When you think about it, Squidward is probably the most fleshed out character in Spongebob (In the early seasons at least). He starts off as this snarky person who seems to just hate everyone around him. But over time, it's shown that Squidward only acts this way because he feels like he's trapped in this world where no one else understands him and will always be alone.
And at the same time the show doesn't sympathise with him too much. Even in the earlier seasons sometimes when he eats shit, it's his own fault for being a short-sighted and pretentious bore.
it also shows that in life when you wat to be fancy and a "gentleman" it can get lonely at times, i see them didn't bring back squidwards girlfriend squiliva, which i think they should had; there many times when spongebob and patrick are not around even for the day and he just gets heated and just starts to panic
Something else I noticed about the episode when it comes to how lonely Squidward truly is in the world is the fact that he was locked in a freezer but felt confident that someone will come looking for him "in no time", but he waited 2000 years and nobody bothered
Damn that's dark as hell. They probably did bother, though since spongebob and Patrick thought they were friends. Mr krabs wouldn't have cared though. How come mr krabs didnt look into the freezer of the krusty krab fir over 2000 years? Spongebob needs to go into the freezer to get food. Why wouldn't he report the body? Wtf have you uncovered
"In case you've forgotten, here's how things work. I order the food, you cook the food, then the customer gets the food. We do that for 40 years and then we die."
@@Advent3546 4:10 Conspiracy, the universe, spongbob fans, and the writers are biased towards Spongebob and want Spongebob to prosper and get away with being annoying and wanted to torture Squidward psychologically just so Squidward can admit he misses Spongebob and things return to the Status Quo and Spongebob annoys him forever
I think the Matrix and Descartes Evil Demon th-cam.com/video/zO0sSJB1TrI/w-d-xo.html want us to suffer forever and feel forever miserable for their pure evil entertainment. Forces from within and outside the universe are consciously pure evil for the sake of it and are sadistic cause they want to make us psychologicaly suffer for their entertainment.
4:13 in this scene alone, i think all the coloured squares surrounding squidward are meant to represent the spongebob main cast. yellow, brown/orange = spongebob pink = patrick light blue, purple/dark blue, red = mr. krabs these coloured squares disappear once he mentions being alone it may just be accidental, coincidental, or was done for a reference but it might be meaningful here :P i don't know
When I was a kid for some reason I thought the square things in the nowhere place were like abstract things Squidward knew about. The yellow and pink are Spongebob and Patrick, purple is Squidward's house, red is Patrick's house, etc, like if they devolved into their basic elements in his mind.
The scariest thing to me is that the episode isn't even named. SB stands for spongebob, and 129 is 129 because it's in the first season and is the 29th segment on the show. It scares me and for no reason.
Whaddaya mean it was never meant to be released, Squidward caused a time anomaly and he effectively screwed up the timeline, if it wasn't for him I would have gotten my driver's licence and Squidward would have gotten a better life
@@Claire.blain. Well that's just my theory on why Squidward is always in constant dread knowing his dreams won't ever be fufilled and he would be stuck in a job he hates
Me too man, like I don't actually understand what was really going on but my intuition kicked in and was telling that "This is fucking weird man, why is this is scary?". This also reminds me of that drunk scene in Dumbo
Why is Donald Trump pretty and I am not? But why does he only have a wife but I have TWO HOT GIRLFRIENDS who I show off in my masterpiece YT videos? Do you know the answer, dear kir
I love when people discuss the actual philosophical implications, instead of just calling every weird thing in kids' cartoons "purgatory" or "a dream/hallucination"
it's basic analysis with extra fluff and some nihilism thrown in for good measure. the entire video boils down to "Squidward doesn't like SpongeBob and Patrick , he stays alone but he has ego and doesn't like being alone"
lol i remembered that episode i'm also scared of watching that when i am a kid and feel kinda creepy and scared which kinda feel your in a dark abyss of nowhere and feel your surrounded by monsters LOL
@Rick Corn 4:10 Conspiracy, the universe, spongbob fans, and the writers are biased towards Spongebob and want Spongebob to prosper and get away with being annoying and wanted to torture Squidward psychologically just so Squidward can admit he misses Spongebob and things return to the Status Quo and Spongebob annoys him forever. I think the Matrix and Descartes Evil Demon and want us to suffer forever and feel forever miserable for their pure evil entertainment. Forces from within and outside the universe are consciously pure evil for the sake of it and are sadistic cause they want to make us psychologicaly suffer for their entertainment. Why else did the Universe kill Hillenburg? Cause he knew too much and was trying to save us.
This seems very intentional tho bc the similarities between the Nietzche philosophy and the episode (specifically the “alone” part) r way too uncanny and specific
4:10 Conspiracy, the universe, spongbob fans, and the writers are biased towards Spongebob and want Spongebob to prosper and get away with being annoying and wanted to torture Squidward psychologically just so Squidward can admit he misses Spongebob and things return to the Status Quo and Spongebob annoys him forever. I think the Matrix and Descartes Evil Demon th-cam.com/video/zO0sSJB1TrI/w-d-xo.html want us to suffer forever and feel forever miserable for their pure evil entertainment. Forces from within and outside the universe are consciously pure evil for the sake of it and are sadistic cause they want to make us psychologicaly suffer for their entertainment.
it makes me think cartoons back in the day had a lot of scripts that were cancelled movies/tv shows for adults but reworked to be replaced with spongebob characters/setting for example
I will never forget Rock Bottom. Rock Bottom was terrifying because it was so real. There was no ghosts, there were no monsters, it was about Spongebob in a town he doesn't know, full of fish who could barely understand him, waiting at a bus stop. It's a situation everyone will end up in at one point in their life...
I took an entire class on Existentialism this past semester. From Heidegger to Camus and Sartre, each one’s insights force you to approach time, our liminality as we stand between our past, present and future, as well as our mortality, and our question and search for meaning. Definitely my favorite class I’ve taken so far.
I don't know why I only just realized this, but the only reason SpongeBob and Patrick like jellyfishing is because Squidward showed it to their ancestors. He is the maker of his own prison.
@@Tadfafty, although paradoxical, i think its funnier to think that there was no alternative timeline, that squidward went back to the past and taught spongebob/patrick jellyfishing, only to later on go to the past to avoid spongebob/patrick jellyfishing, completing the cycle
That alone scene is really scary. The thing that makes it scary is being trapped in nothingness without anyone or anything to distract you, alone with your thoughts for unlimited amount of time. It has the same feeling of floating away in outer space for eternity without being able to go anywhere.
@Professor Weaboo My friend, no matter from what timeline you come from, being doomed to exist for eternity with nothing but your own thoughts would send anyone insane sooner or later.
I think the main point of this episode is that squid ultimately is responsible for his own misery. The scene that really drives this point home imo is when he literally invents jelly fishing
Probably making SpongeBob the most Kafkaesque show ever. Two characters who work for a stifling bureaucratic system (Mr. Krabs) under an equal set of circumstances, though one is able to overcome this situation and live happily independently of it (SpongeBob) while the other wallows in their own misery and cynicism (Squidward).
How is my mind in the past? I am (my mind is) presently aware of my phone, my dog barking, the fact I feel warm, and feel hungry - while I am also thinking about what WAS said in this video (the past). You have to be aware of the present in order to DO anything. That quote in the video sounds deep - but actually doesn’t make any sense. Yes, if you want to be super picky - it takes an extremely brief amount of time for what is in front of you to travel through your senses and into your brain and then your mind to react to it, so in a very superficial way it is true - but VERY SUPERFICIALLY. Choosing to focus on and use your mind to think about something that was SAID IN THE PAST is not the same as your mind itself BEING IN the past. FOCUSING ON the past and BEING IN the past are totally different things. So fear not and don’t be nauseous - enjoy the present - and learn from/think about the past when necessary!
It’s interesting to think about, as your conscious self is in the present your physical body you call “you” is ever so slightly in the future therefore you can’t truly understand yourself because the future is unpredictable. Like you’re walking your dog, you’re the present, the dog is the future someone could pick your dog up and throw it in a wood chipper randomly. Now you can’t understand yourself because your metaphorical body is in a wood chipper.
Yeah SpongeBob had a lot of dark episodes, like the one where squidward accidentally gives SpongeBob a bomb pie and thinks he gonna die the whole day and regrets how he treated him...yeah they had weirdly deep and dark episodes
There is something even more uncanny in this episode. According to physic's laws if you go back in time you will not return in the actual past. You will create a seperate timeline which is exactly like your past but it is impossible to return to that one you left because time's flow cannot be changed. In other words Squidward has left his actual reality forever and is teleported to a different reality which has another Squidward just like him. And this only gets uncannier because by the time Squidward is teleported to the seperate reality, the other Squidward from that reality is already trapped in the freezer just like he was.
@@jeffreywilliams8499 he wasn’t missing from work because he made it back to the present. There are actually two Squidwards in the Krusty Krab. One awake and working, the other frozen.
This episode was truly terrifying I felt like I was there with squidward experiencing true emptiness and loneliness. Everything was so hollow and barren and the genuine fear of the emotions in that episode being something you can feel in real life shook me to my core
Something that I think ties into this theory, at the very end of the episode, is that Squidward realizes that in the past HE invented jellyfishing, the very thing he's been opposing and trying to remove himself from this entire episode. He HAS technically made a change in the world, but it's the very thing he didnt want, and its a bootstrap paradox- a cyclical theoretical concept without an origin.
