Pushing Daisies

Once again, this episode was so packed with everything that’s great about Pushing Daisies. I kind of knew about the surprise guest at the end, based on what I have read of the episode earlier. But I did not expect Ned’s daddy to be none other than —- George Hamilton!

His name wasn’t in the press releases that came out in recent weeks. They really kept this a big secret!

Following last episode’s story…when Vivian becomes suspicious of gentleman caller, Dwight Dixon’s whereabouts, she comes to Emerson for help. But the latter jolts her back to reality and insisted there was no case, prompting Vivian to seek the help of Emerson’s competitors, the Norwegian investigators, instead.

Soon, the trail leads the Norwegians to the Pie Hole. And everything that the three of them have done in the last few weeks snowballed and spilled over. Chuck blames herself for keeping her dad alive. Ned blames himself and his magic fingers. Emerson blames himself for not keeping a lid on all this, since it was his job to keep cases from becoming sloppy. Meanwhile, Olive blames no one but feels mighty left out from the group.

But when it appeared like she has jumped shipped and sided with the Norwegians to find out what really happened to Dwight, I knew that Olive was up to something else. The three couldn’t tell her, they couldn’t say they had something to do with it, so she’s finding the truth for herself. And in the process, helping the PI palooza. If there was one thing Olive Snook does not have in her, it’s disloyalty.

Following some twists and turns, and a jittery trio who think that their secret may soon be discovered…Dwight Dixon’s body reappears in his motel room, as if dying in his sleep. This finally gives the Norwegian’s case some closure, keeping everyone’s secret safe.

But it didn’t make it all better for Aunt Vivian and Aunt Lily, who learned that it seems Dwight Dixon stole the bodies of Charlotte and Charles Charles from the grave.

But the truth is, someone was covering up for Ned and his friends. And that someone was revealed in the last few seconds of the episode. Yup, Ned….it was your father!

Some notes:

• Mother, the Norwegian’s hot crime lab/RV, is short for: Mobile Investigative Lab Facility. Hah!
• Ned feels a little something for Olive! It’s not as if there was nothing there and he didn’t look at her that way. He said so himself. Which is sad and cruel. Way to do that to a girl, dude!
• Vivian and Lily’s scenes together were priceless.
• Vivian’s meekness makes me cry and sympathize for her. Watching her with Emerson, and then later with Lily, just breaks my heart. Ellen Greene is so good an actress!
• Olive is so sharp, she really can have a second career as a PI. And I enjoyed her Q & A scenes with Ned.
• I’m running out of superlatives for Chi McBride and Emerson. He was great this episode, as usual.
• So what do you suppose is Ned’s dad’s name? Charles Charles, Dwight Dixson. Could Ned’s dad be EE? And will we finally know Ned’s complete real name before this series is done?
• This is probably the second best episode of the season…I’m not yet so sure because I also liked Oh, Oh, Oh it’s Magic a lot.