Shell Games

	Spoiler alert! Warning! This article contains spoilers of an episode that has recently aired in Denmark, France, Indonesia, Norway, and Sweden and has recently been released digitally in Portugal. Do not continue reading if you wish not to be spoiled.

Template:Episode/251a

Characters

• Patrick Star
• Squidward Tentacles
• SpongeBob SquarePants ^(cameo)
• Larry the Lobster ^(cameo)
• Screwhead guy ^(debut)
• Manicure guy ^(debut)
• Mohawk guy ^(debut)
• Spikes guy ^(debut)
• Mel ^(debut)
• Tony ^(debut)
• Turtle ladies ^(debut)
• Bikini Bottomites
  • Old Man Walker ^(cameo)
  • Nat Peterson ^(cameo)
  • Monroe Timmy Billy ^(cameo)
  • Susie ^(cameo)
  • Taylor ^(cameo)
  • Tyler ^(cameo)

Production

The episode was confirmed by Vincent Waller on June 9, 2019.

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Pineapple Luau With Bongos - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]

 ‣ Comedy Punctuations and Bridges 3 - Fredric Bayco [Tony the turtle scratches the armpit/He turns on the turntable]
 ‣ ? [Tony eats his breakfast and washes his teeth]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (o) - Jeremy Wakefield [Tony trying to open the door of his shell]
 ‣ Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Oh, boy! How long was I out?"]
 ‣ Hot Steel and Slide Licks - Jeremy Wakefield ["Ow, nasty!"]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (t) - Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward thinks Patrick moves somewhere else]
 ‣ Danse Comique - Kenny Graham [Patrick wakes under Tony's stomach]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (s) - Jeremy Wakefield ["How did I get back here?!"]
 ‣ Short Rising Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Tony gets angry at Patrick]
 ‣ Lite Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Tony present itself to Patrick]
 ‣ ? [Patrick thinks about something]
 ‣ Lite Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick's rock actually has been Tony's shell during all the years]
 ‣ ? [Tony and Patrick enter Mel's Man Salon]
 ‣ Bridge 3 - Wilfred Burns [Tony realizes he's been sleeping for 30 years]
 ‣ Buying Spree - William Loose [Mel shaving Tony's beard]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (v) - Jeremy Wakefield [Tony and Patrick leave Mel's Man Salon]
 ‣ Happy-Go-Lucky - Ernest Tomlinson [Tony and Patrick enter Bikini Bottom Bath House]
 ‣ Surf 02 158 D - Dieguis Productions/Big Fish Audio [Tony and Patrick arrive at Goo Lagoon]
 ‣ Clown in Town - Philippe Pares [Tony's friends get fond of Patrick]
 ‣ Sponge Monger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Tony and Patrick fighting]
 ‣ Earl's Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Tony and Patrick spinning around Bikini Bottom]
 ‣ Comedy Punctuations and Bridges 4 - Fredric Bayco [Kids hop onto Tony's shell and swing on it/Tony scolds the kids/Kids leave Tony's shell sadly]
 ‣ Earl's Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick and Tony spinning around again]
 ‣ Saltwater Works - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Tony's shell gets destroyed]
 ‣ Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [Patrick gets an idea]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (X) - Jeremy Wakefield ["Hey, wait there! I know of another rock to live!"]
 ‣ Danse Comique - Kenny Graham [Ending]

Trivia

General

• This will be the first episode where a sea turtle appears in the SpongeBob SquarePants series. They were previously mentioned in "Chum Caverns."
• This is the fourth episode to use sand as the title card background, the first being "Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm," the second being "Rise and Shine," and the third being "Sand Castles in the Sand."
• It is revealed that Patrick's rock is actually the shell of a sea turtle who overslept.
• When this episode first airs, it will be paired up with "Jolly Lodgers."
• This episode will air nineteen years after "No Free Rides" and "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic" aired and twelve years after "Penny Foolish" aired.
• SpongeBob only appears for about 10 seconds in front of the Krusty Krab in this episode. The story instead focuses on Patrick and the introduction of new characters. This episode marks SpongeBob's second smallest cameo, after "Mall Girl Pearl" but smaller than "Whale Watching." As in the former, he only has one line.
  • Both of SpongeBob's previous cameos were in episodes focusing on Pearl, making this the first non-Pearl episode where SpongeBob has a minor cameo.
  • SpongeBob's cameo in this episode is subtly acknowledged when Patrick refers to him as "the yellow guy."
• Squidward says, "So long, you big pink loser!," which is a reference to the episode of the same name.

Cultural references

• One of the posters in Tony's shell features a band named Fissh, a reference to the American rock band Kiss.
• Another poster features a band named Lynyrd Squidyrd, which references another American rock band, Lynard Skynyrd.
• A record and a poster both feature a band named Mötley Cärp, which is a reference to the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.
• A Rubik's Cube can be seen on Tony's nightstand.