Customer Reviews:
 Best & Most Beautiful Episode yet of the Best & Most Beautiful Show on TV October 21, 2008
Jonathan Strawn (Albuquerque, NM)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Pushing Daisies is a show known for its whimsical narration, heavily CGI-enhanced visuals and charming humor. What is less well known to those outside the regular viewers of the show are its other qualities, the more subtle ones that don't play as well during commercial breaks but do keep you coming back for more and more.
Quick summary: Main character Olive Snook has been cloistered in a nunnery for several episodes, but she returns to the main setting to retrieve her co-stars for a mystery involving the alleged suicide of a fellow nun. Much hilarity and many unexpected revelations ensue.
This particular episode is a perfect example. Sure, all the usual things are there; murder mystery, philosophical musings about death, silly and madcap comedy from the main quartet of characters. But this episode is in my opinion the finest example of the show's great strengths in nuanced acting, beautiful cinematography and amazing writing.
First off, this episode is a great showcase for Lee Pace's many talents as Ned, the Pie-maker who can bring the dead back to life. Pace shows a great gift for comedic understatement, most notably in his barely contained enthusiasm for a particular dish of food that he has a chance to savor. His wordless reaction to Chuck's "hooker-wig" conveys more than any joke ever could. But his real show-off is a heart-to-heart that he has with Olive near the end of the episode, in which Pace handles a soul-revealing monologue without betraying anything about his character. It should be noted that Kristen Chenowith also shines in that scene, with a wonderful bit of acting during a long-pull in as her character's heart breaks all over the place, she picks it back up and tries to move on, all in an almost motionless performance.
For a show that is known for is fantastic visuals (that is, fantastic in the "not real" sense, not just the "superlative" sense), the excellence of the everyday cinematography is often overlooked. This episode in particular is beautiful in every single scene, but especially in the scene shot in the convent. The use of firelight, candles, and reflected light from religious icons lend it a very warm look that is given a slight painterly quality from the exaggerated colors. Just a treat for the eyes.
Finally, the writing. The heart-to-heart between Olive & Ned is the most mature and touching statement of friendship and non-romantic affection that I have ever seen in TV, movies or any other realm of fiction. The characters have a bit of a history, but that is not necessary to appreciate the scene, as the dialogue makes it plainly clear: she loves him, he loves someone else, what to do? What is unusual in this show as a whole is that they have not simply eliminated the "third wheel" from the relationship. She is not an object of any attraction for Ned, but she continues to pine for him. Not normally a very interesting character, but this exploration of how a friendship can be maintained and even deepen in the face of declared but not reciprocated romance is exceptionally well played out here. I challenge you, dear reader, to think of how many times in television a man has apologized to a woman for being cavalier with her feelings, when the man is NOT trying to win her back romantically.
All that, and the depiction of religion in this episode, and the series as a whole, is respectful, playful and intelligent. Religious conventions are needled with a bit of loving humor, but never is anyone ridiculed or vilified for having sincere beliefs. In fact, even the non-religious characters acknowledge the positive power of religion in their lives.
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