“Just because there’s vodka in my freezer doesn’t mean I have to drink it. Wait…yes it does.”
Pushing Daisies is a masterpiece in visual design. Each episode has shown this skill, but it becomes much more obvious as the show goes along. The visuals on the show are one of the biggest reasons that it continues to stick out in the minds of audiences, and it’s one of the biggest shames about the show having been prematurely cancelled. This great design continues in “Pigeon.”
The episode opens with the story of how Ned’s reanimated dog Digby finds his way back to his owner, explaining to us that love can overcome all while also reminding us of the unfortunate nature of their relationship. Back in the present day, Ned surprises Chuck with her own bees in order to help her be more okay with not being able to see her aunts. Olive, meanwhile, decides to keep the secret of Chuck’s “faked death” after the reveal by Lily and Vivian in the previous episode. Her new plan is to somehow find a way to get the sisters to The Pie Hole and catch Chuck alive.
“Pigeon” introduces more conflict into the relationship between Chuck and Ned in the form of a handsome man involved in the episode’s case. With Chuck’s seeming infatuation with the man, Ned worries that he’ll never be able to be for her what she really needs. Unfortunately for Chuck, though, the man ends up being much more involved in the case than anticipated. The man, though, causes a welcome point of conflict between the show’s two leads, and it brings a cool dynamic to their relationship that we haven’t gotten to see until now. A jealous Ned is surprisingly endearing, and it leads to some truly charming interactions between him and Chuck.
The case itself in this episode ended up being, in my opinion, the most interesting one on the show so far. It used Ned’s gift multiple times in a sequence of mistaken identity, and there were quite a few twists along the way to the solution. The death storyline here also gives us a great guest role for the wonderful Jayma Mays, continuing Pushing Daisies‘s outstanding use of its guest cast. Olive’s subplot also takes up a lot of screentime here, and it’s clear that her new “friendship” with Lily and Vivian is going to be very important to the show going forward. We also get another quick musical moment between Olive and Vivian, and it’s used just as well as “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was earlier.
“Pigeon” was a very solid episode of Pushing Daisies that used conflict to give a reason for some great interaction between Chuck and Ned while also progressing the story of Olive’s friendship with Chuck’s aunts. The case, too, was the best of the show so far, and it’s obvious that the series doesn’t seem to be losing any steam as it goes along. Overall, the show’s fourth episode was one of the best we’ve seen yet.
Have you been watching along with me? What have been your favorite moments on Pushing Daisies so far? Let me know in the comments below!
[Photo via ABC]
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