Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?

"Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?" is the 21st episode of Season 3 and the 73rd episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy. In this episode, Sarah trusts Ed with her allowance money to purchase some fudge, but instead he ends up buying jawbreakers. Now the Eds must find a way to pay Sarah back before she turns Ed into dog meat.

Plot
The Eds' latest scam, Hula Dancing Lessons (music supplied by Edd and his pedal steel guitar much to his annoyance and dismay since he detests playing it), is interrupted by Ed's sister. Before Sarah can tell Ed what she wants him to do, Eddy yells at her through his megaphone to get lost. Sarah then turns the megaphone around and tells Eddy to buzz off, knocking Eddy away. Eddy angrily goes towards Sarah with Edd supplying background music until Eddy tells him to cut it out. Sarah and Jimmy then give Ed a dollar (which is Sarah's whole allowance money) so that he could buy fudge for them with it. She warns Ed that he must promise to do what he has to do; otherwise she will turn him into dog meat. Naturally, Eddy doesn't like that the money isn't in his possession and rather than try to come up with a scam, he tries to convince Ed to give him the money for "safe keeping" because he claims that Ed might contaminate it with his badly drawn fingers. It doesn't convince Ed at all and he runs off to get Sarah and Jimmy fudge like he is supposed to. Edd is proud of what Ed is doing and, seeing Eddy's legs literally split, he is forced to close up Eddy's legs saying to Eddy to show some decency and he yells at Edd to not touch him.

Right before he enters the store, Eddy then tries to convince Ed to buy Jawbreakers instead of fudge by saying Ed had enough cash for three Jawbreakers and trying to waver Ed's resolve of buying fudge, but Edd wants him to do the deed he is supposed to do. Ed then can't think straight about his choice, and it certainly did not help his situation when he has two voices nagging in his consciousness, or Eddy and Edd in details. The argument starts out when Edd arrives just in time to stop Ed from getting Jawbreakers and help remind Ed of his resolve of purchasing the item meant for the mission by also adding that the money belonged to Sarah, therefore Ed has no right to spend the said money on Jawbreakers, meanwhile Eddy insists that Edd is insane saying that Jawbreakers is what the money was meant for, but again Edd insists that Sarah was relying on Ed for this task, but Eddy insisted that Sarah wasn't worth remembering for and again says to get Jawbreakers. Edd reminds Ed that he made a vow to Sarah to get fudge with that money, but Eddy just keeps insisting on Ed buying Jawbreakers. The argument then evolves into a mind game; choosing one over the other. Edd would keep imploring Ed to make the correct choice (representing an angel) do what he is told to do, and Eddy (representing a devil) would just tell him to forget what Edd tells him to do and that Ed should purchase Jawbreakers. Although Edd reminds Ed that he is the man in charge of his sister's money, Eddy slyly tells him if that Ed bought the Jawbreakers, nobody would be none the wiser. But, Edd says that only Ed would know and the guilt would bite him very hard later.

Finally, this leads to physical confrontation, with Eddy saying "Jawbreakers!" and with Edd "Fudge!". During the fight, Ed finally has heard enough and runs into the store while his two friends brawl. Ed gets worried and nervous about what he should choose, knowing that someone is going to get angry with him regardless of what choice it is. What that means is Ed knew the consequences of choosing one over the other. (i.e., if Ed bought fudge, Eddy would be upset with him, but if Ed bought Jawbreakers, Sarah would be much worse than angry.) Now without either Edd or Eddy to pester him in his decision, (and, oddly enough, Eddy doesn't waltz in and try to coerce Jawbreaker purchase), he now is stuck in an silent internal conflict: on one side of the room, there was plenty of fudge and on the other side, the beloved sugary orbs that are Jawbreakers and Ed seems to be turning to buy the latter, but not neglecting fudge, this puts him in a state of hesitation on what he should do.

