In “Water and Power,” Emerson takes on a case that leads him back on the path of finding his daughter. He takes on the case to find out who killed Roland Stingwell, a former client that ended up dissatisfied when he took his fiancé, Lila, who eventually birthed Penny; the child that Emerson has been looking for all season.

The reason why this case was different was simply, because it was personal to Emerson. It was interesting seeing him off his game and doing things that Emerson would never do like chatting with the police. The whole goal for this case was for Emerson to get his daughter back. Lila became the first accused suspect, but when she makes a deal to let Emerson see his daughter, Emerson must hurry and look for another suspect. Emerson believed that Lila was the culprit the whole time, but continues to interview pointless witnesses to see if he could possibly pin the crime on one of them. We did get an amusing bunch of witnesses with my personal favorite being the lawyers who don’t lie.

Chi McBride as Emerson Cod

It was great to see Simone take part in the action also and the showdown with her and Lila was amusing. Speaking of Lila, Gina Torres was a good choice for the character, but it’s sad that the writer’s didn’t think of adding more depth to Lila. By the end of the episode all we get is that Lila is just plain evil, sure she didn’t commit the crime, but it simply didn’t make sense why she didn’t let Emerson see his daughter. The ending was also confusing, because if the girl at the end of the episode was Penny, how the hell did she get in the car when Emerson was facing the car the whole time.

We had a couple of side stories with Olive and Randy’s blossoming romance which almost ends badly when Olive breaks up with him for no reason. It’s nice to see Olive moving on from Ned, because the whole pining after someone who’s in love with someone else was starting to get a bit tiresome for me; especially if the show had be given the go ahead for another season.

There was also talk from Chuck and Ned about their relationship and sometimes it just seems like their talking in circles. Lately Chuck and Ned have these conversations about whether their relationship is normal. It often seems like chuck and Ned want a normal relationship but by the end of every episode they always manage to settle with the fact that their relationship is just strange.

With only one more episode left I guess this is probably the conclusion to everyone that we’re going to get and I have to say with having limited time to put together an ending, it’s not such a bad way to go out. Sure Emerson never really got to talk to his kid, but he did get to see her and knows that she’s alright, and we’re not sure if Olive is permanently over Ned, but we can at least see that she’s trying to move on and as far as Ned and Chuck’s relationship it looks like for now that they’re fully content with their strange relationship.

I did like this episode, because it did attempt to tie up loose ends. I can actually say that I’m somewhat satisfied with the conclusions that we’ve been left. There is still one more episode left, so we’ll have to see if there are any more surprises ahead for us, but for now this episode does a good job of tying up storylines.

Rating 7.5

The first 15 minutes involves the team solving a funny case about a man with a doll as a girlfriend. While it’s unusual for Pushing Daisies to do a short case to start off the episode it came off very well and was packed with some laughs.

Back at the Pie-hole, there’s a new candy shop opening up ran by Dilly (Molly Shannon) and Billy Balsam. What was supposed to be a friendly visit from the Pie-hole ends up turning into competition involving Dilly doing things to sabotage the pie-hole. When Ned goes to clean up after Chuck and Olive’s revenge sabotage, he finds Billy dead in a vat of taffy. Being the only one at the scene, he gets arrested by the police for the murder.

Chi McBride stars as Emerson

Ned is now in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Emerson and Chuck work on getting Ned out by finding out who actually killed Billy. These murders get funnier and funnier as the season goes and while if this had been the first episode death by drowning in taffy would actually be surprising, but after dying by scratch and sniff this death is tame.

Watching Emerson and Chuck try to solve a case by themselves was different for once, but proved that Emerson and Chuck are just as good without Ned. It just takes a little bit more work when you’re not directly communicating with the deceased.

The episode meld well together with everything seemingly connected like the fake doll killer being a reason for Ned to keep killing Chuck’s dad a secret. Everything just seemed pretty connected. The character Chuck is one of the best female characters this season to love. Everything about her is just perfect, even her flaws are perfect, but she just really adds more color to an already bright world and is the perfect comparison to Ned’s somewhat dark mentality. It was a bit sad to see Olive realize love only too late, but that’s the way the story goes sometimes.

