Squid Noir

"And that's how it began. My life smashed to bits. My living room covered in broken dreams. Without my clarinet, the world was a drab and colorless place."

- Squidward

"Squid Noir" is the first segment of the ninth episode of season 11, and it is paired with "Scavenger Pants." In this episode, Squidward acts as a detective after his clarinet is stolen, finding suspects with SpongeBob's help.

Characters

 * Squidward Tentacles
 * Eugene H. Krabs
 * Green eel
 * Bubble Bass
 * Three nerds
 * Patrick Star
 * SpongeBob SquarePants
 * Jellyfish

Plot
Squidward is playing his clarinet at the Krusty Krab, annoying everybody. When Mr. Krabs notices, he kicks him out as it is a jazz-free zone. He goes near a comic store to play instead, while Bubble Bass is talking about his suburban dad figurine with his friends. Upon hearing the awful music, he drops the figurine, causing it to break. He goes outside to tell Squidward to play his music elsewhere.

He plays it at his house, but Patrick hears it and gets annoyed. He thinks the clarinet is attacking Squidward, so he throws a rock at his face. Afterwards, he puts his clarinet on a pillow in his living room as he takes a nap. However, when he's done, he sees that the room has been trashed and his clarinet is gone, causing the entire world to go black-and-white.

Squidward suspects SpongeBob of stealing his clarinet, but he says he was at his Grandma's the entire time and has kiss marks on his head to prove it. He then joins him on his mission, and they go to the Krusty Krab. They pamper Mr. Krabs a lot until finally asking if he stole his clarinet, only for him to deny and show his butt grooves on his chair to prove it.

They suspect Bubble Bass next, and SpongeBob uses a Mermaid Man figurine to catch the suburban dad figurine and ask if he stole Squidward's clarinet. Bubble Bass says he was at the comic store all night, only for Mermaid Man to lose grip of the dad figurine and cause it to break. Afterwards, the two go to Squidward's house to suspect Patrick, where they learn that there was jellyfish jelly all over the crime scene.

Upon this discovery, all three go to Jellyfish Fields, where they find out a jellyfish had taken the clarinet. Squidward retrieves it and the world becomes colorful again. At night, everyone is at Jelly, listening to Squidward performing a musical with his clarinet.

Trivia

 * This episode reveals that the Jellyfish like Squidward's clarinet playing.
 * This episode premiered in the United States as part of the event based on the You Bring the Color game, where players color a screenshot from the opening of the show and scenes of this episode. There was a chance for them to see their colors live on American TV.
 * Also, on the original American airing of the episode, the viewers also had a chance to color the last minute of this episode. In all American reruns, all digital releases, all international non-US airings, and all DVD releases, only the regular colors are used in the last minute of this episode.
 * This is the only episode to have a 3D title card.
 * The You Bring The Color event spoiled the ending of the episode by providing the frames from it.
 * The fourth wall is broken when SpongeBob interrupts Squidward's narration, causing the latter to ask him to stop.
 * Flats the Flounder makes a cameo in this episode. This marks his first appearance since appearing in the ending credits of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
 * This is the second episode where SpongeBob and Squidward interrogate Mr. Krabs. The first was in "Krab Borg."
 * The Russian title for this episode is "Сквидвард, частный сыщик," which translates to "Squidward, the private detective."
 * In Southeast Asia, this episode along with "Scavenger Pants" premiered on July 27, 2024, July 27, 2024 in a special event "What's The Juice?!: SpongeBob Edition."
 * This episode is similar to the episode "Where's Wanda?" from the animated series , as it also features a black-and-white color scheme.

Episode connections

 * The Moth from "Night Light" makes a cameo in this episode as an action figure.
 * Jumbo Shrimp and Pyrite Panderer also make cameo appearances as action figures.

Cultural references

 * The title references , a genre of crime movies popular in the 1940s.
 * One of the comics on the Near Mint Comic Books is titled "Blobfish," named after the of the same name.
 * Patrick tells Squidward he does not know who Jack is, but wants some beans, alluding to.

Errors

 * In the French dub, John Trabbic's name is misspelled as John Trabbie.
 * When Bubble Bass' friends comfort him after his suburban dad action figure breaks, the veil one of the friends wears disappears for a split second.
 * In the Polish dub, Squidward's narration in the colorless segment of the episode was undubbed.
 * At the beginning of the episode, Incidental 41 passes somewhere about from the Krusty Krab kitchen and passes Incidental 40 about halfway to the exit. In the next frame, Incidental 41 again passes somewhere from the kitchen, and Incidental 40 is nowhere to be seen.
 * During the ending scene, SpongeBob's eyelashes are missing.