The Pushing Daisies Review: 1.9 - Season Finale
Posted by Brendan Newton on 12.20.2007
A monkey, a mermaid, some shocking revelations - Pushing Daisies ends its first season with a bang (from a baseball bat with "Kindness" written on it)...
Pushing Daisies concludes one of the best-and, apparently, one of the most unfortunately abbreviated-first seasons of any TV series that I've seen with “Corpsicle.” Before it became clear that the writers' strike was probably going to make this the season finale, this would have only been a major episode, coming at the halfway point of the season and taking the plot in several new directions, but as it is it will serve as a great season finale and although I sincerely hope not, it would make a fitting swan song for the series. A great case story, some great character stuff. My thoughts:
-Another cool “Past Ned” segment that reveals what happened immediately after Chuck's father's death. Chuck chasing Ned as his father drove him away, old-movie train station style, was a very sweet moment that reinforced how much these two mean to each other and why they were able to pick things up so easily after so long. There was also a good little moment of foreshadowing when Aunt Lily was reluctant to hug Chuck after her father died. We'd later find out that this wasn't because of emotional coldness (at least not entirely, that is), but because her feelings about Chuck-and presumably Chuck's father-are a lot more complex than Vivian's because of her closeness to them. Sometimes closeness is so intense it drives you away, which-as with all things on this show-can be metaphorically connected back to the Ned-Chuck relationship.
-Kudos to the writers for knowing not to drag certain plot points out for too long. This week, we got a satisfying resolution to the “Ned is tormented by guilt for causing Chuck's father's death” plotline that has been one of the driving points of the show since day one. It's rare that a show can have a character believably work through an issue in the space of the allotted (somewhat less than when you consider commercials) hour, as Chuck works through her father's death and Ned's having caused it with the help of Oscar, who's becoming another great recurring character. Gotta love those Batman-esque shots of him in the sewer. The episode's penultimate scene was a great way of showing that both Ned and Chuck have moved past the issue, with Chuck choosing to continue to share her secret life with only Ned, and with Ned rejecting his earlier idea about resurrecting Chuck's father so they could say goodbye. I've rarely seen a show resolve an arc that neatly and satisfactorily, while at the same time bringing up a new issue to fuel the show's ongoing storylines, that being...
...Chuck's mother is Aunt Lily! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor, didn't see that one coming. Clever to have the more distant, negative “Aunt” be the mother when one might have expected it to be the more positive Vivian, but it seems right somehow given that Lily's the one who's almost seen Chuck now, plus it sets up a much more interesting character arc for Lily as she deals with her revelation and its' consequences. Not to mention what Olive will do now that she's the one with the secret! Sweet little memory about Lily making Chuck snow angels, I hope we get to see that dramatized sometime, and wouldn't it be touching if Chuck started sneaking in to make Lily snow angels? Yet another reason to hope this show keeps going. Just when we thought we had the answers, Pushing Daisies has changed all of the questions. And that was a really sweet mermaid hallucination.
-For all of the real revelations in this episode, I also loved the fake revelation we got this week, with Chuck telling Olive the truth about her resurrection only to have Olive dismiss it flat-out. They had me fooled for a second there, though, I thought they really had taken the plunge. In an odd way, it really reinforced the audience's suspension of disbelief regarding Ned's supernatural abilities by acknowledging how absurd they would seem to most people. We shouldn't believe what we see, so the writers are telling us, which somehow makes it easier to relax and go along for the supernatural ride.
-Another great bit from The Coroner this week, as he's now just charging Emerson and Ned “rent.” All while wearing that festive sweater that Emerson disdains. He's right, though, what is the point of getting Christmas-y outfits on Christmas? You have to wait a year to wear 'em again, or wear them year-round and look like a goof. Or even more of a goof in my case. Hope this isn't our last glimpse of the Coroner.
