"Guys - what if we had a clubhouse?"
Virt-Ed-Go is the eighth episode of Season 1 of Ed, Edd n Eddy.
When a bird steals their hard-earned quarter, the Eds, in the midst of chasing it, discover an airplane trailing a sign behind it, advertising a clubhouse. On a whim, Eddy decides to start a scam centered on making a clubhouse, with the idea being to charge membership fees for it. Finding a spot to build one is no easy task, and building one even less so, but the boys get the job done and go to show the other kids... only to discover to their horror that the Kankers have moved in and turned it into their own club!
Tropes:
- Comically Missing the Point: Ed does this three times
- When Eddy's quarter is stolen by the bird, Ed is upset that it took his gum with it.
- When Kevin tells them to scram when they try to set up a club in his yard, Ed assumes Kevin already has a clubhouse there.
Ed: Weird, Kevin already has a club house...Eddy: Shut up, Ed.- When he wears a safety helmet on his butt instead of his head "for protection", and he panics when Eddy tries to warn him it's not safe and forcibly remove it.
Eddy: "Ed, why do you have a helmet tied to your butt?"Ed: "For protection."Eddy: "It's meant for your head!" (grabs helmet)Ed: "It's my butt!"Eddy: "It's not safe!" (pulls helmet with crowbar)Ed: "Eddy, stop!" (Ed clings to the wall)Eddy: "It's not meant—" (both Eds fall off the clubhouse) - Diabolus ex Machina: The only reason the Kankers showed up in this episode was to make things worse for the Eds.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The Kankers response to Eddy getting into the treehouse and not bringing them flowers? Beat him up and toss him out through the roof.
- Downer Ending: The Kankers butcher the Club Ed scam, and the Eds never get to reclaim their clubhouse from them. In a future episode, however, Edd, Eddy, and the Kids are shown hiding in the clubhouse, implying they were able to reclaim their clubhouse eventually off screen.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Double D is surprisingly casual about the idea of getting a quarter out of a sewer drain and scouting around a landfill for a clubhouse, at least compared to how he would act in later seasons, where he'd likely Freak Out if he was in either situation. Also, Ed's voice is noticeably raspier than it is in other episodes.
- Epic Fail: The Eds try to get the Kankers out of the clubhouse by throwing water balloons up at them. Each one they throw up doesn't pop, allowing the Kankers to throw them back at the Eds instead. Also, the biggest one they throw up doesn't even land in the clubhouse, heading up towards the sky and later falling back on top of Eddy after all the other balloons have been thrown.
- Failed a Spot Check: The Eds build a treehouse with the prospect of charging kids to enter it as part of a club, only to find The Kanker Sisters occupying it while they were gone. Of course The Eds aren't happy about this since they were the ones who built it, but since the treehouse wasn't built in anyone's backyard (nor had any type of custom locks for the door), it's essentially free gain to any kid passing by regardless of the builder.
- Finger Framing: Eddy does this when he examines the tree.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Each time Ed is hoisted back to the workspace, he pulls a chunk of the ground with him. However, when both he and Eddy are lifted back after falling, Eddy's actually pulling up the chunk of dirt.
- Hard-Work Montage: The building of the clubhouse, which is constantly fumbled thanks to Ed.
- Mistaken for Romance: When the Eds try pelting the Kankers with water balloons, the Kankers mistake it as a way of "sweet talking" them, while May outright declares the Eds love them. When they start throwing the water balloons back at the Eds, Lee shouts at them "we love you too, Eds".
- Nonchalant Dodge: When the Kankers pelt the Eds with water balloons, Double D is the only one who avoids getting wet thanks to this trope.
- Oh, Crap!: The Eds are horrified when they discover the Kankers have taken over their clubhouse.
- Running Gag: Ed falling off the clubhouse and getting winch lifted back up, while clinging to a chunk of ground. The last one ends with Eddy clinging to the ground instead of Ed, though.
- Shout-Out: Upon arriving at the spot for the treehouse with their lumber, Ed declares "The maple has landed!
" Eddy chuckles, but he doesn't get it. - Thieving Magpie: A pigeon takes Eddy's quarter after he got it out of a sewer drainage. Later, while the trio are building the treehouse, Ed gets a nest with the same bird on top of him, which Eddy tries to catch again but fails.
- Too Dumb to Live: Ed is very careless when working on the clubhouse. He blindly walks straight off the floor and falls to the ground, and he inexplicably wears his helmet on his butt instead of his head.
- The Voiceless: Both Nazz and Rolf don't talk for the second time in a row. Sarah also doesn't speak.
- Wingding Eyes: Eddy gets dollar sign eyes when thinking of the membership fees they'll pay for Club Ed. Edd actually removes one to examine it.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Eddy loses his chance at getting a quarter twice thanks to a local bird. And then his Club Ed scam goes down in flames when the Kankers abruptly hijack their clubhouse. He gets thrown into a pricker bush and has to get the thorns pulled out one by one in the end, too.
