If there is a direct opposite of anything on PUSHING DAISIES it’s that while Young Ned lost his ability to imagine, series creator Bryan Fuller continues to allow his to grow and flourish in a technicolor dreamcoat of greatness. There is such imagination and joy in each episode of Daisies that as a hopeful writer, it blows my mind and gives me goosebumps.

This week, THE SOUP’s Joel McHale was poisoned by one of his four wives but actually died by accidentally falling on the sharp handle of a metal dog brush 7 times. Whoops. If you hadn’t guessed it, this week’s theme was polygamy, desire and need.

Yet another gang of TV Scoobies was created this week when Ned, Chuck and Emerson brought Olive into the loop, each taking a wife and a shot at going undercover with Digby to find out which one poisoned my man McHale. I know what you’re thinking… “Bitches“ refers to the dogs that the deceased and his wives bred and you’d be correct but in some cases it also applied to the wives. Greedy, selfish, delusional, and depressed each had motive to kill the husband but which one did it?

The doggie shop keeper, the doggie therapist, the doggie trainer, or the seeing eye dog expert? The clue was in the coffee with almond creamer that masked the arsenic. Or so we thought. The real answer lie in the secret the deceased almost took to the grave, that he sold their special 4 breed hybrid to a competitor named Snuppy who planned on cloning their precious Bubblegum for every family on every corner and on every block.

Polygamy seems tricky and thankfully it appears that Ned The Pie Maker refuses to have anyone but his beloved Chuck. Gotta hand it to Olive Snook for trying, that Halloween night smooch was something but sadly it wasn’t enough and she knows it. Chuck questions Ned’s desire to only be with her, resisting the human need for the physical but Ned’s holding out for his untouchable. Does this mean that a girl named Chuck is the one we need to look out for? Is that cold bitch going to ruin my Ned’s heart? Oh she better not. I know a legion of girls out there ready to pounce on some Ned if need be. Could I be more fickle? I question Chuck’s true desire based on speculation and then call her a bitch. God I’m heartless. Love me some Chuck and you all know it. Girl’s fierce.

Can we talk a second about how hot that opening was? Not so much the making out and the getting naked but the opening shot of Ned lying in bed and just staring at us, through that fourth wall? Sweet Jesus! And what about later, when he was standing next to the pie rack talking about how he just knows when a pie is done… sorry, I’m dizzy.

I really enjoyed Emerson being trained into submission by one of the wives. It was kinky yet sweet and they left it open for a possible flirtation later in the season. Emerson had some great moments tonight actually. My favorite was when he tried to play it like Digby was his and obedient. After telling Digby to sit with no avail, he leans in and grunts out: “Damnit dog, you better sit your ass down” and then he goes to push her back end down only to find Digby growl and snap his head around to bite him. I died and instantly rewound that moment. Perfect timing by Digby.

While many will find Emerson’s dream sequences to be completely out there, I thought they were pretty great from cinematic point of view because the graphics were a genius homage to Hitchcock’s VERTIGO!

Here’s an assortment of my favorite quotes from tonight’s episode…

The excessive use of “Friendly expression of innocent gratitude” by multiple parties all referring to Ned and Olive’s brief lip-lock. I also loved Chuck’s semi-confession about the truth between her and Ned’s intimacy issues and Olive’s question, “Do you have food allergies… to Ned?”

Emerson: “You’d make a good polygamist. One wife to have, one wife to hold.”
Ned: “Why would you? Why would you say that? I wouldn’t make a good polygamist. I’m easily distracted and I wouldn’t know where to focus.”

Chuck: “You’re taking money from blind children?”
Emerson: “I suppose I could pay my bills with blind kid smiles but their money is a lot easier”

Next week’s episode “Smell of Success” marks the arrival of Pee Wee’s Paul Reubens in a new recurring role. It’s also the return of Reuben’s original role as the homeopathic sales man (Raul Esparza) with a thing for Olive. Cannot wait!

Don’t forget to head on over to ThePieMaker.com for everything PUSHING DAISIES.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Chi McBride, Bryan Fuller, Anna Friel, Lee Pace, Ducky Does TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.