Bzzzzz (Pushing Daisies Season 2 Episode 1)

They’re baaa-aaack! Ned, Chuck, Emerson & Olive. They’re back! Our Pie friends are back! It has been way too long since I’ve been able to partake in the deliciousness that is Pushing Daisies.

After months of lame reality tv and the last few weeks of uber-dramatic premieres, I’m so happy to be immersed in the sweet sugary-ness of a dramedy. Pithy comments, one liners, zingers and oh! the creative names. *sigh * It’s good to be back in the Pie Hole.

If you’re new to Pushing Daisies and the Pie Hole, I suggest you head to Target and buy Season One on DVD. Or you could (shameless plug ahead) read all my past recaps.  Or you could have just watched the recap at the beginning of last night’s episode. They did a good job of condensing an entire season into about 4 minutes. Basically, Ned resurrects people for one minute and if he doesn’t touch them again, someone else will die in their place. Uhm…well, there’s nothing basic about this. But the point is, he can’t touch his girlfriend, Chuck because she’ll die. And in the meantime, they solve crimes with Emerson Cod and bake pies with Olive. While hiding their secret from almost everyone. Like I said, nothing basic about it.

Enough of that, let’s get to last night’s episode. And we’ll begin with the actual murder—let’s just get that out of the way so we can focus on the important stuff—like the characters.

Victim. Kentucky Fitz. She was the star employee of Betty’s Bee’s (a company a la Burt’s) but she was struck down by a swarm of bees. (And if you have never been afraid of bees, her wounds would change your mind. I’m still shuddering thinking about the bulges on her body.) Thanks to Ned’s touch, we discover that Kentucky was murdered for sabotaging Betty’s Bees.

Person of Interest #1. Woolsy Nichols, Owner of Betty’s Bees.  He’s a little smarmy but seems to love Betty, Kentucky and all things bees.

Person of Interest #2. Betty of Betty’s Bees. The 37 year old former founder and owner is now the Honey Mascot thanks to Woolsy’s hostile take over of her company.  She claims she loved Kentucky as a sister and would never hurt her.

Now our Pie Trio sends Chuck (aka Katherine “Kitty” Pims) in as the new Bee Girl to spy on Woolsy and Betty. She learns that Woolsy was madly in love with Kentucky and made her the new face of Betty’s Bees. Meanwhile, Betty is only in love with her bees and would do anything to keep her bees from Woolsy. Including sabotaging her own company.

And while Chuck is dangerously undercover (with Ned posing as the secretarial temp to keep an eye on her), she succumbs to the same fate as Kentucky—well, almost. A bee covered person (ew.) spits the queen bee into Chuck’s mouth and the bees swarm Chuck as a new hive. (double ew.) And even for a bee lover like Chuck, this is too much. Emerson & Ned come to the rescue just in time and with another spit, the queen bee and her subjects swarm away from Chuck’s body hive. (Did you follow that? It’s kinda hard to understand unless you saw it or have a degree in apiculture.)

The capture. Our Pie Trio get Woolsy to confess—he was devastated when he stumbled upon his crush, Kentucky & Betty’s plan to sabotage the company. He couldn’t live with the perceived betrayal so he had his bees attack Kentucky. He tries to do the same to Chuck/Kitty. He’s carted away and Betty and her bees are saved.

Now for the interesting part…

Ned and Chuck are still in love, Olive is also still in love with Ned. Chuck is still missing her aunts, Lily & Vivian. Lily & Vivian are missing Olive who used to bring them special mood-enhancing pies (courtesy of Chuck). Emerson just thinks they’re all weird.

And here’s where the drama begins! Lily & Vivian, reclusive since before Chuck was born, storm into the Pie Hole demanding to see Olive and wondering why she hasn’t delivered a pie lately.

Chuck bolts under Emerson’s coat to escape. But Olive can’t escape. She’s been holding onto too many secrets (like Chuck is alive, like Lily is really Chuck’s mom) and can’t keep them inside anymore. So, she screams. (That was my favorite scene of the night.) Right then she can’t stand it anymore and resigns from The Pie Hole.

Lily is actually glad (because she doesn’t want her secret out) so she sends Olive off to the convent she stayed at when she delivered Chuck. (Think Olive as Maria in Sound of Music. Ha!) And while Olive is thinking of leaving the convent Lily shows up to round out the Chuck’s-mama story. Apparently Vivian (her sister and synchronized swimming partner) was Chuck’s father’s fiancé. And Lily’s lover. Chuck thinks her mom died in childbirth. (How’s that for a soap opera? We’ll have to see how this plays out…did Charles Charles dump Vivan? Why did he raise Chuck alone?)

And the end…

Chuck. Moves into Olive’s vacated apartment. She thinks it will be romantic and less dangerous if they live next door, instead of in the same room. Ned disagrees but moves her belongings from her aunt’s house to Olive’s apartment as a sign of his love.

Olive. Adopts a pig (Pigby) at the convent.

Emerson. Constructs a pop-up book called Lil’ Gumshoe, about a “girl whose dad couldn’t find her so she had to find him”. I’m thinkin’ this is coming back around soon.

Ned. Might not have fond memories of his father abandoning him for family #2 after his mom dies, but it looks like we’ll be meeting him face to face soon!

Best Lines
Ned, when Lily & Vivian walked into the Pie Hole, “If I could breathe, I’d puke.”

Vivian to Olive, “You want a drink? Lily, hand me your purse.”

Woolsy on Betty’s age, “37 rounds up to 38, which rounds up to 40, which rounds up to 50 which rounds up to OLD.”

In Conclusion
I have to apologize for not doing this episode justice. I’ve been so looking forward to this premiere and I wanted to give you a recap that equaled it’s bright and shiny-ness. But I’ve got a 12 day old baby at home. He’s been sucking out my brain power, creativity and most of all my sleep! Next week, I’ll be resting up to give you more of Pushing Daisies than you ever wanted. But for what it’s worth, I could never do this show justice. It’s one of the most creative things on television. It’s the hard-core murders of CSI, but coated with yummy costumes (Chuck’s eyelashes!), delicious characters (Olive gets better every week!) and scrumptious sets (Betty’s Bees was like living in a giant beehive!). Oh, how I love the Pie Man!

(and for more yumminess, come visit me at ohamanda.com)