The Lion King’s lead villain, Scar, had three bumbling idiots for sidekicks in the hyenas. One of those is Ed, the uninformed one of the trio. He doesn’t talk and laughs hysterically for no reason. However, he is loyal to Shenzi and Banzai and was willing to join in their killing of Scar after he turns on them.
So, what did Ed do to deserve such an unhyena sounding name? We don’t know. Perhaps the creatives behind the film wanted the one with more reason to kill Scar to have a normal name. Who knows.
What’s more, Ed is the one who breaks the ice when it comes to humour. This is evident when in The Lion King 1 1/2, he attempts to play Whack-a-Meerkat with Timon’s Uncle Max.
Also, Ed hated that Scar had betrayed the hyenas to Simba, especially after claiming that they were the “true enemies.” One of the favourite games of the hyenas is the ‘Birdie Boiler’, where they place Mufasa’s majordomo in a heated geyser, which causes him to torpedo who-knows-where.
Let’s not forget that Ed, Banzai and Shenzi were part of Scar’s plan to kill Mufasa and Simba by starting the stampede that puts Simba in danger.
In conclusion, we believe that Ed was much brighter than he was given credit for, as he was willing to tell Mufasa the truth about knowing Simba was his son. He knew telling the king he was aware of who the cub could result in punishment but he was willing to take it.
