Stop, Look and Ed

"Stop, Look and Ed" is the 18th episode of Season 2 and the 44th episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy. In this episode, Eddy believes that following the rules is unnecessary as he believes that nothing seriously bad will happen if a rule gets broken. Eddy then proceeds in convincing the kids of the Cul-de-Sac that they should break all the rules. Eddy succeeds much to the chagrin of rule-abiding Edd.

Plot
The Eds' newest scheme is a Jawbreaker Surveillance Satellite that will allow them to scan the neighborhood for jawbreakers. How this will aid them specifically is unknown, but this isn't really a big deal for Eddy, as he's just drooling at the thought of it. Ed is bored, though, and he winds up the rubber band that will provide energy for the propeller until a fed-up Eddy tells him to let go. Ed does as requested, and this sets the propeller spinning; worried, Edd tells Ed to grab ahold once again, as the contraption isn't ready. Ed does this, but the satellite begins to shake until it starts spinning, throwing the Eds off. The Eds chase it through the cul-de-sac until it crash-lands in a tree.

Seeing it, Ed goes to get it, but Edd stops him. When Eddy tries to get it as well, Edd is once again an obstacle. When asked why, he merely points to a "Keep Off the Grass" sign erected in the yard where the satellite crashed. Eddy wants to ignore the rules, but Edd tells him that rules are the only thing that keeps the world from descending into chaos. Ed ignores Edd, choosing to burrow into the grass, and after he has some fun playing in the dirt, Eddy suggests that they find some more signs, a suggestion that Ed is excited by and Edd is worried about.

In the middle of Rathink Avenue, the kids (except for Rolf) are trying to retrieve a ball from some wet cement when it sinks below the surface. They are lamenting the fate of their ball when Eddy arrives and pries the ball out of the cement by simply going into the patch and grabbing it. The kids are amazed at this display of bravado, but warn them that they'll get in trouble. Eddy disagrees, and proceeds to break several rules all while extolling the joys of lawlessness. Edd then arrives and tries to convince the kids to follow the rules, but his nerdy explanations for why they should only push the kids over to the side of lawlessness. The final straw comes when after Kevin grabs Eddy, Eddy yells that Kevin is attacking him; when Kevin lets go, Eddy points out that nobody is on their way to help, so they might as well all become hedonists.

The kids all go to play in the wet cement while Ed and Eddy see Rolf, who is hard at work. Eddy goes over, and after a little haggling, convinces Rolf that he doesn't need to spend all his time doing busywork. Rolf is quick to agree, and heads over to the cement to play with his friends. Edd then comes over and points out to his friends that they may have convinced everyone else in the cul-de-sac that a life of rule-breaking is where it's at, but they still haven't convinced him.

Ed and Eddy snatch Edd and carry him back to his room, where they use his hat to tie him to a fan. Eddy then goes over to Edd's bookshelf and switches the books around. Edd begs him not to, but this caterwauling is nothing compared to the din that arises when Eddy goes over to the mattress and, seeing the "Do Not Remove Under Penalty Of Law" tag on it, grabs it and starts to tear it. Edd begs his friend to stop, and tries to break free. Edd does break free, but at the cost of his hat coming off. Edd swiftly shoves his hat back on and begs Eddy not to tear off the tag, but Eddy rips it off. Seeing this, Edd says that Eddy has broken him. Eddy is on the verge of setting Edd free when the latter notices Ed with his ant farm. Frenzied, Edd demands that his ants be put back; when Ed drops them by mistake, Edd wraps his legs around Ed's neck and squeezes.

The Eds back out of Edd's house, not bothering to set their irate friend free, with Ed barely escaping death by strangulation. Once outside, they see the utter chaos that the cul-de-sac has descended into. Eddy is pleased, rather than annoyed, by this, and enjoys the show of hedonism and chaos that surrounds them. Suddenly, Edd calls for attention; he has escaped his bonds and has something to say. He is wearing pantyhose on his head, but despite this has something important to communicate: he has contacted everyone's parents. This throws the community into a panic, as they rush to clean up the mess, but soon Kevin realizes that Edd broke the biggest rule of all: Don't squeal. Edd denies that he broke any rule, but a worried Eddy just says that Edd broke a rule, as did all of them. This is not enough to ease the anger of the kids, though, and a mob forms to take down the Eds.

The Eds end up imprisioned in a makeshift cage hung from a tree. Eddy complains about Edd telling on them, and Edd apologizes, as even he's not sure why he did what he did. Rolf then comes by, and each of the Eds hold up a sign asking for rescue (or in Ed's case, ketchup), but they are ignored. Jonny comes by, but he ignores their signs as well. It's plain to see that the Eds will be stuck in the tree for quite a while.

Memorable Quotes

 * Eddy: [to Ed who wants to start the propeller] "Hang onto your neck, Orville."


 * Eddy: [dazed after being hit by the out-of-control machine] "Wait up! That's my waffle."


 * Jimmy: [clinging to the satellite] "Space junk attack! Darn my perfectly manicured nails."


 * Edd: [seeing Eddy standing on his shirt] "Excuse me, but has my shirt become a doormat for everyone's filthy shoes?"

Edd: "I have good news for us all. I took the liberty of phoning all your parents."
 * Ed: "Why is Double D wearing pantyhose on his head?"


 * Eddy: [mixing up the books on Edd's shelf] "Alphabets are for soup!"


