Patrick Star (seasons 6-9a)

Patrick Star (seasons 6-9a) "Aw, barnacles!" - Patrick when Zeus Cervas flanderized him. Gender: Male Type: Empty-Headed Sociopath The Dark Side of Patrick Star Species: Sea Star Portrayed by: Bill Fagerbakke (English) Ikuko Tani (Japanese; TV Show) Mitsuaki Kanuka (Japanese; Movie) Liron Baranes (לירון ברנס; Hebrew) Status: Alive Media of origin: SpongeBob SquarePants First appearance: Help Wanted

"SpongeBob, you can't always expect my usual brand of stupidity. I like to mix it up. Keep you on your toes."

— "The Card"

"I'll cut off your nutsack, and nail it to my door!"

— Bill Fagerbakke in his Patrick voice from the movie Jennifer's body

Patrick Star is the deuteragonist in the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants and the titular main protagonist of his very own show, The Patrick Star Show. He is voiced by actor Bill Fagerbakke and was created and designed by the late marine biologist and cartoonist Stephen Hillenburg. He is the best friend and neighbor of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Most of the time, he is a simple-minded yet charming character, but during Seasons 6-9a, there was a more malicious side of his personality with none of the likability whatsoever and was a part of controversial themes to SpongeBob fans and viewers, sometimes more than Eugene Krabs and the bad seasons of SpongeBob itself.

Why He Was A Prick And A Pinhead

Note: This only applies to his character as depicted in seasons 6-9a of SpongeBob SquarePants, where he was flanderized.

1. He was flanderized badly from originally being a dim-witted, yet hilariously dumb comic relief character into an obnoxious imbecile with a mean streak.
   • He was often unnecessarily loud, very bossy, demanding, and has a temper problem.
   • He was always ungrateful for everything he was given.
   • His gags became mostly flat, stale, and unfunny.
   • He was one of the few characters that were still flanderized during Season 8. In fact, he's even worse in that season than in Seasons 6 & 7, because there were so many episodes in that specific season that were bad specifically because of him, whether it'd be Pet Sitter Pat, Smoothe Jazz at Bikini Bottom, Oral Report, Patrick's Staycation, Restraining SpongeBob, or The Googly Artiste. Season 8 has a mixed reception, but the reason why it’s hated by some is BECAUSE he of how much of a jerk he is in this season.
     • He may have been dumb and occasionally had a mean streak, but not to this extent.
2. He can be a malicious jerk who bullies SpongeBob on many occasions, despite being his longtime "best friend". He tends to take advantage of SpongeBob's good-hearted nature in several instances.
3. Like SpongeBob during his flanderization, he is extremely immature and acts like a baby. Before and after Flanderization, it was also admittedly rare for him to act like an adult, but he still had some levels of maturity. However, during these seasons, he never does.
   • Again like SpongeBob, he is supposed to be an adult, but he has the mentality of a toddler.
   • He is a crybaby, though not as much as SpongeBob, despite being more childish than him.
4. He is callous as he seems to have complete disregard for his surroundings.
   • For example, in Big Sister Sam he allows his more dimwitted and brutish older sister Sam to demolish SpongeBob and Squidward's houses for no good reason.
   • Even worse, he blames both Squidward & SpongeBob for being angry about how Squidward's house just got demolished (which proves that he cannot understand, perceive or handle the idea of criticism nor does he ever realize his mistakes) and also states that they are bad friends when SpongeBob tries to reason with him.
5. As discussed above, his sheer and relentless stupidity often causes a lot of trouble more often than not, like his moments of clumsiness.
6. Speaking of which, while he and SpongeBob are both extremely moronic and childish lunatics, they can sometimes come off as masochistic as seen in a Season 6 episode called "Cephalopod Lodge" as they willingly electrocute themselves by the tongue for no reason other than for their own enjoyment. Patrick forcing Squidward's tongue to be electrocuted twice by the jellyfish also shows how sadistic he is as well, all of which can make him come off as somewhat of a sadomasochist in a way.
   • It doesn't help that in a great episode from a bad season like Season 7's "Enchanted Tiki Dreams", he and SpongeBob make an island just for Squidward to enjoy and both of them willingly get themselves hurt to make Squidward happy, and they seem to be cool with all of the physical pain they received.
7. Several other episodes show how unlikable he is:
   • He's also proven to be very careless, like in "Stuck In The Wringer" he puts "Forever Glue" only to make SpongeBob stuck forever, showing another example of how Patrick's "dimwitted" characteristic was dumbed down even more]),
   • The episode "The Card" shows how extremely stupid he is. To make matters worse, he claims to be fully aware of being stupid and wants to make things more extreme just to make SpongeBob even more concerned about Patrick's idiocy with his infamous line "SpongeBob, you can't always expect my usual brand of stupidity. I like to mix it up. Keep you on your toes". This infamous moment of Patrick coming off as a sadistic, sociopathic liar who uses his stupidity as an excuse for him to cause trouble makes him out to be very detestable and created a fair level of controversy.
8. He often negatively influences SpongeBob to do a lot of bad or idiotic deeds throughout these seasons which the naïve and impressionable SpongeBob immediately falls for it and take it to heart without thinking it through or realizing how rancid Patrick's advice is. Examples:
   • In "Squid's Visit", he encourages SpongeBob to steal something from Squidward's house in order to lure Squidward to come over to SpongeBob's house.
   • In "Sentimental Sponge", he told SpongeBob to keep his garbage instead of throwing it away, turning him into a hoarder.
9. He is also shown to be very selfish & narcissistic in numerous episodes.
   • He was also overly bratty in the episode Yours, Mine and Mine where Patrick selfishly kept the Patty Pal for himself, even if SpongeBob wanted it back, and not to mention; he stole his wallet to spend two of them for each other while it was against his will, and he hypocritically says that "Have you learned nothing about sharing?" when yet, he doesn't share, making Patrick look very manipulative, hypocritical & unfair in the process. Also, the "mocking SpongeBob" face he makes in that episode is extremely punchable, especially since he's mocking SpongeBob for no real reason other than to make fun of him.
10. He barely, if ever, gets comeuppance for his actions, hence making him a Karma Houdini for the most part (plus an Idiot Houdini for his stupidity).
11. Due to all these reasons, he comes off more like the secondary antagonist rather than the supporting protagonist of the show, and worse, he isn't even supposed to be an evil villain in this show unlike Sheldon J Plankton, Dirty Bubble or Man-Ray (and to some extent, Mr. Krabs, even by Seasons 6-10 standards), which makes him even more unlikable.
12. Overall, his flanderized character (particularly during season 6-8) has destroyed most of the reputation that his original character had. In other words, he became one of the most hated characters in SpongeBob SquarePants along with Mr. Krabs.
13. He is even more gross than he was in previous (and later) seasons, such as him more frequently emerging from the dumpster (e.g. in The Splinter) and even sometimes eating from dumpsters (e.g. in Are You Happy Now?) in numerous episodes in these seasons.
14. His one tooth that is always sticking out of his mouth during these seasons as if it's an integral part of his design is very annoying, despite him rarely expressing this in earlier seasons.
    • He also sometimes looks angry for no particular reason, especially in episodes like The Splinter and Oral Report for example, mainly due to his eyebrows often drawn pointing downwards, despite him rarely expressing this in earlier seasons. Which is not only unsettling, but also already adds to his cruel and mean-spirited nature.

