10 Most Underrated SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes

For anyone who's ever got caught up in a collecting craze, or who just enjoys a good trading card game, this episode is for you.

'The Card' is about SpongeBob's attempts to get a rare Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trading card. It's packed with all the sorts of jokes and feelings that anyone who's been on the hunt for a rare item like that could certainly relate to.

SpongeBob starts the episode happy to have pulled a bunch of random cards from his first pack purchased at a comic book store. That is, until the store manager points out that the cards are worthless, and not anywhere near as valuable as a special talking card.

The card may just be an advert to buy more cards, a clever joke in of itself, but SpongeBob quickly finds himself spending all of his money to find a copy. Sadly, SpongeBob isn't successful after buying almost every pack, mostly because there's only five of these cards in existence, until he realizes that Patrick opens one on his first and only pack.

This leads SpongeBob down a hilarious journey trying to keep Patrick from absolutely mutilating the card, as the starfish has no idea what it's worth. Obviously, SpongeBob's efforts end up being in vain, as nothing can truly keep Patrick from being himself and just mucking things up.

Fortunately, Patrick closes the episode by revealing that he opened all of the rare cards in existence and gives them to SpongeBob. It's the perfect twist to really drive home the ridiculous frustration that comes with the hobby.

This entire episode is one of the most well-thought commentaries SpongeBob SquarePants has done in the show's history, and is a necessary viewing for any fan.