"PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!!!"
"The Eds Are Coming" is the fourth special of Ed, Edd n Eddy, first aired in 2007.
The second chapter of the Cartoon Network Invaded miniseries. The kids of the Cul-de-sac rally together when they suspect that aliens have appeared and have taken residency in Rolf's house.
Tropes
- Acid Reflux Nightmare: Jimmy gets one at the beginning of the special. An entire box of "Belly Bomb Bon-Bons" is ultimately what triggered his nightmare.
- Ambiguously Bi: There's no heterosexual explanation as to why Jimmy would imagine Kevin, one of the manliest guys in the group, as shirtless and glowing during his dream sequence.
- Art Shift: Jimmy's dream is something out of a 1930's cartoon.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: As the camera pans across each of the kids as they prepare for battle, Ed tells himself, “Don’t look at the camera, don’t look at the camera…”
- Cassandra Truth: When Jonny first starts ranting about the aliens, nobody but Jimmy believes him.
- Clothing Damage: Minor example: Edd's coat is torn as he's climbing out a basement window.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: Ed spends most of the episode in his underwear.
- Continuity Nod: Double D mentions how Ed has often been called by Rolf to help out with farm duties.
- Cross Through: This is the second chapter of Cartoon Network's Invaded saga, preceded by Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and followed by My Gym Partner's a Monkey. Notably, Jimmy receives one of Frankie's packages in the mail, and the abduction of the cul-de-sac would later make the headlines in Gym Partner.
- Curse Cut Short: A PG example. Before the green meteor hits the ground, Sarah tries to say "holy mackerel" before being rightfully cut off by the impact.
- Darker and Edgier: This is easily one of the darkest episodes in the series. Jimmy’s nightmare sequence is completely Played for Drama, and the story ends with the entire neighborhood getting abducted by aliens. Given that this was part of an alien-themed Cross Through saga spanning most of Cartoon Network, the darker tone was certainly warranted.
- Doing Research: Double D instantly volunteers to look up potential information on the aliens by going to Ed's room.
- Downer Ending: Unbeknownst to the kids, Jimmy’s dream came true as the entire Cul-de-sac has been abducted by aliens. Also Rolf insists that Eddy can be used as a good ottoman. Though it's possible that Eddy managed to escape off-screen.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: Jimmy's nightmare about the Cul-de-sac being taken to space by aliens comes true in the Downer Ending.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Jimmy warns everyone that the aliens are coming to eradicate all of humanity.Jimmy: My dream has come true! Giant blades will fall, slicing through the earth like a deep dish flan! It’s the end of humanity!
- Enemy Mine: The cul-de-sac kids willingly team up with the Eds as they all work together when they think Rolf has been kidnapped by aliens.
- Eye Beams: After researching Ed's comic books, Double D concludes that the alien threat has deadly heat vision, which could explain why the area around Rolf's house is unnaturally hot on an otherwise snowy day.
- Epic Fail: Ed throws at least eight bowling balls at Rolf's house and all of them make it to the gutters.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Look closely at Jimmy's mail and you'll see a purple striped package; it's one of the packages that Frankie mailed out in the first chapter of Invaded, "Cheese-a-Go-Go".
- Human Sacrifice: Nazz is offered as bait, much to her chagrin.Ed (as Edd leafs through his notes): Issue 14, Zombie Aliens from Planet Rhubark, states, 'more than often it is required to bait said aliens with a human female to lure potential flesh-consuming extraterrestrials from their lair'.Nazz: That's so dumb!'(Everyone looks at her. Fade to later: Nazz is tied to the mailbox and the lamppost wearing a pink dress and and a tag reading "FREE!")Edd: Dearest Nazz, find it in your heart to forgive me. Perhaps it's best to think of it as a selfless act to save... (Nazz slaps him)
- Improvised Armor: As the aliens apparently have heat vision, Double D crafts "heat resistant" suits of armor using simple bags of frozen food.
- The Leader: Kevin is the one who leads the charge against the supposed alien threat. Eddy initially protests his rival being appointed leader, but sheepishly backs off because he doesn’t want to be the first to face the enemy.
- Literal Soapbox Speech: Kevin pulls out a random soapbox to declare that it’s time to take down the aliens.
- Misfit Mobilization Moment: A boy with wood for brains, a frog mouthed abuser, a delicate coward, a shovel chinned jerkhole, a dumb blonde victim of a sexist comic book plot point, and the Eds work together to stop the aliens and save Rolf.