Redeeming Qualities

1. He was a much better character in the first five seasons and has slightly redeemed himself since Season 9a and fully in 9b.
   • On that topic, his character is arguably the least bad (or the most tolerable) in season 9a, though that isn't saying much.
   • As mentioned above, he isn't as flanderized in season 6 and 9a as he was in seasons 7 & 8.
   • Similar to SpongeBob, he was decent for the first half of Season 6 until "The Splinter", which set his flanderization into motion.
2. He has some humorous moments in these seasons, such as “Chum is Fum”.
3. He does get his comeuppance in some episodes (especially the ones from Season 9a), but that doesn't remove him from the Karma-Houdini party or the Idiot-Houdini party.
4. Bill Fagerbakke still does an awesome and memorable job voicing him.
5. There are a handful of episodes in these seasons where he is likable and even has his original personality, such as:
   • “Patty Caper”
   • ”The Krabby Kronicle”
   • ”SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One”
   • ”Porous Pockets”
   • ”Krusty Krushers”
   • ”Grandpappy the Pirate”
   • ”Professor Squidward” (depending on your view)
   • ”Chum Bucket Supreme”
   • ”Single Cell Anniversary”
   • ”Truth or Square”
   • ”Chum Caverns”
   • ”The Inside Job”
   • ”SpongeBob’s Last Stand”
   • ”Back to the Past” (depending on your view)
   • ”The Bad Guy Club for Villains”
   • ”Trenchbillies”
   • ”The Great Patty Caper”
   • ”Enchanted Tiki Dreams” (except for the first half of the episode)
   • “The Abrasive Side”
   • “Earworm”
   • ”Accidents Will Happen”
   • ”Frozen Face-Off”
   • ”A SquarePants Family Vacation”
   • ”Ghoul Fools”
   • ”Mermaid Man Begins”
   • “Planet of the Jellyfish”
   • ”Treats!”
   • The Good Krabby Name
   • ”It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!”
   • ”Hello Bikini Bottom”
   • ”Extreme Spots”
   • ”It Came from Goo Lagoon”
   • ”Safe Deposit Krabs”
   • ”Don’t Look Now”
6. "SpongeBob, these are the best years of our lives, and you want to waste them blowing bubbles? We should be living in the moment! We should be living like Lar... [hears sea horses neighing] This is it, SpongeBob! This is where we redeem our miserable lives! It's time to start... [jumps in the air, then stops] ...Livin' like Larry!"
   • (To the tune of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy")
     "🎵I will trap Santa in my box
     Locked up like Fort Knox
     And make him stop the clocks,
     A-a-and we'll have Christmas all year lonnnnng!🎵 Hey, a cookie!"
   • "I'm PATRICK-MAN! DEFENDER OF BIKINI BOTTOOOM!!!!"

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