Rule of Dumb is a low infamous episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. In this episode, a starfish from the Royal Ministry comes to visit Patrick for a gift, and Patrick becomes a king.
Why It's The King Of Dumbness[]
- Patrick is an extremely unlikeable person who acts cruelly and takes advantage of his royal power. The examples include:
- Refusing to pay his bill at the Krusty Krab. (Abuse of power and minor fraud)
- Steals a Krabby Patty and drinks from a fish. (Theft)
- Steals a fish's whole comic book collection and laughs at him, making the fish cry, which is heartless. (Theft)
- Takes a diamond from a museum, then puts it on his belly button. (Theft)
- Steals lollipops from children, which is also heartless. (Minor child abuse and theft)
- He takes a baby's pacifier away, making the baby cry, and putting it in his mouth which is, yes, also heartless. (Stealing from a baby and minor child abuse)
- He continues to steal and take things from other Bikini Bottomites. (Extortion and multiple counts of theft)
- He screams at SpongeBob for disobeying him, and he shudders, shrinks down to tiny and runs away in fear. (Intimidation)
- He throws a tantrum after Squidward convinced everyone to leave his ruling. (Tyranny)
- Patrick’s cruel bullying isn’t something he would do to anyone!
- Patrick is not the king of Bikini Bottom since no one has heard of it.
- By the way, Bikini Bottom is a city and there is no reason for him to become king there.
- Also, he is not living in the Royal Ministry and is living in Bikini Bottom.
- Patrick is wrong for stating that everything is owed to him.
- He requested the construction workers to demolish Squidward's house all just to create a useless royal Ferris wheel. (Forced eviction, destruction of property, vandalism)
- Patrick does not get repercussions.
- Patrick even got angry with Squidward for calling him out for his wrongdoings when it was his fault and he deserved it. This shows that Patrick can't handle criticism and since he was acting like he was the king, all country leaders must take criticism from townsfolk and subjects when they make a mistake.
- Even SpongeBob is somewhat out of character, as he joins in on Patrick putting all the turmoil on everyone in Bikini Bottom, and does not realize Patrick's behavior and wrongdoings until near the end of the episode.
- The ending, while okay, is unexpected. Gary is included in the Royal Ministry family tree and becomes king, although he is just a pet that SpongeBob owns.
- What makes it a bit insulting is that even after Patrick is no longer declared king, the civilizations of Bikini Bottom never get their stuff back from him.
- While Mr. Krabs and Squidward are in the right, they are still willing to disrespect royalty and receive no consequences for it, making them both Karma Houdinis.
Redeeming Qualities[]
- Squidward calling out Patrick for his unjustified actions and the townsfolk abandoning him as a result of his bullying is one of the most satisfying moments about this episode.
- In the Krusty Krab scene, there are some creative moments.
- Eventually, Patrick realizes his wrongdoings (though not entirely).
- It is revealed Patrick was never king anyways, it was Gary. Also, it's neat that it's revealed that Patrick and Gary are related,
- SpongeBob is at least somewhat realizing how abusive Patrick is midway through the episode.
- Thankfully, everyone (except Patrick) is still likable.
- It has a good moral to not abuse power when your king.
- The scene of Patrick throwing a tantrum is funny.
How to fix the episode[]
- Have him learn the limits of what it means to be a king.