Virt-Ed-Go is the eighth episode of Season 1 of Ed, Edd n Eddy.
The episode starts with the Eds trying to get a quarter out of a sewer drain, via a piece of gum. Eddy succeeds at pulling it out—only for a bird to fly down and snatch it out of his hand. Eddy despairs, but Double D soon notices 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. Their first three attempts at location spotting go nowhere (trying to set ground on Kevin's lawn, and then scouting around the top of the local landfill, and trying to squeeze inside a mailbox) but they finally find the perfect spot with a local tree. Eddy wants to begin construction of a treehouse for the club right away, but Double D informs him that they need a lot of lumber. By chance Jonny is walking nearby, and while Eddy shoos him off at first, he quickly realizes Plank is lumber and tries to snatch him. Jonny resists, and compromises by having Plank lead them to large piles of lumber.
After acquiring the wood, the Eds begin constructing the treehouse. Ed's fear of heights cause trouble, forcing Double D to lift him into the air with a motor operated winch. As they build the clubhouse, Ed's foolishness causes no end of trouble, with him constantly falling off the house, forcing Double D to motor-lift him back up constantly. Eventually, Eddy grows fed up with Ed and ties him to a nearby branch, where he can simply paint a nearby wall. Eventually, the clubhouse is completed, and Eddy sets phase 2 of his scam into action—get the other kids to join the club. Obviously skeptical about the Eds club being another scam, the Eds eagerly lead the culdesac to the clubhouse—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.
Kevin: Hey, dorks! Get out of my backyard!Ed: Weird, Kevin already has a club house here.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.
"Ed, why is your helmet tied to your butt?""For protection.""It's meant for your head!" (grabs helmet)"It's my butt!""It's not safe!" (pulls helmet with crowbar)"Eddy, stop!" (Ed clings to the wall)"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.
- 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.
- Failed a Spot Check: The Eds build a tree house 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 tree house 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.
- 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.
- 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 tree house with their lumber, Ed declares "The maple has landed!
" Eddy chuckles, but he doesn't get it.- Although probably coincidental, when Eddy looks at the blueprints after they're done building the design shows the clubhouse absolutely dwarfing the tree. It also seems to be fitted with some impressive amenities like a telescope observatory, and a satellite dish not too unlike the Codename: Kids Next Door's own headquarters from the show which would air three years later.
- 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.
- 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.
