ok last night i made this post without ever explaining what it meant so im going to clarify
i’ve noticed that the spongebob wiki has this fascination with trying to figure out the chronological order of events in episodes, despite the fact or even BECAUSE OF the fact that spongebob is a non-continuity cartoon where it’s not really in order, but we know that above all else, the first spongebob movie is at the end of everything. no matter what happens in the show, the first spongebob movie is the chronological end of all of it.
but let me propose a theory: what if it’s not the chronological end of every episode? you might ask yourself, how can this be? well my answer is relatively simple. there are multiple timelines that are explored through various episodes in which half of the episodes are lead-up to the first spongebob movie, but the other half lead-up to the second spongebob movie; there are multiple points in which the timelines would split further but these are the two main endings.
although i’m not sure about some specifics - such as whether the majority of the series is quite that uniform, and i’m not sure just where the series starts to split into various timelines … but i’m certain that after a certain point it does.
there are several factors in my favor with regards to this theory. some episodes just dont make sense in correlation to one another, no matter how you organize them and label them in chronological order. in some episodes, characters have changed radically. and there are factors that support the notion of multiple timelines!
for instance, in whirlybrains mr krabs and mrs puff have been dating for 16 years since krusty love - and the two did not know each other prior to krusty love. however there’s two episodes where they are familiar with one another, airing before whirlybrains, during that “16 years” they would have been dating, but have no interest in each other. one of which implies the two had a nasty breakup, and the other where they are familiar with one another but otherwise no implication of the events of krusty love ever having happened. likewise married to money also aired during those “16 years” they would have been dating, and mrs. puff was invited to krabs’ wedding with “cashina” … these are a combination of facts that are not compatible.
unless, of course, one subscribes to my multiple timeline theory. whirlybrains and krusty love exist in the same timeline, or a compatible timeline, but whirlybrains does not exist in the same timeline - or a compatible timeline - as married to money. there may be more examples of such timeline splits but these are the only ones i can go into detail with regards to off the top of my head.
the algae’s always greener supports the concept of multiple timelines, as the episode features an alternate timeline where plankton is the successful owner of the krusty krab and krabs is poor, naked, and in want of the secret formula accidentally created by the two disagreeing as children. friend or foe: trash bash, a game on the nick website also presents another possible alternate timeline where the two reconciled and are attempting to reconstruct the krabby patty secret formula together. and issue 6 of the spongebob comics confirms the notion of multiple timelines and universes in the spongebob setting, giving an entire story about the exploration of multiple timelines and universes. one of which includes an alternate turn of events where instead of rivals, plankton and krabs work at a bakery called the “cookie bucket” together.
so instead of trying to figure out a strict, linear, a to z progression of episodes in regards to the spongebob timeline, i feel as though the spongebob wiki should be trying to figure out where the timeline/s would split and which timelines which episodes reside in.
dededos
turnnoffyourmind
stormborns
blakekathryn
