Dumped

"**Dumped**" is a *SpongeBob SquarePants* episode from season two. In this episode, SpongeBob is jealous that Gary wants to spend time with Patrick.

This episode is based on a similar incident that Bob Weighton went through when he was 8 years old: he was jealous that his cat wanted to spend time with a female cat.

## Synopsis

While SpongeBob and Gary are playing tag, Patrick joins in and begins to get better acquainted with Gary. At the end of the day, Gary seems to want to spend time with Patrick a while longer, so SpongeBob agrees to let Gary have a sleepover at Patrick's house. The next morning, Gary is still reluctant to leave Patrick, who concludes that Gary wants to be with him permanently and so claims him as his own pet. SpongeBob refuses to believe this, but when Gary is given the choice of who shall be his owner, Gary heads for Patrick. SpongeBob is heartbroken, and out of jealousy, he attempts to find a new pet to show to Gary that he does not need a two-timing snail.

First, SpongeBob gets Rex, a worm, and shows him off to Patrick and Gary. SpongeBob extols all the traits that make worms superior to snails, such as their loyalty. Rex promptly illustrates this by completely abandoning SpongeBob and hitching a ride on a bus. Next, SpongeBob brings home Larry, a snail with a terrible temperament. SpongeBob bends over backward to accommodate Larry, even giving up his own bed to the picky snail, but Larry's unceasing viciousness leaves SpongeBob forlorn and he probably runs away like Rex did. Even the anatomically correct snail, Jerry, can't fill the hole in SpongeBob's heart.

Patrick, accompanied by Gary, stops by SpongeBob's house to do some laundry. In desperation, SpongeBob begs and pleads with Gary, offering him all manner of gifts and privileges if only he will come back. Patrick, now realizing SpongeBob's problem, tells SpongeBob that Gary needs a little time with others to see how they react to things outside of SpongeBob's house and inside the world around him. Gary, meanwhile, crawls into the washing machine after Patrick's shorts. SpongeBob and Patrick watch, SpongeBob being happy that Gary spent time with Patrick to have fun outside of his house.

As SpongeBob and Gary, now satiated and reunited, go outside for a walk with Patrick, a heartbroken and devastated Larry comes back and stares at the door saying "SpongeBob, I thought that snail joke was special!".

## Cast

* Paul Winchell as SpongeBob
* Bob Weighton as Patrick
* June Foray as Larry
* Frank Welker as Gary / Rex
* Rob Paulsen as the robot on Patrick’s television

## Quotes

* *"*I guess you're not coming back, Gary. *[angrily]* I don't need Gary! I'll just find another pet! Yeah, it'll be better than Gary! I'm going to get a pet that won't go off with my best friend!" - SpongeBob
* *SpongeBob soon realized that it was hopeless to find a replacement for his pet snail, Gary. Rex had run away, Larry meowed* "No." *to a joke, and poor Jerry didn't even come close to Gary's bond with SpongeBob. At last, SpongeBob looked at the portrait of Gary and cried* "Oh, Gary, why did you have to go?! Why, Gary?! Why…?! " *Just then, Patrick came along. And, of course, Gary was with him.* - The narrator, SpongeBob, and Larry.

## The Inspiration

An eight-year-old Bob Weighton had just gotten back from school when he saw his pet Manx cat Gerald hanging out with a female cat. At first jealous, he tried several attempts to get him to come back; these included feeding him a mouse, singing *Sing a Song of Sixpence*, and even threatening to shoot the cat if he must. His father heard what was going on and had a stern talk with him about what he just said, but also that Gerald had found a mate he could call his own. After that, the female was welcomed into the family and named Diana; she died on 16 June 1930 at the age of 15, while Gerald died one month later at age 16, only three days after his birthday. Weighton said that was “the moment shit hit the soul real hard” in his early adulthood.

## Trivia

* This is one of the very few episodes where the narrator has more dialogue than the characters.
* When the camera zooms in on SpongeBob thinking, Patrick says, "Blah, blah, blah" in the background. When the camera zooms out, Patrick speaks normally again, but when SpongeBob leaves Patrick's rock, he says a mixture of both: “…and then we’ll blah blah blah blah blah before we take a bubble blah, and after that…”
* SpongeBob, in a throwaway joke, reveals that he has another pet snail, Jerry, a photo-realistic land snail.
* In the beginning, SpongeBob plays tag with Gary. When he runs up his house, an extra window is seen next to the upstairs window. The extra window reappears at the beginning of the scene where SpongeBob introduces Rex.
* The face SpongeBob makes when he says "Who's a good boy?" to Rex can be seen on various *SpongeBob*-licensed products, including the newer packages of Kraft *SpongeBob SquarePants* Macaroni and Cheese. It is accompanied by the slogan "Grin and square it!"
* Rex looks similar to Mr. Krabs' pet worm, Mr. Doodles.
* This is the first episode to not be directed by Ralph Bakshi. It wouldn't be until "Club SpongeBob" where Noel MacNeal would take his position for most of the series.
* This episode marks the first time SpongeBob addresses Gary as "Gary the Snail."
* This episode is a metaphor for a break-up.

### Errors

**[Please note that all of these errors were fixed on home media and digital releases as well as international airings unless otherwise noted.]**

* When SpongeBob carries Gary away from Patrick, when the zooms on Gary, SpongeBob's sleeve is green instead of white.
	+ Gary's spots are also larger than usual in that scene.
* When SpongeBob's alarm clock goes off, he does not press the button to make it stop; the alarm automatically stops by itself.
	+ This was not fixed in later releases.