Top 10 Ed, Edd n Eddy Episodes, Ranked

Cartoon Network is gearing up to bring some of its big classics back to screens with a new nostalgia block with Adult Swim, so now is the best time to go back and figure out the best episodes to ever come out of Ed, Edd n Eddy. The Cartoon Network original animated series was one of the major confirmed cartoons coming back for Adult Swim’s new Checkered Past block beginning on August 28th, and that means that fans will be able to watch all of these classic episodes again. But which ones should fans keep an eye out for the most? 

Ed, Edd n Eddy is one of the best cartoons to ever come out of Cartoon Network, and that means that it’s also hard to pin down which of the episodes were the best of the best. There were some very strong highlights in the second and third seasons that ultimately shine so bright, that the others don’t get as much love. That being the case, this also means that your favorite episode might not be on this list. 

So read on to see our picks for the Top 10 best Ed, Edd n Eddy episodes, and let us know which were your favorites in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about the picks and all things animation @Valdezology on Twitter!

10. It’s Way Ed (Season 1, Episode 9A)

While the first season of Ed, Edd n Eddy featured a lot of the animated series figuring out what kind of show it really wanted to be, one of earliest signs that we would be looking at something great was “It’s Way Ed.” The Eds had been introduced as a trio of precocious con artists who were just trying to earn money for candy, but this was the episode that helped to highlight the underlying dynamic they had with the rest of the cul-de-sac. They wanted to be a part of the trends all of the other kids were interested in, and had the idea to start their own in order to catch up on time. 

But it’s also where we figured out just how mean and fickle the other kids could be as they moved from popular fad to fad in an instant, and when the Eds finally caught up, they were left behind. It’s this kind of pattern we’d see in the best episodes to come, so I just needed to highlight the start of it all here. 

9. See No Ed (Season 4, Episode 1B)

Speaking of how fickle each of the cul-de-sac kids could be, one of the aspects of Ed, Edd n Eddy that really got under my skin as a kid was the fact that the rest of the neighborhood were often unnecessarily mean or cruel to the Eds despite the fact they often were happily indulging in each of the Eds’ various schemes. “See No Ed” was the perfect example of how the rest of the kids were far from perfect either as each of them (especially Kevin) eventually fell into their own destruction when the Eds aren’t a part of their lives for an afternoon. 

It showed just how crucial the Eds were to the rest of the cul-de-sac as everything would literally go wrong if they weren’t around. It’s an element that comes full circle when the franchise comes to an end with the Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Big Picture Show movie and the kids accepts the trio once and for all, and the seeds were planted in episodes like these. 

8. Wish You Were Ed (Season 3, Episode 1A)

While this admittedly is one of the meanest cons that the Eds ever tried to pull off, it’s also one of the most intriguing in the series overall. Rolf’s home country of indiscriminate origin is one of the long running gags in the series as he’s made the butt of many of the jokes due to the customs of his homeland, but “Wish You Were Ed” allows fans to see what this country is. It might start out as an excuse for more jokes, but its core helps to emphasize that Rolf feels just as alienated in this cul-de-sac as someone might be who’s so far away from home. It’s not the most eloquent of lessons for fans, but it also results in one of the truly satisfying Eds punishment at the end. Which earns its place on the list alone. 

7. Once Upon an Ed (Season 3, Episode 2A)

But some of the best Ed, Edd n Eddy episodes are the experimental ones such as one of the brightest examples, “Once Upon an Ed.” Starting off with the Eds stuck in the side of Jonny’s wall somehow, each of them tells the story of how they got there in the first place. It was here we saw each of the boys’ distinct view of the world around them, and they naturally get wackier with each tale before Ed’s story turns it into a giant monster chase from the Kanker Sisters. It was always fun seeing how the Eds saw one another, and this one turned that onto the rest of the neighborhood for a change too. 

