Ed, Edd, and Eddy Overanalyzation
I just have to clarify a few caveats before posting this. 1) I do not claim this to be my idea, I am simply spreading the word straight from some horse’s mouth, 2) do not read this if you do not want to ruin your innocent thoughts and history with EE&E, 3) this is just a theory with no supported evidence from the makers/writers of the show. I found this little gem while lurking through 4chan’s paranormal (/x/) board. Now every time I surf past the show, I can’t help but to think back to this theory, the theory that the inhabitants of the cul-de-sac are… dead.
We hadn’t always been here. But the neighborhood has. Even before it was a neighborhood on earth this one had been here. Here for those that would be lost on those cursed grounds, here for those who would die long before their real life ever truly began, here for those who never really wanted to grow up. We come from different times and we come from different lives, but one thing remains true of all of us. We lived on the earthly realm of the neighborhood at some point in our lives and died long before our time was supposed to come. We don’t remember much of our lives in the cul-de-sac since the last member of our group joined us and certainly we won’t remember now when the next spirit comes, but here is what we do know: Rolf was the first to come here. Unlike most of us he was born in far off lands and even in the afterlife hasn’t lost the touch of his old world upbringing. He lived in the neighborhood before it was developed. The son of a shepherd, he and the rest of his family came to start a farm on the lands that would soon turn into the place we would all eventually reside in. He died in 1903. While tending to the family’s animals, the bull broke loose from its pen and in Rolf’s efforts to stop the beast he was trampled to death. That is why even though he brought many of his family’s livestock with him in spirit he chose not to bring the cattle along. He continues to go about the farms business on a daily basis, but is more than happy to occasionally neglect them to play with the other children of the neighborhood.
Jonny was always the lonely child. In fact Rolf actually became his first human friend ever when he came to the cul-de-sac after his death. His parents moved onto the grounds of Rolf’s former farm not long after his death. With no other children around and no fieldwork to take up his time as it did Rolf’s Jonny drew into his own mind to a great extent. From the Plank was born. Together they wandered about the country side climbing trees and getting themselves in trouble. Sadly this didn’t last forever as a few years later Jonny became bedridden with illness. In 1922 he died after a long battle with tuberculosis. He saw his imaginary friend plank standing by him to his last breath. Even now in the afterlife without the countryside to play in Jonny still wastes much of his time frolicking through the backyards and streets. Eddy was the next to come. Eddy was born in New York City but moved to the neighborhood in 1932, just as the Great Depression was hitting full swing. The neighborhood while still different was beginning to take form from the fields of its past as families moved in and split up the lands that had once belonged to Rolf’s family. Always a schemer, Eddy looked to do anything to bring some comfort to his very bare family life even if it cost him the friendship of others. Eddy died in 1939 after one of his grand plans to swindle a sap backfired. He drowned trying to cross the local river after trying to run away from the angry kids that he had tried to deceive. Even in the afterlife he keeps chasing after the almighty dollar.
Sarah and Ed came together not too long after that. By the late 40’s the cul-de-sac had already nearly taken its final form as one of the preplanned developments that became popular in the post war era. As brother and sister growing up in the chaos of World War II, they both had various ways of escaping their lives as children of a dead GI and a working mother. Sarah became enraged and controlling as she sought to make sure that everyone around her knew that she was in charge, all in an attempt to copy off of her view of the hustle and bustle of her often working mother. Ed on the other hand went about it in a different way. He just shut it out entirely, in fact he shut out nearly everyone and everything in the world entirely becoming what appeared to be a complete idiot. Ed chose instead to become completely involved in the monster movies and comic books that began to pop up after the war had ended. It wasn’t too long after this that, in 1953, Ed and Sarah died in a car wreck as their mother was taking them to visit their grandparents. Nazz came a time after the brother and sister. Nazz was a flower child, born to a pair of hippies turned establishment in the late 60’s. She was a naturally beautiful girl that had always had a way with boys and men alike. She lived life on a whim and would often go about flirting and playing without any intentions. She died in possibly the most horrible way of any children in the neighborhood. In the summer of ’79 a serial killer, who had broken out of a local asylum, had slipped into her house in the dead of night and raped and killed her along with her entire family. In the trauma of these events she in a way similar to Ed shut out the world entirely and forgot of her parents and siblings, which is why in the afterlife she doesn’t ever receive demands from the non-existent parents unlike many of the others. This gives her much more time to lounge around and party as she often does.
