An Edd Too Many | Ed, Edd N' Eddy Season 1, Episode 11 Review

 

Foreword

Ed, Edd N Eddy for the longest time has been my favorite cartoon. Recently, HBOMax has picked up several cartoons from the late 90s and early 2000s. Unsurprisingly, I went on an immediate nostalgia bender and watched the entire series with my lady love. And what better way to celebrate several of my favorite cartoons than by systematically reviewing each episode, starting with the dorks of Peach Creek.

For all of my new readers – Hey, welcome to Patchwork! - Each episode will be reviewed on a 10 point rating scale. I'll be focusing on four aspects of the show and pulling the average to get a final tally. The four categories we'll be measuring are:

The Story - The Plot of the episode, as well as the characters themselves.

The Visuals - Whether they be character, backgrounds or accessories.

The Comedy - This is a “haha” funny show, so it needs decent comedy.

The Scam - The Ploy the Eds concoct to weasel the allowances of the other kids.


With the formalities out of the way, let's dive into episode eleven of Ed, Edd N' Eddy:

A scene with some pleasant colors. We get a nice gentle blue-sky background with a couple of fluffy white clouds and some blue flowers with white petals in the bottom corner. In the foreground are a few balloons, all different colors and shapes. The first in line is a standard heart shape balloon, followed by a long, sausage shape and then a purple light bulb and then finally a yellow circle.

We see a hand coming in with a sewing needle, puncturing the first balloon. It is possible this could symbolize someone trying to fight off multiple suitors, the heart representing love and the needle, of course, rejecting said love. The other balloons could be the other admirers, all waiting their turn to confess their love. Another theory that came to mind was biting off more than you can chew, at least that is what my notes have written down. Do I recall what I mean by that? No. No I do not. Overall, this is a fine title card. No nightmare fuel. No uncanny valley. 

Getting into the episode proper, we do a slow aerial zoom on the Eds hanging out in a backyard. We hear Ed counting before we get a zoom in on Ed's hand, revealing a three-leaf clover. The boy then gets distracted by a caterpillar crawling on his hand and is inspired to mimic the small creature.

We then get a pan over to the other boys, also hunting for the fated clover. Eddy proclaims that a four-leaf clover would grant the boys the luck they desperately need to make any of the kids fall for their shenanigans. Double D agrees that more luck would be useful, but instead so that the daily chore of applying fabric softener would be a thing of the past. The boy likes soft things, I can respect that.

Eddy doesn't get the chance to question his pal before Ed shouts that he found their bounty. He rushes over and reveals a beautiful blue flower. Eddy dismisses it as some weed and manhandles it away. Double D protest the harsh handling of the delicate and rare flower, catching it once Eddy tosses the plant away.

A few moments later, Eddy finds their lucky blade of grass and demands his pals feel the magic from it. A growl interrupts their celebration and even causes Ed to leap onto Eddy, seeking protection from his friend. Which I will gladly look too far into this.

It is a simple action, and one that can be easily played off as a joke; the big and strong character being frightened and seeking safety from the smaller character. But if we were to look into the characters themselves, which if you haven't seen my Kanker Sister theory than you are in for a treat, we see that Ed has a strong sense of trust for Eddy. Granted, Ed is carefree enough that concepts of loyalty seem to be a bit beyond him - replace this scene with anyone but the Kankers and I can see Ed behaving the exact same way - but it could also be a display of Ed knowing that Eddy would protect him. He knows that his take charge friend would, in fact, take charge and keep him safe. We learn in a later season that Ed and Eddy have been friends for a time longer than Edd, their third joining a bit later, so this could be years of friendship coming through. Or it is just a simple joke.

Ed proclaims that the noise MUST be the "howl of a werewolf from the belly of Hades", which is a fun image to have. Eddy, annoyed that his much heavier friend is crushing his spine, shows Ed that it is his own stomach that is growling. Eddy offers the solution of homemade pizzas back at his house and the boys agree, Double D offering to make the sauce while Ed offers to get in the way and make a big mess.