Kind of weak argument to say they're exploring Nihilism and connect it only with inference. Could easily just be their creative choices to tell the story of what the episode was clearly actually about, which was introversion versus extroversion. Introverts will feel like they want to be alone most of the time, but easily come to suffer loneliness within the infinite landscape of their self. The episode is making the argument that no matter what the individual feels, they must always be a part of community or else they will end up in nothing, alone. The substantiates of time travel and giving Spongebob and Patrick jellyfishing nets, breaking the time machine out of frustration and ending up in nothing is a very good way to do this, because in a way you do make your own prison as an introvert. Admitting he misses society (Spongebob), snaps him out of it, but he doesn't change. He simply realises he needs them and accepts it, just like an introvert would have to. I would believe your point it's inspired by recurring themes and patterns in life and papers written on them, but to say it was specifically one, and that this episode specifically explored Nihilism seems like complete BS honestly. Just seems pessimistic. It's far more likely there was a pattern theme to reinforce the idea that you could be much the same as everyone else with the same needs. In fact you could be so much the same as everyone else, that one of your ancestors could have begun a tradition that alienates you from society today. I think the message that we're all the same in a lot of ways, and that we all need each other even if we have contempt for one another, is a much more likely message for Spongebob to have than "everything is pointless" lol.
To be honest i felt like the episode was trying way too hard to make life seem meaningless. Thinking = goals Goals = purpose Purpose = all you need All you need = reduces anxiety, doubt and to realize your path Reduces anxiety, doubt and to realize your path = Happiness Not implying that one won’t be sad in their life since that would be a lie.
This whole scene is scary but the thing that always stuck with me as a kid was those voices squidward heard in the alone scene I can’t even explain why it’s scary In fine detail except that it makes me think of lost souls in the abyss
It freaked me out because he was "alone" but there were voices that weren't his own speaking and they were with him...As a kid I was like "Okay he is alone in nothingness" and then the random voices were there...that made me uncomfortable for some reason.
I love how spongebob can be enjoyed in two different ways, the cartoony, energetic show that kids enjoy. But you can also find the deeper meaning in each episode which would appeal to adults.
I can’t believe i just realized this but if he “slept” for 2000 years + how old he was till the shows endpoint then squidward is the oldest living creature in the show lmao
SB-129 is the most Lynchian that SpongeBob has ever gotten. Aside from Courage the Cowardly Dog, I've never seen a cartoon reach this level of surreal fear.
@@CassandraPantaristi He may be referencing the blue fetus creature that appears in one of Courage's dreams and tell him: "You're not perfect", I still don't understand how that particular scene didn't traumatized me as a kid, but as an adult I find it really scary
The clarinetland episode always hit me as one of the darkest episodes. That mental snap of squidwards was very deep at its core. It’s symbolism is open to interpretation but really any logical way to look at it is pretty dark.
Can we appreciate not just the creative writing in this episode, but the artistic creativity and quality as well? For a weekly "kid's show", this episode looks amazing! From the wonderfully detailed prehistoric sea forest, to the sleek chrome aesthetic of the future, to the wildy colorful abstract shapes of the time machine, the production value of SB-129 on all fronts is FAR above average. Heck, this episode looks good enough to be a Nickelodeon short film they would enter for the Oscars! It represents all the best aspects of Spongebob: hilarious, crazy, creative, psychologically intriguing, colorful yet dark. SB-129 is so memorable because it shows that Stephen Hillenburg took the time and effort to make a lasting impact on kids' (and adults') lives.
This episode literally gave me my first sense of existential anxiety ever in my life when I was young. I’ll never forget the fear that sank into my bones.
I had the same experience but had no idea why. I hated that it was the end of SpongeBob. And I hated this episode because I was uncomfortable watching it for reasons I had no idea until revisiting the idea as an adult. But as a child what it looked like, i just thought wow that was the worst episode they could have ended with. Cause I knew it was the last episode when I watched it. It said so on nickelodeon
I also appreciate the fact that in this episode, when Squidward goes to the past, he ends up teaching Spongebob and Patrick how to jellyfish, contributing to his own torture.
I would of considered that but I really don't think this is the only episode that has an actual meaning.. funny to say any of this shit about a little cartoony show but it actually makes sense
SB-129 and Rock Bottom were the episodes that traumatized me as a kid and ngl up until now I’m avoiding these two episodes because the creepy and disturbing feeling is still there.
@@SMCwasTaken I don't even know anything about pokemon, I made that my profile picture years ago because of the meme and I just can't be bothered to change it😂
i just realised that since squidward went missing for 2000 years, and he went back again to his original timeline using the time machine that means a new timeline branch has opened meaning there’s two timelines now, an original one where he never returns and stays missing for 2000 years, and a new branch where he returns after a while using the time machine. this is why i absolutely love this episode
Hahaha I agree, and tbh I didn’t really find this theory all that compelling for that reason alone. Like I *highly* doubt the writers were going for anything as deep as this guy is getting at, which makes it all seem all the less interesting to me
@@jadedjimmy that’s why I said accidentally, it’s like the feeling when you make something really wholesome but then you accidentally make people think it means something more, overall interesting topics to poke at though
@@Jotenks Exactly. Even if the writers didn't intend it, it's still pretty fun to see what people think of these episodes. People may go "Oh, it's just a little kids' show episode. Quit being such a huge nerd." But honestly, I think those people are just fun police, lol.
How scary. I've never had one myself, but I've sure as hell heard about some people's experiences. The mind is crazy powerful, and so is Lucy/mushrooms
This happened to me on shrooms. I was in a room with my friend when the trip started. I walked around his house feeling the fabric of his couch and conceptualizing time but after that we sat down and watched some tv. I watched that flavortown dude eat a burger and it was pretty strange. i started asking existential questions to myself during all of that and it started to come to conclusion explained in the video. I just kept hearing "it is what it is" and i was afraid man. I wanted to go for a walk but my friend never wants to do anything i suggest so i just soaked for a long time in that dark place. The repitition think hit hard too. I was able to shake it all out though. There is alot of darkness in life, but there is just as much light and goodness. I have to remind myself of that alot
That moment where Squidward's relaxing and says "alone", then all the other alones popping up. Then suddenly pan out, more and more, along with the rancorous roar of all the "alones" at once. Yeah. That's a bad trip. The sensation of everything you were previously thinking about being minimized in an instant of what feels like pure fear. Makes me sweaty thinking about it.
All SpongeBob episodes are self-contained. The "You Wish" special ended with them trapped in a blender. The next episode had them back in Bikini Bottom. That's negative continuity.
I was already an adult when Spongebob was on, but my kids loved it and I watched a bunch of episodes with them. This one was definitely my favorite and years later we still say "ALOOOONE". Thanks for diving into the philosophy of a show that's much deeper than most people my age would ever give it credit for being!
Did you guys actually get to see the one where Squidward tries Krabby Patties, and the security system Mr. Krabs has is a bucket of gasoline and a robot arm dropping a match? They actually cut the latter part out after a few airings.
I can’t believe you talked about an eternal cycle and didn’t mention at the end when Squidward asked Spongebob and Patrick who invented Jellyfishing and they both responded with “you did, Sauidward!” At which point Squid was just like “I’m going back.”
Wait, how would they actually know if he actually do it? Did they have ancestors who told them that the person “squidward” made jelly fishing? Soon passing it on generation through generations? Why were spongebob and patrick so calm that they were meeting the person that taught their ancestors how to jelly fish? “You did squidward...” there is a possible chance squidward might be... actually dead. Since he taught spongebob and patrick how to jelly fish. He taught them how to jellyfish. And now he’s here with the ancestors great great 15x grandchildren, and they act all normal, like he didn’t die, like he didn’t disappear. Just to come back. He came back to the present with a time machine and they acted all normal... what if that isn’t the present? What if he’s actually still dead. He’s in the afterlife.
This episode absolutely TERRIFIED me as a child, and even still unsettles me. I find it really cool to view it now in a similar but different and more mature light.
@@boxelderinitiative3897 well when you go through school to look at things in books deeper by english teachers, it’s pretty easy to do and in this case helps teach a lesson. It’s not really analyzing squidwards psychology but finding a new story to tell with another story. As all writing should be able to do - characters in stories are icons for many different things
This episode, the Rock Bottom one, and the dream episode with talking Gary all just seem like they're straight out of a huge childhood fever dream. Then again I also watched Courage the Cowardly Dog and Flapjack.. no wonder my childhood was filled with reoccurring nightmares lol
There was also "Suds." For some reason, I got a strange, surreal feeling from that one. I think it was because of the abnormally bright color palette? SpongeBob's sickly appearance and how he wasn't yellow except for the first and last minute of the episode? Oh, and of course "Procrastination." The dark color palette of that one did NOT help.
This episode shows that you have to accept reality instead of wishing it were different because problems are inevitable regardless of whether you are in the past, present, or future since there will always be people you don’t like, and being alone will be a relief at first, but later, fear starts to creep in, and you’ll start panicking.
