TV REVIEW Pushing Daisies 1.08 "Bitter Sweets"

Written by: Abby Gewanter

Directed by: Allan Kroeker

Rating:

The One Where: Ned and Chuck have to deal with the dirty tactics employed by the brother and sister owners of a new sweet shop. After a bribed health inspector closes the Pie Hole down, Ned is arrested for murdering the brother, but Emerson identifies the health inspector as the killer.

Verdict: Brilliant. An episode that plays around with the show’s formula without deviating too far from the norm. Solving the apparent case of the week in the first ten minutes opens the way for a deliciously petty high street war, and locking Ned up gives Emerson the chance to show he can actually detect. But the best is saved for last, when Ned lets slip that he accidentally killed Chuck’s dad. Oops.

Flashback: Making friends with a geeky exchange student gives young Ned the confidence to stand up to school bullies, until bringing dead leaves back to life scares his new buddy away.

Elaborate death: The first victim is strangled by a life-size female doll (with a bit of help from the man who loves her). The second drowns in an industrial vat of taffy.

Olive vs Chuck: Chuck and Ned’s declaration that they are boyfriend and girlfriend angers Olive, but they put their differences aside in their daring raid on the sweetshop.

Did you spot? Olive’s dream sequence line, “Fredo, I knew it was you” is a direct quote from The Godfather Part II.

Best Line:
Emerson: "It’s a broad generalisation, but my guess is an attractive man who makes pies for a living shouldn’t even spend a small amount of time in prison."

Richard Edwards