Television Review: Pushing Daisies Season 2, Episode 7

Directed by Paul Shapiro

With the cancellation announced, watching "Pushing Daisies" is already an exercise in wondering what might have been. Bryan Fuller has already admitted that the show will now end on a cliffhanger, so the fans won't even get a fulfilling conclusion to the story (unless that film version miraculously happens or the proposed comics prove worthwhile). Perhaps it makes sense for a show about resurrection of the dead to end with what feels like a wake.

That seems to be a trend for Bryan Fuller shows. The writing is often brilliant and the concepts are simple but unique. Yet the execution is frustrating: it's excellent enough to gather devoted fans, but just far enough left of center to make the devoted throng a ripple in the ratings pool. Bryan Fuller is not unlike Joss Whedon in that respect.

This episode is another strong entry for the second season, which has matched along despite losing a bit of the magical luster that came with its original premiere. The character through-lines are certainly ambitious, as secrets long kept threaten to blossom into the light of day. It's devastating to realize that there will be little to no resolution in the end.

In the case of the episode's central mystery, however, it wasn't all that engaging. Maybe it was too easy to see where the story was going to go, but I was far more interested in the subplots involving Chuck's family matters. I suppose that's part of my problem with the current state of "Pushing Daisies"; the things that brought me to the table are the very things that will be left hanging.