Spongebob Squarepants: Plankton's 15 Best Episodes
Sheldon J. Plankton, the owner of the Chum Bucket, has been a staple of SpongeBob SquarePants since the first season. His nefarious schemes are always foiled in one way or another, and his life's goal to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula never leaves him. He is a beloved character on the show, and fans enjoy watching his plans consistently get ruined. He is often seen as one of the highlights of any episode he appears in, alongside his wife, the robot Karen.
Sometimes, though, Plankton shows a more caring side. This adds depth to his character and further contributes to his popularity as a character. Some episodes give Plankton the storylines he deserves, allowing him to show more of his personality. This is even more evident in the new Plankton: The Movie, which arrived in 2025 and sees the little guy become the story's hero as he has to team up with SpongeBob SquarePants to stop Karen, who is determined to take over the world.
15 Fear Of A Krabby Patty
Season 4, Episode 61a
"Fear of a Krabby Patty" is one of the scariest SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, as SpongeBob is forced to keep making Krabby Pattys non-stop and soon begins to experience hallucinations. This comes after Mr. Krabs decides he wants his restaurant open 24 hours a day, and since SpongeBob is his only fry cook, he has to work the entire time without being allowed to sleep. This brings in Plankton to take advantage of the situation.
Plankton realizes that if SpongeBob SquarePants is hallucinating and starting to lose his grip on reality, he can manipulate the guy to finally give up the Krabby Patty formula. To do so, Plankton takes on the role of Dr. Peter Lankton, a psychiatrist who starts to try to help him, but with the ulterior motive of using hypnosis to get him to give up the formula without realizing he is betraying Mr. Krabs. It's Plankton at his sneakiest.
14 Bucket Sweet Bucket
Season 5, Episode 86b
In the season 5, episode "Bucket Sweet Bucket," Plankton manipulates SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward to help him fix up the Chum Bucket. Plankton is tired of not having any business, so he decides he wants to remodel the Chum Bucket but can't afford to hire workers. When he tricks SpongeBob and Patrick to do it for him and then realizes that they are incompetent and are doing everything wrong, he starts to break down, and this brings in Squidward to show how to do it right.
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This all turns out to be another Plankton master plan, as the three begin to replace things in the Chum Bucket with things from the Krusty Krab, and this finally gives him a chance to get into the safe with the Krabby Patty formula. This all leads to a great ending where Plankton knows what Mr. Krabs will say to him when it all falls apart. He finishes the line, saying he is too tired to keep fighting. It is a nice wink to fans who have been watching these battles for years.
13 C.H.U.M.S.
Season 13, Episode 271b
By season 13, SpongeBob SquarePants fans were getting used to Plankton's schemes and Mr. Krabs's ability to outmaneuver him all the time. However, the show has always had the ability to subvert expectations by introducing something new. This time around, it comes when Plankton accidentally falls down the drain and then meets a new allyin the sewers.
The episode also features the very fun (and somewhat annoying) moment where SpoongeBob is singing the "F.U.N. Song," which is what initially distracted Planktoin enough to cause him to fall into the sewers to begin with. When he gets into the sewer, he finds something that shocks him. He meets the C.H.U.M. (Collective Hive Under Master), who immediately bow down to him and consider him their leader. Of course, not only do things not go right, but even the C.H.U.M. get tired of Plankton by the end.
12 Handemonium
Season 12, Episode 257a
In the season 12 episode, "Handemonium," Plankton's giant Chum Bucket glove runs rampant in town, and it is up to SpongeBob to help stop the damage. The entire episode starts off with a ridiculous moment as Plankton is at Larry's Gym and is ready to have some arm wrestling matches with every muscular fish. He wins all the matches, but it was just a scam by Mr. Krabs, who beats him easily and admits they set him up. It was an interesting moment when Plankton almost seemed sympathetic.
In episodes like this, where he is bullied and pushed around, it makes it easier to understand why he has become the vindictive little creature he is.
However, he then decides to cheat the next time around by using the Chum Bucket glove to win, and then it malfunctions and goes on its rampage. It is not often that Plankton seems like he deserves to win, as he usually wants to steal the Krabby Patty formula. However, in episodes like this, where he is bullied and pushed around, it makes it easier to understand why he has become the vindictive little creature he is.