When I was about 5 years old I once had a vision of “nothingness”. It felt weird, lonely, and infinite. That was the only time I was ever able to visualize something of that caliber. To this day I honestly don’t know what I experienced but I remember it vividly.
@@3longatedMuskr4t not so easy because it's a technique I developed on my own. Maybe googleing keywords like transcendental meditation, dharana, void might help. It's like a glance into pre-creation connected to Ginnungagap as we call it in northern mythology.
Spongebob writers: "Wouldn't it be funny if Spongebob and Squidward did this?" TH-camrs: "Each episode of Spongebob plunges deep in the abyss of human emotion to find not only what makes us laugh, but what makes us truly suffer."
I watched this episode as a kid in Germany. The word asparagus was such a interesting and mysterious word for me, until I learned in school what it actually meant lol
The nowhere scene never scared me - I think it was too abstract for me as a kid. It was in the past when Spongebob and Patrick were chasing Squidward back to the time machine that I found terrifying....their faces were just SO SCARY and out-of-character and looking right at the camera
The alone scene is so well put together when the voices blend together and we are moved far away from squidward even us leaving him in his loneliness is some amazing presentation it made me so uncomfortable
Honestly, this vid is kinda pretentious Like I do think the writers were going for something along the lines of the existential dread but not to the point that the video trys to make it out to be
As Reggie Watts sings: "we're only living in the memories of our future selves, and it's fun to think like we're here right now but we never really are, cause we're somewhere in the future controlling the options, giving lots of hints to ourselves in order for us to understand the choice is still important in a world where we gotta figure some stuff out, yeah!....baby I love ya!"
Almost as if Squidward was in a psychedelic trip. Once you learn to accept the nothingness and alone part then you can learn to be free from one’s ego. It’s really something to learn here
Same. There were also "Rock Bottom," "Procrastination," "Squidward in Clarinetland," "SpongeHenge," "Sleepy Time," and strangely enough "Suds." I think it was due to the bright color palette, Squidward's odd disappearance, and the fact that SpongeBob was only yellow for the first and last minute.
its very rarely talked about how in the episode, specifically the "alone" text scene, is that the more the disembodied voices repeat the word, "alone" the more frightened their voices become. its so haunting, the realization setting in that you are truly and utterly in your loneliest loneliness
As I kid, I'd usually to put the TV on while playing so that I could focus on my toys while waiting for something that interested me to come up on the screen. But there was one cartoon that always made me change to another channel. It was called Sanjay and Greg (I think that's how it is written) and it every single fricking episode was filled only with random and discusting crap from beginning to end. It watched a few episodes out of curiosity, just to see how horrible it could get. I don't remember much from all of that and that's for the best.
"The fear of not knowing yourself is the most terrifying and truthful realization" I am someone who lives with perpetual anxiety and occasionally have mental breakdowns where upon recovering I feel like I've changed as a person. So this statement really speaks to me on a really deep level.
It’s only terrifying based on your own perception. I think not knowing yourself is a beautiful and exciting concept because it allows you to go on the journey to become aware of yourself, explore yourself, and discover yourself. I think knowing who and what you are for all eternity would get boring, so I’m thankful for the cycle of remembering and forgetting.
@@justinunion7586 OooOOoo, that's another way of seein' it! And I really like it, I wish I was able to see it this way when I had my last mental breakdown. It surely sounds like an fun 'n' interesting experience
This is definitely one of the most disturbing episodes of all time. As a kid you can't understand what is going on, and you probably laughed at the part when people were chanting "alone alone alone". But now seeing this, it's definitely something far disturbing. It's like spongebob then was to not he understood by younger people until they rewatch it being older, then it's just not the same.
The first time I experienced apeirophobia, I was 6 years old. My dad was trying to convince me of the existence of Heaven, and he said we would live forever and do whatever we want. I thought it was cool because then I could play baseball forever. Then I realized at some point I would get sick of baseball. This horrified me and I realized I didn't want to live forever. The second time I experienced it was several years later watching this episode and seeing the alone section.
Eternal recurrence is viewed in such a negative light. I would love to live forever because living forever is sure as hell better than not living forever. Nihilism can be debunked in every video game and movie. All it takes is a change of perspective and initiative. As long as you are not in a dark void incapable of thinking and moving then there is always something you can do to better yourself and build. Even if we hit the so-called limit of humanity (which I think will never happen) there will ALWAYS be something to do. Kind of like vanilla minecraft. It becomes boring because, the player does not come up with ideas on how to make the game more interesting or fun to him. However, there are mods and some imagination to make something dull more lively. It literally comes down to perspective and initiative. We don't explore like we used to anymore or use our imagination to do new things. Social media and technology makes us wait for someone else or something else to give our lives meaning. Hence, why nihilism is so popular now...
@@DaveThaBossDTB Yeah, but nothing can beat literal eternity. You can have as positive a perspective as possible for a really long time, but everything fades out eventually.
@@kiera6326 I get where you are coming from but, how can it be proven? As humans we believe everything comes to an end due to our nature. What if that was never the case and we just think that because we view the world as we view our life cycles - that is that we are conceived, born as a baby, live as an adult, and die as an old person. Just because we live and then die doesn't mean the universe is like that. That's the reasoning I use at least. The universe is constantly expanding and nature doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon either. We have been going for millennia and I don't see us hitting the limit anytime soon. Maybe it does fade but, it shouldn't affect us right now in this moment. We should consider that when it becomes a problem truthfully.
@@DaveThaBossDTB The problem with living for eternity, other than becoming bored, is forgetting. If we have the same memory capacity as we do now but throughout our eternal lifetime, a 60-year marriage will feel like a minute. You'd hardly remember it. See the short film "It's Such a Beautiful Day" because it explores that idea more. Aside from that, in a way our lives already ARE eternal because the concept of life and death is made up. We can just as easily conceive that we die and are reborn every second because or present selves are so transient. The concept of "self" is also made up. At what point do you separate the self from everything around you? There's no objective definition. Are we not also literally the food we eat? Are we not made up of our ancestors and even other creatures? The self is an illusion we need to use in order to function. When we "die" we pass on our material somewhere else because matter/energy is not created or destroyed. We're still there, in a different form, but forever part of and connected to all of the universe. I agree that nihilism has become more popular. It's easy to be a consumer and to just... not think anymore. We want something easy when life keeps draining us. Now that the world is more global and cut-throat, it's exhausting to have to come home from work/school, listen to the news of our hell-scape, and find the energy to be creative. I guess it depends on the job you do on a daily basis, but that's what I think is going on for a lot of people.
Oof. Yeah, that’s not the best description of heaven. It does last for eternity, but it’s inhabitants are also transformed. We’ll have a much greater capacity for enjoyment and far better abilities than we do now. Theoretically, you could play baseball forever, but it will probably look a lot more like constantly advancing and creating new, interesting things. Heaven is perfect in the sense that there is no sin, but like the Garden of Eden, it sounds as though people will be called to expand Paradise. Since it’s eternal, it may also feel more like living completely in the moment rather than feeling like you’re trapped in a continuum of millennia; eternity and infinity aren’t exactly the same.
As a kid I'd never thought of a Spongebob episode as dark, but looking back it did give me a real dark feeling! I was super surprised that the "Nowhere" place had so much depth and meaning, because it actually inspired me to write a song last year, dealing with my feeling of being in a void in life. The song is called Inside The Void by Rejected Witness if you wanna find it. We tried to capture that crazy unreal feeling of Nowhere, and used it to describe how I felt about life at the time. Dealing with the past passing by, yet how the future never seems to come.
*This guy* : Sb-129 Is one of the darkest episode because it explore existential nihilism and here is why is because squidward used a time machine but he broke it and now he is alone but not really alone because he escape that plane by breaking the ceiling and tha... *The writer of the episode* : hahaha squidward use a Time machine, it would be a funny episode.
You are a "the autor meant the curtains were blue" guy aren't you? Stuff isn't made without a purpose in fiction, if there's a connection that doesn't seem that far fetched, then the makers of said fiction probably did it on purpose
Spongebob is such a genius show. giving kids the template to these sorts of thoughts without them being aware of it. Killer analysis man, imma go contemplate my existence in the freezer now...
It goes deeper. Sponge Bob is his balance. We see Squidward performing the crunches as is said to do something in which his body reacts so he can "wake up" but his body was in parallel crying out "future" to dismiss his attempts. Locked into this eternal mental struggle, his balance, Spongebob, dropped a brick that was readily available as if smacking Squidward in the head is a common occurrence to "fix" him or bring mental balance. Afterall, Squidward thanks Spongebob for the brick.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
what’s your favorite spongebob episode..?
Idiot Box, Survival Of The Idiots, Snowball Effect, and Camping Episode
Squidville obviously 🔥👍
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V
Band Geeks yo
the one that explains how to make a cangreburger. and it's like weird only the narrator and spongebob. also the with the nigth krustykrab
When you think about it, Squidward is probably the most fleshed out character in Spongebob (In the early seasons at least). He starts off as this snarky person who seems to just hate everyone around him. But over time, it's shown that Squidward only acts this way because he feels like he's trapped in this world where no one else understands him and will always be alone.
