The Kwarantined Krab is an inadvertently COVID-themed episode of the Nickelodeon animated series, Spongebob Squarepants. It was not originally intended to be a COVID episode, but given its poor timing, being set to be released in March of 2020, the episode went on a year-long hiatus and wasn't released until 2021. During this time, The Kwarantined Krab became famous for being the temporarily banned COVID episode and is now commonly associated with the holiday.
Synopsis[]
The Krusty Krab goes under immediate quarantine, when Andy Yellowtail detects an outbreak of the Clam Flu in the restaurant, locking everybody there at the time inside for days on end.
Plot[]
The episode begins at the Krusty Krab, where Mr. Krabs is greeting Mrs. Puff and Pearl, and Patrick is taking a long time to order something, much to Squidward's annoyance. SpongeBob delivers two Krabby Patties to Mrs. Puff and Pearl by spitting them out of his eyes. Out of nowhere, the Health Inspector shows up and declares the Krusty Krab to be a health hazard, due to him suspecting that someone in the restaurant having a case of the "Clam Flu". He puts the restaurant under quarantine, and locks everyone inside. This causes everyone, (except for SpongeBob), to run around screaming and panicking. Patrick then questions what a quarantine actually is, to which SpongeBob replies that it's like a "mandatory sleepover". Squidward debunks this, saying that a quarantine eventually makes everyone sick. Just then, Plankton comes out of a nearby soda cup, saying that he's abandoning "operation soda-jerk". He escapes via the restaurant's funnel, but is immediately vaporized by a hazmat fish, prompting everyone to stay inside.
Pearl complains about this, but Mr. Krabs states that back in his navy days, they would isolate the sicko and lock them in the freezer so that they can enjoy their good health. Mr. Krabs asks if anyone is feeling sick, to which nobody responds, prompting him to use a pair a tongs as a threat. This causes Squidward to freak out and bump into a table, launching pepper in the air and into SpongeBob's nose, causing him to sneeze. Everyone assumes that SpongeBob has the disease, even though he doesn't. SpongeBob states that even though he doesn't feel sick, he'll go into the freezer willingly. He attempts to have an emotional speech, but is cut short when Mr. Krabs slams the door in his face. It's then revealed that SpongeBob is having a lot of fun in the freezer, sledding on a mountain of snow and eating Ice Cream. Everyone is relieved as they think the worst of it is over. Patrick looks over and notices that SpongeBob has an Ice Cream Cone, making him interested. Patrick then pretends to be sick by rubbing relish all over himself. This causes everyone to freak out and Patrick ends up getting locked in the freezer, but SpongeBob and Patrick end up having a snowball fight with Ice Cream.
Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Mrs. Puff and Pearl are sitting at a table, paranoid if anyone else has the disease. Squidward itches his arm, and Pearl accuses him of having the Clam Flu. Mr. Krabs throws Squidward in the freezer. Mrs. Puff then yawns, making Mr. Krabs freak out, as he locks her in the freezer as well. Pearl then remembers that she still had money leftover from last time she went to the mall. This makes Mr. Krabs think that the flu has poisoned Pearl's mind, and he locks her in the freezer too. In the freezer, everyone is meeting up inside of an igloo, and Squidward finds out that nobody there is actually sick, making Mrs. Puff deduce that Mr. Krabs is the one with the sickness, which makes Pearl cry. Squidward decides that the only option is to break out of the freezer and lock Mr. Krabs inside. Everyone agrees, except for SpongeBob, who is reluctant at first, but Squidward convinces him once he states that he can't make Krabby Patties if he's locked in the freezer.
Everyone busts out of the freezer, much to Krabs' surprise. Patrick tries to attack him, but Krabs shrinks himself down and hides under the grill. SpongeBob chases Mr. Krabs' under the grill and tries to convince him to go willingly, but Mr. Krabs refuses, and goes down a pipe leading to the grease trap. SpongeBob comes out from under the grill, covered in mold, and unaware of what to do. Patrick then lifts up the grill and shoves Squidward through the pipe leading to the grease trap, causing him to get covered in grease. After seeing Squidward, Mr. Krabs escapes the grease trap and runs into the dining room. Pearl gives chase, but Mr. Krabs gets stuck in her blowhole. Pearl sneezes him out, causing her blowhole to get plugged up. Patrick corners Mr. Krabs, and they begin to fight. During the fight, Mr. Krabs throws Patrick into the broom closet covering him in dust. Patrick then grabs Mr. Krabs with his tongue and throws him into a garbage can that Mrs. Puff is holding, but she puffs up, causing trash to fall all over her. Later that night, the Health Inspector returns to the Krusty Krab saying that he made a mistake and nobody is actually sick, only to find out that everyone has a different disease, and Mr. Krabs has a combination of all 5 diseases. The Health Inspector panics, yelling that everyone is sick. A team of Hazmat fish lock the Krusty Krab inside of a box, and airlift it over to the Chum Bucket, where it is dropped on top of the restaurant. Plankton is heard sneezing (indicating that he was the one with Clam Flu) as the episode ends.
Characters[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Patrick Star
- Squidward Tentacles
- Mr. Krabs
- Pearl Krabs
- Mrs. Puff
- Sheldon Plankton
- Andy Yellowtail
Trivia[]
- This episode initially had nothing to do with the coronavirus, being produced a year before the outbreak even started, but thanks to poor timing (it was intended to air in March of 2020), the episode has now become an unintentional "Corinavirus Special" of Spongebob Squarepants.
- This is the only season 12 episode not featured on the show's "The Complete Twelfth Season DVD", due to its plot unintentionally being similar to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- This will be the second time an episode from a season is excluded from a season DVD set with the first being "Help Wanted", on "The Complete 1st Season DVD" as a result of copyright issues.
- Due to the hiatus, in most cases, this episode aired in several other countries before it premiered in America:
- It aired in Sweden on September 23rd, 2020
- It aired in Finland on February 15th, 2021
- It aired in Austria and Switzerland on April 5th, 2021
- It aired in Latin America on April 10th, 2021
- It aired in Canada on August 9th, 2021
- It aired in South Korea on August 20th, 2021