'Pushing Daisies': Black Magic

November 20, 2008 4:37 AM

Pushing Daisies proves yet again why this show is so magical. Putting aside the fact that it took place almost entirely at a magic show, the character development alone was enough to be put anyone under its spell.

These spoilers don't give a rat's ass.

Ned used to love his dad's magic tricks. That is, until he made himself disappear and never came back. Even though it wasn't their fault, Ned always resented his long-lost half brothers for taking his father away. Now that they're reunited as a family, Ned has to put aside his hatred for all things magic. Maurice and Ralston are illusionists and want their big bro and his friends to come see their double act and The Conjurer's Castle. The main act is The Great Herrmonn (played by Fred Willard), who seems to have a problem keeping his assistants alive.

Herrmonn recruits Emerson to help solve the mystery, but it turns out to be more than Emerson bargained for. The "assistants" are actually animals—doves, a bunny, and a monkey. Pet detectives get paid big bucks, according to Emerson, but Herrmonn coughs it up with great fanfare. And this week's case is off to a running start! Ned pulls Herrmonn aside to ask about his relationship with the twins. It turns out that their father abandoned the boys at one of his shows, and the twins were instantly enamored with magic. He thinks they were trying to hold on to their father's memory.

Ned's not the only one with family issues. Chuck is still trying to get some closure with her real mom, Lily, thanks to some bad accents and a telephone. It doesn't work, and she's left with a sea of questions. Vivian and Lily, however, get an unexpected visitor. Dwight Dixon (Stephen Root), knocks on their door claiming to be a friend of Chuck's deceased dad. Vivian is instantly excited to learn what Charles said about her, his fiancé. Lily keeps her mouth shut, but Dwight lets it be known that he knows her little secret. Vivian, unaware of all the deceiving, invites Dwight out to a secret date at the Pie Hole.

Back at the Castle, The Great Herrmonn is performing his second show of the night while Ned and company are investigating the deaths of the animals. They realize that that whoever was killing the animals was actually trying to kill Herrmonn. That's when all the screaming starts. It's The Great Herrmonn's assistant, Alexandria, who has just discovered the dangerous part of magic: death. It seems something went wrong with Herrmonn's greatest trick in which he puts himself into a box which is filled with concrete. He usually escapes before the pour, but not this time.

The police have deemed it an accident, but the twins aren't so sure. They say he did that trick way too many times to fail at it now. For the first time ever, Ned acts like a big brother and vows that he'll find justice for the twins, who loved the magician like a father. He's going to kick someone's ass! Of course, the first finger he and Emerson point is at Alexandria. She's been in the assistant role for way too long, even after being promised her own show for years. She says they're looking at the wrong person. They should really talk to The Geek.

The Geek is a strange little man. He eats glass and regurgitates live animals. He, too, considered The Great Herrmonn to be a role model but seems completely innocent. Later, Emerson busts open the cement block, only to find it body-less. There's been a switcheroo, but no one knows why. Ned and the twins decide to have a heart-to-heart about the situation, and they decide that they should all get over clinging to the past.

Eventually realizing that the body is still somewhere in the castle, the whole gang takes off for a treasure hunt. They take metal detectors that will locate the shackles Herrmonn was wearing and scour the castle. They find the cement block hidden under the stage, but only right before the hear the cement mixer start up. The twins take off to try to catch the killer while Ned and Chuck stay to talk to Herrmonn. Olive and Emerson attempt to follow the twins, but get distracted along the way when they find another dead body. This time it belongs to The Geek.

The twins have caught Alexandria, who still insists she's being set up. Emerson grills her about why she's even there, but she says it was because she was leaving her job. Eight years is long enough to wait on something that will never happen. Olive is put in charge of waiting with the dead body, but when she turns her back, we discover that The Geek isn't quite dead.

Ned has touched Herrmonn, who is pretty surprised he's dead. They ask him to divulge his secret escape route, which he admits was a trap door he released by a magnet in his shoe. Now you see him, now you don't. They wonder what the magnet had to do with anything until Chuck remembers that her necklace stuck to The Geek's stomach earlier, like it had a magnet inside. It turns out, The Geek swallowed the magnet, thus ensuring Herrmonn's cemented death.