And at the same time the show doesn't sympathise with him too much. Even in the earlier seasons sometimes when he eats shit, it's his own fault for being a short-sighted and pretentious bore.
it also shows that in life when you wat to be fancy and a "gentleman" it can get lonely at times, i see them didn't bring back squidwards girlfriend squiliva, which i think they should had; there many times when spongebob and patrick are not around even for the day and he just gets heated and just starts to panic
I always felt bad for Squidward when I was little because he always felt like an older brother that had to watch over his younger siblings
@@toenailclippings Wow, that's actually kind of accurate!
@@toenailclippings wow that makes a lot of sense!!
Something else I noticed about the episode when it comes to how lonely Squidward truly is in the world is the fact that he was locked in a freezer but felt confident that someone will come looking for him "in no time", but he waited 2000 years and nobody bothered
Damn that's dark as hell. They probably did bother, though since spongebob and Patrick thought they were friends. Mr krabs wouldn't have cared though. How come mr krabs didnt look into the freezer of the krusty krab fir over 2000 years? Spongebob needs to go into the freezer to get food. Why wouldn't he report the body? Wtf have you uncovered
New conspiracy
this is hella sad
@@ab-wj8yg ah I guess that does make sense thanks for the reply
But that’s a different, parallel timeline. Even upon returning, there’s a parallel timeline in which Squidward is still stuck in a freezer.
"In case you've forgotten, here's how things work. I order the food, you cook the food, then the customer gets the food. We do that for 40 years and then we die."
That moment when Squidward explains the despairing life of a minimum wage worker long before you enter a despairing life of a minimum wage worker.
As a kid that line always upset me, but now it's one of my favorites.
@@Advent3546 4:10 Conspiracy, the universe, spongbob fans, and the writers are biased towards Spongebob and want Spongebob to prosper and get away with being annoying and wanted to torture Squidward psychologically just so Squidward can admit he misses Spongebob and things return to the Status Quo and Spongebob annoys him forever
I think the Matrix and Descartes Evil Demon th-cam.com/video/zO0sSJB1TrI/w-d-xo.html want us to suffer forever and feel forever miserable for their pure evil entertainment. Forces from within and outside the universe are consciously pure evil for the sake of it and are sadistic cause they want to make us psychologicaly suffer for their entertainment.
Bless Your Soul
4:13 in this scene alone, i think all the coloured squares surrounding squidward are meant to represent the spongebob main cast.
yellow, brown/orange = spongebob
pink = patrick
light blue, purple/dark blue, red = mr. krabs
these coloured squares disappear once he mentions being alone
it may just be accidental, coincidental, or was done for a reference but it might be meaningful here :P i don't know
There's also a turquoise square that probably represents Squidward, and it vanishes when he tries to lift it up
Wow good point
When I was a kid for some reason I thought the square things in the nowhere place were like abstract things Squidward knew about. The yellow and pink are Spongebob and Patrick, purple is Squidward's house, red is Patrick's house, etc, like if they devolved into their basic elements in his mind.
Jesus that actually makes sense!
😳
Damn man
WAIT
WTF 😨😨😨😨
The scariest thing to me is that the episode isn't even named. SB stands for spongebob, and 129 is 129 because it's in the first season and is the 29th segment on the show. It scares me and for no reason.
Now that you've said that I am terrified.... the original "lost episode" or episode that was never supposed to be released..
Whaddaya mean it was never meant to be released, Squidward caused a time anomaly and he effectively screwed up the timeline, if it wasn't for him I would have gotten my driver's licence and Squidward would have gotten a better life
@@spongebobsquarepants8403 why do people roleplay in comment sections just stop
@@Claire.blain. Well that's just my theory on why Squidward is always in constant dread knowing his dreams won't ever be fufilled and he would be stuck in a job he hates
holy shit true
SB-129 is basically just ‘The End of Squidvangelion’
Get in the pineapple SpongeBob
@@chadfishfruit Go To The Kusty Krub Squidward
SpongeBob puts his hand on Squidward's face after being strangled in a way to show affection...
Congratulations
Congratulations, Jerk!
I was so lucky to grow up with SpongeBob. Intelligently written, hilarious, deep, and interesting. A show that sticks with you forever.
Can't believe Nietzsche was such a big Spongebob fan that it inspired him to write a book. Amazing
And I'll end any mothafucka like my name in a spelling bee!
@@Frog101_Real It's nice to see a fellow man of culture
Whats the name of the book?
Seek Christ
666th like
This episode kinda scared me as a kid, crazy how existential nihilism is so present in our minds it penetrates the blissful ignorance of the youth
This intrigued me as a kid
well said!
It scared me as a kid too!! And I have existential panic attacks a lot now lmfaooo
Me too man, like I don't actually understand what was really going on but my intuition kicked in and was telling that "This is fucking weird man, why is this is scary?". This also reminds me of that drunk scene in Dumbo
It didn’t scare me completely but did make me uncomfortable tho lol
This dude literally just put together a collegiate essay based on a memed SpongeBob episode. Well done!!
The best kind of essay
Why is Donald Trump pretty and I am not? But why does he only have a wife but I have TWO HOT GIRLFRIENDS who I show off in my masterpiece YT videos? Do you know the answer, dear kir
Every spongebob episode is a memed episode
Oh, there are thesis’ dedicated to meme culture. We live in a strange time.
I dont see why spongebob wouldnt be a fit for a collegiate essay
I love when people discuss the actual philosophical implications, instead of just calling every weird thing in kids' cartoons "purgatory" or "a dream/hallucination"
It's still just basic analysis at the end of the day, not the true meaning.
Did you notice the 666 go by? 1:25
it's basic analysis with extra fluff and some nihilism thrown in for good measure. the entire video boils down to "Squidward doesn't like SpongeBob and Patrick , he stays alone but he has ego and doesn't like being alone"
@@kellymountain you've perfectly described basically every hacky video essay that plagues TH-cam.
This episode and Rock Bottom was so uniquely disturbing as a child, though I couldn't explain why at that age.
Feeling lost and trapped in a place you can’t escape is a scary feeling for a child.
lol i remembered that episode
i'm also scared of watching that when i am a kid and feel kinda creepy and scared
which kinda feel your in a dark abyss of nowhere and feel your surrounded by monsters LOL
Bro fr it felt so eery it gave me chills, I watched every episode more than once except this one
Also that one episode where jellyfishes are attracted to Spongebob’s sound when the air winds thought his holes is pretty dark.
@@cheriekat oh yeah, that episode scared me when I was little lol
Hillenburg in heaven:
"Uh, yeah, I totally meant all that"
@Rick Corn 4:10 Conspiracy, the universe, spongbob fans, and the writers are biased towards Spongebob and want Spongebob to prosper and get away with being annoying and wanted to torture Squidward psychologically just so Squidward can admit he misses Spongebob and things return to the Status Quo and Spongebob annoys him forever. I think the Matrix and Descartes Evil Demon and want us to suffer forever and feel forever miserable for their pure evil entertainment. Forces from within and outside the universe are consciously pure evil for the sake of it and are sadistic cause they want to make us psychologicaly suffer for their entertainment. Why else did the Universe kill Hillenburg? Cause he knew too much and was trying to save us.
@@jaysmith3173 you freak me out and can I join this cult
@@landon5435 if you spread the word.
@@jaysmith3173 no I'll do you one better I will kill all our enemies
This seems very intentional tho bc the similarities between the Nietzche philosophy and the episode (specifically the “alone” part) r way too uncanny and specific
Why are the episodes that focus more on Squidward always the scariest?
It's because Squidward is the most cynical character and functions as the audience surrogate on numerous occasions.
And squidward has a popular creepypasta
4:10 Conspiracy, the universe, spongbob fans, and the writers are biased towards Spongebob and want Spongebob to prosper and get away with being annoying and wanted to torture Squidward psychologically just so Squidward can admit he misses Spongebob and things return to the Status Quo and Spongebob annoys him forever. I think the Matrix and Descartes Evil Demon th-cam.com/video/zO0sSJB1TrI/w-d-xo.html want us to suffer forever and feel forever miserable for their pure evil entertainment. Forces from within and outside the universe are consciously pure evil for the sake of it and are sadistic cause they want to make us psychologicaly suffer for their entertainment.
because we're all squidward now so it makes it scarier.
because Squidward feels more human than the other characters when you see him through your adult mentality
It’s so disappointing SpongeBob no longer makes amazing episodes like this. They’re now targeted towards brainless children
You mean like “Bwahaha funny meme face fart noise crazy face lol lmao” Yeah the subtle comedic genius is long gone. Now it’s just obnoxious.
They were always targeted toward children, but they were still enjoyable to other ages as well.
it makes me think cartoons back in the day had a lot of scripts that were cancelled movies/tv shows for adults but reworked to be replaced with spongebob characters/setting for example
Old SpongeBob good, current SpongeBob bad. Like button on the left
Read your bible! (KJV, preferably) ❤️😊
This episode is the reason I’m afraid of the walk-in freezer at my restaurant job.
same bro! i second guessed walking into the freezer at work as well
Don’t wanna get stuck in there and frozen for 2000 years?
