"Squidward Tentacles vs. Eugene H. Krabs" is the third episode of The Life of SpongeBob SquarePants' first season. It originally aired on April 1, 2015.
Characters[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Squidward Tentacles
- Eugene H. Krabs
- Thomas Reywal
- Joseph SquarePants
- Ari Goodfish
- William C. Stockfish
- Fred
- Sadie Rechid
- Harold "Bill" Reginald
- Debbie Rechid
- Nat Peterson
Plot[]
After another day of working in the Krusty Krab, Squidward is glad to finally be able to go home - he is looking forward to a night of relaxation at his home. However, his dream is crushed when Mr. Krabs happily comes out of his office to announce that the restaurant has just received an order for 2,500 Krabby Patties "of high quality" from the Lord Mayor of Bikini Bottom, William C. Stockfish, who is planning to hold a large party at the Lord Mayor's House the next morning. As a result, Squidward and SpongeBob must work for several more hours to fulfill the order and deliver the patties to the Lord Mayor's House. Squidward reluctantly agrees to go along with this, but his request that he be paid for working overtime is refused - as usual - by Krabs, who declares that the restaurant needs "all the money that it has".
The 2,500 and last patty is finally finished at 3 a.m. Squidward again requests to be paid for working overtime, but is rebuffed - this time more harshly - by Krabs. Squidward and Krabs get into an argument and are separated by SpongeBob before they are able to physically fight. Squidward departs angrily from the restaurant, cursing Krabs for his "typical, endless selfishness". With Squidward unavailable, SpongeBob delivers the patties to the Lord Mayor's House alone.
At 6 a.m., coming to the Krusty Krab to open the restaurant, Krabs encounters a lawyer named Thomas Reywal, who informs Krabs that he is Squidward's lawyer and that his client has filed a complaint with the court, naming Krabs as the defendant. Squidward seeks money and a week's holiday to compensate for frequent overtime working, which, he alleges, has distressed him "for more than fifteen years".
As Reywal leaves the scene, SpongeBob arrives and Krabs asks him to talk to Squidward and convince him to drop the lawsuit, saying that if Squidward wins the Krusty Krab will lose much money. SpongeBob goes to Squidward's house, but Squidward refuses to speak to him. Krabs orders SpongeBob to find him a lawyer. SpongeBob nominates his cousin, local lawyer Joseph SquarePants; Mr. Krabs agrees.
Some days later, Mr. Krabs and Squidward come to the Courthouse (just across the street from the Lord Mayor's House), accompanied by their respective lawyers; SpongeBob finds himself part of the jury. Krabs is horrified to find that the judge is Ari Goodfish, a strict, just judge who despises Krabs and his business practices. Reywal speaks on the frequency of overtime in the Krusty Krab, which, he states, has taken a heavy toll on Squidward's mental and physical health. Joseph SquarePants speaks up (after Judge Goodfish delivers a stinging rebuke to Krabs) and declares that it is Squidward's fault for continuing to work under Krabs even though he could have quit a long time ago. He is quickly interrupted by Krabs, who rebukes Joseph for "saying that Squidward should have quit". Angered by his client's interruption, Joseph states that Krabs has "given away the case" and that he too is guilty "for overworking the employees". SpongeBob and Squidward urge them to calm down; Squidward attempts to separate them, but instead gets accidentally punched by Krabs. Reywal, thinking that Krabs punches Squidward on purpose, tries to separate Krabs from everyone else, declaring him to be "mad". In the heat of the moment, SpongeBob jumps off the jury box and, with all the energy he has, pushes Krabs and Reywal away from each other, only to slip. Attempting to keep his balance, he grabs Squidward's shoulder, which leads to both of them falling to the floor.
Goodfish expels both sides and SpongeBob for contempt of court to avoid a "riot". After they are removed from the room, the jury reaches a verdict of "guilty". Goodfish decides that Squidward must be compensated with money, but his request for a week's holiday is rejected because "it will make him lazy", and instead orders Krabs to close the restaurant for a full day and take his employees on a "refreshment trip, for the sake of the body and soul".
Trivia[]
- Goodfish's decision to expel SpongeBob and Squidward along with the defendant, plaintiff, and their lawyers for contempt of court is rather strange, because they are not actually attempting to cause commotion and participate in the fight; in fact, they are trying to intervene and end the fight. If anything, Goodfish should have expelled Krabs and the lawyers (Krabs and Joseph for arguing with each other and ignoring calls to calm down, and Reywal for loudly proclaiming Krabs to be "mad" and then briefly getting into a brawl with the latter, although in Reywal's case it must noted that he genuinely thinks Krabs punches Squidward on purpose). That being said, Goodfish, who only watches from his bench, might not have been able to fully comprehend what is happening and decides that everyone he eventually expels is guilty for fighting in court.