The Geek has chosen Olive as a human shield while he's confronted about his murdering ways. He admits that he stole the magnets and then hid Herrmonn's body. He did it out of jealousy that Herrmonn favored the twins over him. Ned takes the opportunity to distract him with daddy issues and the rest of them take him down. That's teamwork!

Vivian, meanwhile, enjoyed her date with Dwight Dixon. This isn't so much a date for Dwight, though, as he's merely trying to find the location of a pocket watch that belonged to Chucks' father. Vivian tells him that the watch was buried with Chuck when she died. Dwight's not messing around… he wants the watch bad enough to dig up Chuck's grave. What he wasn't expecting was that it would be empty.

Acceptance is a tough step in the road of life, but it seems like Ned has finally taken it. He discovers that magic doesn't have to give him acid reflux anymore, but can actually be used for good. As a present to Chuck, he takes her to her old house for a bit of his own magic. He's put Olive inside wearing a hidden microphone and earpiece, so Chuck will be able to talk to her secret mother. Chuck is overwhelmed with love for Ned. The look yearning they share is heartbreaking yet romantic. A great ending to a great episode. Let's cross our fingers for many more.

in ABC , Pushing Daisies

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Comments

Lovely show. I hope it returns for another season!

Thanks for the recap. :-)

Claude | Nov 20, 2008 5:06:43 AM | #

I my review I go into a bit of speculation about the pocket watch, why it might be so important to Dwight Dixon, and why Ned's dad might always be itching to run.

I particularly liked last night how they reused the bugging equipment we first saw back in "Bzzzzzzzzz!" That was a nice touch to the Cyrano routine, I think.

R.A. Porter | Nov 20, 2008 6:56:57 AM | #

I loved this episode. THis is such an amazing show and if ABC cancels it, it would be a huge mistake.

Dory | Nov 20, 2008 7:09:58 AM | #

Excellent recap. I love this show and hopes it continues its quirky journey. It's definitely one of the best shows on broadcast tv. It has the best cast. The best writers. It's just amazing. I always look forward to watching it to see how they can top the previous episode.

Peace.

JVice | Nov 20, 2008 7:29:18 AM | #

What a stupid, stupid show.

CHUCK | Nov 20, 2008 8:11:27 AM | #

I really feel bad that this show isn't going to get its 2nd-and-a-half season. The episodes are sweet (thanks in no small part to Pace & Friel), the acting is quick and witty (in no small part to McBride, Chenoweth and Kurtz), the villains are hilarious (like out of a cartoon), special effects are little over-done sometimes but that's just a small issue.

"Pushing Daisies" works well with its mystery-of-the-week while pushing a slightly longer arc. (the Covenant, the lost daughter, DD, etc.), but I think its greatest strength is that (even though you can miss one) all the episodes are connected to each other in some small way.

pakopako | Nov 20, 2008 8:40:26 AM | #

if ABC can manage to hold on to this show at least when LOST returns i'll be happy. i would like to see how pushing daisies fairs with a better 9:00 show (LOST pwns private practice any day). maybe people will tune in earler?

john t. | Nov 20, 2008 9:28:48 AM | #

About the pocket watch, when Olive was being help captive by the Geek, he says he swallowed a gun. Olive says she hears clicking, more than just the cocking of a trigger. I think he swallowed Chucks pocket watch. He said he steals stuff from the audience! But would she have noticed it missing by now? So maybe that is just a coincidence.

Sarah | Nov 20, 2008 9:34:41 AM | #

oh, one other thing. It sounds like Ned's dad left him and the twins at age nine. Is that significant for some reason?

Sarah | Nov 20, 2008 9:36:52 AM | #

This was a FANTASTIC episode last night...I hope ABC has some heart and gives it a chance for a full season. And I agree, LOST would be a good match up with this as I know many Losties that also are fans of the Pie-Maker and friends. :)

Andrea | Nov 20, 2008 11:13:04 AM | #

The best possible scenario was Wednesday nights would be PUSHING DAISES at 8, LOST at 9 and LIFE ON MARS at 10. What a world that would be.

