose for no apparent reasonnote .
- No Snack for You: SpongeBob tries to get a snack from a vending machine across the street from the bus stop, but every time he tries, a bus passes by and leaves him. He finally manages to get one, but as he reaches for it, the bus arrives, teasing him by going back and forth as SpongeBob moves his hand in and out and revving up as he touches the candy bar. SpongeBob makes a break for it, but the bus leaves. And to top it off, someone takes his candy bar, and when SpongeBob goes after him, three buses go by.
- Now You Tell Me: Before going off to get a bus schedule, SpongeBob tells Patrick to wait for a bus and call him if one comes. Patrick does... after he's already on it.
- Oh, Crap!: SpongeBob when he sees that the bus is leaving Bikini Bottom.SpongeBob: Patrick, I think we're on the wrong—(screams as the bus goes careening down a 90 degree slope) BUS!
- Planes, Trains, and Imbeciles: For whatever reason, the buses on Rock Bottom refuse to pick up SpongeBob. It may have something to do with the bus driver who kept being hit accidentally by SpongeBob's balloon — and left him and Patrick stranded there because of it.
- Plank Gag: Every time SpongeBob turns around to look for his wallet, he hits the bus driver with his big, glove-shaped balloon. Eventually he gets so fed up with getting hit that he tells SpongeBob to get to his seat without paying.
- Right on Queue: SpongeBob goes on an incredibly long line to get a bus schedule. When he finally makes it, the man at the counter tells him the next bus leaves in five seconds. "Ooh, tough luck, kid. (raspberry) That's the last one 'til morning."
- Rule of Funny: Patrick says "You Are Now In Leaving Bikini Bottom", even though the sign didn't include the word "In".
- Running Gag:
- SpongeBob missing the bus, which makes up a large part of the episode.
- SpongeBob's balloon hitting the bus driver by accident.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: The comically stupid Patrick escapes Rock Bottom early in the episode to make SpongeBob's experience there more unsettling and foreboding.
- Shout-Out: Glove World appears to be a reference to Disney World's theme parks, as the gloves heavily resemble Mickey Mouse's hands.
- Suddenly Voiced: The anglerfish who chases after SpongeBob's balloon when he first arrives in Rock Bottom.
- Tastes Like Feet: SpongeBob eats some Glove World candy, then spits it out because it's "glove flavored".
- Take That!: Seeing as Glove World is a reference to Disney World however, the park's souvenirs are faulty and of no use to SpongeBob when he gets stranded at Rock Bottom.
- This Is No Time for Knitting: While SpongeBob is explaining to him that he's stuck in Rock Bottom and has no way to get home, the anglerfish is blowing up his balloon with more air. SpongeBob thinks the anglerfish can't understand him and uses Rock Bottom dialect to tell him that his balloon has enough air. It's only when SpongeBob starts floating off the ground does he realize the anglerfish was blowing it up enough so he could use balloon travel to get home.
- Troll: The buses come only when Spongebob is occupied or otherwise cannot catch it, to the point that it's clearly being done on purpose.
- True Companions: Patrick manages to get on another bus rather quickly, and is seen riding another one to go get SpongeBob (who's just gotten home through other means) at the end of the episode. The implication is that he spent all night trying to find another bus so he could save his friend, which puts him firmly in this trope.
- Vot Ocksent?: Inverted. Rock Bottomites can't understand SpongeBob's "accent" unless he speaks in raspberries like them.
- "Which Restroom?" Dilemma: Patrick can't tell which Rock Bottom bathroom to use, because one is marked with a question mark and the other with an inverted question mark. SpongeBob suggests waiting for someone to come out so they can tell, but the bizarre creatures that go through the doors don't help.
- Wrong Turn at Albuquerque: The episode begins with SpongeBob and Patrick getting on what they think is the bus home. Turns out it’s the bus to the titular Rock Bottom.
