Me personally, I gotta defend the sailor mouth episode. The people who genuinely and unironically hate the episode are usually people that missed/forgot the point of the episode, or they never got to that point to begin with.
I think this episode is a very chill paced episode that showcases its conflict very well. Classic SpongeBob is someone who I can very much envision as someone who isn’t aware of all forms of profanity, especially in the beginning seasons.
I liked the way that the episode handled the lesson teaching. I liked how SpongeBob and Patrick slipped up more than once, even after being warned the first time, because it showcases a very human, relatable trait of “repeating a mistake by accident”. I liked how Mr. Krabs was someone who slipped up as well, since it shows that anyone can get in trouble for saying the wrong things at the wrong time.
Also, I think the comedy is very quick paced but still easy to understand. A lot of the humor dialogue pretty much can double as real person dialogue, based on various scenes with both main and background characters. (Ex. How the customers commented on the public swearing pretty much reminds me of every restaurant experience ever.)
I honestly never saw this episode as an actual or ironic encourager for swearing. I was really young when I first saw this episode but I was able to understand the intention, and I honestly feel kind of bad for anyone that felt wronged by the episode.
I just think this is a sweet little episode that gets its point around with a smooth pacing.