"I think I saw it move!"
Eddy sprouts an ever-growing zit on his head, and all the kids are out to make fun of it... except for Rolf, who may just have a solution.
"X Marks the Ed" provides examples of:
- Absurd Phobia: Ed is scared of wigs and violently attacks the one Eddy tries using when he sees it.Ed: Wigs scare me, Double D.
- An Aesop: Blemishes are a sign of getting older, but you shouldn't worry so much about how you look.
- Butt-Monkey: Eddy endures a lot of bad luck in this episode.
- Call-Back: Ed's freezer experiment fish made of stitched-together fish parts makes a reappearance as the Eds fish it out of Ed's pond.
- Chased Off into the Sunset: Rolf gets chased by the Eds who each want something from him ("Fix me! Tell me! Shrink me!")
- Cheshire Cat Grin: Sarah sports one of these after she pulls off the blanket Eddy was using to cover his zit.
- Come to Gawk: All the cul-de-sac kids buy tickets from Jonny so they can stare at Eddy and his giant pimple like he’s a circus freakshow.
- Crazy-Prepared: Part of Rolf's remedy normally takes 14 days to prepare, but luckily, he already has a batch ready to use.
- Cruel Twist Ending: Rolf's remedy does get rid of Eddy's giant zit, but in the process, it also turns his head red and shrinks it to the size of a regular pimple.
- Death Glare: Rolf gives the other kids one of these after they chase the Eds to his house while taking pictures.
- Dodgy Toupee: Eddy briefly sports one to hide his zit until Ed attacks and bites it off of his head, stating "wigs scare me!"
- Everyone Has Standards: Edd and Rolf are both disgusted with the other kids for taking pleasure in Eddy’s humiliation.
- Even though Jonny tried to profit off of Eddy's zit, he did look guilty when Edd kicks him and the kids out.
- From Bad to Worse: Every attempt to cure Eddy of his zit only succeeds in making it grow from the stress.
- Get Out!: After Edd reaches his breaking point over the kids humiliating Eddy, he demands in the politest words he can use that they all leave in an orderly manner. Ed, believing it was aimed at him as well, sadly starts to walk out the door with the others.Edd: (exasperated) Not you, Ed...
- Heel Realization: Ed has this after Double D calls the other kids out on making fun of Eddy's zit and tries to help Eddy by getting him to Rolf's house while avoiding the paparazzi.
- Helium Speech: Eddy gets this from having his head shrunken.
- Humiliation Conga: All the cul-de-sac kids see Eddy’s huge pimple and laugh at him, causing it to grow even bigger. Not long after, they harass him again and take pictures of him with his giant zit.
- Ignored Epiphany: When Double D kicks the kids out of Eddy's house and berates them for their atrocious behavior, they look pretty guilty (aside from Kevin and Sarah). Later, Jonny and Jimmy come back and join Kevin and Sarah in taking pictures of Eddy's zit, anyway. Subverted with Nazz, who wasn’t taking pictures of Eddy and looked unhappy while watching the other kids torment him.
- Karma Houdini: Even though he revealed Eddy's zit and laughed at him along with the other kids, Ed doesn't get any punishment for it. Edd even tells him to stay after he kicks the other kids out of Eddy's house. Likewise, the rest of the kids get no punishment for laughing at Eddy and taking pictures of his giant zit.
- Jonny, in particular, who was the one who started the mockery and tried to make a profit from Eddy's humiliation, never got punished even though he deserved it the most.
- Kick the Dog:
- The kids' treatment of Eddy in this episode. They make fun of his zit as it grows bigger from the stress and unwanted attention, and Kevin and Sarah are extra mean, not feeling a lick of remorse for torturing Eddy. The kids later take pictures of Eddy’s overgrown zit.
- Jonny is the one who started the torment by being the first to make fun of Eddy's zit, and then makes money off of Eddy’s embarrassing situation by invading his house and selling tickets to the other kids to see it.