There are people paying millions to be frozen.
lol this comment actually made me lol
This and keenan and kel
Fun fact: SB-129 was the last episode of SpongeBob to air in 1999.The air date was December 31, 1999.
Y2k
100th like
That makes so much sense
I was born in 1999..
@@Oddie99000 me toooo, may 19th 1999. Watched this episode growing up.
"SB-129" and "Rock Bottom" are probably still my favorite episodes.
rock bottom scared me so damn much as a kid
Same
I will never forget Rock Bottom. Rock Bottom was terrifying because it was so real. There was no ghosts, there were no monsters, it was about Spongebob in a town he doesn't know, full of fish who could barely understand him, waiting at a bus stop. It's a situation everyone will end up in at one point in their life...
@@parasitegirl6770 it just really annoyed me how unrealistically difficult it was for him to leave.
@@lonelyrooster as a kid, not being able to get home from an unfamiliar place was such a scary thing to happen
I took an entire class on Existentialism this past semester. From Heidegger to Camus and Sartre, each one’s insights force you to approach time, our liminality as we stand between our past, present and future, as well as our mortality, and our question and search for meaning. Definitely my favorite class I’ve taken so far.
I would love to take a class like that
I don't know why I only just realized this, but the only reason SpongeBob and Patrick like jellyfishing is because Squidward showed it to their ancestors. He is the maker of his own prison.
Damn
omg true
👁️ 👄 👁️
Squidward: Who's the barnacle head who invented that game anyway?
SpongeBob and Patrick: You are, Squidward!
@@Tadfafty, although paradoxical, i think its funnier to think that there was no alternative timeline, that squidward went back to the past and taught spongebob/patrick jellyfishing, only to later on go to the past to avoid spongebob/patrick jellyfishing, completing the cycle
That alone scene is really scary. The thing that makes it scary is being trapped in nothingness without anyone or anything to distract you, alone with your thoughts for unlimited amount of time.
It has the same feeling of floating away in outer space for eternity without being able to go anywhere.
@Professor Weaboo
My friend, no matter from what timeline you come from, being doomed to exist for eternity with nothing but your own thoughts would send anyone insane sooner or later.
I have a huge phobia of this
@@annacontreras6648 I’m so glad I’m not the only who’s terrified of this. I can barely think about it without crying, it’s so terrifying
Fire Punch
I guess that’s why Kars stopped thinking...
I think the main point of this episode is that squid ultimately is responsible for his own misery. The scene that really drives this point home imo is when he literally invents jelly fishing
Probably making SpongeBob the most Kafkaesque show ever. Two characters who work for a stifling bureaucratic system (Mr. Krabs) under an equal set of circumstances, though one is able to overcome this situation and live happily independently of it (SpongeBob) while the other wallows in their own misery and cynicism (Squidward).
i am so done with people looking too deep into kids shows...its like they think these characters are real...
@@razkable u be surprised how many kids act like spongebob
@@razkable why are you watching this then lmao
@@citlallirue1300 He has a Naruto pfp, pea brain doesn't surprise me
SB-129 was phenomenal. As a kid, I was jealous when Squidward found his alone space. It always seemed really nice to me.
Same here.
Why does him saying “you’re never aware youre in the present because your mind is already in the past” make me nauseous
same
How is my mind in the past? I am (my mind is) presently aware of my phone, my dog barking, the fact I feel warm, and feel hungry - while I am also thinking about what WAS said in this video (the past). You have to be aware of the present in order to DO anything. That quote in the video sounds deep - but actually doesn’t make any sense. Yes, if you want to be super picky - it takes an extremely brief amount of time for what is in front of you to travel through your senses and into your brain and then your mind to react to it, so in a very superficial way it is true - but VERY SUPERFICIALLY. Choosing to focus on and use your mind to think about something that was SAID IN THE PAST is not the same as your mind itself BEING IN the past. FOCUSING ON the past and BEING IN the past are totally different things. So fear not and don’t be nauseous - enjoy the present - and learn from/think about the past when necessary!
@@chrisa-95 you're thinking about it way too literally lmao. good try tho
It’s interesting to think about, as your conscious self is in the present your physical body you call “you” is ever so slightly in the future therefore you can’t truly understand yourself because the future is unpredictable.
Like you’re walking your dog, you’re the present, the dog is the future someone could pick your dog up and throw it in a wood chipper randomly. Now you can’t understand yourself because your metaphorical body is in a wood chipper.
@@chrisa-95 this was one cope too hard for you
Squidward has gone through a lot
@•keklord chester• I like you too 😏
Agreed
He has seen some things
He's gone through too much
We're all squidward
Yeah SpongeBob had a lot of dark episodes, like the one where squidward accidentally gives SpongeBob a bomb pie and thinks he gonna die the whole day and regrets how he treated him...yeah they had weirdly deep and dark episodes
Squidward's Heart
And Spongehenge
It also like desensitized me as a kid to death😂😭😭😭
don’t think that’s very dark lmao
They had the best episodes back in the day!
There is something even more uncanny in this episode. According to physic's laws if you go back in time you will not return in the actual past. You will create a seperate timeline which is exactly like your past but it is impossible to return to that one you left because time's flow cannot be changed. In other words Squidward has left his actual reality forever and is teleported to a different reality which has another Squidward just like him. And this only gets uncannier because by the time Squidward is teleported to the seperate reality, the other Squidward from that reality is already trapped in the freezer just like he was.
Wait so is the show past sb-129 not in the original universe?
So basically what I'm hearing is all these episodes Squidward was in an alternate reality and not in his own....
@@Hanz13171And the whole time, the true Squidward from that timeline is in that freezer…
@@uba5578I'm never gonna look at SpongeBob the same again after reading this.....
And wouldn't this ultimately mean that that the other Squidward frozed to death....
i've seen this episode a lot of times since i was 4... now i realise that nobody has opened the freezer in 2000 years
Multiple freezers?
Theory: Squidward prevent anyone open the freezer, to avoid the time travel paradox
Yea how come Mr Krabs and SpongeBob didn't notice that Squidward has been missing from work for a really long time when the krusty krab was open ?
@@jeffreywilliams8499 he wasn’t missing from work because he made it back to the present. There are actually two Squidwards in the Krusty Krab. One awake and working, the other frozen.
@@kaizoisevil i don’t wanna think about this anymore, its like an scp at this point
"This isn't your average, everyday loneliness. This is... advanced loneliness."
My life in 10 words
This loneliness is without description.
@@moricwilson *static*
You see, you're not dealing with the average loneliness anymore...
my everyday life in a few words
Very nicely done. I've always liked this episode, but I never thought _that_ much about it. Awesome.
Yeah, many people have seen this and wondering why this episode... is this episode? There is a video that mainly describes what this video is.
yoooooo a youtuber i watch which also watched other stuff i watch
@@ok-tr1nw that'll happen : )
Oh, hi. What are you doing here?
All I remember is that is scared the shit out of me as a child lol
This episode was truly terrifying I felt like I was there with squidward experiencing true emptiness and loneliness. Everything was so hollow and barren and the genuine fear of the emotions in that episode being something you can feel in real life shook me to my core
Something that I think ties into this theory, at the very end of the episode, is that Squidward realizes that in the past HE invented jellyfishing, the very thing he's been opposing and trying to remove himself from this entire episode. He HAS technically made a change in the world, but it's the very thing he didnt want, and its a bootstrap paradox- a cyclical theoretical concept without an origin.
Oh. Oh god.
Please don't make my head hurt like that.
I dont even know what this means anymore
In short he built his prison, and will forever serve the life sentence.
@@tonyt1616 yeah, seems like it
Good lord guys its just a spongebob episode
My seven year old brain was not ready for this episode the first time I saw it.
Ikr, I wasn't exactly scared by it but more psyched out by it. I never really liked watching the episode after that lol
This was literally my favorite episode lol so trippy
Yeah it was traumatizing. But I feel like purgatory, is a process of being stuck in time. Not going nowhere anymore, ever
Kind of weak argument to say they're exploring Nihilism and connect it only with inference.
Could easily just be their creative choices to tell the story of what the episode was clearly actually about, which was introversion versus extroversion. Introverts will feel like they want to be alone most of the time, but easily come to suffer loneliness within the infinite landscape of their self.
The episode is making the argument that no matter what the individual feels, they must always be a part of community or else they will end up in nothing, alone. The substantiates of time travel and giving Spongebob and Patrick jellyfishing nets, breaking the time machine out of frustration and ending up in nothing is a very good way to do this, because in a way you do make your own prison as an introvert. Admitting he misses society (Spongebob), snaps him out of it, but he doesn't change. He simply realises he needs them and accepts it, just like an introvert would have to.
I would believe your point it's inspired by recurring themes and patterns in life and papers written on them, but to say it was specifically one, and that this episode specifically explored Nihilism seems like complete BS honestly. Just seems pessimistic. It's far more likely there was a pattern theme to reinforce the idea that you could be much the same as everyone else with the same needs. In fact you could be so much the same as everyone else, that one of your ancestors could have begun a tradition that alienates you from society today.
I think the message that we're all the same in a lot of ways, and that we all need each other even if we have contempt for one another, is a much more likely message for Spongebob to have than "everything is pointless" lol.
To be honest i felt like the episode was trying way too hard to make life seem meaningless.
