Review: The Patrick Star Show “Pearl Wants to Be a Star”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Pearl makes a special guest appearance on Patrick’s show.

Our Take:
The plot in this week’s episode centers on Pearl Krabs (voiced by Lori Alan), another character from the original series. She is assigned to make her big debut on Patrick’s show. Unfortunately, the audience isn’t too thrilled with some of Pearl’s acts and is more interested in what dumb skit Patrick does next. This isn’t until Pearl makes an “explosive” closure by wowing the audience with her “sad whale song”. While the plot doesn’t provide any narrative stakes in the scenario, it marks a minor improvement over last week’s episode regarding the comedy and Pearl’s appearance.
Much of the humor comes from Pearl’s failed attempts to wow the crowd, whether it’s with juggling or roller skating. However, the moments that got me chuckling the most involved GrandPat and Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) competing in a series of games and reflecting on their early days in the war. It then leads to GrandPat launching a piano (and himself) onto Krabs and everyone else, destroying Patrick’s set. Surprisingly, I found two elder people outdoing each other more humorous than Pearl’s debut.
Overall, “Pearl Wants to be a Star” may not be a debut worth remembering, but it has enough moments to make it enjoyable. Despite its average plot and weak stakes, the episode continues to provide some decent entertainment values in having characters from the original series interact with Patrick’s family. Hopefully, Pearl’s next debut won’t be as disastrous as GrandPat’s atomic piano bomb.