People who watch this show can often predict that the Eds will find themselves in trouble one way or another. Landing in that position through a clearly bad decision is one thing, but this cartoon goes an extra route when the trouble they land in is a result of something hard to understand.
Following a humorously staged yet ultimately unrelated martial arts scam, the Eds join the rest of the kids for an unusual foreign ritual from Rolf. As usual, through it’s hard to truly get his traditions and customs, what Rolf has to offer is fairly amusing to see. He dresses himself in a suit of sea cucumbers while standing over a pit of sea cucumber balls as a way to honor his ancestors who once fought a giant sea cucumber. At least, that’s what I think this ritual is all about. You can tell that everyone is bewildered and confused by what’s going on, and the audience can definitely relate to that, but on the whole, they’re quite respectful and say nothing.
Then you consider Eddy who does not exactly share the same sentiment. When everyone is given a sea cucumber ball to feast on, Eddy instead decides to throw his at the fence. A part of his rituals ruined, Rolf suddenly goes into mourning the honor of his ancestors, right down to dressing in black and leading everyone to walk over him. Just that one simple act of petty vandalism has heavy effects, yet Eddy doesn’t seem to get why, much less understand exactly what he did.
It would be easy to make Eddy a total jerk by not caring, but he actually turns out to be complex on the matter. He constantly brings up what he did, showing that while he doesn’t really understand the magnitude of his actions, he’s not brushing them off. His friends at least get through to him that he simply hurt Rolf’s feelings and he should just apologize for that. Eddy even goes along with the plan by giving Rolf a potted plant as a way of saying sorry. However, it turns out potted plants are an act of disrespect to Rolf’s ancestors too, and therefore make the situation worse. In this case you can blame Double D for this since the plant was his idea, but at the same time, he couldn’t have known. Still, there’s something to be said about this cartoon’s emphasis on the importance of understanding and getting to know different cultures, no matter how unusual they are.
Now the only way for Eddy to make any peace is to face Rolf in a duel, and it’s a clear highlight. In reality, it takes place on a log over a shallow pit, but through animated staging, it looks like it’s on a high cliff over a chasm. The dark red lighting and swirling clouds also give it a theatrical polish. No wonder Double D says Rolf’s customs have a frighteningly high budget. At the same time, there are a lot of creative touches with Eddy and Rolf using fish to fight and a mention of how Ed’s offhand suggestion of cupcakes could have avoided the duel. The magnitude of said duel is still felt with how hard Rolf strikes Eddy with his fish. All the while, Eddy is too perplexed, confused, and afraid to even fight back, and for fair reason; the duel is very sudden for him. He ultimately loses as he falls down the chasm, but it’s fine considering that Rolf coming out victorious means the honor of his ancestors has been avenged. So, all is well between Eddy and Rolf as they share a custom of pouring eels down their pants. It’s strange and has implications, but it’s one to respect, especially with Kevin getting scorn for denying the eels, and a humorous visual of Ed getting a fish face from an allergic reaction.
All of these creative, off-the-wall, and
greatly staged scenarios unfold in an amusing take on a universal idea of
accepting different cultures.
A+
Dim Lit Ed
When you look at the dynamic of the Eds, one might think that the only good and rational one is Double D. He appears to be to only one with any sense of conscience and logic compared to his eccentric and reckless friends. Some might even question why he isn’t accepted by the rest of the kids. Well, cartoons like this showcase the negative parts of what seem like Double D’s biggest benefits, and how his moral ways can actually be overbearing. At the same time, there is a difficult question to answer with who’s more at fault.
It starts when Double D notices everyone in the cul-de-sac from his friends to the world around him expressing an allegedly huge lack of knowledge. In reality, everything he witnesses to prove his point is an extreme overreaction. Things like Jimmy somersaulting over grass in spite of bugs, and Jonny repeating mistakes when climbing trees are virtually harmless. As for Eddy and Ed thinking they can sell common objects as exotic reptile pets, Double D should know that this is normal for their course considering they specialize in ‘scams.’ As you can see, Double D might not be wrong with a lack of intelligence, but there really is no urgency.