Thinking = goals
Goals = purpose
Purpose = all you need
All you need = reduces anxiety, doubt and to realize your path
Reduces anxiety, doubt and to realize your path = Happiness
Not implying that one won’t be sad in their life since that would be a lie.
You should talk about the Rock Bottom episode
Oh geez
Yessss
Or the episode where SpongeBob travels through dreams
Aesthetic asf
@@Karmy. BRUUUUUUUUUH! That's a CLASSIC!
I love the philosophy woven through spongebob’s episodes. Especially the Squidville episode it’s about balance in life.
This whole scene is scary but the thing that always stuck with me as a kid was those voices squidward heard in the alone scene I can’t even explain why it’s scary In fine detail except that it makes me think of lost souls in the abyss
The whole episode terrified me but the alone scene was the scariest
It freaked me out because he was "alone" but there were voices that weren't his own speaking and they were with him...As a kid I was like "Okay he is alone in nothingness" and then the random voices were there...that made me uncomfortable for some reason.
yea
The fact that it's different voices and in different tone but the worst part is that it doesn't stop
Yep yep yep got a minute in started having ptsd of those things that made not able to sleep as a child sometimes
Karsten Runquist: Squidward is going through Nihilism
Game Theory: Squidward is suicidal
MatPat commits labour abuses.
...but that's just a Game Theory.
@@slaughterround643 Wait really? Elaborate
it would be Squidward is going through a Nihilistic Realization or Squidward is experiencing Nihilism
Karstame Theorquist: Squidward is nihilistically suicidal
Dont tou mean Film Theory?
Always thought the darkest moment was when Mr. Krabs sold Spongebob's soul for 62 cents.
"look squidward, money!"
Ikr poor SpongeBob
I love how spongebob can be enjoyed in two different ways, the cartoony, energetic show that kids enjoy. But you can also find the deeper meaning in each episode which would appeal to adults.
I can’t believe i just realized this but if he “slept” for 2000 years + how old he was till the shows endpoint then squidward is the oldest living creature in the show lmao
WAIT so he's an ancient blue tentacled creature who loathes everyone?
Very lovecraftian.
We have the same name wtf
@@johncheese637 it's a pretty average name
Also makes me think the original Squidward is still trapped in the freezer and they just keep him somewhere in the back, near the patties.
I think the rock Spongebob Rides on has a good possibility of being older... Sorry
"Nothing matters." literally just made my brain hurt after overthinking how many interpretations that can have.
Ah shit now you've gotten me too.
But if nothing matters, then we can decide what matters to us as individuals since nothing in the universe means a thing.
Now its time for "i don´t care". By saying this you allready care enough about the subject to say that you don´t care...
Bruh waS speaking a different language
@@DeathlyDrained yessir Kurzgesagt
SB-129 is the most Lynchian that SpongeBob has ever gotten.
Aside from Courage the Cowardly Dog, I've never seen a cartoon reach this level of surreal fear.
You're not perfect.
RETUUUURRRNNNN THEEE SLAAAAABBB! Or suffer my curse!
@@rpd5983 That "you're not perfect" is a reference to the last episode of Courage.
@@CassandraPantaristi He may be referencing the blue fetus creature that appears in one of Courage's dreams and tell him: "You're not perfect", I still don't understand how that particular scene didn't traumatized me as a kid, but as an adult I find it really scary
@@carlosmendoza1177 That episode I don't really remember much honestly.
The clarinetland episode always hit me as one of the darkest episodes. That mental snap of squidwards was very deep at its core. It’s symbolism is open to interpretation but really any logical way to look at it is pretty dark.
That one was creepy
"The gay science" activated my stupid brain cells to make me chuckle.
me too 😔
I didn’t even laugh until you pointed it out. BiG bRaiN
I saw your comment and was waiting for it and it didn’t disappoint
What time did say that
That's so fucking random but I loved it.
This guy ate the whole bottle of Flinstone Gummies
💀
💀
💀
Skull emoji
💀
Can we appreciate not just the creative writing in this episode, but the artistic creativity and quality as well? For a weekly "kid's show", this episode looks amazing! From the wonderfully detailed prehistoric sea forest, to the sleek chrome aesthetic of the future, to the wildy colorful abstract shapes of the time machine, the production value of SB-129 on all fronts is FAR above average. Heck, this episode looks good enough to be a Nickelodeon short film they would enter for the Oscars! It represents all the best aspects of Spongebob: hilarious, crazy, creative, psychologically intriguing, colorful yet dark. SB-129 is so memorable because it shows that Stephen Hillenburg took the time and effort to make a lasting impact on kids' (and adults') lives.
I totally agree. This is by far the most memorable episode of SpongeBob
The crunches scene really reminds me of how Gregor Samsa grounded himself in his bodily sensations to hold onto his humanity in Metamorphosis
This episode literally gave me my first sense of existential anxiety ever in my life when I was young. I’ll never forget the fear that sank into my bones.
No it didn't
I had the same experience but had no idea why. I hated that it was the end of SpongeBob. And I hated this episode because I was uncomfortable watching it for reasons I had no idea until revisiting the idea as an adult. But as a child what it looked like, i just thought wow that was the worst episode they could have ended with. Cause I knew it was the last episode when I watched it. It said so on nickelodeon
You’ll be Ight
I... Love ur pfp. U r cute.
@@ugandahater who's joe
This lockdown and events are really having an effect on people. Folks really doing philosophical breakdowns of SpongeBob.
LMAO
Not philosophically. Mentally
Its not a fools errand, how many millions of kids spent hours watching SB
People have been doing philosophical breakdowns of Spongebob for a while now and I love it.
😂😂😂😂
I also appreciate the fact that in this episode, when Squidward goes to the past, he ends up teaching Spongebob and Patrick how to jellyfish, contributing to his own torture.
Time travel paradoxes are so cool
HOLY SHIT A TIME PARADOX
Bro saw the top comment
You mean primitive sponge and primitive star?
Read your bible! (KJV, preferably) ❤️😊
Imagine if the writers of this episode just wrote it randomly with no real reason.
I would of considered that but I really don't think this is the only episode that has an actual meaning.. funny to say any of this shit about a little cartoony show but it actually makes sense
Which most likely is the case
That’s typically how it is
@@drgog4300you don’t think they were smart enough to include added meaning?
@@maddieb.4282 I'm not saying they're smart. Just what's the point?
The "alone" part of the episode always creeped me out and made me sad. The way you interpreted it makes so much sense
i literally avoided watching this episode as a kid because of that. i got nightmares for days after i watched it for the first time
SB-129 and Rock Bottom were the episodes that traumatized me as a kid and ngl up until now I’m avoiding these two episodes because the creepy and disturbing feeling is still there.
those are 2 of my favorite episodes
I recommend watching Jamaican Snuggie reacting to Rock Bottom with his friend. That way you won't be watching it alone and traumatized.
rock bottom always made me feel weird when i was younger
@@rowen42069 pikachu is overrated
@@SMCwasTaken I don't even know anything about pokemon, I made that my profile picture years ago because of the meme and I just can't be bothered to change it😂
"The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present."
-Hobbes
And it proof in current year.
The problem with the present is that it keeps turning into the past.
people dont think the universe be like it is but it do - black science man
Didn’t know fast and furious got that deep
The philosopher, or the cartoon tiger named after the philosopher?
i just realised that since squidward went missing for 2000 years, and he went back again to his original timeline using the time machine that means a new timeline branch has opened meaning there’s two timelines now, an original one where he never returns and stays missing for 2000 years, and a new branch where he returns after a while using the time machine. this is why i absolutely love this episode
I feel like the creators of spongebob keep accidentally creating very depressing and terrifying theories
Hahaha I agree, and tbh I didn’t really find this theory all that compelling for that reason alone. Like I *highly* doubt the writers were going for anything as deep as this guy is getting at, which makes it all seem all the less interesting to me
@@jadedjimmy that’s why I said accidentally, it’s like the feeling when you make something really wholesome but then you accidentally make people think it means something more, overall interesting topics to poke at though
@@Jotenks well said
@@jadedjimmy thanks lol
@@Jotenks Exactly. Even if the writers didn't intend it, it's still pretty fun to see what people think of these episodes. People may go "Oh, it's just a little kids' show episode. Quit being such a huge nerd." But honestly, I think those people are just fun police, lol.
This is essentially what a bad trip is like.
Fuck yeah it is 🥴😂
Fax
How scary. I've never had one myself, but I've sure as hell heard about some people's experiences. The mind is crazy powerful, and so is Lucy/mushrooms
This happened to me on shrooms. I was in a room with my friend when the trip started. I walked around his house feeling the fabric of his couch and conceptualizing time but after that we sat down and watched some tv. I watched that flavortown dude eat a burger and it was pretty strange. i started asking existential questions to myself during all of that and it started to come to conclusion explained in the video. I just kept hearing "it is what it is" and i was afraid man. I wanted to go for a walk but my friend never wants to do anything i suggest so i just soaked for a long time in that dark place. The repitition think hit hard too. I was able to shake it all out though. There is alot of darkness in life, but there is just as much light and goodness. I have to remind myself of that alot
That moment where Squidward's relaxing and says "alone", then all the other alones popping up. Then suddenly pan out, more and more, along with the rancorous roar of all the "alones" at once. Yeah. That's a bad trip. The sensation of everything you were previously thinking about being minimized in an instant of what feels like pure fear. Makes me sweaty thinking about it.