It didn’t take too long before Edd joined the rest of the neighborhood. He was the child of two highly controlling professionals in the age of greed that, despite their constant absence, dominated his life. As such Edd became quite the intellectual and a rather meek and shy figure. Always the curious type, he loved to experiment when given the time away from school and the constant chores of his parents. This would lead to his untimely demise in 1986, as a gas leak combined with a Bunsen burner from one of his experiments tore him and his house to pieces. Being the timid and subservient type, between various misadventures, Edd continued to follow the written orders of his parents long after his death.
Kevin was the next to join the group. He was born to the day of Edd’s death and is in many ways his polar opposite. Kevin came from a broken home and developed a bold personality. In life he was the cynical and angry and took it out on many of the other children. His abusive father would rarely pay him any attention in life and would end up bringing about the end of it. In a drunken rage his father beat him after Kevin attempted to stand up to him. He died on the way to the hospital in the winter of 1999. His father spent the rest of his life in prison. In the afterlife Kevin changed his perception to the opposite of what his life really was, with a distant father who would shower him with gifts, however he continued to maintain his bullying even in death.Jimmy was the last to come to the cul-de-sac. He died in 2000 not long after moving into the house that Kevin’s father had once lived in. He had had leukemia since he was barely old enough to walk. As such, he was always a very sickly child and due to his over protective parents he never really got to be around other children. He lived his days out in a small bedroom completely neglected by the outside world. Jimmy lingered for quite some time in a state of near death, but in the end finally caved into the suffering of his life long illness.
The Kanker sisters were different from any other denizens of the cul-de-sac. They were never of the earthly plane of existence. Instead they are the children of demons not too dissimilar from the succubae of human lore. They seem to possess abilities impossible by the standards of the others, such as the ability to appear nearly anywhere instantly. They were sent from hell to torment the already tortured souls of the neighborhood. Surprisingly they are attracted to the Eds for unknown reasons, although it is speculated that they are the weakest willed members of the neighborhood and are seen as easy targets by them. Despite that they are universally loathed and often feared by everyone including the Eds.
It’s a little long but thorough and I think it’s an interesting read. Truly thinking outside the box.
Seacrest out.
About the Author
Juan Soto enjoys reading mangas over watching animes, listening to what pleases me, majoring in Int'l Economic Policy with concentration in german, loves soccer, and plays video games for the story and not the the challenge. Yes, he is casual.
The rug rats theory made me sad ! & as for this one , Yess the show came out in the 90′s & jimmy died in 2000 supposedly , so if they would have wrote jimmys death like a year or so earlier more people would believe it .
i agree with karmen u cant have a charecter die in 2000 when the show started in 1999 but honestly if this was the afterlife for kids that died thats pretty badass if u ask me
This was written just to disturb and tripp people out, like in the episode when edd made the living dead remark, or “which life” remark….this was written to be totally relevant to statements and stuff that happened or was said in the show, like the canker sisters possessing the ability to appear anywhere this was made after the show kicked off and utilizes events that have already happened just for the purpose of scaring gullible people like all of you.
It may not be true..but like the rugrat theory…so interesting!
The reason why the kanker sisters are attracted to the edds are because they’re attracted to the harmony of the groups. They seek the groups of children that are together and seek to reek discord upon them. IE: They pick on kevin when he’s showing affection to nazz, they pick on the ranger scouts when they get together but by far are attracted to Ed, Edd, and Eddy the most because they are the largest group that they seek to break apart.
What this theory fails to mention however, is eddy’s brother and how everyone seems to remember him. I’d venture to guess that eddy’s “older brother” is in fact eddy’s “Younger baby brother.” The kids fear him so much because it reminds them of the life lost to them and would also explain why eddy got baby toys as a gift from his brother. The only people that don’t fear him of course are the kids that never lived (kankers)
Idiots complete bull shit
astroboy was aired in 1982, and was set in the year 2013 so it’s not impossible to create a character that have died 10 years after the show was aired
What about the episode with old people?
dude it just a legit cartoon. There are no hidden backgrounds about any character just a bunch of animated kids. As for the rugrats theory…. somebody made that up to screw ignorant people who believe things that are inconceivable. They are just cartoons about babies. Whoever made the theory up is easily subjective
@DreamALittleBit
I agree that Kevin’s story is a bit thin (the author doesn’t even mention the bike which was essentially Kevin’s Plank).
