Ed-N-Seek | Ed, Edd N' Eddy Season 1, Episode 12 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 twelve of Ed, Edd N' Eddy:

One of the better title cards, despite the face looking a titan from Attack on Titan. Clearly, a game of hide and seek (is... is it typically spelled, hide-n-seek?) is taking place. A young boy is counting, while peeking through his fingers. We also can see four sets of eyeballs, in what feels like a horror version of eye spy (not an intentional pun but I'm glad it happened), all watching the seeker. Leaving the seeker's mouth are green numbers that remind me of leaves; counting down from 100 to 1 while skipping quite a few numbers. The background is a backyard, presumably where the game is being played. An accurate title card, which brings me joy and it fills me with nostalgia for trespassing through the backyards of my childhood neighborhood. 

The episode opens on one of the boy's homes, presumably Ed's, where we see Eddy and Ed couch diving. The two are loot hunting but have only managed to find three potato chips and an old button. Ed attempts to get Double D to dive in as well but the health conscience boy refuses, wanting to avoid the nasty scratches upholstery tags can give. 

Ed finds a personal treasure, his last issue of Slug-U-La magazine. Eddy rejects the finds and ponders what it must be like having buttered toast for a brain. Double D and Edd take a seat to look over the 'zine before Johnny sneaks in through the front door. 

Tangent that I just noticed while writing this review. In the shot of doorway Johnny entered is a hanging picture of a simplistic portrait of a cat with the words cat written above it. I chuckled. Then my lady love pointed out it is actually a drawing of a bunny and I laughed harder. 

Johnny looks through a dresser and around other parts of the home without acknowledging the Ed boys. They watch him out of their peripherals but don't interact. Johnny eventually picks up a vase and gives it a few hearty shakes, causing Sarah to fall out of it. He proudly announces that Plank found her before running off. Sarah stomps outside and the boys follow after them. The boy see Nazz and Jimmy run by and are eventually ran over by Kevin's bike. 

Eddy eventually catches up with Rolf and tries to ask him what is going on. Rolf implants his head in the ground and claims he is invisible and cannot be talked to. Not one to give up, Eddy then catches up with Kevin to try to get some information. Eddy tries to act as though he is in on it, but is ultimately ignored by Kevin. The call of "ready or not, here I come" made by Sarah clues them into the game that is being played. 

The boys crash the game; Eddy acting as though he had a clever hiding spot and offering to tell Sarah where Johnny is. Ed begs Sarah to let the boys play with the gang. Sarah declines before saying that they are in the middle of a game and that they can't join in. Ed, to force the game to be over, finds all the hiders and brings them over. 

The kids huddle together and deliberate what they should do. They allow the boys to join in on the condition that all three of them are "it" and must seek the others first. Eddy confidently accepts and we get a cut to the Eds huddled around a tree with a sign that says "Home" on it. Ed is the only one audibly counting; "1,2 got some glue. 3,4 at the store. 5,6" and he eithers says "meat" or "it" really stinks but for the life of me I can't make out his mumble. Eddy speeds up the counting and begins the hunt - which quickly ends as all the kids tag home base with a shout of "home free" and forcing the kids to be "it" again. Eddy declares that they have to come up with a better a defense and we get a cutaway to the kids having uprooted the entire tree and having placed it in a wagon to guard it. The absurdity of this is hilarious to me. 10/10 joke. 

The boys begin their search in earnest, but Eddy grows impatient. He attempts to sound like a lady in need of help to coax the the kids out but to no avail. Ed then attempts to trick Plank by saying his mom is calling; to which we do see the wooden boy poke his head out from a bush. Eddy declares that everyone must be cheating to which Ed suggests that they "feed them". Double D then comes up with an idea that forces a scene transition.

The boys are waiting outside Double D's garage where the smart Ed-boy reveals he invented thermo-goggles. Eddy tries them on and is disappointed that all he sees is darkness. With a flick of a switch, we see a green background and a red outline of Ed's face. With a yell, Eddy removes the goggles and hands them to Ed. The horror buff then explains that this is how the monster in "The Brainless Cyclops" saw his victims. 

With renewed vigor, the Eds resume their hunt. Ed wears the goggles while leading the wagon. They start finding the kids, one after the other. Eventually, only Jimmy remains. The boys celebrate, confident they have home base and can win. They then realize that they left home base a few houses down and Jimmy takes his opportunity to tag the tree, encouraging his "little feet, do your stuff" as Ed gives chase. Jimmy makes a dive to the tree but is cut short by Ed landing directly on top of him. The boys celebrate their win and proceed to hide, Eddy confident that they'll never be found. 

A cutaway shows us Eddy sneaking out of his home with a plethora of supplies. He makes his way to a bush and gives it a few knocks, causing a metallic echo. Ed opens a hidden hatch and Eddy piles everything and himself inside. Ed declares that they could stay here forever but Double D is less confident with how fast Ed is munching. Ed offers Double D a pop, but has shaken the can up, forcing a geyser of cola into Edd's face. 

The boys then start spraying each other with shaken up cans of soda. Double D first retaliates by spraying Eddy, who responds with "Oh, a smart guy?". Edd returns with "Only when you're around Eddy." which is an incredible line. 10/10.  They eventually blow their hiding spot by shaking too many cans and forcing a soda eruption. Out in the open, and with Jimmy on the way, the boys quickly try to find a place to hide. Eddy points to a recycling / garbage / compost bin for them to hide in. Before Eddy can hop in, the Kankers pop their heads out... for some reason. Why were they in the there? Eddy runs off and the Kankers aren't seen again for this episode. I dunno. 

They boys eventually take refuge in one of their homes, each attempting to blend into the surroundings. Eddy hides in a painting, Double D in a fish tank and Ed in an episode of "The Glippo Show". Jimmy becomes distracted by shoes in a closet and the boys take off for home base. All three jump and grab the tree, forgeting it is on wheels and force it hurtling down a hill, knocking down several trees with it. We get a final bit of slap stick before the episode rolls to a close. 

The Story

I absolutely adore the plot of this episode and the strong sense of nostalgia is clearly evident. The boys being involved in a shady game of hide-n-seek is also a no brainer. This is the kind of episode that will live in my heart forever because it perfectly captures the childhood innocence of neighborhood shenanigan's. In my original notes for this episode, I ranked the story a 9/10 but as I write this summary I'm struggling to think of a reason why it shouldn't receive full marks. So - yeah.

10/10

The Visuals

The usual seal of approval. I can't particularly think of anything that stands out in terms of visuals. The show looks as good as it usually does and will receive the standard marks. 

8/10

The Comedy

Some really good visual gags and one-liners. The smart guy comment from Double D and the absurdity of the tree in a wagon as the boys guard it are highlights. The image of Ed tackling Jimmy also lives in my head rent free. Some good chuckles were had. 

9/10

The Scam

While there isn't a scam, per se, the shenanigans the boys get up to are still incredible. The IR goggles are a fun invention, the tree wagon is a nice subtle cheat, and the bush base connects with my childhood dream of having secret bases all around my neighborhood. 

8/10

The Final Tally

9/10

Marvelous

I love this episode. It is absolutely one of my favorites and one I would choose to introduce people to this show. Absolutely recommend. 

Backword

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.