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Edd's Place In The Cul-de-sac; Based on evidence from the show
Topic Started: Apr 19 2016, 06:42 AM (217 Views)
The Fox Prince
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Miniskirt Enthusiast
Across numerous episodes, Edd is regarded as the most responsible member of the Cul-de-sac and closest to an adult of any character. He also tends to be the first person everyone turns to for advice and leadership, as show in the sleepy Edd episode and later justified by the egghead Ed episode. There is also a great deal of abuse heaped on him whenever his advice or warnings are not heeded and the negative outcome he predicted is shown to be accurate. Almost as often, his predictions are proven incorrect by the cartoonish law which reigns supreme in the Cul-de-sac.

What are your thoughts? Have any more ideas on the role Edd or one of the other characters plays in the Cul-de-sac?
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Kirkland22
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The Sultan of Swing
I would just say that Edd's character is presented in a way that gives him some superior qualities without making him a Gary Stu. Yes, he is indeed supposed to be the smart one of the bunch and is often looked to for guidance, but he also has the flaw of gullibility.

No episode displays this better than "A Case of Ed", in which he is duped by Eddy and Ed into thinking he has a terminal illness. This episode had the effect of exaggerating his gullibility for comedic purposes. Eddy tapped into this shortcoming and exploited Edd for his own amusement.

He also has other flaws like physical inadequacy, vulnerability to manipulation, inability to communicate in layman's terms, and, you know, being one of the Eds. Overall he is my second favorite character behind Rolf.
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PurpleVision
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I had 9p, only to let it slip away.
I think that Double D's intelligence, much like Ed's strength and Eddy's creativity, fulfills a role in which it is essentially unmatched and yet unable to realise anything fruitful from its strength. Double D is a master of knowledge and understanding, but his only offerings to the Eds that are accepted by the plot tend to be mere trivia. Everything else is undermined, representing something of the frustration that sums up the Eds' roles in this show.

That's my take on it, at least. I think that there are a lot of different ways you can read him, or any other character for that matter.
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RTCombo
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a.k.a. Driveus
I wasn't sure where to start with this so I went the route of seeing how Edd's relationships/interactions with everybody individually has been.

:eddy : Best friend. Exploits Edd in many ways, usually his brainpower. If BPS is any indication, Eddy does care about Edd. To the point where he actually cries when Edd talks about leaving the Eds and going home.

:ed : Best friend, Edd's lovable oaf. In a lot of ways he is the the opposite of Edd and yet they get along great. Knows that Edd is smart. To the point where he questions whether or not he's a lizard man.

:sarah : Sarah has gone on record saying Edd is "cute." There was even a whole episode devoted to her having a crush on him. In another show, Edd might've been the usually badly written "best friend that the little sister has a crush on" character. And yet episodes like High Heeled Ed suggests that Sarah knows she can take advantage of Edd by fliriting. Sarah is also probably aware of how gullible Edd is since she called him an idiot for thinking he was dying in A Case of Ed.

:jimmy : For two of the more sensitive male characters on the show you'd think they'd be a lot closer but Jimmy seems to have a "guilty by association (to Eddy)" thing going on with Edd. Jimmy knows Edd is smart, he knows that he can be very gentle, but at the same time Jimmy's shown that he thinks he's better than Edd. At what I'm not sure but if I had to guess Jimmy probably holds grudges against Edd for things like the time he "stole" Sarah away that one afternood.

:rolf : I think Rolf might be the only non-Ed/Eddy character to acknowledge Edd's hat since he sometimes refers to Edd as the "head-in-sock Ed Boy". Rolf obviously knows that Edd is smart since Rolf considered him his biggest threat in the spelling bee. Also considering that Edd is the first person Rolf went to when he was desperate for school supplies, he knows that Edd takes education seriously (I still hate how the kids just committed theft BTW). Rolf accepting Edd's signature when he signs the Victor rental contract probably shows that he considers Edd to be the "adult" of the three Eds.

