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Home-Cooked
Eds
Whenever the Kanker sisters show up, that’s the biggest sign
of things going wrong for the Eds, and to some extent the entire
cul-de-sac. For how long I’ve known this
show, I for the life of me can never really understand what their deal is. Do they do what they do because they actually
love the Eds and can never take the hint, or are they straight-up psychos? However their role in the show works, one
certain thing to take from them is that they’re completely unpleasant. That’s a huge factor in making them being the
cause for the Eds failing at a scam or becoming well-liked among their peers
very frustrating. This is why this
cartoon stands out for one of the rare instances where they overpower them, at
least to an extent.
The reveal of the
Kankers’ appearance in the cartoon is staged very cleverly as things begin with
another one of the Eds’ scams. Their
idea for a service station falls through when Eddy ends up putting Rolf’s
mud-covered (at least I think that’s mud) tractor in reverse and crashing
it. As Ed explains his disappointment in
the demolition it caused, the group casually reacts to a trailer on Eddy’s lawn
before suddenly realizing what the trailer means.
A big blue trailer can only mean that the
Kankers are nearby and they’re invading Eddy’s property. Their excuse for their actions is that
they’re on vacation and are using Eddy’s house as a resort. I honestly can’t tell what’s more disturbing,
their usual aggressive unrequited flirting or how they treat their invasion
like a genuine vacation. At the same
time, treating what they’re doing like a vacation is a humorous perspective. All the same, Lee, Marie, and May are still
largely interchangeable except for their distinctive designs. Plus they bring a major
feeling of discomfort whenever they’re the focus of a scene. They especially go too far when they take to
Eddy’s house treating it like a tourist trap wrecking his furniture, killing
his fish, and raiding his leopard skin undies.
They also take disturbing to a whole new level as they make the Eds
clean their unmentionables and throw off Double D’s organization by taking his
belongings as souvenirs. For the
latter, they’re implied to have stolen even more than that when Plank is among
their possessions. Only shots of Jonny glaring at the trailer and acting
aggressive around the other kids showcase the effects their thievery leads
too.
So far, the Kankers getting the
upper hand so easily is bringing the cartoon down, but this is where things
really pick up. Since they’re on Eddy’s
lawn for a vacation, the Eds fabricate a storm to scare them off, and like
their scams, the convincing and painstaking efforts show. Just squirting hose water through a colander
and a vibrating metal sheet make for convincing rain, and an industrial sized
fan makes their storm a typhoon. The
windy angle practically makes the storm with the random things blown at the
Kankers. It’s satisfying enough that
they’re hit by a tree blowing at their door, but I get more of a laugh from a
random Jimmy cameo. Plus, the Eds successfully get rid of them as Ed throws
their trailer clean off Eddy’s lawn. For
more of a consequence, when the trailer lands, Jonny gives the Kankers more of
a beating diving in to save Plank and sending them flying again. This makes the ending ambiguous for the Eds
as the Kankers’ trailer is now on top of the fence between Eddy’s home and
Kevin’s home. The cartoon ends with Eddy
and Kevin trying to land the trailer on the other person’s lawn, but at least
it’s better than knowing for sure that Eddy gets stuck with them again. For that, I can safely name this cartoon as a
momentous occasion where the Eds overpower the Kankers for once…once again, at
least to an extent.
And remember: ‘one plus one equals one on a bun.’
A
Rambling Ed
This cartoon takes the expected tropes involving annoying
house guests and makes it something thoroughly entertaining and fitting for the
featured characters.
For starters,
there’s a very sympathetic reason for why this setup is taken. The Eds are pulling off another one of their
scams and do so to painstakingly convincing efforts. Eddy as a fortune teller sets up a creepy
atmosphere to convince Jonny and Rolf to pay him complete with a moving money
can courtesy of Double D’s magnet work.
Even what’s obviously Ed in a flour sack comes off as a convincing
spirit. Then all their efforts are compromised when Sarah barges in, seems
convincing as a spirit who attacks Double D, but then breaks the charade by
tearing down the curtain. Never mind
that this constitutes a refund, but then Sarah goes on a very aggressive and
tyrannical rampage just because Ed left his smelly sock in her room. It only gets worse when she demands him to do
a long list of chores and is unpleasant all throughout. It’s times like this where you really feel
sorry for Ed and the legit abuse he puts up with from his own family. The way Sarah treats him is completely
unacceptable, yet his parents seem ok with it despite how well he means. It’s impressive that he still remains so
upbeat and friendly.
All the same,
Double D and Eddy have the right idea that Ed would be better off living away
from him, so they have him pack up his entire room and move somewhere else. Given how bad Ed’s home treatment is, I’m
convinced that his parents would even care that he’s gone by the way.
As for where Ed moves, Eddy gets the idea
that the perfect new home is the shed in Rolf’s yard. Benefitting Rolf’s character, though he’s
still annoyed by the earlier scam, he’s nice enough to let Ed live here which
is fitting since he’s known to be more tolerable of the Eds’ antics. The story’s direction, however, does remind
the audience that he can easily become intolerable when provoked, and the Eds
convincingly provoke him. They get out
of Rolf’s shed a lot and mess around his yard when he’s simply trying to
complete his chores. Ed shows up bathing
in a trough for Rolf’s animals, Eddy lounges on a stump he’s trying to move,
and the group vertically sticks his tractor on an egg to funny effect.
The worst actions come at night when the Eds
straight up mooch Rolf out of all his food and deny him a comfortable place to
sleep. Any frustration Rolf gets is all
too understandable, especially since there’s no real reason why Double D and
Eddy stick around at his place. Ed’s the
one finding a new home, not them. Still,
after a difficult night like that, you can’t help but justify the claim that
the “BURDEN OF HOSPITALITY IS TOO GREAT FOR ROLF!” which the entire cul-de-sac
discovers. As the Eds remain in their
blissful annoying house guest mindsets, they get appropriate consequences. Rolf lets out his frustrations by acting as a
fortune teller and forcing the Eds to do all his chores for him. Even if this is a major payback for being
overworked and worn down by the Eds’ antics himself, I’d argue that this still
isn’t as bad as what Ed puts up with from Sarah.
Despite a fair share of confusing plot
decisions, the sympathetic reasons for actions, humor, and character moments
make this cartoon very solid, conventional as it is.
A
The Ranking
1. One + One = Ed
2. Who Let the Ed In
3. Ready Set Ed
4. Dear Ed
5. Rambling Ed
6. Home Cooked Ed
7. Floss Your Ed
8. Knock, Knock Who’s Ed
9. Know-it-All Ed
10. Eeny Meeny Miney Ed
11. Hands Across Ed
12. In Like Ed
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode of the shocking circumstance of Nazz coming over to babysit Eddy, and the Eds find a key to something they need to find out.
If you would like to check out other Ed Edd n Eddy reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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