Bubble Bass Hates SpongeBob Because Of The Krusty Krab

Why does Bubble Bass hate SpongeBob SquarePants so much? A fan theory suggests it's all about the Krusty Krab. Let's take a look.

Although SpongeBob SquarePants is friendly and kind, he has made a couple of enemies throughout his life, the most notable one being Bubble Bass, but it’s unknown how their rivalry started – however, that hasn’t stopped fans from coming up with theories on what happened, and the most popular one involves the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob SquarePants has been unstoppable since its debut on Nickelodeon in 1999, becoming not only one of the longest-running animated TV series but also the most successful Nicktoon to date.

SpongeBob SquarePants follows the daily adventures of the title character and his closest friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob is often accompanied by his best friends Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, his neighbor and coworker Squidward Tentacles, and his boss Mr. Krabs, as well as his pet snail Gary from time to time. The series has also included some of the characters’ enemies as recurrent antagonists, most notably Plankton and Squilliam Fancyson, but there’s also one whose rivalry with SpongeBob has made way for one of the show’s biggest mysteries: Bubble Bass.

Bubble Bass was introduced in SpongeBob SquarePants season 1, in the episode “Pickles”, in which the animosity between him and SpongeBob was the trigger of the story’s conflict. In it, Bubble Bass arrived at the Krusty Krab and ordered a very complicated and long dish, which SpongeBob quickly prepared, but when they saw each other, trouble began. Bubble Bass ate the food and pointed out that SpongeBob forgot to add pickles, something unacceptable to SpongeBob due to his workaholic, perfectionist, and overachiever nature. This sent SpongeBob on a downward spiral in which he forgot how to cook a Krabby Patty and other basic stuff, such as how to speak properly. Mr. Krabs helped him regain his confidence and SpongeBob returned to the Krusty Krab, where he was confronted by Bubble Bass again. SpongeBob served him another Krabby Patty that Bass claimed didn’t have pickles either, but SpongeBob noticed that he had been hiding them under his tongue to avoid paying.

Bubble Bass has appeared a couple more times in SpongeBob SquarePants in minor roles, and he and SpongeBob have left their differences behind on some occasions, such as when SpongeBob and Patrick helped him move out of his mom’s house. However, the origin of their animosity hasn’t been revealed, and the writers missed the perfect opportunity to do so in Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, where Bubble Bass appeared as a camp counselor, but instead he was once more left as a background character. All this has led fans to come up with their own theories on what truly happened between Bubble Bass and SpongeBob, and the most popular one suggests Bubble Bass used to work at the Krusty Krab before SpongeBob arrived. The theory, shared on Reddit, is based on their hostility towards each other and how Bass teased SpongeBob about his cooking skills, adding that SpongeBob took his job either because Bass left or was fired. The author supports the theory with details like Bass using very specific terms in his order that suggest he has a background in cooking, especially a burger, with another Reddit user adding that Bubble Bass was aware of the “money-back guarantee”, which would only be known to employees as Mr. Krabs made sure to add it to the menu in extremely small, barely readable letters.

Other users, however, have pointed out that Bubble Bass might have simply been a “snobby foodie”, seen in how SpongeBob told him he knew he’s “kinda picky” and how he enthusiastically handed him his food, though that could have just been SpongeBob being SpongeBob. Whether the writers of SpongeBob SquarePants will solve this at some point in the series or in other media or not is unknown, and in the meantime, every viewer has the freedom to come up with an answer to the big question of why Bubble Bass and SpongeBob hate each other.

Next: SpongeBob SquarePants Finally Explains Why He Became A Fry Cook