Pushing Daisies – Episode 2-3 Review

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Family trees filled in, burdensome secrets FINALLY spilled, Emerson and Ned masquerading as priests (with names stolen from MASH), and the cherry on the top: a flying nun.  Well, technically a falling nun, but still this week’s episode of Pushing Daisies was packed full of revelations and hearty laughs.  It was also happily focused on Olive Snook for a nice change from the ongoing Ned/Chuck drama, whose sweetness had started getting a touch overbearing.

This show has been a careful balancing act: with Ned’s gift of bringing life comes potential death, with his constant sorrowful outlook comes Chuck’s ever-buoyant optimism, and so forth.  But after Olive’s disappearance into a nunnery, some of that balance has been askew.  Olive served a role of unrecognized importance.  For example, her nosy and selfish nature helped tone down the practically perfect Pollyanna vibe given off by Chuck.  Her forlorn and humorously bitter heart kept the sweetness of Ned’s love for Chuck in check.  Happily, after this episode those viewers who were biting their nails in worry over her absence can rest easy, because her presence has apparently been missed by the writers as well as the fans.

In fact, it’s Olive who brings the mystery du jour to Emerson’s door after one of the few friends Olive has made in the convent flies past her en route from the bell tower to sudden death.  Not believing that it was suicide Olive brings the case to Emerson, promising prayers as payments, which he accepts, secretly thinking of his still-missing daughter.  In accordance with Olive’s wish that the detectives blend in, Emerson, Ned and Chuck are in disguise as “the Vatican Police force” (i.e. two priests and a nun). 

After a wild search that uncovers everything from the dead Sister LaRue’s secret stash of prohibited magazines and other contraband, to her secret affair with a nearby Swedish chef (sadly, not like the one from the Muppets) the team finally discovers that the killer was none other than Olive’s other new friend, Pigby.  Sister LaRue had secretly been engineering rare white diamond truffles in her spare time atop the bell tower in the hope of striking it rich.  Unfortunately she succeeded too well, and the scent of her manufactured mushrooms drove Pigby to a frenzied charge that forced the errant nun over the edge.  The nuns are overjoyed that Sister LaRue won’t go to Hell for suicide, although her other less savory activities might leave her in Purgatory for a while.

During the course of the search, a few other mysteries that are closer to home are uncovered.  Chuck has decided to finally flesh out her flimsy family tree with the help of a professional genealogist.  Although the genealogist is ultimately unsuccessful, Olive lets slip to Ned that she might hold the answers.  Through a guessing game involving an old nunnery group photo showing a pregnant Aunt Lily Ned finally guesses the truth, to Olive’s extreme relief and Chuck’s tearful joy.  At last that loose end has been tied off in a firm knot.  Never fear that the show will become boring or repetitive, though, as the episode also reminded us that Ned’s father and Emerson’s daughter are still MIA, and we can’t be sure that Charles Charles is Chuck’s dad.  Well, we hope he isn’t because even though Chuck revealed that the aunts were really just step-sister to Charles, a love triangle between the three would be verging on incestual and overall uncomfortable.

This week’s episode (ironically titled Bad Habits) was on par with chuckle-inducing lines like “Nun on the run, nun on the run!” and “Not until you face off with the papal fuzz!”  We got a break from sticky-sweet Ned/Chuck romance issues, which was nice.  But perhaps the best thing of all was Olive’s decision to finally come home.  Welcome back Olive Snook!

Susan Kearl is a university student with too much time on her hands who loves to watch TV.  She’s happy to contribute her opinions to the world of television viewers like you.