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The Patrick's a Prick trope is an infamous trope in SpongeBob SquarePants, describing episodes where Patrick is either 1. In unsufferable prick for no reason, or 2. So stupid, So utterly idiotic that he comes off as unlikeable as a result. Notable examples are I'm With Stupid, Pet Sitter Pat, and The Card

Example of one of the worst Patrick's a Prick moments as shown in the infamous "Pet Sitter Pat".

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

— Patrick's infamous line from The Card

Episodes with this Trope

Season 1

  • "Tea at the Treedome" (Episode 1c; Believe it or not, even the golden era has a few Patrick's a Prick episode. Patrick nearly gets SpongeBob killed from dehydration at Sandy's Treedome, and also almost gets himself killed.)
  • "Valentine’s Day" (Episode 16a; Patrick nearly destroys a Valentine's Day carnival over SpongeBob not getting him a valentine.)

Season 2

  • "Dumped" (Episode 9b)
  • "I'm With Stupid" (Episode 17b; SpongeBob offers to be stupid for his "parents", but he thinks he's stupid. In the end, it turns out they weren't his parents all along. Side note: This is the trope namer for this trope)

Season 3

  • "New Student Starfish" (Episode 13a; Patrick constantly frames and gets SpongeBob in trouble at boating school in this episode by shooting spitballs in class and by making an insulting drawing on Mrs. Puff and having SpongeBob hold it, which causes SpongeBob to lose one of his good noodle stars. He even lands SpongeBob in detention when SpongeBob confronts Patrick over his terrible behavior.)

Season 4

  • "Good Neighbors" (Episode 4b; Not only that, but that episode also started the infamous Squidward torture episode trend if you think about Patrick appearing in that episode).
  • "Once Bitten" (Episode 13b; In the beginning, he tells Squidward nonsense about "Mad Snail Disease", and towards the end he does not recognize his best friend.)
  • "Driven to Tears" (Episode 17a)
  • "Rule of Dumb" (Episode 17b)

Season 5

Season 6

  • "The Splinter" (Episode 5a; The episode that also started his flanderization. Though only for a small portion of the episode.)
  • "Shuffleboarding"
  • "The Card" (Episode 13b; “Mixing up" your stupidity to keep us on our toes, is still not an excuse)
  • "Toy Store of Doom" (Episode 20b)
  • "Pineapple Fever" (Episode 25a; Both he and SpongeBob make Squidward's visit to his house a living nightmare)

Season 7

  • "Stuck in the Wringer" (Episode 2b; Even when SpongeBob stands up to Patrick, the whole town turns against him)
  • "Yours, Mine, and Mine" (Episode 6a; Just give SpongeBob the toy.)
  • "Big Sister Sam" (Episode 26a; He justifies and defends Sam's reckless and spoiled behavior and guilt trips Squidward and SpongeBob for calling out her actions)

Season 8

The season with the highest number of Patrick's a Prick Episodes.

  • A Friendly Game
  • "Oral Report" (Episode 2b)
  • "Squidward's School for Grown-Ups" (Episode 5a; In the beginning, he and SpongeBob yell at everyone)
  • "The Googly Artiste" (Episode 6b)
  • "Patrick's Staycation" (Episode 8a; Do manners not exist to you?)
  • "Pet Sitter Pat" (Episode 12b; You can't pet sit, Patrick.)
  • "Smoothe Jazz at Bikini Bottom" (Episode 13b; Acts like a complete brainless moron making Squidward's time at the concert a living Hell.)
  • "Restraining SpongeBob" (Episode 16a; Annoys Squidward during the time SpongeBob was on a restraining order against him. Though, Squidward and Patrick are portrayed just as bad as the other the same episode.)
  • "InSPONGEiac" (Episode 19b; Too useless to even help SpongeBob get to sleep and makes everything for SpongeBob even worse when he gives SpongeBob coffee of all things.)

Season 9

  • "Patrick-Man"
  • "SpongeBob, You're Fired!" (simply just here.)
  • "The Fish Bowl" (Episode 18a; "Ice cream will make Patrick even more insufferable." - PhantomStrider.)
  • "Bulletin Board" (Episode 23b; P-Star7, which is Patrick, wrote a note that says, "When I eat a Krusty Krab, all I get is a dark, empty feeling inside." This is a better example as it was unintentional)

Season 11

  • "Ink Lemonade" (Episode 16b; A Squidward torture episode as well.)

Season 12

  • "Gary & Spot (Episode 1b)
  • "The Nitwitting"
  • "Pat Heart Squid"

Season 13

  • "Pat The Dog" ("Why Patrick suddenly act like a dog?" - PhantomStrider)
  • "Plane to Sea" (Episode 10b; A Squidward torture episode as well.)
  • "Patrick The Mailman"

Season 14

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

  • While he isn’t as jerkish in the film as he is normally, he did inconvenience SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs by arguing with King Neptune over SpongeBob’s allotted time to retrieve the stolen crown as originally SpongeBob was given 10 days to get the crown and clear Mr. Krabs name after Plankton framed Mr Krabs for stealing its. This argument had Patrick demand a reduction of the time SpongeBob had, leading to King Neptune complying with a time of 6 days, removing 4 days from SpongeBob’s time limit, rushing his journey, and endangering Mr Krabs’ life in the process.

The Overall Reasons Why This Trope Is a Prick

  1. Patrick is VERY unlikable in most of these episodes as he does horrible things to his friends, or does horrible things with his friends, and the show tries to excuse this fact because they thought "Patrick being a jerk is forgivable because he was being an idiot" is a good portrayal for Patrick, even though it is truly the exact opposite.
  2. Sometimes, this trope can go take a step way too far in some episodes such as "Dumped", "Pet Sitter Pat", "The Fish Bowl", "Your's Mine and Mine", "Ink Lemonade", “The Card”, "Stuck in the Wringer", and "Big Sister Sam" being the worst offending episodes because of how completely unlikable Patrick is in those episodes.
    • Speaking of the five episodes, Seasons 7 and 8 were where they took a complete step too far by making Patrick even more insufferable, obnoxious, brainless, and helpless enough to throw in more jokes about characters going through a lot of painful torment and stuff.
  3. Not to mention, Patrick usually gets away with his retched actions scot-free and gets no repercussions in a lot of these cases. It also becomes predictable and boring because of the fact you can tell where this goes. Patrick acts like a prick (obviously), causes everyone even more trouble, and gets no repercussions whatsoever. Rinse and repeat.
  4. Whenever Patrick gets called out for his actions, he gets angry at people, showing that he cannot handle criticism.

Redeeming Qualities

  1. This trope is less used than Squidward torture episodes, as Seasons 3 and 11 had only one each. Seasons 10 had no Patrick's a Prick episodes given the fact Patrick gets his comeuppances (instead of pointless migraines) in all those episodes.
  2. "Tea at the Treedome", "Valentine's Day", "Sing a Song of Patrick", "Toy Store of Doom", "Bulletin Board", and "Pat The Dog" are the only good/decent episodes from this episode listed, despite the latter having issues with the premise.
  3. Patrick himself has improved in the series and has had less moments of being a prick.

Trivia

  1. Patrick’s a Prick episodes are the only trope to have existed since the golden era.

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