To add the theory:
The author says that Kevin’s Dad was drunk, so its possible that Kevin’s Dad was an alcoholic. There was a period in Keven’s Dad’s life when he tried to clean himself up by becoming sober and even started attending AA meetings. During his time of sobriety Kevin’s Dad wasn’t abusive and tried to make up to Kevin by buying him a bike. Kevin’s family was suffering from credit card debit (partly due to Kevin’s Mom’s spending habits); when Kevin’s Mom found out her husband bought Kevin she started to complain about Kevin’s Dad wasting money on junk.
A little while after, not being handle the stress of debit and Kevin’s Mom constant nagging, Kevin’s Dad started to drink again. Whenever the arguments between his parents would start up Kevin would hop on his bike and ride for house; Kevin’s bike was an escape from a hostile home environment. This practice would continue for awhile until while riding his bike Kevin accidentally crashed and wrecked it.
When Kevin’s Dad found out that he had wrecked the expensive bike he bought him, he became enraged. Instead of taking verbal abuse, Kevin decided to stand up from himself and argue back with his dad by referencing how he would let mom waste money on all the crap she wants. This drove Kevin’s Dad in a drunken rage which led to the fatal beating.
Despite being the cause of his death, Kevin still respects and loves his dad. In the afterlife Kevin remembers his Dad during his sobriety period where he had bought him the bike, thus why Kevin’s “Dad” showers him with gifts. This also explains why we never hear about Kevin’s Mom; Kevin believes that she was cause of all the family’s troubles. Kevin was really attached to his bike because it reminded him of his Dad during the good time when he was sober and was a method of escape for Kevin during the bad times. This explains why Kevin flips out when anybody else touches or rides his bike. This is also why he shows more affection towards his bike than other people (eg Nass in the final TV movie episode).
TL;DR:
Kevin’s Dad was an alcoholic. Tried to get sober, ended up buying Kevin a bike. Credit card debit and nagging wife drove Kevin’s Dad back to alcoholism. Kevin use his bike as escape when his parents argued. Accidentally wrecked bike. Dad got mad and yelled at Kevin, Kevin stood up and argued back, Dad beat Kevin to death. In afterlife remembers Dad when he was a nice sober, blames mom for everything bad.
I agree completely with this
Of course this probably wasn’t the intention of the writer, but it does pull a lot of things about the show together. It’s a very well thought out theory, whether it’s true or not. Sure there are a few arguments to it. Just like any other theory, it has flaws.
I think to go with the theory (just theory, not fact) that Eddy’s brother should either be the devil or a baby. Like a few comments above came up with.
Plus the elongation of the Kevin story really added to the theory.
Okay this ruined me when mu friend told me this, but he added this:
They all represented aspects of life.
Kevin: Depression
Nazz: The american woman
Edd: Control
Eddy: Chaos
Ed: Ignorance
Jonny: dillusion
Sarah: maturity
Jimmy: innocence
Rolf: purity
Kanker sisters: love hatred and death
The chickens: faith
Rolf’s cow goat and pig: lust sloth and gluttony
The candystore/jawbreakers: heaven/ heaven’s gates
The bunnies: the black plague
Eddy’s brother: freedom
That’s really all I remember.
This will never ruin the show for me, because its already a messed up show.
The Fact of Jimmy Dying in 2000 and the making of the show in 1999 is credible, as this article says he was fighting with leukemia,Kids at his age have a 75% chance of dying from the disease so they must have assumed him, well . . . Dead. i had heard of This Theory before and felt shocked but well relieved, because they always seemed so seperate from the world in their litte cul-da-sac and the kanker Sisters being the guardians makes sense as well, Think about it. They live Seperate from the Cul-da-sac in some kind of barren field in a trailer and in the movies often left anf fate had them run into the Kids always trying to leave the cul-da-sac for whatever happened. Although it is sad, i am kind of happy that they can live the lives that they did as children, to have friends and just enjoy themesleves. I also heard that the Cul-da-sac was a place of hell many of the kids each representing a Sin in the bible like Nazz being Lust, Rolf is Gluttony, eddy is Greed, and etc. but thats a different story . . .
Was always a creepy show so idc
This is actually really interesting. Even thoughi won’t be able to ever see the show again
I feel as though the theory should include the Kevin’s Dad, wrecking his bike in an alcoholic rage, before he beat him for standing up to him, and that’s why his bike is so special to him. And it’d make some more sense if hadn’t excluded the discolored tongues and skin tones among the kids, as if they were sickly corpses, and how the Kankers(the demons) and Eddy’s brother all had pink, normal tongues.
