a ridiculous episode but I love this little moment where Squidward offers to help SpongeBob and doesn't try to give a stupid reason as to why to avoid seeming too nice or whatever else.
I'm not a huge fan of this episode overall, but I do like this part of it. He doesn't try to downplay his concern for SpongeBob or Patrick, which is saying something about his development.
I know that it does differ from episode to episode on how he treats both of them, but the same goes for any character in this show. What I do know is that he wouldn't have done things like risk his life to save them in the past, but now he would in a normal episode like this one.
Fun Fact: This season 1 episode, titled "The Paper", is the sister episode to the Valentine's Day episode, which only airs on Valentine's Day (or around it) every year.