We get a scene transition to Sarah and Jimmy playing hopscotch on the sidewalk. The boys run through, but not without causing mischief. Ed sprints by, while Eddy scraps away the chalk of Jimmy's playboard, leaving the boy stranded in a single box. Sarah confronts Eddy but the boy doesn't even break his stride and whistles on through. Double D brings up the rear and is last to be confronted by Sarah. Jimmy interrupts the scolding when he notices the blue flower is a baby blue gym sock. Delightful. The two give it a hearty sniff and fall in love with its aroma. Eddy calls for Edd to get the lead out, and the boy nonchalantly hands the flower off to Sarah. Sarah breaths in its aroma once more before deciding that Double D must be her boyfriend. She chases off after the boys, leaving Jimmy all by himself.

We get a transition to the boys performing their culinary arts, with Ed walking through the frame carrying a large, holey wheel of cheese; proudly shouting "Big cheese". We then see Eddy rooting around in the fridge, chuckling before turning and asking if Ed is referring to him. A solid joke and really fits the vibe of Eddy's narcissism. Eddy begins adding eggs, six of them to be exact, into the -pizza dough - carelessly crushing them in his hands. Double D scolds the boy, complaining to himself that Eddy has no clue how easily tomato sauce bruises. Eddy asks Double D how much yeast to add and immediately disregards the measurement that was given to him. Eddy then spots that Ed is eating all the cheese and chastises him. We get this exchange:

"Ed! Quit eating all the cheese!"

"Cheese? Swiss"

"Pepperoni. Italian" *Hands him a stick of pepperoni*

"Slicer! Aluminum".

Edd then hears a knock at the door and requests that Eddy see who their guest may be. Meanwhile, Eddy is literally fighting against the massive... mass of dough that is filling the negative space within the kitchen. Eddy recruits the aid of Ed and the boys begin jumping on the dough like it was a water bed. Double D answers the door and finds Sarah waiting outside. She alluringly asks what the boy is up to and if he will invite her in. Double D nervously explains it isn't his house but gets backed up inside anyways. We cut to the kitchen to see the boys still working the dough and constructing their pizza. Sarah follows Double D all the way into the kitchen and pass the boys. We get a glimpse at a window where Jimmy is peeking through.

Eddy orders Ed to remove Sarah from the home. We see that she has backed Double D into a cabinet underneath the counter. When Ed tries to talk her outside, she demands that he "Back off, fish face". Worth noting that the actress killed that line read and there is even some echo, as though she was yelling through a megaphone. Nice audio work. After telling her brother off, the girl returns back to sweet and lovely.

Eddy then attempts to quite literally toss Sarah outside but somehow gets the tables turned on him. Ed is quick to follow, landing on the boy and innocently saying Hi and earning a small chuckle from me. The boys rush back inside to find that Sarah has chased Double D to the top of the fridge. Edd begs for help from Eddy before Sarah rearranges some magnets to spell out "Sarah + Edd".

Eddy figures out that she has a crush and Ed figures out that "And she is a good speller", which earned another chuckle from me. Sarah proclaims they are now boyfriend / girlfriend before Eddy rescues the lad from the fridge. They abandon their pizza and began trying to hide and avoid Sarah, which fills me with such strong nostalgia of the bygone "boys vs girls" phase of my life. Their attempts at hiding fail as Sarah finds and continues to swoon over Edd.

The boys attempt to flee once more, but Sarah is, somehow, hiding underneath Double D's hat. This suggests that, while it would be dark under there, she may have seen what lies under there. I don't believe the show has made it a big deal that Double D refuses to be seen without his beanie yet, so there's no curse of knowledge that befalls on the young lass but still - makes this particular overthinker wonder.

Double D proclaims that he is starting to sweat in an odd cutaway. Eddy presents a fake poem for Sarah that simply reads "Get Lost". She swoons over the words before a knocking sound plays and she realizes she is no longer riding on Edd's shoulders. We see the boys carrying Double D to safety and we get another transition.

We now see Jimmy, who has been sulking the whole episode, find the blue gym sock and lashes out against the plant in rage. The boy begins blaming Double D and throws a tantrum, stomping the flower and tearing his bear to shreds with his mouth. Johnny shows up, and sees what the boy is up to. He notices the carnage and innocently asks if the bear was bad. Jimmy attempts to lash out at Johnny but harmlessly just spins in a circle. Johnny takes this as a cue that they are playing tag and tags the boy before running off. Jimmy blushes in rage as we get another transition.