The ending definitely left things up in the air with Ned telling Chuck straight out that he killed her father. This really throws a wedge into there relationship and who knows how things are going to turn up. Pushing Daisies is a show that really could have turned out wrong. I guess we’re lucky it turned out so damn right.

Rating: 9.2

This week Ned’s new younger half-brothers are back and invite the crew to a magic show. Unfortunately after his father left, Ned developed a bad taste for magic of all kinds and gets acid reflux whenever he sees magic of any kind. The writers are always consistent with Ned’s personality and his habits and it was kind of cool watching the episode as every time Ned saw magic he would pop in a lozenge.

From this magic show, Ned learns more about his dad and meets the Great Herrmann (Fred Willard) who has taken care of his brothers since his dad left. Ned’s dad apparently loved dramatic exits, because we’re taken to a flashback where Ned’s dad left his brother by disappearing in a magic trick. Fred Willard does wacky and out there pretty well so he was a great casting choice for the role.

Fred Willard as The Great Herrmann, Chi McBride as Emerson Cod

The case this week started off as Emerson and crew trying to find out who was killing all of the Great Herrmann’s animal assistants. Then the crew realizes that the intended target wasn’t the animals, but they were all attempts on the Great Herrmann’s life. It was once again a great case with some good twists and turns to keep us interested. You would think that the whole case of the week formula would get old after a while, but Pushing Daisies does such a great job of working these cases into some of the storylines that the cases don’t feel forced like some television shows that work off the same routine. Paul Tompkins (Best Week Ever) and an unrecognizable Kerri Kenney (Reno 911) were other great casting choices.

Adding Maurice and Ralston to the case worked well also. It’s kind of nice having Ned’s family around and characteristics of the brothers go well with Ned’s and it’s easy to buy that they’re all really brothers. Another thing that the brothers are bringing to the show is that they’re helping Ned break out of his shell a little and become more vulnerable and in return Ned is providing that father figure that the two boys want so much.

Dwight Dixon was back this episode and seems to have his eyes set on a watch that belonged to Charlotte’s dad. It’s interesting the way Pushing Daisies have connected Dwight to Chuck and Ned. It was also surprising to learn that Dwight, Ned’s father, and Charlotte’s father were good friends. Dwight knows about Chuck’s father cheating on Vivian with Lilly and by the end of the episode he knows that Charlotte was buried with the watch; only when he goes to dig through Charlotte’s grave he finds out that Chuck isn’t there. Dwight’s intentions are getting more and more interesting and if he’s looking for Chuck’s father’s watch, is he trying to get Ned’s father watch too?

This episode did a good job of addressing all the storylines that have been going on and they gave each one the right amount of time. When I think back, I am disappointed that Emerson’s search for his daughter was ignored this week, but we just got through several episodes focused on Emerson, so at least it doesn’t feel like an overkill.

Another great episode from Pushing Daisies and it really is quite depressing when something so great gets canceled. There’s still episodes left of the season, so if it’s time for Pushing Daisies to go at least it’s going out on top.

Rating: 9.5

This week, a mysterious man named Dwight comes into the Pie Hole claiming to be friend of Ned’s father from long ago. Ned’s animosity towards his father has been a rising topic this season, but Ned’s passive behavior was still surprising as he didn’t want to give any information out on his father’s whereabouts. Later on he does give Olive and Chuck the address of where his father lives; an address that he’s been holding on to since he was a child. Olive and Chuck go to the address to find out that Ned has two half-brothers. When they report the news to Ned, Ned isn’t very interested in seeing them because it reminds him of the family that his father ditched him for. It was also strangely odd at first how Ned’s father ditched his brothers also, but I have a theory about that.

Anyone up for some poker?

The case this week had Emerson investigating the mother of a cook who worked at his favorite restaurant. The case led to Emerson being reunited with Simone, the dog breeder from last season. Simone was one of the more interesting characters last season that really worked well with Emerson’s character so it was nice to see them follow up the relationship once more. Emerson has really had quite the attention put on him this season and we’ve learned a lot more about him this season compared to last season. The whole gambling ring in a Chinese restaurant was an odd concept and it was so odd in fact that even Emerson and Ned didn’t really know how to play poker using food. It was still an amusing case, but the culprit was a bit easier to figure out this time compared to the last cases and Olive and Chuck got to do there undercover bit, which hasn’t started to get old yet.

