Circus Circus (Pushing Daisies 2.2)

Is there anything creepier than a circus? As fun and exciting as they are, they also have this automatic freak-out factor. That’s what made it a perfect setting for tonight’s Pushing Daisies episode. I have to admit, I kinda like mimes and clowns, so to me this episode was hilarious.

Now, onto the Pie Hole!

Ned is still a sad about Chuck’s move to Olive’s apartment.  (There was a really great line here about his heart looking out of his eyes at Chuck, but I wasn’t fast enough. And I was too tired to rewind the TIVO. That’s tired, folks.)

Conspicuously  missing from the Pie Hole is Olive. Our recently resigned waitress (or as Emerson calls her, “Employee of the Mouth”) turned nun. She’s hoping to experience an epiphany during middle mid-morning prayers, later mid afternoon prayers and early mid-middle of the night prayers. *chortle*

Emerson is the only one having a good time. His phone is ringing off the hook and people are knocking his door down. Well, one person—Georgeanne Heaps. Her daughter, Nikki is missing. Mrs. Heaps appeals to Emerson’s fatherhood and he takes the case.

Now, the case:
Nikki is missing. Her bff, Randi Jean gives Chuck the inside scoop by telling her that Nikki ran away with a hot guy in entertainment. Who turns out to be a mime. (ha!) Our Pie Trio discover him in a tricked out white and black van—he’s dead. Once ned resurrects him, he responds in mime (hee, hee!) until Emerson pulls a gun on him. Then we find out Nikki left him for…a clown. (Oh, I love this!)

Now, onto the circus:
Ned refuses to let Chuck go along because someone has to look after The Pie Hole now that Olive is gone. Chuck is not happy and Ned is feeling unhappy that he made her unhappy. (Isn’t that so like Ned?)

After interviewing Theodore Zoumpoulidis, the acrobat; Bailey, the ringmaster and his secretary; Emerson and Ned discover that Nikki was a clown apprentice to Jackie Johnny. The same Jackie Johnny (and 14 other clowns) they found trapped in a clown car at the bottom of a lake. (This may have been the best part of the night…the coroner discovering each new clown body in the mini car. Especially the guy on stilts. * snort *) The same 15 clowns that berated their audience volunteer, Bryce VonDeenis (and his accompanying limerick. Please don’t go there…)

Meanwhile back at the Pie Hole…
Vivian arrives hoping for a triple berry pie and a listening ear. She gets both from Chuck, even though Chuck is hiding under the counter. Vivian leaves with tears glistening in Chuck’s eyes. (When are they EVER going to get back together?!)

Emerson and Ned return and soon Bryce VonDeenis appears with a coupon for 12 free pies. And a free interview, apparently. He swears he didn’t run the clowns off the road, that Nikki did it because she was forced by the clowns to clean him off after the horrible show.

And after a late night visit from Emerson at Ned’s newly singly inhabited apartment, they decide Nikki is not the kind of girl to kill fifteen clowns. So…

now we’re back to the Circus of Fun:
The Pie Trio arrives to find out who hated the clowns…and to find Nikki. And thanks to our delicious Jim Dale, Narrator, we discover the facts:
1.    Nikki was undercover. She reported the clown’s behavior to the ringmaster.
2.    The clowns wanted to unionize.
3.    The ringmaster was going to fire them.
4.    The acrobat was eavesdropping (and had some kind of vendetta against clowns and mimes and non-circusy folk in general.)
5.    The acrobat stole a clown car and committed clownicide—fifteen counts.

And with these facts, we find Nikki hiding in the prize storage tent dressed as a…stuffed pink hippo with a tutu, maybe? Before we know it, the acrobat pulls her up, Ned throws a baseball at him (a la carnival game) and the Heaps are reunited!

And the recap…
Olive is still in love with The Pie Maker and tells this to Lily, who is still trying to get over Chuck’s birth and death along with the betrayal to Vivian.

Lily and Vivian enter the land of the living together (although still with secrets) and begin to visit the Pie Hole regularly.

Emerson delivers his best line ever and tells Mrs. Heaps to “LOVE WHAT’S THERE.” regardless of her daughter’s behavior. All while thinking of his lil’gumshoe that’s been missing for seven years.

And Ned and Chuck. Oh, Ned and Chuck. After a few fast-paced conversations in the midst of sleuthing, they discover that change can be good. The next morning they pretend they don’t know each other and flirt all the way to work.

Best Lines of the Night.
Emerson to Ned and Chuck before leaving for the circus, “This ain’t Wait Around And Work Your Junk Out Circus!”

Ned, before meeting Chuck in the morning, “I wake pies and make the dead.”

Ned to Chuck on the way to work, “Can we play this game every morning?”
Chuck to Ned, “Absolutely. Definitely.”

In Conclusion.
There was so much fun in this circus episode. I loved the fifteen dead clowns, and their dripping wet dead bodies at the morgue. I loved the antique circus wagons that lined the midway of The Circus of Fun. I loved all the freaks that randomly walked through the circus. There were so many characters walking around behind our Pie Trio, it was a show in itself to watch them. And I *heart* the acrobat. He was kind of a French Jack Sparrow turned acrobat. Funny.

I just thought the whole mime and clown thing was hilarious. It was so gross and scary at the circus, but no one seemed to notice this or think it was odd. I love this. I love that the strangest things can happen and everyone just thinks it’s another day at the Pie Hole.

I adored the costumes, too, of course. My husband, on the other hand told me to tell you that Chuck’s pants were out of control. He couldn’t stop mentioning how horrible they were. So, there you go.

This was one of my favorite episodes because of the circus theme. It was just a perfect fit for our Pie team. It still makes me laugh thinking about it.

(for more fun than fifteen dead clowns visit me at ohamanda.com)