The Most Memorable Spongebob Episodes That’ll Give You Nostalgia

Even though Spongebob is still on-air, it has definitely recently lost some of the magical quality that made me, and so many others, immediately fall in love with it. There were certainly some more memorable Spongebob episodes than other.

Spongebob Squarepants. If this lovable little yellow dude wasn’t on your T.V. screen every day after school, then I don’t know what kind of life you were living. Even though Spongebob is still on-air, it has definitely recently lost some of the magical quality that made me, and so many others, immediately fall in love with it. There were certainly some more memorable Spongebob episodes than other.

If you’re like me and have a box set of almost every season of Spongebob but don’t know where to start in re-watching them, here’s a handy little guide of memorable Spongebob episodes to watch when you’re in the mood for some of that good ole’ nostalgia.

1. Krusty Krab Training Video

Episode 50b of Spongebob might just be the most quotable episode in the entire series. Who doesn’t remember P.O.O.P? This episode is particularly interesting because it deviates from the normal setup of the rest of the episodes. It still provides that funny Spongebob charm, though, combined with the pure 2000’s- style poop jokes (you can’t lie, they always made you laugh) and it gets the narrator involved almost as a character himself. I’ve heard people say that this episode isn’t that great, but, honestly, that just sounds like a lot of hoopla to me.

2. Band Geeks

Season 2 of Spongebob always hit the mark, and Band Geeks is no exception. With the Bubble Bowl just around the corner, we were all rooting for Squidward to whip the members of his “band” into shape in time to show-up Squilliam Fancyson (yes, we were all already rooting against him even in his debut episode). While Squidward threw in the towel on his band, the plucky young Spongebob gave a passionate speech which led to greatness the next day for the final performance.

I don’t think any real Spongebob fan will ever forget when the trumpets started blaring, when Plankton was tapping melodically on his keyboard, and the goosebump-forming moment when Spongebob starting belting the, now iconic, song Sweet Victory. Perhaps one of the most inspiring episodes, Band Geeks is sure to stir up the happy feelings of the day.

3. My Pretty Seahorse

Who can forget the majestic green seahorse known as Mystery? Not Spongebob and surely none of us. My Pretty Seahorse hits all the right marks from creating a running joke of practicing a (sea)horse imitation to hitting home on some of our own real life struggles. When I say struggles, I mean the struggle of a kid in elementary school begging her mom for a pet dog and not being allowed to have one. I think that’s why we all felt for Spongebob when Mr. Krabs made him get rid of Mystery. Maybe we didn’t realize it then, but now we know that it was for the best that Mystery, as a wild animal, got to stay in her natural habitat.

4. The Secret Box

Speaking of mystery, The Secret Box is a dutiful inclusion to the Spongebob nostalgia list. Another home-run from season two, The Secret Box plays on that intense curiosity that we all had as a child (and many of us still retain as adults). The fact that we went an entire episode not knowing what this incredible secret was and being led to believe that there was some damning evidence in there that could turn the course of Spongebob’s life forever kept all our eyes glued to the screen. Then, as Spongebob revealed it was a simple piece of string, we had our final laughs at the expense of poor, stupid Patrick.

Lo and behold, Patrick wasn’t as stupid as we thought, and our feeble little minds were blown as it was revealed what was really inside the box…

5. Life of Crime

Life of Crime, probably better known as the “Free Balloon Day” episode, is one for the nostalgia books. There was the thrill of stealing a balloon and feeling overwhelmingly guilty but being unable to make things right because the balloon popped… it was all SO dramatic! Naturally, the hysterics continued and the only thing for Spongebob and Patrick to do was run away and live a life of crime, with nothing but two candy bars to their names. It’s hard to forget that up-close scene of Spongebob eating his bar of chocolate while Patrick has a meltdown. All in all, the melodrama and irony of the pair “stealing” something that was free to begin with will have all Spongebob lovers laughing for years to come.

6. Skill Crane

A personal favorite, Skill Crane is a fun and, as always, hilarious episode of Spongebob. There were very few of us who, as children, could actually win anything from those claw machines (which definitely helped us relate to Squidward), but we all thought this episode was giving us the big secret to beating the machine once and for all! Needless to say, if you tried Spongebob’s trademark “close your eyes” and “be the crane” techniques in real life, you were probably left a little disappointed. These are just some of the most memorable Spongebob episodes we love.

7. Missing Identity

The dramatics continue in Missing Identity, which begins with a noir feel with the diner scenery, dramatic interjection of the main character, and ambient thunderstorm. There’s just something so funny to kids (my young self included) about going dumpster diving and finding all sorts of treasure inside. It almost made it seem like something that would be fun to do. It’s safe to say everyone cheered when it was revealed that Spongebob had never lost his identity; it was literally on him the whole time.