The show, by perspective, is in all the Ed’s views, most likely Eddy’s view as he is seen as more of the main character. So in the last episode of all, the reason they can all get past this “bounds of purgatory”, is reasonable, as 1: They had the world of purgatory to explore, they just stuck to their closest things they had in life before they died, which were in and around the cul-de-sac. 2: Purgatory is a supposed world you go to, for healing any lingering ordeals, troubles, and sins that have yet been purged, and from the Ed’s view, or Eddy’s view, he failed to please his brother, but the only idea of his brother, was to protect him from the threats of his peers, when all he wanted to do is become appreciated and friends among them, and at the end, so he and they all did.
So… You COULD say… When they were all cheering for him and lifting him up, he disappeared… Edd and Ed freed of fear of threat and berate of coming back to the cul-de-sac, they did come back, and they all lived their normal lives again, until one more adventure, until another character’s lingering ordeal is purged… Leaving on character left, sad, and alone, unable to be purged from his disturbance, being tormented by the Kanker demons.
I have a theory… some people are idiots and are easily subjected. Its a fucking cartoon! Get on with life. The end.
This is a very good childhood ruined story but i see one flaw with this. in a past episode (i dont remember which) it shows the three as small children when they first met each other. according to your story, each ed lived in different eras of the cul de sac, eddy in the 30′s ed in the 40′s and edd in the 80′s. otherwise, it is a very good story
This whole thing was a complete waste. Made up. And none of it makes ANY sense whatsoever.
@concerned this makes a lot of sense. it has flaws in it, but it makes sense. johnnys loneliness, which caused plank. jimmys shyness. sarahs bossiness. kevins attitude. minor features about the characters (the tongue colors etc)
I don’t understand anythinggg!!! They died in the show in the lost episode or…wtf!?? Can someone explain? I’m really puzzled
No i just seriously don’t understand a single thing!!! Who died? The characters…. In another life? What other life??? What about The Great Depressiin and World War II?? How do you know their stories?? I’ve never been more cinfused in my life…i’m not stupid but please can anyone explain like more clearly?
Eds brother could have been his partner for some of the schemes or had his own schemes ( selling drugs giving him all those cool items and making his litte brother think he is cool his own house etc.) and when he dies giving him a house away from the cul de sac. But if that is true we are missing the bigger picture this could be a show about after life in general
The lost episode is where they either
Well. The lost episode is where they either know there going to die or have just died and eternal peace hasn’t set in yet. E.g. Jimmy was paralysed ( no arms or legs ) this suggests his over protective parents amputated his arms and legs to try and pro long his life ( disease of blood and bones is Leukaemia) as he never had enough bone marrow they got rid of his limb bones. Rolf was a son of a Shepard but I doubt from the cup de sac . If you look on the big picture movie Rolf has items of which he uses, these items have words like Moët <—- I know it's a drink but its a example.
But it one of the episodes when they are at school you do see Ed and Eddy’s parents’ hands grab their necks after a bad report card
Totoally crepppy buti dont think all these thoerys are relevant they are just kids cartoons they arnt that deep
Well…this changes my thoughts on the show. I never really thought of them as dead kids. I thought they were just kids, with their own personalities, and their own group clicks: popular, geeks, losers, athletes, etc. I thought Rolf was the recent character that moved in recently from an Amish community, with responsibilities such as farming and baring heavy loads. And I thought the others were just the kids that have never heard of much rules and such. But it all makes sense now, and just like the Rugrats Theory, the Ed Edd n Eddy Theory has made me see the show differently.
@help!! Ed Edd n Eddy is a show about kids that all lived in the cul de sac but at different times. We are watching them in the after life, read the story above and watch the cartoons (if you want) and you’ll notice the difference in their clothing, the way they talk, the stuff their into etc. and notice that they have no authority, no rules, no limits because when your dead no one can tell you what to do.
Not to burst the bubble here, but this show aired before 2000 disproving a part of this theory, show aired in 1998 I believe
Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy was my favorite show as a kid and I’m guilty of still watching a few episodes here and there when I need a throwback.
I have an interview with Danny Antonucci, the creator of the show in Vancouver and according to him, there’s no meaning behind this show other than the fact that its characters are based on real people. The Kanker Sisters are based on girls back in school who would harass him (pinch his cheeks and what not). The Eds and their antics are party based on The Three Stooges and activities of his own kids.
Danny did not include any ‘meaning’ of any sorts, he just made a cartoon that kids would relate to. And I certainly was able to relate to it as I loved it!