It’s interesting that in this season almost every character is stepping out of what their personality is like and it’s not in the bad way. It’s like the characters are evolving; realizing there flaws and trying hard to fix them. Ned animosity towards his father wasn’t so bad this episode. It was down enough at least to get him to visit his half brothers. Emerson messed things up with Simone the first time because he wasn’t willing to risk his heart for something that wasn’t certain, but was able to make things right the first time. Hopefully the writers will bring Simone back this season because Christine Adams isn’t only beautiful, but is really great as the control freak, Simone.

In the end, Ned went to see his brothers, but Dwight was outside watching with a gun. I’m thinking that Ned’s dad ditches his family because he’s always on the run from Dwight. It should be interesting to discover what Ned’s dad has been up to the last twenty years and the explanation for why he hasn’t seen his son in 20 years.

This was another great episode with another good case. There was good character development and Pushing Daisies remained the charming great show that it always has been. It’s sad to hear that this show is in trouble, because it’s one of the best television shows on TV. So I’ll repeat if you’re looking for a show that’s different then anything you’ve ever seen. You need to start watching Pushing Daisies!!!

Rating: 8.4

Emerson’s mom comes back to see her son. Emerson is a different person around his mom and the hardened layers really come off when he’s around her. It was nice seeing a happy Emerson. His mother couldn’t have come at a better time though, because Emerson is feeling guilty about not letting his mom know that he has a daughter. We also find out that Emerson’s pop up book is actually a book that he wrote himself so his daughter could find him if she wanted too. He’s sent it into publishers, but it keeps getting rejected due to certain events in the books depicting child endangerment and other acts that aren’t really appealing to children.

This week, Emerson is hired by two people claiming to be best friends of the victim who’s name was Joe. Joe worked at a company called Frescort, a company where you hire people to be your friends. Joe was murdered and both of his “friends” want to know who murdered him. Bringing Joe to life wasn’t that different from any of the other times, but watching as the liquid is coming out of parts of his body was a “gross out” moment.

Chi McBride as Emerson Cod, Debra Mooney as Calista Cod

It’s great to have Olive back with the main cast again and before Olive was usually left out of the detective work, but it seems like the writers will actually make her part of the team. She and Chuck do some undercover work together. Speaking of Chuck and Olive, they’re living together and it was funny in the beginning of the episode to see the two wash everything under the bridge like: Olive being in love with Ned, Olive keeping Chuck’s mother’s identity, and Chuck acting like she’s the center of the universe. It was even more funny to see the two get trapped in a locker later on and only to realize that neither one was over anything. Chuck and Olive are a great pair and even though the two have these issues, they have a great chemistry that we need to see more of.

Ned is also still missing Chuck ever since she moved out and he learns that he needs to be by himself. It’s apparent that Ned has abandonment issues due to his father not being there for him. We’ve seen it with Olive leaving and Chuck moving out on her own. Pushing Daisies is doing a good job of developing these characters and making these characters see their flaws.

The case was another entertaining one; while the culprit was a bit more obvious then in the previous episodes this season, the story that went along with it made for an entertaining affair. David Arquette also makes a guest appearance. It felt a bit weird seeing him so soon after we just saw him on My Name is Earl, but I actually liked him a lot better in this episode playing the creepy lonely guy who just wanted a friend. Also, we can’t forget to mention Dana Davis playing the little-too happy Barb.

By the end of the episode, we’ve had a lot of character progression for the whole main cast, Emerson got some notes on his book, and a good episode. Pushing Daisies is just as strong as it was last season and we really can’t wait to see what’s next for the gang.

Rating: 8.8

We’re so used to flashback scenes at the beginning of each episode, it was a welcome surprise to have this one be about Olive, with it somewhat telling us that this episode was more about Olive than anyone else.

When looking back at this episode of Pushing Daisies, it’s hard to believe that we got such an episode packed with so much in about 43 minutes. Ned, Chuck, Emerson and Olive reunite when Olive hires Emerson to figure out who murdered a nun that Olive had become close to.