- Kids Are Cruel: This episode is one of the few episodes where the neighborhood kids actively torment Eddy for their own amusement, without him doing anything to deserve it.
- Lack of Empathy:
- Jonny sells tickets to the others kids so they can stare at Eddy’s giant zit. He also joins them in making fun of Eddy and taking pictures of him.
- All the kids laugh at Eddy’s humiliation and except for Nazz, they later take pictures of Eddy’s giant zit. Kevin and Sarah in particular don’t feel a shred of guilt after Edd gives the kids a "The Reason You Suck" Speech for their cruelty.
- Naked People Are Funny: Rolf decides to strip his pants off while he whittles waiting for Eddy's zit to cure.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Despite Rolf helping Eddy getting rid of his zit, the stew's side effect leads to Eddy's head shrinking to the size of a regular pimple, which ends with poor Rolf being hounded and eventually Chased Off into the Sunset by the Eds who want him to shrink a head (Ed), explain the process (Edd) or fix his head (Eddy).
- One I Prepared Earlier: Rolf's pimple remedy takes fourteen days to set, but he happens to have a pre-made batch to draw from. He even provides the trope's header quote.
- Paparazzi: Kevin, Sarah, Jimmy, and Jonny act like sleazy paparazzi, waiting for Eddy to come outside so they can take pictures of his humongous zit.
- Pet the Dog:
- After Rolf sees Eddy's enlarged pimple himself, instead of making fun of him like Ed and the other kids, he sympathizes with him and offers to remove it for him at his house. He also calls the other kids vultures for enjoying Eddy’s humiliation.
- Nazz, despite paying to see the zit, shows concern over Eddy's well-being. She may still have laughed when he eventually panicked and ran away, but she clearly felt the most shame and remorse then others after Double D chews them out over their deplorable behavior. She was also the only one without a camera at the picture scene, and looked legitimately upset at what the others were doing, and may have even tried to stop them to no avail.
- Despite being the one who told Johnny about Eddy's zit, Ed is shown to feel guilty once Double D calls everyone out on their behavior and tries to help Eddy get to Rolf's house while avoiding the other kids.
- Photo Montage: While trying to get to Rolf's without Eddy being seen, the Eds are ambushed by the kids taking pictures of Eddy like paparazzi, with the entire sequence of them racing off towards Rolf's house shown in snapshot form.
- "Reason You Suck" Speech: Double D to most of the kids after they laugh at Eddy's pimple.Double D: Are we just about DONE?! (Shows them the door) Please leave in an orderly manner! In all my years, I have never seen such deplorable behavior over one's elevation of the skin!
- Rise of Zitboy: The main plot of the episode is Eddy dealing with a massive pimple that continues growing.
- Series Continuity Error: Ed says he's afraid of wigs in the episode yet in the comic "Sugar, Spice and Ed" he wears a wig when he's disguised as a girl.
- Shaming the Mob: Edd gives the rest of the kids the riot act for being so cruel to Eddy about his zit, with mixed results. Only Ed, Jimmy, Jonny, and Nazz look remorseful. Sarah and Kevin consider the chewing out worth it to humiliate Eddy, and Rolf is more interested in helping Eddy with his problem.
- Shrunken Head: The end result of Rolf's homemade remedy for Eddy's zit. Sure, the blemish is gone, but it has the unfortunate side-effect of spontaneously shrinking Eddy's head in the process.Eddy: (In a high-pitched voice) What happened to my head?!
- So Much for Stealth: The Eds attempt to sneak towards Rolf's house without Eddy being spotted by the kids, even having a towel covering Eddy's head. Unfortunately, the kids pop out of nowhere with cameras, with Sarah ripping off Eddy's cover, forcing the Eds to run for it to Rolf's house.
- Very Special Episode: This is all about body image and physical changes in getting older, told in a typical Ed, Edd n Eddy fashion.