Michael | Nov 20, 2008 11:28:17 AM | #

Michael, that would be heaven. Surreal night on ABC :)

john t. | Nov 20, 2008 11:55:56 AM | #

Loved it!

Sarah, great theory. I didn't catch that.

Jen | Nov 20, 2008 12:00:51 PM | #

Putting Lost on BEFORE Pushing Daisies would be the BEST possible scenario. But no way in hell is ABC gonna do that. Even if they SHOULD!! Putting Lost back were it originally was (first season aired at 8pm on Wednesdays) would also take care of Bones...who the heck watches BONES over PUSHING DAISIES?! Apparently a lot of people!!!

Sam | Nov 20, 2008 12:05:15 PM | #

Actually, you know what scratch what I just said. I forget soon American Idol will be back on and nothing else will matter anyway on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That's also why Lost was moved to Thursdays. Darn you American Idol with your MUST SEE ways!!! LOL! I really do want to see Pushing Daisies survive though...here's hopin'!

Sam | Nov 20, 2008 12:07:56 PM | #

I love "Pushing Daisies"!

Does anyone have an address for ABC and the name of the person who the letters should be addressed to?

Carly | Nov 20, 2008 12:28:35 PM | #

Another solid, very entertaining episode! Now that Olive is consistently involved in the mystery/murder-of-the-week storyline, Pushing Daisies has really excelled. I think she was the last key ingredient to a creating the perfect cast on this superb show.

I mentioned this on another discussion board:

If ABC decides to stop airing Pushing Daisies, I just don't understand why TPTB can’t simply move it over to ABC Family. I'd rather have it air on cable with perhaps a shorter 13- or 16-episode season than permanently cancelled.

Is Pushing Daisies really that expensive to produce? It's shot almost exclusively on soundstages and sets with somewhat (intentional) low-tech special effects. There’s very little to nothing in the way of outdoor location shooting. I guess it all comes down to the actors salaries and production crew costs.

If Monk can run on USA for eight seasons with Tony Shalhoub essentially phoning in his performance and the writers recycling their plots ad nauseam, surely Pushing Daisies can find a long-term home at ABC Family.

Doug | Nov 20, 2008 2:05:47 PM | #

This show is amazing and needs to be saved. There are so many mysteries that we need to find out about! I mean, way back to the beginning... we don't even know who killed Chuck and why?!? They can't cancel!

Mandy | Nov 20, 2008 3:36:26 PM | #

I looooove this show so much... I just can't imagine tv before or after this show - especially if it is prematurely canceled.

Dave Cano | Nov 20, 2008 4:13:37 PM | #

It's a shame that originality isn't rewarded. I love its visual inventiveness and its strange and convoluted plots. I've like Lee Pace ever since the under-appreciated Wonderfalls. It's strange that the public can support half a dozen shows about coroners and crime scenes and can't appreciate something unique and wonderful.

Amarantha | Nov 20, 2008 5:41:19 PM | #

PUSHING DAISIES JUST GOT CANCELED :(

john t. | Nov 20, 2008 6:04:16 PM | #

It is a sad day for good television.

Jen | Nov 20, 2008 8:01:29 PM | #

Monk is a low budget show -- Pushing Daisies is not, and sadly, it's just been canceled.

tacitus | Nov 20, 2008 10:09:00 PM | #

this breaks my heart. this show was the most creative that tv has seen in a long time. i'm sure it will be replaced by some mindless reality or game show. network television is crashing just like the record industry has....the decision makers are so set in their old ways that they dont see that they need to support imaginative programming, even if it seems to appeal to a small niche.

i still dont understand where these "ratings" come from...no one i have known has ever been asked about the shows they like to watch. i actually started watching my favorite shows online JUST so someone SOMEWHERE might be counting how many people are watching online...since i have never been asked about my viewing habits.

farewell piehole | Nov 20, 2008 11:10:18 PM | #

i still dont understand where these "ratings" come from...no one i have known has ever been asked about the shows they like to watch.-farewell piehole

People get things connected to their tv and it keeps track of what you watch. go to www.nielsenmedia.com

Ryan | Nov 21, 2008 2:20:19 PM | #