"Kwarantined Krab" is the second segment of the 263rd episode of ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'', airing as part of the show's twelfth season. It was originally scheduled to air in the United States in 2020, but the events of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

caused it to be withheld from airing on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

until April 29, 2022 (making it the final episode of the twelfth season to air), due to the episode's plot revolving around a pandemic.

Plot

health inspector An environmental health officer (EHO), also referred to as an environmental health practitioner (EHP) or public health inspector, is a person responsible for carrying out measures to protect public health, which includes the administration and en ...

walks into the

Krusty Krab The Krusty Krab is a fictional fast food restaurant in the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. In the television show the restaurant is famous for its signature burger, the Krabby Patty, the formula to which is a clo ...

, where he declares that there is a disease called the "Clam Flu" spreading around, causing most of the characters to run around and panic. The health inspector orders the restaurant to be put under

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

, much to the dismay of Squidward and

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

. The Krusty Krab is locked down with SpongeBob,

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, Squidward,

Mr. Krabs Eugene Harold Krabs, better known as simply Mr. Krabs, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He is voiced by actor Clancy Brown and first appeared in the series' pilot episode " Help ...

, Pearl, and

Mrs. Puff Mrs. Penelope "Poppy" Puff is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and every film based on the franchise. Voiced by Mary Jo Catlett, Mrs. Puff debuted in the season one episode "Boating Sc ...

stuck inside. Mr. Krabs suggests locking the diseased person inside the freezer once they are found. Some pepper is accidentally launched into the air, causing SpongeBob to sneeze, making everyone else assume he has caught the disease. SpongeBob willingly walks into the freezer after being asked. Patrick notices SpongeBob having fun in the freezer, so he pretends that he has caught the Clam Flu too, causing him to be thrown inside. When Squidward begins to scratch his itching arm, Pearl assumes that he has caught the disease; Mr. Krabs then throws him into the freezer. Mr. Krabs notices that Mrs. Puff has yawned, making him think that she has caught the Clam Flu too; she is also locked in the freezer. After Pearl remembers that she has some money left over from last time she was in the mall, Mr. Krabs believes her mind is poisoned from the disease, locking her up as well. After everyone else in the freezer reports feeling well, Mrs. Puff concludes that Mr. Krabs himself is the one that has caught the disease; she and the rest of the characters break out of the freezer. The characters chase Mr. Krabs around the restaurant in order to lock Mr. Krabs in the freezer, but all end up incapacitated in doing so. When the health inspector returns, he says that he made a mistake, and that no one is actually sick, before assuming that everyone has caught a different disease, with Mr. Krabs catching all of them. He orders the Krusty Krab in an even stronger lockdown. The restaurant is transported onto the Chum Bucket, where

Plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

begs everyone to stay away from him to avoid catching the disease, before realizing that he may have already caught it.

Reception

David King at Bubbleblabber.com gave the episode a positive review, and notes that the humor comes from the paranoia between the characters; King states "as they're quarantined from disease yet the synopsis itself slowly, makes it obvious near the end with a very ironic ending."

Temporary ban

"Kwarantined Krab" was initially meant to air during 2020, but was pulled until April 29, 2022, due to the plot revolving around a pandemic, as the real-world

was first detected near the end of 2019. Due to this, it was not available to watch on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

(until 2023) with the other episodes, nor included in the show's Season 12 DVD set. However, it is available to purchase on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

. Regarding the pulling of the episode, as well as the third season episode, " Mid-Life Crustacean," Michelle Mehrtens at ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' commented "Considering the fact that ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is specifically geared toward children, it is understandable that Nickelodeon would be hesitant to keep these episodes in their digital rotation. At the same time, the show exists in a compelling televisual spectrum, one that balances between the consumption of children and adults."

References

External links

* {{SpongeBob SquarePants episodes 2020 controversies in the United States 2021 controversies in the United States 2022 controversies in the United States 2020 American television episodes 2022 American television episodes Animation controversies in television SpongeBob SquarePants episodes Self-censorship Television controversies in the United States Television episodes about influenza outbreaks Television productions postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television episodes pulled from general rotation Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television