"The Great Snail Race" is a Very low Infamous episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. In this episode, SpongeBob trains Gary to a snail race.
Why It’s In Last Place[]
The main reason the episode is hated is due to SpongeBob's abusive treatment of Gary when training him and during the race. In order to prepare for the race, SpongeBob makes Gary undergo intensive exercises seemingly without any breaks or sleep, leaving the snail exhausted and in unfit condition to race. Despite Gary's exhausted state, SpongeBob enters him into the race without a single care of his condition and, when it starts, pushes him to keep going, causing Gary to violently crash. To the sponge's credit, he realizes the error of his ways and apologizes to Gary when it happens. Some fans have also expressed discomfort with the crash scene, citing Gary's eyes inflating and exploding as rather unpleasant. Spongebob acts more envious towards Squidward.
First Place Qualities[]
- Unlike A Pal for Gary, SpongeBob at least realized his errors and apologizes to Gary.
- It still has funny moments, like the running gag of misspelling Squidward Tentacles' last name, the "snail made out of bread" joke, Sandy kicking SpongeBob's butt after calling Gary a "lady", and the lightning Larry scene.
- SpongeBob also does get his comeuppance at the end of the episode, by having his butt kicked by Sandy, due to a sexist comment he made earlier.
- Good moral and the characters learn their lesson:
- We learn from SpongeBob that you have to take care of your pet and that everybody needs rest, which is important for contests.
- We learn from Squidward that we have to not be arrogant and that despite being talented, you still have to make them practice.
- Because of the flaws of SpongeBob and Squidward, Patrick's rock wins against their snails.
- Above all the moral is "Don't try to be better than others" and "Caring for others is better than winning".
- The instrumental of “Now That We’re Men” plays in the episode.
- At least Patrick didn't use his rock for anything malicious, unlike what happened here.
Reception[]
Some people think that this is the worst episode of the classic era, alongside with I Was a Teenage Gary, Dumped and I'm with Stupid. The episode has a user rating of 6.5 out of 10 on SpongeBuddy Mania and a user rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on 570 votes on IMDb along with its former sister episode, "Mid-Life Crustacean".
Trivia[]
- Ironically this episode was paired up with the ULTRA-famous "Mid Life Crustacean". As of March 27, 2021, the episode '"Mid Life Crustacean" has been banned due to the panty raid scene, and now "The Great Snail Race" is pulled up with ''Gary in Love" on various streaming services.
- Nick Canada banned the episode due to its deception of animal abuse.
- This episode was referenced in Undertale where when in Waterfall, the player bets on a snail to win and cheers it on.
- The music that played in the title card is the same as what the SpongeBob Squarepants Movie did with SpongeBob and Patrick singing “Now That We’re Men”
Gallery[]