We see Eddy peeking under a garage door and announces that the close is clear. We see Double D and Ed are working on something paper mâché as part of some kind of scam. The paper mache dries to Ed's hands as Eddy reveals that the kids will pay big bucks to see a full-size dinosaur. They have just one foot up to the lower shin completed, but Eddy is confident they can get the head on it before the end of the day. Double D looks over some blue prints that are ripped away by Sarah, who cuts up the plans into some kind of string paper cutout of the two that actually looks really cute. Double D calls for help and tries to hide in Ed's jacket. Some slapstick occurs, where the dino foot gets broken and Edd gets covered in the paper mache, solidifying and trapping him.

Sarah creepily revels in Double D being trapped while Ed tells Eddy how weird Sarah can be when Jimmy is not around. Eddy gets the brain blast that they have to go find Jimmy. The two find Jimmy playing alone on a seesaw which is equal parts sad and really funny. The boy talks tough, threatening to flip Eddy like an omelet. The Eds tell Jimmy that they can reunite him with Sarah. He begins complaining and kicking at Eddy before we get our final scene transition.

The Eds have blindfolded both Sarah and Jimmy and are walking the pair to each other. As soon as the kids lay eyes on each other, Sarah forgets about Double D entirely and proceeds to go hang out with Jimmy. The boys let out a sigh of relief before Eddy tosses away the four-leaf clover. Johnny finds the clover before immediately finding a lost twenty-dollar bill. Eddy doubles back and tries to shout at Johnny before dejectedly saying "that's our luck." Double D, with more vinegar, says "that's ALWAYS our luck." Ed proclaims that his belly is growling once more and that he is hungry before the black fades in. 

The Story

As far as story goes, this one is pretty average. Easy to follow and there aren't that many twists or turns. The resolution, I suppose, I am fine with - though it is a little weird Sarah just immediately dropped her feelings once Jimmy was presented to her. Sarah's crush on Double D was cute and they still kept her in line with her spoiled and stubborn character. I certainly don't have any major complaints with the story for this episode but I don't think it would be one I'd revisit unless I was doing a whole series watch through. 

6/10

The Visuals

 Up to the standard I usually hold for this show. Notable appearances are the blue gym sock flower and the dinosaur foot. The paper cut out that Sarah makes was also rather neat. Some good marks overall.

8/10

The Comedy

Not the funniest episode but I certainly got some chuckles. I believe the funniest joke was Jimmy playing on the seesaw by himself. It is overly cruel but the image of him harshly banging against the ground is hilarious. A few good quips showed up, like Ed's big cheese comment and the fake poem gag is great as well. Not my favorite laughs but certainly above average

6/10

The Scam

Well. We at least get mention of a scam. I'm so curious what the dinosaur scam could have become. To be fair, the idea wasn't very scam-like. It was once again too legitimate. I'm sure Eddy would've tried to play the dino off as being real or an uncovered fossil - which certainly would've added some sleaze to the whole thing. I will give some marks, because the dino scam seems so intriguing but would've loved to see something more fleshed out. 

5/10

The Final Tally

6/10

Hard Enjoy

Slightly above average episode. Not bad by any means and there were some good laughs. The plot is overall, fine. I don't have much to say since this was, indeed, such a middle ground episode. Unoffensive and par for the course.

But now it's your turn. Let me know your thoughts of this episode. Is it better or worse than what I thought of it? All of my socials are located below, giving you the chance to let me know anywhere on the internet or in the comment section below. Also consider signing up for the free mailing list to get updates to all the content that I produce.

Thanks for reading and I hope to write for you again soon. Happy Reading!


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Score Breakdown:


10) Big Boi Lovings - A perfect score. Any negatives are insignificant.


9) Marvelous - A nearly flawless piece of media. A few gripes prevent it from being perfect.


8) Recommended - An excellent piece of media that should not be skipped, despite a few complaints.


7) P. Good - Above average. Some of the problems are a touch painful.


6) Hard Enjoy - Despite the issues that are present, I want to be a fan of the media - even though it hurts.


5) Aight - Average. The experience is overall hit or miss but does nothing to "wow" or warrant hate.


4) Inoffensive - The media is not an enjoyable experience but also not a painful one.


3) Condemned - Enough problems are present that I regret consuming the media.


2) Poopie Bad Stuff - Terrible. I could hardly find any enjoyment, though it didn't cause an angry rant.


1) Dupid - I hate it. You probably know I hate it because I would not have been quiet about it.