Eventually, Ed buys Jawbreakers, and the guilt of his choice will soon make him confess that he used the money not meant for the right task, making Edd very furious, asking if they even had any remorse in the action that just transpired, but Eddy just tells Ed to give Edd his share, however, he was so angry that he even stated he refused to eat the 3rd Jawbreaker even if that was the only thing left for him on Earth to consume. Ed however then throws their third jawbreaker into Edd's mouth after Ed stomped his foot. Ed then slams Edd's mouth shut. Edd then anyways enjoys the taste of the jawbreaker.

After the Eds are finished with their candy and heading back to the Cul-de-Sac, Ed is shown with a bloated stomach while Eddy is licking his fingers. Eddy tells Ed he was supposed to let the jawbreaker melt in his mouth not swallow it. Ed believes the jawbreaker is kicking since it is jiggling so much. Edd starts taking remorse for what he had done, participating in the action he didn't want to. Eddy then asks what is his problem, and Edd replies that he's condemning himself because Ed was entrusted with that money which wasn't his, and Edd became just as involved as Ed or Eddy was in this situation. Eddy then picks up a hand full of mud nearby, gives it to Ed and says to Ed "Give this to Sarah and tell her it's fudge." to which Ed simply says "Fudge?" then his brain kicks in causing him to have a panic attack knowing that he did not buy fudge like he was supposed to, and knowing how violently Sarah can react when she finds out. Eddy tells him not to tell what really happened and simply dodge the two, then everything would be a walk in the park.

It is unfortunately too late for that since Sarah and Jimmy have arrived. The two check all around Ed's unsanitary body and clothing for the fudge requested, but both Sarah and Jimmy fail to find any. Sarah then asks Ed what happened to the money. Eddy tells him to remain silent with a shush, but Sarah insists to know, and because of the guilt and shame of his actions, he finally cracks that he wasted her money on Jawbreakers, and begs her to have mercy by saying, "Have pity as I cannot control my brain!". When Sarah realized what her brother spoke, she tries to kill the Eds (more specifically, the man in charge of the money, Ed), but Edd suggests to Sarah that they can pay her back with interest as an apology. Jimmy notes to Sarah they can buy even more fudge and Sarah calls it a deal. Unfortunately the Eds are broke, so they have a huddle talk to discuss how to pay Sarah back.

Eddy then gets an idea and that is making quick brief workable scams that will get the kids to pay money to beat up both Ed and Edd. He has Kevin pay to give Ed and Edd wedgies. Kevin then does so and leaves Edd and Ed stuck in a tree. Sarah counts the payment and states Eddy is short. Eddy says the money is his, but Sarah bites his arms forcing him to cough up. Sarah demands more money. Eddy then gets Jonny to the scene and has him pay a quarter to get a prize from whatever falls off of them like a pinata. Eddy then gives Jonny a hockey stick for him to use on the "pinatas". Eddy gives Jonny a hockey stick and Jonny hits Edd first, but only a shoes comes out. He then hits Ed and a whole pile of junk falls out. Jonny then finds coconut earphones which he then takes as his prize. Jonny then tosses a quarter to Eddy as per the deal, but Sarah catches the quarter before Eddy can catch it much to his anger. After many beatings, Edd and Ed fall out of the tree and the former is disgusted when part of Ed's underwear lands on his face. Eddy then orders Ed and Edd to get back in the tree while he go gets a slingshot, but Edd states he has had enough beatings, but Eddy reminds Edd they still have to pay Sarah back. Edd notes he and Ed will "pay back". Edd then whispers his plan to Ed and then they approach Eddy. They then take Eddy away by the shoulder.

Then in what for once can be considered an honest money making venture the two other Eds have the kids pay to smack Eddy into a tree for only one penny a turn. Nazz and Jonny are both shown taking their turns to hurt Eddy. Edd tells Rolf to give it a try since it only costs a penny. When Rolf hears this, he leaves to get money for his turn, while Kevin tells him he will briefly take his turn until he gets back. Edd says to Sarah it may take a while to completely pay her back, but she says she's got all the time in the world while she watches Eddy getting wailed on to no end. Rolf shows up and donates an entire sack full of "pennies" (closer examination shows they appear to be quarters) to Ed and Edd. After seeing Rolf's payment, Eddy realizes that is enough to cover Sarah's allowance and begs to not be hit again. Rolf then takes his turn (but not before telling everyone else to stand back) and smacks Eddy into the tree with him yelling "MOMMY!" as the episode ends.