 * Rolf: [holding Eddy by his hairs] "Why do you hinder Rolf's drudgery, three-haired Ed-boy? If my chores are not complete, I will be banished to the…" [fearful] "...cupboard."

Eddy: "Geez Louise." Ed: "Cool." Edd: [putting his hat back on] "If you say one word to anyone, I'll never speak to you again!" Ed: [with a skull on his head] "I am dead from the neck up!"
 * [Edd's hat has come off and Ed and Eddy are staring at Edd, stunned.]

Edd: "No, Ed, prgress, not–" [seeing Ed holding his ant farm] "PROCESS!! Put them down Ed! You leave my ants alone!" ''[Ed drops the ant farm, causing the ants to escape. A freaked out Edd puts his legs around Ed's neck, choking him.]'' "5,239 ants, Ed! Pick them up! PICK THEM UP!" Eddy: [worried] "Slow down, Double D." Ed: [choked voice] "I'm sorry."
 * Ed: [while carrying Edd's ant farm] "Yum, like cheese?"

Edd: "Ed, you can't do that!"
 * Ed: [riding Wilfred] "Ed on a pig!"

Rolf: [while chasing his animals] "Wilfred is a very quiet pig, Kevin."
 * Kevin: "Double Dork! You broke the number one rule: don't squeal!"


 * Ed: [banging his head against the dirt before suddenly stopping] "I'm a woodpecker!"  [He resumes banging his head on the dirt and then stops.] "Except with dirt."

Trivia

 * The exact amount of ants Edd had in this episode is 5,239. However, in "The Ed-Touchables", he had 4,837 ants. It's possible that he has acquired more ants or that his own ants laid eggs.
 * This is the first time Edd's hat comes off, but the audience were only shown Ed and Eddy's reactions to what they saw. Edd's hat comes off again in "The Luck of the Ed" and "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show".
 * Eddy references the movie The Shining by telling Rolf, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.".
 * We learn that Jimmy manicures his fingernails.
 * We learn that Edd goes temporarily insane when rules are broken.
 * Running Gags:
 * Eddy convincing the others to break all the rules.
 * Edd trying to prevent anyone from breaking the rules.
 * Ed, Eddy, and the kids breaking rules.
 * People stepping on Edd's shirt with their filthy shoes.
 * Jimmy is technically wrong and Eddy is technically right, you won't get cramps by eating before you swim.
 * Near the end of the episode, when the Eds are trapped in a cage, Jonny can be heard saying "Listen to the clams gurgle in the bucket, Plank." This line was spoken by Jonny in "Who, What, Where, Ed". Also, Jonny can be heard saying "Gesundheit!", which was a quote he said from "Key to My Ed".
 * Rolf can be heard saying, "You crazy!" which he had previously said in "Look Into My Eds".
 * Near the end of the episode, when the kids are about to put the Eds in their cage, at the same time thatKevin's shadow appears and the camera zooms out, you can see that Eddy's shoes are missing.
 * In the beginning of the episode, Ed's leg is wrapped around the ladder Edd is standing on, but in the next scene Ed is standing on the ground.
 * Eddy calls Ed "Orville", a reference to Orville Wright, one of the Wright Brothers.
 * 27th time the Kankers did not appear.
 * Rolf is shown with four toes while he is relaxing, but all the other characters have three toes.
 * Rolf says to Eddy that if he doesn't do his chores, he will be banished to the cupboard, but later he says, "Yes, the closet can wait". Whether or not this was a mistake is unknown.
 * Rolf is shown with a tan after he abandons his chores. However his skin color returns to normal when he says, "Yes, the closet can wait".
 * This episode appeared in the GameBoy Advance video entitled "Cartoon Network Collection Vol. 1".
 * This is the first time that one of the kids are naked (in this case Jonny).
 * Eddy's feet and shoes got covered up in cement due to them being in the wet cement for a while. However when Eddy is about to throw the giant box down on Edd, his feet no longer have cement on them.

Rules Broken
This is a list of all the rules that were broken in this episode and who broke them:
 * Eddy and Edd broke the "Keep off the Grass" sign rule. Although Ed didn't violate the rule, due to not technically being "on" the grass, when he threw the turf at Edd, Edd collapsed on the grass.
 * Everyone, besides Edd and the Kankers (who did not appear), broke the "Keep Off of the Wet Cement" sign rule.
 * Ed rode on Wilfred (Edd told him he can't do that).
 * Eddy tied Edd's hat onto a ceiling lamp.
 * Ed and Eddy ate some cake with their hands.
 * Eddy talked while he had his mouth full.
 * Eddy trapped a fish in the "Joys of Rules" book (after telling Edd he should get a life).
 * Eddy ripped off the "Do Not Remove Under Penalty of the Law" tag on Edd's mattress (before he did so, Eddy claimed that he felt his hand slipping. Ironically, Eddy didn't even break a rule, as the tag's message is intended for mattress makers and sellers, not consumers).
 * Rolf became a lazy good-for-nothing and let his animals run around the neighborhood.
 * Kevin broke the dirty dishes using rocks launched by a slingshot.
 * Jonny ran around naked (except his sandals and Plank covering his sensitive area. He even told Plank to feel the wind).
 * Sarah and Jimmy pigged out on ice cream in a kiddie pool.
 * Eddy rearranged Edd's books.
 * Ed threw Edd's trash onto the ground and put his plastic skull on his head (claiming "I am dead from the neck up!").
 * Edd broke the No. 1 Rule - "Don't squeal" (as stated by Kevin).