-Two more great one-shot characters this week with Abner the Kid Without a Heart of Gold and Madeleine the Perky-yet-Murderous Wish Foundation Lady. Abner was hands-down one of the most refreshing characters I've ever seen; a terminally ill kid who's really bitter and angry about his impending death and takes it out on everyone around him. Godamn, but I'd love to have seen a kid like that show up on Touched by an Angel or some other show of that ilk. I can't say that I've known any dying kids, but I'd imagine that the bitterness and rage shown by Abner is much closer to what they're like in reality than the annoyingly cute, sweet, apparently-not-bothered-by-the-fact-that-they're-impending-wormfood kids that we usually see on TV. I know if I was on the brink of death and being jerked around by doctors and insurance adjustors, I'd be snarky and bitter. Well, bitterer anyway. Madeleine was a perfect foil (and, in the end, benefactor) for him; I've never laughed as loudly at this show as I did at the “I said lapdance!” gag, which had me on th e floor. Plus, you know, monkeys are always funny, monkeys that drive cars are funnier, and monkeys that crush their owners with said cars are funniers still, even if that thing wasn't a bonobo. She was one of those characters where no matter how absurd she was, her storyline made sense, as her frustration over Abner's bitterness led her to go from super chirpy to pyschotically murderous, all while keeping the same manic energy underneath. As always, this show knows how to balance the disturbing with the sweet, as Madeleine's grisly death (although we were spared the full force of her being ripped in two) leads to a new hope for bitter Abner. Cute story that served its' purpose without distracting from any character's ongoing issues.
-Speaking of which, we finally get a glimpse into Emerson's personal life, as the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning (love the scene the next morning where Emerson was momentarily convinced-and terrified-that he had died and been resurrected by Ned) lead the PI to stun Ned and the viewing audience with the revelation that he's a father. As in a man who has a daughter, not as in a Catholic Priest. Chi McBride was just over-the-top brilliant in this scene as he let his character drop all of his walls and defense mechanisms and break down. I've got my pick for Best Supporting Actor Emmy next year. Possibly the most real tears I've ever seen on TV, and that includes reality shows. I liked the sense of self-awareness that the show demonstrated by having Emerson acknowledge that his personal issues had never come up before-that is, that he had never really played a role in the series' ongoing character arcs-and then having him quickly shut the door after having opened up to Ned. It gives us just enough to be intrigued about without resolving the “Emerson's daughter” angle by having him tell Ned everything, thus leaving the issue to be addressed again sometime down the road. In fact, if I could plan the next two seasons of Pushing Daisies, next season would keep Emerson's daughter on the back burner while focusing on Chuck's mother, then the next season would move the focus to Emerson's daughter, while still doing Chuck-and-Nedcentric murder investigations of course. My guess would be that either Emerson's daughter or her mother is dead, and so there is the possibility-which Emerson has never brought up-of giving him a chance to say goodbye to her via Ned's touch. It also would explain his aversion to dead and ambivalence towards Ned's gift, especially as regards Chuck's resurrection. Since he can't have his loved one back, it's especially galling that Ned got Chuck back as apparently easily as he did. Emerson also doesn't believe that the bond between family members is a simple one that can be easily resolved with a hug, which brings us back to Lily's aversion to hugging Chuck; again, there was too much going on there to resolve with a simple hug. Great stuff that in one scene has turned Emerson from a flat character to a much more interesting layered one, one who can himself now be the focus of storylines.
So, all in all, “Corpsicle” had the best, must darkly hilarious stand-alone story they've done yet, two wham-o character revelations that could supply them with fresh storylines for at least two seasons, a satisfactory little resolution to the “Ned killed Chuck's dad” storyline, lots of great lines (did I mention Olive's “bosom” rant?), AND Emerson reeming the Coroner out over his Christmass-y sweater. If this is the last Pushing Daisies we ever get, and I haven't heard anything yet regarding its' future, they went out in style, as it is definitely the last Pushing Daisies we're going to get for a while at least it was a great Season Finale and left me salivating for more PD soon. Of course, no PD right now means no more reviews from me for a while, which I'm sure will be heartbreaking to my...twos of readers, but I'll see y'all on 411. It's been a slice doing these reviews, and I hope to eventually have more Pushing Daisies to review. Until then...
The 411: I think that makes it nine reviews in a row that I've said "this was a fantastic episode." Well, this was a fantastic episode, possibly one of the best Season Finales that I've ever seen of any show. Great resolutions, great revelations to open next season (if we get one), and the stand-alone stories keep getting stronger. Huzzah.