This in turn showcases a neurotic side of his
character where anything that isn’t perfect or productive must be dealt with
when in fact, it’s not a big deal. He
lures everyone to his own makeshift school in an attempt to bring back the
education they’ve lost over their summer vacation. For the most part, the kids, who just want to
have fun, act as unruly students typically would, picking fights in class,
chewing gum foot soaking greasel during lectures, not paying attention, etc. You get why since they were stripped from
their vacation to what they’re getting a break from, but there’s some unease to
Double D not getting any attention.
It’s only when Double D announces a promising activity when they start paying more attention. It’s a scavenger hunt where the kids have to find objects, and get a grand prize. There’s good truth to this tactic with people being more inclined to learn if there’s an incentive. However, everyone assumes that the prize is a jawbreaker despite Double D never using those words. Going off an assumption, everyone rushes to complete the scavenger hunt, and everyone’s approach brings most of the cartoon’s comedy. Ed and Eddy just go for the prize from their friend without doing the hunt, leading to Double D begrudgingly helping them, including a longwinded speech of how an ‘acorn…BECOMES A TREE!’. There’s also Kevin and Nazz bailing the hunt due to Kevin’s garage full of jawbreakers; and Jonny and Rolf completing the hunt just by stuffing their bags full of random objects of beets, much to Sarah and Jimmy’s annoyance.
I will say that they have no one has a right to be mad with Double D when he says there is no jawbreaker as that being the prize was always an assumption. Heck, Double D even says he didn’t mention a jawbreaker and they don’t listen. That said, the real prize being a diploma really does seem like an understandable frustration. It’s probably not even useful anymore. So, the school does nothing for Double D’s cause, and everyone goes back to their leisurely ways without any emphasis on knowledge or education. It’s one of those things you just can’t change; then again, leisure is just as beneficial as hard work and responsibility, and this cartoon is a fun way of showing it.
At times, you question if the
problem is overreaction or bad attitudes, but it’s always clear that fault can
be found even in the strongest moral compasses.
A-
Series Ranking
1. One
+ One = Ed
2. A Glass of Warm
Ed
3.
It Came from Outer Ed
4. Rent-A-Ed
5.
Once Upon an Ed
6. Fa
La La La Ed
7. Urban
Ed
8.
Laugh Ed Laugh
9.
Dawn of the Eds
10.
Wish You Were Ed
11. Dueling Eds
12. Mirror,
Mirror On the Ed
13. Ed-N-Seek
14. Keeping
Up With the Eds
15. Who
Let the Ed In
16. Avast
Ye Eds
17. Flea
Bitten Ed
18. Fool
on the Ed
19. Ready
Set Ed
20. The
Ed-Touchables
21. Who
What Where Ed
22. Dear
Ed
23.
Momma’s Little Ed
24. Hot
Buttered Ed
25. Stop
Look and Ed
26. Shoo
Ed
27. Ed
in a Halfshell
28. Scrambled
Ed
29. Vert
Ed Go
30. Oath
to an Ed
31. Button
Yer Ed
32. Read
All About Ed
33. Rambling
Ed
34. Home
Cooked Ed
35. Honor
Thy Ed
36. Floss
Your Ed
37. Quick
Shot Ed
38. Look
Into My Eds
39. Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
40. A
Boy and His Ed
41. Eds-Aggerate
42.
Three Squares and an Ed
43. High
Heeled Ed
44. Know-it-All
Ed
45.
For Your Ed Only
46. Dim Lit Eds
47. Cry
Ed
48. Eeny
Meeny Miney Ed
49. A
Pinch to Grow an Ed
50. Pop
Goes the Ed
51. Hands
Across Ed
52. An
Ed Too Many
53. Sir
Ed-a-Lot
54. Over
Your Ed
55. A
Key to My Ed
56. It’s
Way Ed
57. In
Like Ed
58. To
Sir With Ed
59. Nagged
to Ed
60. Tag
Yer Ed
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