The case had its twists and turns as usual. We had those moments where we thought the culprit was someone and then it turns out to be someone completely different. What was so good about this case though wasn’t the case itself, but it acted as a good plot device to get our characters together. When hiring Emerson, Olive told him not to bring Ned or Chuck, but we all know that Emerson is almost nothing without Ned’s expertise and as Emerson said it Chuck comes with the deal.

This became uncomfortable for Olive who escaped to the convent so she would be far away from Chuck and Ned. It was funny as Olive tried to avoid Ned and Chuck. Then having Ned around her made her want to tell him about Chuck’s paternity. Instead of telling him which wouldn’t be right, she had Ned guess and even though it took little hints for him to finally get it, he did eventually. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when Olive finally got the secret off her chest and we saw Ned have almost the same reaction that Olive originally had. Thankfully the writers didn’t decide to drag us along the whole season with Ned now keeping the secret, because by the end of the episode, it’s revealed to Chuck that her mom is her Aunt Lily.

Kristin Chenoweth as Olive

There were other great moments in this episode that didn’t get a lot of attention this episode, but set up some interesting topics for the rest of the season like Ned revealing to the priest about his father issues. He brings up how he needs to go digging which means that it looks like Ned will go searching for his dad. I don’t give enough credit to Lee Pace’s acting in these reviews, because he makes it seem so easy every episode, but it’s a moment that just continues to show how good Lee Pace is.

There was a great moment also where Chuck questioned if she was going to go to heaven or hell when she died. Bringing someone back to life seems to be taboo on Pushing Daisies, because it made Chuck question her after life, and even Ned had a moment where before he brought the victim back he had doubts about doing this in a church. This all brings up some interesting topics and it was interesting having Chuck even consider being put back to death.

Emerson had a lot of funny moments this episode and had some great lines this episode. We’re still left a little hanging about his missing child this episode, but we have to hope that it comes up sooner rather then later.

Probably the best moment of the episode was when Olive and Ned finally talking about Olive’s feelings towards Ned. It was good to see Ned apologize and realize that he wasn’t very nice to Olive after she told him. It was a good moment between the characters and there was even a hint of a possible relationship between the two, but for now it looks like the Olive/Ned love relationship is over for now.

This episode just did an incredible job of tying everything together and giving us such a fun mystery. It was incredibly surprising that the culprit was a pig, but that’s what’s so great about the storytelling of Pushing Daisies; it can always surprise you at any moment. It’s great to have Olive back with the rest of the cast and out of the convent. Based off this episode, we’re excited to see where Pushing Daisies heads next.

Rating: 9.7

This week Emerson takes the case of a missing girl, the mother of the girl was an interesting character with her lack of emotion; It’s quirky characters like this that really give Pushing Daisies that edge that other shows don’t have. The private investigative business is doing well, because Emerson’s phone was ringing off the hook, but somehow the woman looking for her daughter made him think about his own daughter and in a rare moment of sympathy, Emerson took the case.
The team ends up running around questioning most of the circus folks about when the last time anyone saw Nikki. The good thing about this episode is that it actually had a couple of cool twists that really tricked me. It seemed like when everyone was found dead in the episode, Nikki had been the last person to be seen with them. So initially it seemed that Nikki was the killer, but of course it turns out to be someone else by the end of it.

It was interesting to see Emerson on the optimistic side of things and Ned on the downside as Ned seemed to think Nikki had done it while Emerson kept saying that it wasn’t her. Emerson was still the smart talking one of the two, but it gave us another side to Emerson.

Lee Pace as Ned, Anna Friel as Chuck and Chi McBride as Emerson Cod

Along with the case, Ned and Chuck were having their share of problems due to the fact that Chuck has moved next door into her own apartment. It’s taking some time for Ned to get used to the fact that Chuck is sleeping next to him in the same room and is afraid that this change could start a chain of changes for Chuck that could ultimately lead her away from him. Chuck has really started to become grateful for the new life that she was given and doesn’t want to make the same mistakes she made the last time she was alive. It’s very understandable that she would want something her second time around. Also I have to add that the first season, Chuck and Ned’s relationship was new and it was very cute to have a couple who was in love with each other, but couldn’t touch one another. This second season, the relationship isn’t as new and it’s not as cute, but the attention to detail is really good. It’s always funny or interesting to see how Ned walks around with his hands in his pockets and how he always avoids touching her. The show doesn’t make a big deal about it or point it out, but it’s noticeable if you look closely.

