Bad Habits (Pushing Daisies 2.3)

I was going to live-blog this episode of Pushing Daisies. Basically because I’m trying to multi-task. But I guess the inability to do so is one of my bad habits. Speaking of bad habits…did you get tonight’s title pun? Because it took me all the way till right now to get it. *snicker* I likey.

One thing I usually never discuss in my amazing (and very wordy) recaps is the moral of each episode. Have you noticed? There’s always this parallelism between the murder and the relationships of our principal pie folks.

Today’s moral was summed up by the delicious Jim Dale while narrating young Olive Snook’s intro story, “Digging was messy work but it could unearth untold treasures.” So, while I gush about the costumes and the funny  names, let’s keep this in mind, shall we?

Now, let’s begin back at the convent with our long lost waitress…

Olive Snook and her truffle-hunter pig, Pigby. Olive’s new nun friend and truffle hunter hero is Sister Larue. She and Olive are fast friends until Larue is killed by a sudden stop after a fall from the bell tower. Olive is devastated. Her only course of action is to visit…

Emerson Cod. Is highly entertained by Olive’s new outfit and lifestyle. But takes the case nonetheless. He and the rest of the Pie Trio (aka: pie boy and pie girl) don their own black and white and show up at the convent to investigate. They also don some pretty great pseudonyms, too: Father Dowling and Sister Christian. (But I don’t think they compare to the actual names of the actual clergy: Sister Mary Mary and Father Eduardo deDonde.)

Ned. Is feeling a little weird about bringing a nun back to life in the middle of a chapel. But this is quelled as Sister Larue awakens and after spouting several expletives and something about some diamonds, runs out of the chapel.

After a little more investigating and a little help from the delectable Jim Dale, we find a hidden door that leads to the back room of…

Chef Hansel von Getz’ restaurant. Sister Larue was using the door and the chef to get swag her fellow sisters needed (like romance novels and…uhm, feminine items). She gave him truffles in return. The final truffle was a white truffle sometimes called, “The Diamond of the Table”.

And here, the plot thickens.

Because with the diamond is a letter that tells the chef he is a “vile man that will stew in his own juices for all eternity.”

This letter tips Olive off as she recognizes the handwriting not as Sister Larue but as The Mother Superior, Sister Mary Mary! But the double Mary calls their hand when she realizes via Chuck’s nun-ignorance that our Pie Trio are only pretending to be servants of the Lord.

The Mother Superior has Emerson and Ned sequestered while Chuck is standing vigil over Sister Larue and Olive is stuck washing laundry. Laundry that is stained with bat droppings (called “guano”, the one thing I remember from Physical Science in 5th grade…). Bat droppings that are found in the bell tower. And now the Father is in on the murder, too.

But one more time, we get a surprise. Chuck who for reasons we’ll discuss later (remember the digging?) is visiting the bell tower. She discovers a secret truffle laboratory and then sees Larue’s murderer but before she can confront him, is swung out the bell tower’s window herself.

Olive, running from the Father deDonde runs to save Chuck and once again the delightful Jim Dale delivers some facts for us:

Linda Frank (aka Sister Larue) formerly employed by Ithoughtyouwerehungry Foods had her funding pulled when she failed to engineer a white tfuffle, “diamond of the table.” She ran away to the convent to hide and secretly experiment with truffles on her own.

While Sister Larue is scoring supplies from the chef, Sister Mary Mary accidentally sees the chef score with Sister Larue *ahem* and tries to return their lost lamb to the fold. Father deDonde also confronts her. But neither is the murder.

Instead, it’s Pigby. His truffle instincts sent him rooting through the bell tower and straight into Sister Larue. Who went straight out the window.

Clear as mud?

Well, let’s get back to the digging I was telling you about. Pigby wasn’t the only one doing a little digging.

Chuck. Decides she needs to find out more about her family tree. She hires Pennybaker, a private detective (why didn’t she hire Emerson?) who doesn’t deliver. This sends her into a tailspin that has her contemplating if Ned should just touch her so she’s no longer in the land of the once-again-living-but-not-sure-if-I’m-really-alive. This is what also sends her to the bell tower. She’s searching for Larue’s ghost hoping to ask a question about the afterlife.

Ned. Thinks digging just gets you dirty…until a little time in the confessional booth. He decides that the reason he runs from mess is because of his father’s abandonment when he was just 9 years old. In the words of Father deDonde, “Rectify your past or you won’t have a future.”

Olive. Not only digging into Larue’s life, but trying to make the Pie Maker do some digging too. After a little game of charades, Ned finds out her secret—Lily is Chuck’s mother. And with that weight lifted, Olive is ready to come home to the Pie Hole.

And the final dig:
Ned tells Chuck about Lily. And with her happy tears, Ned is persuaded to do some digging of his own. (Yahoo! Ned’s dad should be here soon! What if he falls in love with Lily? Then Ned and Chuck would be related. KIDDING.)

Best lines of the night:
Emerson to Ned, when Ned is concerned about bringing Larue back to life in front of a Jesus statue, “It ain’t like he never done it before. Remember Lazarus?”

Emerson, when seeing the brick wall that blocked the way to Larue’s secret door, “It’s Jericho time.”

Olive to Ned, “I must be speaking in tongues…”

Ned to Olive, after hearing her secret, “My head is about to explode.”

In Conclusion.
I’m so glad we got some closure here! I was beginning to wonder if we were going to go all season with the aunts and Chuck and Olive ducking and diving each other.  I am totally looking forward to Chuck revealing herself to Lily & Vivian. And for Ned’s father to enter the picture. And all that’s left is Olive’s homeopathic boyfriend to return along with Emerson’s long lost daughter.

*sigh* Now that I look at it that way, those mysteries will probably take us through season 4. Oh, well. I could watch this show for the next ten seasons and not get tired of it. I was loving an Olive-centric episode. And the churchy-ness of it. Very funny. I love the way they can go from clowns to church and not miss a beat.

(So, did you get the title pun yet? Bad habits? Hee, hee.)

(oh, and don’t forget to visit me and my bad habits at ohamanda.com)