The Plot Thickens (Pushing Daisies #3: The Fun in Funeral)

Have I mentioned I love this show? Well I do! I was wondering if each episode of Pushing Daisies would be predictable—Ned resurrects, Chuck giggles and Emerson rolls his eyes. But why should I doubt this pie magic? This week’s episode was just yummy!

A regular plot summary won’t cut it, so, let’s go by character, shall we?

(I’m assuming you watched…)

Ned. He’s happy. His Chuck is here to stay. But there’s this underlying fear of her discovering his secret. She still doesn’t know someone died so she could live.  Emerson discovers their next interviewee is Loren Schatz, the funeral director that Ned’s gift killed to keep Chuck alive. Now, Ned’s worst nightmare has come true.

Chuck. Tucked away in the Pie Hole with her Prince Charming, Chuck is reveling in her new life as pie maker helper and crime solver. But when she realizes someone died so she could live, she feels guilty for enjoying her life. She wants to apologize to Mr. Schatz.

Emerson. He just dislikes Chuck. He misses his old life of one minute whodunit conversations. Now he’s got to make sure no one figures out who killed Loren. Plus, there’s the little issue of the family heirlooms the funeral director had been stealing out of the caskets. That’s a lot of pirate booty to enjoy.

Loren & Louis Shatz. Identical twin funeral directors. Loren, the recipient of Ned’s gift was a grave robber. Louis, the distraught brother.  However, when Ned finally resurrects Loren, he tells the truth—grave robbing was a family pastime.

Let’s take a break from the main plot and get into…

Olive. (Oh Olive, you’re my least favorite character but after tonight you are showing potential.) Olive is still pining for The Pie Maker and loathing Chuck. So much so that it is affecting her work. She’s lashing out at the customers. One such customer is…

Alfredo Aldarisio. A homeopathic anti-depressant salesman. And while Alfredo asks for cappuccino and Olive informs him that it is a broken empty machine that is never touched (metaphorical for herself, of course), Alfredo’s love for Olive is born. He shows his love by fixing and filling the broken cappuccino machine.

Back to Olive. When the delivery boy won’t deliver a pie to Coeur D’Coeur because it’s out of his area, Olive decides to pick up the slack. Little does she know Chuck baked this pie for her aunts Lily & Vivian. She sits down with the aunts (who have returned to their reclusive lifestyle, due to a slowly delivered postcard from Chuck’s cruise) to sample the pie, Olive discovers that their dear departed niece is in fact Ned’s returned sweetheart, Chuck. And Olive’s life has taken on new meaning—the opportunity to usurp Chuck’s place on the throne of Ned’s heart!

(Are you loving this?!)

OK, back to the regularly scheduled plot.

Ned & Chuck. They are still unsure of their relationship, their lives, their intentions. Would Chuck have done the same for Ned? Did she deserve to live while another died? During a particularly descriptive and fast-paced conversation, they discover Louis. Dead. In the freezer. At the Pie Hole.

Enter Wilfred Woodruff. A Southern Chinese Gentleman. (excuse me while I laugh hysterically) He sent a death threat to the Shratz brothers when he realized his grandpappy’s sword from the Civil War had been up for auction online. *snicker * Wilfred delivers another death threat in person and Louis actually dies of his own accord while choking on some tongue. (yes, that he was eating. gag.) A la Back to the Future, we see the pie-lette from Wilfred’s view. He saw Ned fleeing the scene of Loren’s death and assumes the Pie Man killed him. He uses Ned as the perfect scapegoat to frame for the death of Funeral Director #2.

And now, the ending…

Wilfred. The best southern accent since Matthew McConaughey  *howling with laughter*

Ned. Fences with Wilfred. Beautiful. Ned is surprisingly lithe.

Emerson. Stuck in the window like Pooh in the tree while Ned sword fights below.

Chuck. Sees her Pie Man “as he would always appear to her”—as her Prince Charming.

(Oh yeah, and no one discovers Ned killed the funeral director, they retrieve the heirlooms and Emerson goes on a diet.)

My favorite lines.
Cod to Scratz. “It’s the rapture.”
Schratz. “For real?”
Chuck. “For real.”

Chuck to Cod. “Kick, Pooh! Kick!”

Ned to Wilfred. “I wanted to be a Jedi.”

Romantic stuff.
Kissing through Saran wrap. Very sensual. But sweet.

In conclusion. (finally, I know.)
I loved it. I loved the flashbacks to the first episode. I love Olive’s discovery. I love love love the twists and turns. Thank you for not giving me another formula show! And for keeping the alliteration of the new character’s names. I can’t forget to mention how much I adore Chuck and Ned’s sly glances and love stares. Which are even funnier because of Cod’s eye rolls. Oh, and how could I forget Chuck’s costumes? I think I’m going to be her for Halloween! To die for. (no pun intended. for real.)

The final question.
There was lots of emotion for Ned and Chuck when she discovered what her new life cost. What will Chuck say when she finds out Ned killed her dad to save his mother? What say you?

(thanks to Oscar from BuddyTV for helping me get the characters’ names right.)

oh amanda writes at…ohamanda.com, too!