11 Komputer Overload
Season 6, Episode 118b
"Komputer Overload" is a Plankton episode of SpongeBob SquarePants that sees him do the unthinkable. He sets out to replace his computer wife Karen with new computer inventions. This, of course, does not go well since Karen loves Plankton, and he often only sees her as a computer ally - not the wife that she sees herself as. He decides that she isn't helping him with the business enough, so he creates three new gadgets - none of which work as well as he hoped and all of which hurt him more than help him.
The episode goes a long way to show how much Plankton relies on Karen, and when he decides to do things on his own, they end up failing more horribly than when he has Karen by his side. It also shows how he has no one to turn to without Karen, so his failures are even more devastating. When Plankton has to apologize to Karen, it is a nice moment for a character who is usually humiliated in the end.
10 F.U.N.
Season 1, Episode 10b
Often remembered as one of Spongebob Squarepants's funniest episodes, this episode was the first to show a more sympathetic side to Plankton. When SpongeBob befriends him, he genuinely enjoys having a friend before switching to his usual habits by attempting to steal the formula. While he is ultimately the episode's villain, he receives a more three-dimensional story, which teases that there may be more to him than simply theft.
This episode also features one of the most iconic songs from the entire series, making it one of the most quoted episodes. This song is obviously "F.U.N.," which SpongeBob and Plankton sing together - although SpongeBob is singing about having fun while Plankton is singing about dominating the world and destroying things. It is a great moment that shows Plankton can be sympathetic and good - it only he could stop wanting to steal the Krabby Patty formula.
9 Plankton!
Season 1, Episode 3b
The first appearance of Sheldon J. Plankton features him attempting to steal a Krabby Patty, initially on his own, and then by taking over SpongeBob's brain. The first appearance of Plankton remains memorable as it started with a Krabby Patty seemingly running for the door on its own, only for Mr. Krabs to lift it up to show Plankton under it, trying to steal the burger to take back and experiment on.
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While this episode certainly paints him as an unforgivable villain, it sets him up as comedic relief, as well. It is clear from this appearance that Plankton will stop at nothing to steal the secret formula, and it shows just how far he is willing to go to get it. At the time, he was mostly just a villain, though, and it wasn't until later seasons that his character was more developed. Plankton's thieving attempts would become one of the funniest running gags in the Spongebob Squarepants series.
8 The Fry Cook Games
Season 2, Episode 39b
While he is not the antagonist in the usual way, Plankton catalyzes the conflict of the episode. While SpongeBob prepares to compete in the Fry Cook Games, Plankton hires Patrick to compete against SpongeBob. This results from a previous disagreement between the two friends. Plankton is shown in a different light in this episode, being treated as a legitimate competitor to the Krusty Krab as opposed to a failed restaurateur.
He and Mr. Krabs have an old rivalry in the games, giving their relationship more depth. While much of the humor comes with SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star's intense rivalry to win the games, it was Plankton who was the reason for the conflict, making him an integral part of the story's plot. The best part of the episode is when SpongeBob and Patrick make up and refuse to fight anymore, which means neither Plankton nor Mr. Krabs can get their way.
7 Imitation Krabs
Season 2, Episode 24b
When he creates a robot version of Mr. Krabs to fool the employees of the Krusty Krab into giving him the secret formula, Plankton gets in over his head when he has to deal with SpongeBob SquarePants. Plankton's presence in this episode is so interesting because it shows the depths to which he is willing to go to get what he wants, including spending time with SpongeBob for several hours.
Ultimately, he would have succeeded if not for an unfortunate self-destruct sequence. Some of Plankton's most memorable moments come from this episode, largely from his frustration. The best part was when he realized that when he created the Robot Krabs, he added in a self-destruct mechanism, commenting that it wasn't the best design choice for something he needed to get the formula.
6 Band Geeks
Season 2, Episode 35b
Although the episode may be partially famous for one of Patrick's funniest quotes, it is also a great episode for Plankton. Although it does not feature him extensively, his appearances are incredibly memorable. The most notable one involves Squidward checking on the progress of his band members. When he comes to Plankton, Sheldon demonstrates his harmonica skills, running up and down the length of the harmonica to play notes.
He collapses to the floor at the end, exhausted from his actions. This bit, while brief, is one of the funniest of the episode. It is also one of the first times Plankton appears in an episode in a non-evil capacity. It is nice to see him as a supporting character who is not trying to steal the Krabby Patty formula, trying to bring down the Krusty Krab, or attempting to pull off an evil plan to rule Bikini Bottom. This showed Plankton as just another funny character on the show.