The fact that squidward went to
the future and never talked about it
in the show again
Yeah he sure suppressed that one
Snipers never kill and tell
It was an internal conflict the clarinet was a physical anchor point for us
All SpongeBob episodes are self-contained. The "You Wish" special ended with them trapped in a blender. The next episode had them back in Bikini Bottom. That's negative continuity.
I was already an adult when Spongebob was on, but my kids loved it and I watched a bunch of episodes with them. This one was definitely my favorite and years later we still say "ALOOOONE". Thanks for diving into the philosophy of a show that's much deeper than most people my age would ever give it credit for being!
Did you guys actually get to see the one where Squidward tries Krabby Patties, and the security system Mr. Krabs has is a bucket of gasoline and a robot arm dropping a match? They actually cut the latter part out after a few airings.
I remember those
@rickwilliams967 That explained why the door doesn't have a keyhole and to keep his former friend away.
I can’t believe you talked about an eternal cycle and didn’t mention at the end when Squidward asked Spongebob and Patrick who invented Jellyfishing and they both responded with “you did, Sauidward!” At which point Squid was just like “I’m going back.”
Good catch!
Wait, how would they actually know if he actually do it?
Did they have ancestors who told them that the person “squidward” made jelly fishing? Soon passing it on generation through generations?
Why were spongebob and patrick so calm that they were meeting the person that taught their ancestors how to jelly fish?
“You did squidward...”
there is a possible chance squidward might be... actually dead.
Since he taught spongebob and patrick how to jelly fish.
He taught them how to jellyfish.
And now he’s here with the ancestors great great 15x grandchildren, and they act all normal, like he didn’t die, like he didn’t disappear. Just to come back.
He came back to the present with a time machine and they acted all normal... what if that isn’t the present? What if he’s actually still dead. He’s in the afterlife.
Ah yea my favorite character: sauidward.
@@yoifrdontwannawakeup XD
the most relatable character in SpongeBob SquarePants: Sauidward.
as a kid i never thought of this as too deep but i DO remember noticing “asparagus” and feeling clever for seeing it lmao
Look again, it says assburgers
i never noticed that until you mentioned it wtf 😭
I liked the “huh” more tbh
What does that mean?
LMAO SAME
Squidward wants to be alone, in solitude, but he doesn't want to be lonely.
Lord Aizen is here to reign supreme from soul king and alone to be king 🤣
So.... Evangelion...?
not just any solitude, but solitude in e minor
same
Woah
This episode absolutely TERRIFIED me as a child, and even still unsettles me. I find it really cool to view it now in a similar but different and more mature light.
I don't know way but I always watch this episode in the night.
"this episode is sponsored by squarespace"
Oh man we're in for a good documentary
I know right
true beauce ucualy good videos are for some weird reasion sponsonred by squarespace
This video is sponsored by Squarepants
@@2twosix6 *Tortellini
they know how to market themselves
Spongebob never leaves you
It's a great show when you're a child, and has dark, hidden, deeper meanings when you're older
Simply said
Or maybe its just over-analysing
@@Newbie_hiblitz It's overanalyzing by adults that watched the show as a kid
@@boxelderinitiative3897 well when you go through school to look at things in books deeper by english teachers, it’s pretty easy to do and in this case helps teach a lesson. It’s not really analyzing squidwards psychology but finding a new story to tell with another story. As all writing should be able to do - characters in stories are icons for many different things
Or u just smoke too many meths
This episode, the Rock Bottom one, and the dream episode with talking Gary all just seem like they're straight out of a huge childhood fever dream. Then again I also watched Courage the Cowardly Dog and Flapjack.. no wonder my childhood was filled with reoccurring nightmares lol
lol as a kid I never really like Flapjack, sometimes I watch a few ep but most of it its no Bueno
There was also "Suds." For some reason, I got a strange, surreal feeling from that one. I think it was because of the abnormally bright color palette? SpongeBob's sickly appearance and how he wasn't yellow except for the first and last minute of the episode? Oh, and of course "Procrastination." The dark color palette of that one did NOT help.
This episode shows that you have to accept reality instead of wishing it were different because problems are inevitable regardless of whether you are in the past, present, or future since there will always be people you don’t like, and being alone will be a relief at first, but later, fear starts to creep in, and you’ll start panicking.
When I was about 5 years old I once had a vision of “nothingness”. It felt weird, lonely, and infinite. That was the only time I was ever able to visualize something of that caliber. To this day I honestly don’t know what I experienced but I remember it vividly.
You reached the void without forcing it, that's amazing, especially when considering your age
@@waltergilman3998 can you link me to some material on this? I’d love to learn more about it. What causes this?
@@3longatedMuskr4t not so easy because it's a technique I developed on my own.
Maybe googleing keywords like transcendental meditation, dharana, void might help. It's like a glance into pre-creation connected to Ginnungagap as we call it in northern mythology.
I can tell myself to think of nothing on command
I just imagine white fading into nothing, and soon there’s nothing.
@@latetotheparty7879 that’s interesting man
Spongebob writers: "Wouldn't it be funny if Spongebob and Squidward did this?"
TH-camrs: "Each episode of Spongebob plunges deep in the abyss of human emotion to find not only what makes us laugh, but what makes us truly suffer."
"and to prove it I will quote this man that use complicated sentences and doesn't know what he is talking about and also is probably dead."
There's always a hint of optimism in these idea full of nihilism.
@@karlmatthewpepito4439 "Life is meaningless, so I might as well enjoy myself."
@holdenpope exactly the way I see it if there’s no point make your own
They reach heavily too
The darkest, maybe the most emotionally charged episode for me was when Gary went to live with Patrick.
that the saddest imo
Memories of mom and dad fighting😭🤣 *in spongebob narrator voice* ahhhh childhood
@@skylamei LMAO. Why are people who watched spongebob so funny
But just wanted the cookie in his pocket! Deus ex machina
would always change the channel when it came on
I watched this episode as a kid in Germany. The word asparagus was such a interesting and mysterious word for me, until I learned in school what it actually meant lol
Author: writes literally a single sentence
ELA teachers:
So true
The natural final act to Squidwards Nihilistic Existential Crisis Series:
*Squidward Suicide*
Or, perhaps if you're an optimist
*Band Geeks*
Band geeks is a good episode so we'll go that way
Squidward suicide is t canon?
@@e.e.y.1803 it's not even made by nickelodeon
@@snowmanwithasnowplan Yes ik i was just making surw
Nickelodeon actually did refrence Squidward's Suicide in an episode, so it can be considered canon
th-cam.com/video/6xKhFzJpXR4/w-d-xo.html
The nowhere scene never scared me - I think it was too abstract for me as a kid. It was in the past when Spongebob and Patrick were chasing Squidward back to the time machine that I found terrifying....their faces were just SO SCARY and out-of-character and looking right at the camera
True that part is still scary to me
Yeah when Patrick and spongebob were chasing him I used to cry as a kid
The alone scene is so well put together when the voices blend together and we are moved far away from squidward even us leaving him in his loneliness is some amazing presentation it made me so uncomfortable
You still remember your parents when they said that SpongeBob was a "dumb" show made for kids?
Show them this.
They could just say he's overthinking this
Honestly, this vid is kinda pretentious
Like I do think the writers were going for something along the lines of the existential dread but not to the point that the video trys to make it out to be
@@nuclearmonster8084 I was thinking the same before I watched it.
*has a Fairy Tale pfp*
@@danielfecklessness2796 well he is a famous commenter if he were to change his pfp everyone would be confused
As Reggie Watts sings: "we're only living in the memories of our future selves, and it's fun to think like we're here right now but we never really are, cause we're somewhere in the future controlling the options, giving lots of hints to ourselves in order for us to understand the choice is still important in a world where we gotta figure some stuff out, yeah!....baby I love ya!"
Man, I fucking love Reggie Watts so much
Coincidentally, he would later be in “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run”!
But that’s just the belief that we are controlled,freewill is a debate that still is discussed to this day.
a good mentality to have at first, until you realize you will never experience the future, and thus you will never actually *live* anything.
@@perpetualsystems well... I think I’m alive enough to know that this ham I’m eating right tastes FUCKING GOOD MATE
Imagine if the writers were just like “what? No, this is just funny sponge man in the future”
I was JUST thinking that
It doesn't matter what the creator of art thinks, it's the viewer who gives something it's meaning.
That sounds like something tom ska would say
THATS JUST LIKE ME FO REAL
@@the_original_Bilb_Ono I like that
Almost as if Squidward was in a psychedelic trip. Once you learn to accept the nothingness and alone part then you can learn to be free from one’s ego. It’s really something to learn here
This episode actually made me have an existential crisis as a kid.
it felt like a fever dream
Same. There were also "Rock Bottom," "Procrastination," "Squidward in Clarinetland," "SpongeHenge," "Sleepy Time," and strangely enough "Suds." I think it was due to the bright color palette, Squidward's odd disappearance, and the fact that SpongeBob was only yellow for the first and last minute.
