032b - The Smoking Peanut

It is the annual "Free Day" at the Bikini Bottom Zoo, and Mr. Krabs is abusing it by stealing light bulbs, filling an entire barrel at the soda machine, and raiding the gift shop with a fake mustache to hide his REAL identity. Meanwhile, SpongeBob and Patrick go to the Oyster Stadium to see Clamu the giant oyster perform tricks. However, Clamu is sleeping, making Patrick leave out of boredom. SpongeBob tries to wake Clamu up by throwing a peanut at her, and Clamu wakes up and goes on a rampage as she attacks people and cries in madness. SpongeBob believes himself to be responsible, and as he walks home with Patrick, Patrick decides to investigate the crime and is determined to discover the culprit and punish him.

At home, SpongeBob tells himself that the incident will blow over soon. However, when he turns on the TV, the oyster incident is the top news story. The Realistic Fish Head reports that the cry is so powerful that it can be heard all around the world (even above the surface), and asks what kind of "cruel, careless, evil person" would do anything to upset the giant clam.

Feeling guilty, SpongeBob goes to Squidward and Sandy for advice, but just like Patrick, both are concerned with finding and punishing the culprit, adding to SpongeBob's anxiety. To add more to his apprehension, once SpongeBob goes home, Patrick reveals that he found the bag of peanuts that the thrown peanut came from left near SpongeBob's home, stating that he's getting close to solve the mystery. Eventually, policemen enter SpongeBob's house and question him on the oyster incident. SpongeBob admits to everything they ask him, but instead of arresting him, they conclude from their evidence that Patrick is the culprit due to his stupidity.

Patrick is taken to Oyster Stadium, where he is chained to a platform in the middle of the stage and pelted with peanuts by the angry audience for the crime. Unwilling to let Patrick take the fall of something he didn't do, SpongeBob arrives at the stadium and orders everyone to stop throwing peanuts at Patrick. He finally confesses to having thrown the peanut, apologizing to Clamu, Patrick, and the people of Bikini Bottom and asking for forgiveness. The audience, refusing to accept SpongeBob's apology, decide to throw peanuts at both him and Patrick, but before they can do so, a zookeeper arrives and stops them, having captured Mr. Krabs with Clamu's pearl.

The zookeeper reveals that when Clamu was sleeping, Mr. Krabs stole her pearl, and when Clamu woke up after being hit by the peanut, she found out that her pearl was gone; thus it was the theft of the pearl, not the thrown peanut, that made Clamu angry and depressed in the first place. Having recovered the pearl from Mr. Krabs, the zookeeper gives it back to Clamu. However, the pearl turns out to be an egg as it hatches into a baby oyster.

Having being reunited with her offspring, Clamu finally calms herself down, which emotionally touches SpongeBob, Patrick, and the audience. With the truth of the crime finally revealed, SpongeBob and Patrick are cleared of all charges, and the audience turn their rage toward Mr. Krabs for stealing Clamu's offspring. Rather than admitting that what he did was wrong, Mr. Krabs instead makes the excuse that it's Free Day, and is literally buried in peanuts by the angry audience, much to his discomfort.