6. Mirror, Mirror on the Ed (Season 2, Episode 11B

Speaking of the Eds showing off what they think of one another as noted before, there’s no better example than when they literally became one another with “Mirror, Mirror on the Ed.” With Ed daring Eddy to act like Edd, Eddy daring Edd to act like Ed, and Edd then asking Ed to be like Eddy, each of the boys fully commits to being one another. It shows off how close they are, but also how mean they could be by calling attention to one another’s flaws (like Eddy calling attention to Edd’s tooth gap). It’s an episode that can only be pulled off with strong characterizations for the trio, and something that just makes sense for a close group of Eds like these. Also Edd’s first “buttered toast” is still one of the funniest moments in the series overall. 

5. The Day the Ed Stood Still (Season 3, Episode 11B)

Ed, Edd n Eddy was fun for a lot of the schlocky Horror and science fiction it often had Easter Eggs or love for throughout its run (as Ed was a huge fan of this stuff specifically), and it all came to its peak with “The Day the Ed Stood Still.” Eddy’s latest scam idea turns Ed into a giant monster, and he takes it so seriously that the rest of the cul-de-sac is terrorized by the monstrous Ed who then grossly sticks them to his walls with chewed up Chunky Puffs. This is just a fun and self-contained episode that’s so different than many of the others with its techniques and the way it presents the Ed monster (such as the point of view behind his eyes) is just cool.  

4. Take This Ed and Shove It (Season 4, Episode 13)

Ed, Edd n Eddy almost came to an end with Season 4, and with it delivered one of the best episodes in the series overall. The full 23 minute stories could be a bit hit or miss through the series as a whole, and that’s sort of the case with the first half of this one. As Eddy starts to lament that the fact that the rest of the kids in the neighborhood are growing up, he’s battling against the idea by claiming he’s still a kid. Only for the end of the episode to reveal that he and the other Eds have been old all along. If the series ended here with the three elderly Eds laughing about nonsense with one another, it would have been the perfect close. But thankfully the movie came along and offered a better ending later. 

3. Honor Thy Ed (Season 2, Episode 9A)

There had to be at least one episode on this list that featured the Kanker Sisters in a major role, so it’s best to highlight the one where they were at their most cunning. “Honor Thy Ed” flips the script on many of the episodes with not only the rest of the cul-de-sac actually worrying about the Eds at one point, but the Eds themselves getting caught in a series of traps and scams for the first real time in the series. Not only did this episode feel packed with material as it started out with a hilariously failed taco stand, but it continued with a haunted house gag catered to each of the Eds’ personality. Then it all ended with the Kanker Sisters’ forcing the Eds into marriage. It’s basically a spread of the series’ best episodes all rolled into one. 

2. 3 Squares and an Ed (Season 3, Episode 3B)

This has to be one of the most “cartoon” episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy’s run overall. It blends all of the elements that made this series special together. Not only does it have iconic meme moments such as Ed’s parents removing his staircase because he was grounded, but it also had the scene that got used in a ton of Cartoon Network bumps at the time (where the Eds are flung between rooms with a paper clip, it would then be followed by the Cartoon Network logo to end it). 

It’s got the inherent meanness of the world around them with a very giddy Sarah and Jimmy serving as the security guards, it’s got tons of cartoon physics as the Eds evade Sarah (that begin with Edd bending cement with a gadget), and it ultimately leads to one of the grossest, wildest, and funniest failures in the entire series. It really is a gem. 

1. One + One = Ed (Season 2, Episode 2B)

This list is full of episodes that I think are the best, for sure, but this is admittedly the most personal of the selections. Ed, Edd n Eddy really became special in its second season before gearing into its golden era in the third season (hence why so many of the episodes on this list come from Season 3), and it all started here. This is where the Ed, Edd n Eddy as we knew it really took shape. The series experimented with a few small meta jokes here and there (such as Eddy’s “I’d swear but standards wouldn’t let me” comment in the later seasons), but this is where the Eds tore their world apart. 

It was my first real exposure to meta comedy that wasn’t just an application of “toon force” like in Looney Tunes, or flew over my young head like with Freakzoid‘s wall breaking. It was the first real cue that the series would no longer be holding anything back and just have fun being a wacky cartoon with characters who understood that about their world. There was no turning back after this.