Same
Stephen hillenburg was a marine biologist so this was deep, challenger’s deep
Nautical puns.
I always saw it like this... “Squidward wanted to be alone, and he got it”
its very rarely talked about how in the episode, specifically the "alone" text scene, is that the more the disembodied voices repeat the word, "alone" the more frightened their voices become. its so haunting, the realization setting in that you are truly and utterly in your loneliest loneliness
I'm proud go have grown up with the first 4 seasons
Right? Just Imagine being born during seasons 4 to 12...
@@alexjimenez4051 A lot of people were, but they still reran the seasons beforehand, so they would’ve known about seasons 1-3 regardless.
Same.
@@pepearown4968 I agree, I mean literally everyone has access to the seasons
Same
I always knew there was something kinda off about this episode. Sometimes the most random things scare me
Of course there is
As I kid, I'd usually to put the TV on while playing so that I could focus on my toys while waiting for something that interested me to come up on the screen. But there was one cartoon that always made me change to another channel. It was called Sanjay and Greg (I think that's how it is written) and it every single fricking episode was filled only with random and discusting crap from beginning to end. It watched a few episodes out of curiosity, just to see how horrible it could get. I don't remember much from all of that and that's for the best.
@@uMaud I still can't believe nick allowed it, especially trying to make that one person throw up.
"The fear of not knowing yourself is the most terrifying and truthful realization"
I am someone who lives with perpetual anxiety and occasionally have mental breakdowns where upon recovering I feel like I've changed as a person. So this statement really speaks to me on a really deep level.
Same
It’s only terrifying based on your own perception. I think not knowing yourself is a beautiful and exciting concept because it allows you to go on the journey to become aware of yourself, explore yourself, and discover yourself. I think knowing who and what you are for all eternity would get boring, so I’m thankful for the cycle of remembering and forgetting.
@@justinunion7586 OooOOoo, that's another way of seein' it! And I really like it, I wish I was able to see it this way when I had my last mental breakdown. It surely sounds like an fun 'n' interesting experience
same
@@justinunion7586 interesting way of thinking but what if the forgetfulness was purposely and accidentally induced?
This is definitely one of the most disturbing episodes of all time. As a kid you can't understand what is going on, and you probably laughed at the part when people were chanting "alone alone alone". But now seeing this, it's definitely something far disturbing. It's like spongebob then was to not he understood by younger people until they rewatch it being older, then it's just not the same.
“The moment you absorbed what i just said is already the past”. Thanks, you just send me into an existential crisis with that sentence.
Me too man. I’m in hell.
@@Crazylegoman3791 it’s ok time is a made up concept lol
it really isnt scary lol
@@raphu2272 I know. I just don’t know how to get a hold of myself right now.
Past tense, to say in clarification.
The first time I experienced apeirophobia, I was 6 years old. My dad was trying to convince me of the existence of Heaven, and he said we would live forever and do whatever we want. I thought it was cool because then I could play baseball forever. Then I realized at some point I would get sick of baseball. This horrified me and I realized I didn't want to live forever.
The second time I experienced it was several years later watching this episode and seeing the alone section.
Eternal recurrence is viewed in such a negative light.
I would love to live forever because living forever is sure as hell better than not living forever. Nihilism can be debunked in every video game and movie. All it takes is a change of perspective and initiative.
As long as you are not in a dark void incapable of thinking and moving then there is always something you can do to better yourself and build.
Even if we hit the so-called limit of humanity (which I think will never happen) there will ALWAYS be something to do.
Kind of like vanilla minecraft. It becomes boring because, the player does not come up with ideas on how to make the game more interesting or fun to him. However, there are mods and some imagination to make something dull more lively.
It literally comes down to perspective and initiative. We don't explore like we used to anymore or use our imagination to do new things. Social media and technology makes us wait for someone else or something else to give our lives meaning. Hence, why nihilism is so popular now...
@@DaveThaBossDTB
Yeah, but nothing can beat literal eternity. You can have as positive a perspective as possible for a really long time, but everything fades out eventually.
@@kiera6326 I get where you are coming from but, how can it be proven? As humans we believe everything comes to an end due to our nature. What if that was never the case and we just think that because we view the world as we view our life cycles - that is that we are conceived, born as a baby, live as an adult, and die as an old person. Just because we live and then die doesn't mean the universe is like that. That's the reasoning I use at least. The universe is constantly expanding and nature doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon either.
We have been going for millennia and I don't see us hitting the limit anytime soon. Maybe it does fade but, it shouldn't affect us right now in this moment. We should consider that when it becomes a problem truthfully.
@@DaveThaBossDTB The problem with living for eternity, other than becoming bored, is forgetting. If we have the same memory capacity as we do now but throughout our eternal lifetime, a 60-year marriage will feel like a minute. You'd hardly remember it. See the short film "It's Such a Beautiful Day" because it explores that idea more.
Aside from that, in a way our lives already ARE eternal because the concept of life and death is made up. We can just as easily conceive that we die and are reborn every second because or present selves are so transient. The concept of "self" is also made up. At what point do you separate the self from everything around you? There's no objective definition. Are we not also literally the food we eat? Are we not made up of our ancestors and even other creatures? The self is an illusion we need to use in order to function. When we "die" we pass on our material somewhere else because matter/energy is not created or destroyed. We're still there, in a different form, but forever part of and connected to all of the universe.
I agree that nihilism has become more popular. It's easy to be a consumer and to just... not think anymore. We want something easy when life keeps draining us. Now that the world is more global and cut-throat, it's exhausting to have to come home from work/school, listen to the news of our hell-scape, and find the energy to be creative. I guess it depends on the job you do on a daily basis, but that's what I think is going on for a lot of people.
Oof. Yeah, that’s not the best description of heaven. It does last for eternity, but it’s inhabitants are also transformed. We’ll have a much greater capacity for enjoyment and far better abilities than we do now. Theoretically, you could play baseball forever, but it will probably look a lot more like constantly advancing and creating new, interesting things. Heaven is perfect in the sense that there is no sin, but like the Garden of Eden, it sounds as though people will be called to expand Paradise. Since it’s eternal, it may also feel more like living completely in the moment rather than feeling like you’re trapped in a continuum of millennia; eternity and infinity aren’t exactly the same.
As a kid I'd never thought of a Spongebob episode as dark, but looking back it did give me a real dark feeling! I was super surprised that the "Nowhere" place had so much depth and meaning, because it actually inspired me to write a song last year, dealing with my feeling of being in a void in life.
The song is called Inside The Void by Rejected Witness if you wanna find it. We tried to capture that crazy unreal feeling of Nowhere, and used it to describe how I felt about life at the time. Dealing with the past passing by, yet how the future never seems to come.
Here's a link to the song: th-cam.com/video/sky04nSVWKU/w-d-xo.html
@@rejectedwitnessband8001 Thank you so much! It sounds great!
@@Hi-lq7xx Thanks, I'm really glad you like it!!
Ah the beggining of my existential fears, sweet sweet spongebob
*This guy* : Sb-129 Is one of the darkest episode because it explore existential nihilism and here is why is because squidward used a time machine but he broke it and now he is alone but not really alone because he escape that plane by breaking the ceiling and tha...
*The writer of the episode* : hahaha squidward use a Time machine, it would be a funny episode.
Haha unseen plot go *BRRRR*
Do you remember that one dark joke where squidward was gonna hang himself instead of getting the clam
Maybe you should express yourself more respectful
You are a "the autor meant the curtains were blue" guy aren't you?
Stuff isn't made without a purpose in fiction, if there's a connection that doesn't seem that far fetched, then the makers of said fiction probably did it on purpose
@@zepic3895 holy shit, chill
"who's the the barnaclehead who invented that game anyway?"
"you are, Squidward!"
"im going back."
i imagine that's how god feels
Squidward noclips into the backrooms.
Instead of blj, dude literally clips in with a time machine
ngl the time machine interior does kinda look like a liminal space
ALONE!
The existential episodes like SB-129 and Clarinetland were always my favorite and I still can't really place why
Spongebob is such a genius show. giving kids the template to these sorts of thoughts without them being aware of it. Killer analysis man, imma go contemplate my existence in the freezer now...
A lot of subliminal bad stuff too tho like drugs, racism, cult/Illuminati symbols
Someone might want to check on this guy, make sure he's not there for 2000 years
yeah i just realized how much this episode impacted my perception and curiosity when I watched it as a child.
“Was” they ain’t doing anything like this anymore. The new writers of the show went the Teen Titans Go route
see ya in 2,000 years logan
He finally explained Squidward’s “Future” crunches. What a Godsend.
It goes deeper.
Sponge Bob is his balance. We see Squidward performing the crunches as is said to do something in which his body reacts so he can "wake up" but his body was in parallel crying out "future" to dismiss his attempts. Locked into this eternal mental struggle, his balance, Spongebob, dropped a brick that was readily available as if smacking Squidward in the head is a common occurrence to "fix" him or bring mental balance. Afterall, Squidward thanks Spongebob for the brick.
Considering the ending, this was definetly motivational!
First reply to a ytber
Second reply to a Ytuber
First to say no one cares
Sorry?
Fourth to replay to a ytber. Fifth message down.