Olive is still at the nunnery trying hard to keep the secrets that she knows. Having her sent to a nunnery really feels overdone and having her separated from the cast is doing the show justice. It was funny watching as Lily tried to tell Olive that she lied about the whole thing only for Olive to figure out she was lying. There were funny moments, but the writers really need to put Olive back with the rest of the cast.

Emerson’s missing daughter storyline is something that we hope will be addressed later. We seem to getting small pieces to the story bit by bit and it’s somewhat frustrating that we don’t know the whole story.

Pushing Daisies is still trucking along consistently; the mystery for the week was fun and the plot keeps rolling even if it is developing and coming along a little slower then we’d like.

7.5

Fortunately it does. I’m happy to announce that Pushing Daisies is back with all the magic and all the elements that we loved about it last season. The episode starts us off with a great recap which was really quite fun to watch for the new people and for us that watched it last season. Having Jim Dale voice the recap just gives the show that added bit of different that other shows don’t.

The case this week involved finding the murderer of an employee that worked a company based around honey. The company itself was interesting and a place where everything is honey and the place promising extra percentages of honey in there products is one of the many outlandish ideas that only seems to work on Pushing Daisies. Nothing has changed, the procedure is still the same in which Ned brings the victim back to life to get as much out of her as she can and then touches her to make her dead, even Chuck is still annoying Emerson by trying to find out if she has any last wishes, which really is kind of a stupid question to be asking.

Anna Friel as Chuck and Lee Pace as Ned

Aside from the case of the week, Olive had her own storyline this episode which had her having trouble keeping secrets that she found out from last season. She’s in a horrible position, because she knows Chuck “faked” her death and she knows that Lily is really Chuck’s mother, but she’s unable to tell the other that she knows. Having her quit was interesting and sending her off to a nunnery was a little extreme, but it all works well within the episode and it allows Olive to really do her own thing for a while, not to mention that we got some great Olive-Ned dialogue and it almost seemed as if Ned needed her to stay.

There’s really no need to talk about how the case ended for them, because it’s safe to assume and to say that it’s solved. We usually know that the cases will be solved anyway, but how Ned, Chuck, and Emerson get there has always been the thing that works in this episode. With Chuck and Ned going through a big change in this episode, it made for some great dialogue and some interesting decisions by Ned in this episode. Ned and Chuck are one of the best relationships on TV and it doesn’t sour in this episode.

The only problem I found with this week’s episode was that it felt like this episode took place many months after last season’s finale. There’s no mention of Oscar Vibenius, which was an important story in the finale and unless I missed it, there was no mention of how Chuck got over Ned accidentally killing her dad when she was younger. It’s a good season opener, but slightly ranks a little lower due to it ignoring plots from the finale.

Everything is still the same with Pushing Daisies and that’s good to know. It’s still just as interesting as it was last season and it’s still one of the best looking shows around. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and it should be even better to see what the writer’s can do when they’re given a full season with no writer’s strike to interrupt.

Rating: 8.0

Ned hasn’t told Chuck yet that the reason why people he brings back to live can only stay that way for a minute is because someone else in the area has to die too. So Chuck is completely unaware that someone had to die for her to live. While Ned has been trying to keep this a secret, the case for the week ends up making that hard to do. The new case is to find out who killed Lawrence Schatz, who just so happens to be the funeral director that accidentally died due to Chuck being brought back to life. Emerson really isn’t too interested in finding out who killed him, but wants to know where Lawrence hid all the heirlooms that he was stealing from the dead. This case ends up causing Ned to also tell Chuck his secret about Lawrence dying to bring her back to life. This somewhat makes Chuck a bit sad to think that her being alive killed a man, but it seems that the sadness eventually goes away once she is able to see what a nice man Lawrence isn’t.

The Pushing Daisies Cast

The story gets a bit more interesting as the gang finds out from Lawrence that his brother Louis, who is the one who hired the gang, actually knew where the heirlooms were since they were both in it together. Now it’s time to question Louie which end up not happening, because Ned ends up finding Louie dead in his freezer.

