Waiting (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Waiting is the second segment of the third episode of the 5th season of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Plot
SpongeBob waits for a toy to arrive in the mail.

Why This Episode Will Make You Impatient

 * 1) The episode's plot is very unoriginal, childish, boring, dull, useless and nothing but pure filler, and for one good reason: SpongeBob is waiting for a toy from a cereal box postcard. That's it.
 * 2) * A free one, at that, which is the least of the episode's problems.
 * 3) * Not to mention, the plot is partially a rip-off of "Bubble Buddy".
 * 4) This episode goes nowhere since nothing really happens that much in the episode, other than what was said above.
 * 5) The writing of the episode is particularly boring and childish. Alongside nothing happening, there isn't really much that's funny in the episode.
 * 6) SpongeBob acts like a huge obsessive jerk in this episode, almost as bad as he was in "A Pal for Gary". At least he does show remorse for it at one point, but that's not going to excuse his behavior for the following:
 * 7) * He knocks Sandy away.
 * 8) * He refuses to give Gary attention.
 * 9) * He screams at Patrick (depending on your view, it can be funny, though.), who says that he missed his birthday.
 * 10) ** SPOILER ALERT: It turns out the present was a fork for a cake that Patrick ate.
 * 11) * All of this is over a delivery.
 * 12) SpongeBob then starts crying when he believes that the toy is "broken", which wasn't even a big deal.
 * 13) * The toy was never actually broken in the first place, either.
 * 14) SpongeBob and Patrick showcase their obnoxious immaturity once more, which is typical for the Dark Age episodes. They act fussy over a toy when it can be fixed easily. Men playing with toys would repair broken toys or have them repaired by someone if they can't do so.
 * 15) * Doesn't help that this could've been even worse...
 * 16) Although the voice acting is passable, the crying and screaming performances from Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke are extremely annoying and ear-grating. Of course, this is one of those rare episodes in SpongeBob that showcases some really annoying voice acting.
 * 17) Even the name of the episode is so uncreative. Probably the lamest name for an episode, ever.
 * 18) Major plot hole: Why isn't SpongeBob working at the Krusty Krab if he could've been waiting for a toy after he's done working?
 * 19) * Here's another plot hole: Squidward is seen coming home from work at the Krusty Krab, but how on earth is Mr. Krabs aware of not seeing SpongeBob at work?
 * 20) The whole show could have been ended if this episode is even terrible due to loads of filler and it being an infamous Season 5 episode. Which means that people are watching this is just for nothing.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Squidward does knock some sense into SpongeBob and Patrick by pressing the toy's head (which is a sign of fixing it) at the end.
 * 2) Squidward, Sandy, and all the characters in this episode (except for SpongeBob) are likable.
 * 3) * Despite also being annoying here, Patrick acts way more tolerable than SpongeBob since he did try to make SpongeBob feel better and didn't wait for the toy either, unlike SpongeBob.
 * 4) The premise could've been salvaged if the mail was more consequential if SpongeBob missed it.
 * 5) Funny moments such as:
 * 6) * To get a free prize offer, SpongeBob has to send in 99 Kelpo box tops; it then cuts to him eating several boxes of Kelpo while simultaneously saving the tops; Gary then abruptly prompts him with a suggestion: Send in the box tops before eating all the cereal.
 * 7) * Patrick brings some cake and a present back from SpongeBob's birthday party, which the latter missed while waiting for his package. Patrick eats the cake slice while looking for a fork. When SpongeBob asks what the present is, Patrick opens it... and it's the fork. (despite being a bit mean-spirited)

Trivia

 * This episode was produced in 2006.

Reception

 * Ranked number 20 on MoBrosStudios's worst SpongeBob SquarePants episodes list, but was later taken off even though Anim8ball said it was not a good episode.
 * The Mysterious Mr. Enter ranked "Waiting" as #10 on his "Top 10 WORST Episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants" list. He admitted that he wanted to review the episode for a long time, but couldn't find anything interesting to say about it.
 * It has a rating of 6.4 on IMDb.

Videos
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