:jonny : Jonny knows Edd is smart since Edd is the first person Jonny goes to when Plank has that "growth" (the branch sticking out of him). Probably too smart since Jonny often has no idea what Edd and his SAT words just said.

Plank: *Ponder Emoji*

:nazz : The way Nazz went to Edd first in Cool Hand Ed to get signatures for her petition for "Cuter Guys For School Janitors" suggests that she knows that Edd's backing carries a lot of weight in school. Makes sense. After all he's smart, he's a known teacher's pet, he seems to run every non-physical activity related club in the school, and the school faculty even comes to him for his help every now and then. The school will obviously take his word and recommendation seriously. Nazz has also called Edd brave, has kissed Edd, has danced with Edd, has given Edd permission to use her shower, thinks it's cute that his middle name is Marion. My favorite lowkey moment is when Nazz gave Edd a spotlight (sort've) when he was trying to give a speech telling everybody to stay calm when the power went out in the Cul-De-Sac. On a deeper level it's basically Nazz telling everybody, Edd is speaking, let's listen to what he has to say.

:kevin : Kevin knows Edd is smart. Kevin also knows that Edd is likely to understand bike things more than anybody else in the show, so much so that he goes to Edd to fix his bike chain. In a way their dynamic reminds me of two people I knew way back in like middle school. One was like Edd (one of the "unpopular" kids) and another was like Kevin (the jock who was the star runningback for the FB team), but both were kind of good friends because they both loved talking about cars. Obviously Edd and Kevin aren't good friends, but you probably get what I mean. In another show where Ed and Eddy don't exist, Edd would be the brainiac side character that everybody like Kevin goes to for advice and technical expertise.

Lee : The only Kanker who's never referred to Edd as her "man". I'm stumped on what to say, I can't recall Lee and Edd ever talking to each other too often.

:marie : The Kanker who is Edd's unofficial counterpart. Marie thinks Edd is cute and has done a lot of things to him, but when Edd returns feelings of emotion, Marie seems to back away (then again all of the Kankers did). I'm not sure what says about them TBH.

:may : Love interest number four ladies and gentlemen. That whole Valentines Day special really threw us a curveball didn't it? Even before succumbing to the effects of Cupid's Arrow, May knew Edd was caring (caring enough to give May a card intended for Nazz). May knows Edd is smart and under the influence of love, tries to seduce him with the power of knowledge (shortly before Edd himself is hit by the pixies). May also knows that Edd is physically weak, why else did she go for him instead of Ed or Eddy when the three were running for their lives/the free jawbreaker sale?

So with all that in mind what are we left with when we combine all of those things and apply them to Edd?

Well Edd's relationships with girls is interesting. Not in a "the shy smart sensitive outcast getting the girls" type of unrealistic fantasy way but more along the lines of how since Edd is an embodiment of Danny Antonucci's neat/clean/tactical personality traits, does that mean Antonucci and the aka Crew think that that is what makes one attractive? Even to the "girl next door" in Nazz? Don't get me wrong, it is, but it can only get you so far...

I think that it's fair to say that the Cul-De-Sac see's Edd as the smartest one among their ranks. He was Wikipedia before there was Wikipedia. Want to know how to get rid of lobsters in your garden? Go to Edd. Want to know how to defeat aliens? Go to Edd. Want to know how to build a satellite to track every Jawbreaker within the next few miles? Go to Edd.

The words gullible and innocent can probably be applied to Edd too. Edd's gullibility is ultimately why he won't really be a leader type (even before his physical shortcomings). He's too well meaning, he's too by the books (ironic in a show that's all about there being no books sometimes). He's made for a second in command/right hand man role. He does so under Eddy for the entire series, he did so under Kevin that one time, it's why his status is where it is. In a pinch he can be a guiding voice but most of the time the kids just listen to another leader type who steps in after him like Kevin, Eddy or even Ed.
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