The story gets pretty outrageous as we learn that someone else was at the funeral home the day Ned brought Chuck to life.

It was great to see funeral director revisited and that Ned’s accidental death did go somewhat unnoticed. The twin brother thing kind of comes from nowhere, but everything works in this episode up until the point where both brothers die. The story tends to go into a somewhat outrageous and unbelievable (even for Pushing Daisies) route. The sword that the brothers take while it would seem belonged to a white southerner from the civil war ends up belonging to an Asian southerner who’s forefather stole another man’s quote. The guys southern accent was very funny, but the storyline was a bit too outrageous.

Olive’s side storyline proved to be a hindrance for this episode too. Olive is usually somewhat funny with her obsession with Ned, but today it just wasn’t that interesting. Olive now knows that Chuck is the girl that is supposed to be dead. What will she do with the information is the question. It would be nice if the writers give Olive something to do or integrate her a bit more into the main plot somehow, because Olive’s starting to become a bit boring.

Aside from it’s flaws, for the most part this episode worked. The dialogue and acting are great and the chemistry between the characters is spot on. Emerson and Chuck’s hate relationship really is a fun dynamic to watch, because Chuck’s so nice, and Emerson is just so mean. It’s almost as if both are fighting for Ned’s attention. Ned and Chuck’s relationship is still fun to watch and there are some scenes that really give you that awwww effect such as kissing by using plastic wrap. Alan Dale’s narrating didn’t seem as smothering this episode either and the Ned flashbacks are kept to a minimum, but are always well executed and lets us know a lot about Ned’s childhood in a very short amount of time. The biggest flaw was truly how unbelievable the story gets, but I’m starting to believe Pushing Daisies might push their stories like this more during the season. Either way the technical greatness and the well acted scenes still make this show to watch, I just hope that other viewers will pick up on how uniquely great this show is.

Rating: 7.4

This episode starts with Ned, Emerson and the new member Chuck getting their next mystery to solve which is to find out how a man who was found on the road died and who killed him. When they ask him all he’s able to say is that a crash dummy killed him which immediately makes no sense at all to us. The questioning leaves them panicked for a while, but actually leads to their first clue which ends up being at the guy’s place of work, a car factory and the clue is talking to his girlfriend, Janine in promotions, who has some problems of her own.

It looks like Pushing Daisies also has a formula, but unlike Reaper, the fun is watching how they solve the case and every episode is always different and every case always feels different. Even with this episode, Pushing Daisies is still impressing us. This story takes some very surprising turns and ends up coming to an interesting conclusion.

The Pushing Daisies Cast

The relationship with Chuck and Ned is still great. It’s interesting watching how they interact when they can’t touch each other and even though we don’t see any physical interaction, the interaction from just their faces and smiles says more then any kind of physical touch anyway. Emerson and Chuck unfortunately butt heads through the episode and it almost seems as if Ned is basically playing the mediator between the two constantly, but it’s more harmless then anything and is entertaining to watch nonetheless. Olive was also given more time as she’s left feeling jealous of Chuck and still pining after Ned. She expresses her love for Ned in a cool musical of “Hopelessly devoted to you.” It’s funny watching her sing so emotionally when the cleaning guy is salsaing in the background.

The jokes on Pushing Daisies are either pretty funny or somehow awkwardly funny. Janine from promotions, for example, has an eating disorder of overeating and the writers confirm this by having a flaming box of laxatives land on Ned’s car. It seemed like they were trying to make it into a joke and it was funny. While the jokes may be appealing to some, it’s hard to say whether everyone will get the jokes on the show, because sometimes the jokes can be dark.

In then end they do end up solving the case, but what happens in between is so great to watch. Once again I love the scenery and the background; it’s like Pushing Daisies just exists in a world of its own, far away from us. There is lots to look forward to this season with watching how Chuck and Ned’s relationship evolves. Chuck wants to know Ned and Ned likes to keep secrets. These secrets will probably be dispersed or made an issue over the season so it’s definitely something to look out for. This episode proved that Pushing Daisies is going to be a force to be reckoned with and could easily end up being the best show of the year. This episode told a great story and really has looking forward to the rest of the season.

Rating: 9.0