Franchise Original Sin: While considered one of the funniest episodes of the show ever, it features many of the character traits that would eventually be overused to the point of annoyance, such as Patrick going from slow-but-competent to lethally stupid. At least in Patrick's case, it was somewhat brought on by SpongeBob himself, as he told Patrick to do "exactly as I do", which Patrick took a bit too literally, and much of his anger is more so aimed at himself due to his inability to match up to SpongeBob and the multiple awards he's earned.
Heartwarming in Hindsight: After seeing how green with envy Patrick is over wanting to earn an award this episode, it makes him giving up his trophy in "The Great Snail Race" for winning the Bikini Bottom Snail Race to Squidward to make him happy seem all the more heartfelt, as it shows how much Patrick has matured from this outing.
"No! This is Patrick!"Explanation Whenever someone asks Patrick "Is this the Krusty Krab?", the dumb starfish responds with this line. Fans usually post snapshots of this particular scene as a means to "answer" similar questions. Another popular meme consists of uploading the famous "This Is Sparta!" clip from 300 and following it up with Patrick's scenes from this episode.
"Patrick, that's [X]."Explanation During the scene where SpongeBob tells Patrick to look for a jar, the pickle Patrick gets out is replaced with other objects (usually some type of firearm or another dangerous object, which often ends with everyone screaming).
Designated Villain: The mob led by Squidward. For context, it was a Real After All plot twist, making this rather moot. But the Fridge Horror of this means that Bubble Buddy really did let Scooter drown and hold up the bathroom for two hours. Granted, screwing over Mr. Krabs might not be too damning, but the crowd still had plenty of reasons to be mad.
Franchise Original Sin: This is one of the first instances where SpongeBob acts overly naïve towards all the problems he's causing. Though, unlike later instances, the Bikini Bottomites don't take his obliviousness sitting down and eventually call him out on his bad behavior.
Fridge Horror: The reveal that Bubble Buddy is sentient makes him letting Scooter die much more harsh.
Funny Moments: Nearly all of "Bubble Buddy". If it isn't the funniest episode of SpongeBob, it's at least the most quotable:
"Hey, Squidward! Wanna play?" "No." "Are you sure?" "Yes."
SpongeBob's attempts to make a new buddy, including a stick, a pile of rocks and a sink.
Which doubles as a Stealth Pun: he's tried everything but the kitchen sink!
SpongeBob gleefully creating Bubble Buddy before we Smash Cut to them sitting motionless on a seesaw. SpongeBob is ecstatic!
The delivery of the line, "Your order, please!", in the German dub.
"Bubble Buddy likes bendy straws". (Squidward bends the straw with repressed rage)
Squidward's face when SpongeBob tells him that Bubble Buddy is lactose intolerant. You can just see the wheels turning in his head as he attempts to comprehend how he's just heard something that stupid.
Squidward: Here, one of everything! No cheese, no crust, pickles to the left, four squirts of ketchup, wheat buns, non-dairy lettuce, and farm-raised tomatoes carnival-style! And if there's anything else I can do, please hesitate to ask!
The Brick Joke of Bubble Buddy using the bathroom.
During the Krusty Krab scene where Squidward has to deal with Bubble Buddy's demanding order, SpongeBob tells Squidward that Bubble Buddy doesn't like bread crust. The scene then cuts to Squidward making Krabby Patties with sliced bread instead of buns and removing the crust. A few seasons later in "Krusty Towers", Squidward faces the crust dilemma again when Patrick tells him he doesn't like the crust on his Krabby Patty. Squidward quips, "It's a bun! It's all crust! How am I supposed to cut the crust off a bun?!" Patrick tells him to peel it.
The citizens Bikini Bottom find Bubble Buddy unhelpful to them. His son would become a bigger problem.
Thanks to this episode, many people can be observed saying "Hinga dinga durgen" every October 9th (the real Leif Erikson Day).
"He poisoned our water supply, burned our crops, and delivered a plague onto our houses!" has basically become a meme mocking politics and the mainstream news that promotes it.
.