Memorable Quotes

 * Jonny: [after hitting Edd a couple of times with the hockey stick like a pinata and seeing Edd's shoe fall to the ground] "A shoe? Boring!" [smacks Ed and garbage falls on top of him; picking up a coconut bra] "Look what I got, Plank! Coconut earmuffs!"


 * Ed: [going off topic] "You should write your name on your underwear, Double D." [pulling up his underpants to show Edd] "See? I am hand wash only."

Edd: "Not if it was the last edible substance on this planet, Ed." [Ed ignores him and stuffs the candy into his mouth by stepping on his foot] "How can something so bad taste so good?" Eddy: "When someone else coughs up for it, that's how."
 * Ed: [trying to get Edd to eat the ill-gotten jawbreaker] "Open wide and say bomb, Double D."

Eddy: [Looking at Sarah's dollar intently] "ED!" Ed: "Maybe."
 * Ed: [After Sarah gives him her allowance and task of buying fudge] "It has been absorbed. You can count on me, yup, or my name's not... um..." [Stares blankly into space]

Ed: "To buy my baby sister and her persnickety friend some fudge. With lots of nuts."
 * Eddy: "Wait! Where are you going, Ed?"

Edd: "Clean and press?" Eddy: [silences Edd and turns to Ed] "Makes you wanna throw up don't it? Let me take that so you don't contaminate those badly drawn fingers."
 * Eddy: [trying to get Sarah's allowance off of Ed] "Ed, gee that looks pretty disgusting pal, I mean it's all stained and wrinkled. Why don't you let me clean and press that cash for you, bosom buddy?"

Ed: "AAAHHHH!" Edd: "Wait!" Ed: "AAAA-" [Edd literally zips Ed's mouth shut] 
 * Sarah: "You what?!" [gets mad and halfway jumps on Ed]

Sarah: [watching Eddy getting smacked into the tree] "That's okay, Double D. I've got all the time in the world." Ed: "And I've got a jar on my buttocks."
 * Edd: "At a penny a turn, it may take a while to pay you back, Sarah."

Trivia/Goofs

 * The title is a reference to the song, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
 * In "The Ed-Touchables", Eddy claimed that Jawbreakers only cost a nickel. In this episode, the Eds only bought three Jawbreakers, which would come to a total of 15¢. When they had to pay their debt back to Sarah, they paid her several quarters. However, the price of jawbreakers has been known to change from time to time in different episodes.
 * Eddy breaks the fourth wall by saying "Let me take that for ya so it doesn't contaminate those badly drawn fingers," referring to the way the characters are drawn. He does it again by saying "Who writes this guy's stuff?", referring to the script (and the way Edd was talking).
 * Eddy received more than 4 quarters from Kevin and Jonny together, so he already should have been able to pay the debt he owed Sarah.
 * This the fourth time upon which the Pedal Steel Guitar is shown.
 * This marks the first time the Eds successfully make money, purchase, and fully ingest jawbreakers. Unfortunately for them, they had to refund Sarah her money.
 * This is the second time Eddy uses his magnified voice. He first used it in "Flea-Bitten Ed".
 * This is the third time the Eds successfully bought Jawbreakers. The first time was in "The Ed-Touchables" and the second time was in "Fa-La-La-La-Ed".
 * The Kankers were absent in this episode.
 * Ed went to the Candy Store while in the hula costume, but when he gets there, he is suddenly back into his normal clothes even though he didn't seem to be going in the direction that would lead to his house.
 * When the Eds are returning from the candy store, and Eddy explains to Ed that he shouldn't swallow the jawbreaker, his stomach was bloated (as a result), but when Ed suggests that Edd should write his name on his underpants, his stomach was normal.
 * Ed reveals in this episode that he handwashes his underwear.
 * Edd zipping Ed's mouth shut is an example of cartoon physics.