"There are Commandments! We follow all ten, and I am commanding you to stop!"-- Olive (Kristin Chenoweth)
Spoilers. Three episodes into season 2, and I'm still worried that Pushing Daisies isn't keeping the momentum it built up in season 1, or developing anywhere very interesting. There are occasional references to Emerson's (Chi McBride's) missing daughter (to foreshadow the inevitable episode dedicated to a search), and Ned's absent father (likewise, I'm sure), but I have zero interest in the current storyline regarding Chuck's (Anna Friel) family tree....
It's not that the surprise about Chuck's Aunt Lilly actually being her mother is a terrible one, it's just that it has no tangible baring on the relationships: Lilly doesn't want to tell her sister Vivian (as Chuck's father was her fiancé), Olive (Kristin Chenoweth) has been sworn to secrecy, and because Chuck's aunts believe their niece/daughter is dead... well, it's not actually too much of a problem. And, when Chuck finally discovers the truth in this episode, the news elicits tears of joy."Bad Habits" was actually the best episode of season 2, so far -- mainly because all the characters were back together. Here, Olive asked for Emerson's help to investigate the murder of Sister Larue (Mo Collins), who was assumedly pushed off a bell tower and plummeted to her death. I'm no fan of Olive's three-episode arc about running away to join a nunnery, but it's certainly more appetizing when used as the setting for a mystery. The story, by Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts, was the usual mix of oddities and vaguely surreal diversions, peppered with amusing lines and the usual goofy acting. Chenoweth is particularly engaging and daffy in Pushing Daisies' universe -- often overshadows female lead Friel, who tends to get lost in a sickly miasma of puppy-love with boyfriend Ned (Lee Pace).
The mystery itself, like many on the show, was a little tricky and unwieldy to get a firm handle on (with talk of truffles and a restaurant accessible by secret tunnel), but the big explanation in the last ten minutes sorted it all out. And I appreciated the twist that the prime suspects were innocent all along, with a troublesome pig the accidental killer. Still, I do find that Pushing Daisies can overload the treacle and overcomplicate its recipe, as many episodes just feel incredibly random and zany – at the expense of letting us become genuinely interested to find out who the killer is.One again, "Bad Habits" was an episode that entertained because of its smaller comedy moments and character development. I'm extremely grateful the nunnery storyline has finished, and Chuck knows about her aunt's guilty secret, though -- I couldn't have handled another episode with those subplots bubbling away in the background. Maybe now Pushing Daisies can get back to giving us weekly mysteries that don't feel too cloudy and difficult to actually care about.
3 February 2009
ITV1, 10pm
Writers: Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts
Director: Peter O'Fallon
Cast: Lee Pace (Ned), Anna Friel (Chuck), Chi McBride (Emerson), Jim Dale (Narrator), Kristin Chenoweth (Olive), Mo Collins (Sister Larue), Graham McTavish (Hansel Von Getz), Diana Scarwid (Mother Superior), Michael Hitchcock (Father Ed), Samantha Bailey (Young Olive), Diana Costa (Mother Snook), Mary K. Devault (Sister Mary Christina) & Marc Raducci (Father Snook)
