would you consider his love for film an obsessive specialized interest? he could make eye contact just fine but he darted his eyes away often enough. He would talk to people who werent there. ect.
shareI always thought he was just a little stupid.
shareI watched the show in its original run when I was still in my teens, so now that I'm revisiting it (and wow does it ever hold up 30+ years later) I'm surprised I didn't give Ed a thought even though he was the character closest in age to my own at the time.
I don't believe Ed is autistic. He is half Native Alaskan and never knew his parents. He lacked the traditional family experiences despite being taken in and raised by the local tribe. I think being of mixed race combined with his abandoned status created a young man who always felt a loner even when around others. In the show he always shows up alone everywhere he goes.
As far as his eyes darting, he comes across as quite shy, but it's also considered rude among Native Americans to maintain eye contact for too long. Talking to people who aren't there was a way for the show to bring in Native American culture with Ed's spirit guide One Who Waits.
So, I think his love affair with film was fueled by his desire to connect emotionally on his terms. It was his escape where he always felt he belonged. He was also motivated to write screenplays and make movies. All of this was a way to choose for himself, to have control, in an overarching life trajectory that was chosen by others--mainly his parents who weren't present in his life.
30+ years later I find Ed to be one of the more compelling characters on the show. He pulls on the heartstrings. I also consider him to be the centerpiece character. He seems to be the glue that ties everyone and everything together.