- Mood Whiplash: The episode opens with Jimmy frolicking about in his cutesy dream world. As he approaches Sarah for a big hug, a giant alien saw blade cuts into the ground between them, and his sugary dream quickly becomes a traumatizing nightmare.
- Noodle Incident: This isn't the first time that Jimmy has gotten nightmares after eating candy before bed.
- Only in It for the Money: Eddy is more interested in capturing an alien to make a fortune rather then stopping them from taking over.
- Pass the Popcorn: Eddy is shown drinking a thermos of cocoa while Johnny is making a spectacle of himself in front of the other kids.
- Recurring Element: The special includes themes featured in each of the Invaded specials.
- Jimmy has one of the boxes that Frankie mailed out at the start of her episode.
- Ed emerges from a ball of stinky cheese, which is what the aliens are after.
- Ed accuses Double D of being an alien in disguise. The aliens shown throughout the specials have the power of Voluntary Shape Shifting.
- Eddy warns Ed that the aliens could suck out his brains; the concept of aliens eating brains is mentioned in each special.
- The silhouette of Rolf with an octopus for a head bears a strong resemblance to the aliens seen in each of the specials.
- The Reveal: Rolf was never abducted by aliens, they were actually his relatives dropping by for a visit. This explains all the weird happenings throughout the episode.
- Ed's note ("At Rolf's, Needs Help") meant that he visited Rolf because his family needed to borrow his clothes, which is why he emerged from the meteor in his underwear. Speaking of which, the "meteor" was actually a giant wheel of cheese from Rolf's home cooking.
- The green slime and fog were really a combination of Rolf's cooking and the light from his projector.
- The area around Rolf's house was suspiciously hot because his relatives cranked up the heater.
- The silouhettes of all those aliens with tentacles? They were just his family wearing squid and octopus hats.
- Rousing Speech: Subverted at first, then played straight. Double D tries to raise everyone’s spirits with a speech before the big battle, but Kevin shoves him aside so that he could give one himself.Double D: It is here, dear friends, on the threshold of fate, where we stare into the gaping mouth of uncertainty. In this, our Darkest Hour, I wish to express my—
(Kevin pushes him away)
Kevin: Alright, listen up! These space dweebs made a big mistake invading our neighborhood, and taking our pal! What say we give ’em a good old Peach Creek welcome!
(Everyone cheers) - Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- Kevin tries to leave the group when he sees how useless they are during the first raid.
- Later on, he and the kids escape from having to meet with Rolf's relatives.
- Shout-Out: Nazz being tied up as a sacrifice is a direct nod to King Kong (1933).
- The Gainax Ending in which the cul-de-sac is revealed to have actually been uprooted by extraterrestrials seems to be one to the ending of Solaris (1972), in which the protagonist is revealed to still be trapped on an alien world that is now identical to his home, seemingly unbeknownst to him.
- Sickly Green Glow: Rolf's house is filled with a neon green mist which gives the impression of extraterrestrial activity. Although it's revealed to be his smelly home cooking mixed with a photo projector.
- Something We Forgot: The kids forget about Nazz who's still tied to the mailbox and lamppost at the end of the episode. Perhaps their alien captors could lend her a hand...
- Storm the Castle: Kevin's initial plan is to have him and the kids raid Rolf's house using their makeshift weapons. It doesn't work.
- Token Evil Teammate: While Eddy’s not evil, he only joins the cause for his own personal gain. The rest of the kids want to fight the aliens and save their friend, while he just wants to capture one and sell it for profit.
- Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Despite his Cloudcuckoolander personality and bizarre eccentricities, Ed considers Rolf's relatives to be too weird even for him.
- Trauma Button: Jimmy receives a postcard from Nebraska, which pictures a wide grassy field. It reminds him of the fields seen in his dream, immediately flashing him back to his horrible nightmare.
- Trust Password: Parodied. Ed guards the door to Kevin's basement, and asks Double D for the password when he knocks. Double D, however, was never told there'd be a password. This makes Ed jump at him, thinking he's an alien in disguise.
- Wham Shot:
- The giant saw blade suddenly crashing into the earth in Jimmy's dream. Cue the nightmare sequence!
- As the episode wraps up, we zoom out of the cul-de-sac to find that it's being lifted from the planet by the same alien spaceships from Jimmy's dream. The aliens were real after all. The End!
- Wingding Eyes: Eddy gets "dollar eyes" thinking of all the money he's gonna make with the captive aliens.
