Pushing Daisies 2.3: "Bad Habits"

[icepixie]

Awwww. This one was sweet. Especially the bit at the end with Ned and Olive. Awww. And they addressed the metaphysical implications of Ned's gift, albeit not conclusively. (I'm guessing their stance on the afterlife is that if it exists, it starts some time after death, because nobody Ned's woken up has been all, "You took me away from the angels!" or "Thank GOD you got me out of the burning fires of hell!")

And now Chuck knows Lily's her mother! (Can an accidental meeting be far away? Season-ending cliffhanger?) And apparently her family tree is a freaking STAND OF BAMBOO. "Step-aunts"? Seriously? So they aren't related to each other, but her father is related to someone's mother by marriage, or...what the HELL, yo. I'm lost. But I'm fairly confident everyone who had sex wasn't related, so I guess that's a good thing.

- Young Olive! Hee! And of course she gets her horse. Of COURSE she does. (Also, her parents. Hee!)

- Ned, you are officially Trying Too Hard.

- Aaaahhh! Dead nun!

- Emerson's laugh attack at seeing nun!Olive was perfect. "What got thee to a nunnery?" Heh.

- "Father Dowling." Heh heh.

- "It ain't like he never did it. Remember Lazarus?"

- Ned's Catholic too? Are all the characters on this show Catholic? (I have to say, I was not expecting everyone on the show to be so religious. Well, there is Emerson, who worships money. Although he accepts prayer as payment, because something--the book?--has really got him thinking about his daughter lately.)

- *snerk* at the bell-censors.

- "We're so going to hell."

- And we are OFFICIALLY in a Radcliffe novel. The Italian, specifically, because I finished it last month, and I'm quite certain I remember a scene where Ellena-the-fake-nun and her beau Vivaldi-the-fake-cleric were wandering through creepy secret passages at a convent. BLATANT PLAGIARISM. But amusing plagiarism. :)

- Morley cigarettes! Ha!

- "By proxy high five."

- ...They have a pig on their flag.

- "I've wanted one forever." For some reason I keep forgetting Ned's a cook...

- "Please consider your neutral homeland."

- "That's not even good gibberish."

- "Communion with your shovel." Tee hee.

- ...I just now got the pun in the title. I'm slipping.

Comments

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

And now Chuck knows Lily's her mother! (Can an accidental meeting be far away? Season-ending cliffhanger?)

I'm not sure Ned will be able to stop her from personally chasing Lily down now...

"Step-aunts"? Seriously?

I had to rewind three times to sort that out in my head.

But I'm fairly confident everyone who had sex wasn't related, so I guess that's a good thing.

That's... all I ask for in my family tree?

Young Olive! Hee!

The spitting on her hands before grabbing the GIANT PICKAXE killed me. What kind of gardener leaves a giant pickaxe lying in the front yard?

Aaaahhh! Dead nun!

Nun on the run! NUN ON THE RUN!

I liked Ned's subtle judgment on Chuck's "hooker wig."

Ned's Catholic too? Are all the characters on this show Catholic?

Wait, who else is Catholic? And Chuck's Jewish, isn't she? And therefore Lily is Jewish, too? Wait... so why did she go to a nunnery... the pilot *did* establish that Chuck was Jewish, right, and that's why she got buried so fast and without embalming?

*snerk* at the bell-censors.

*bigger snerk* at Ned's scandalized expressions.

And we are OFFICIALLY in a Radcliffe novel.

Bwah! But weren't we missing a literal skeleton in a closet? Or perhaps the figurative ones were enough?

"By proxy high five."

Awwwwwww!

"I've wanted one forever." For some reason I keep forgetting Ned's a cook...

His glee at eating the truffles was adorable.

...I just now got the pun in the title. I'm slipping.

FAIL.

[alorarose.livejournal.com]

Hehe, Father Dowling and Father Mulcahey!!!

[icepixie]

I'm not sure Ned will be able to stop her from personally chasing Lily down now...

Indeed.

I had to rewind three times to sort that out in my head.

I'm still not quite sure I understand. They aren't related, right? Lily and Vivian, and Vivian and Chuck?

That's... all I ask for in my family tree?

Because otherwise it would be a wreath?

The spitting on her hands before grabbing the GIANT PICKAXE killed me. What kind of gardener leaves a giant pickaxe lying in the front yard?

Probably the same kind of people who make a GIANT PIE for roof.

I liked Ned's subtle judgment on Chuck's "hooker wig."

Tee hee.

Wait, who else is Catholic? And Chuck's Jewish, isn't she? And therefore Lily is Jewish, too? Wait... so why did she go to a nunnery... the pilot *did* establish that Chuck was Jewish, right, and that's why she got buried so fast and without embalming?

I am SO CONFUSED. I forgot about Chuck's Jewishness. She made an okay nun, actually. Deceptively so. I think it's been confirmed that Chuck's fake parents at least were Jewish, thus making her Jewish (although if Lily isn't--and her religion hasn't been proved one way or another, because if she was just going to the convent for pregnancy-hiding purposes, would it really matter if she were Catholic? And since it's Lily, wouldn't she lie if it did?--then technically Chuck can't be either), and that Ned and Olive are Catholic. Or at least act really Catholic. Emerson appears to worship money. Or something. Maybe he's Catholic too, if he's taking Olive's Catholic prayers? Vivian I have no idea.

*bigger snerk* at Ned's scandalized expressions.

Hee.

Bwah! But weren't we missing a literal skeleton in a closet? Or perhaps the figurative ones were enough?

Well, if we're just comparing to The Italian, then all they would need is a bloody lump of clothing hidden away in a dark corner.

His glee at eating the truffles was adorable.

I know!

FAIL.

Epic fail.

[sleepingcbw.livejournal.com]

I'm still not quite sure I understand. They aren't related, right? Lily and Vivian, and Vivian and Chuck?

I think Lily and Vivian really are related, because otherwise Vivian would have to be the fiance's sister.

The step-family thing feels like such a cop-out. There has to be something more interesting happening here.


And since it's Lily, wouldn't she lie if it did?

It's kind of hard to lie about being Catholic if you're going into a convent. She'd have a lot of doctrine to learn and a lot of documentation to forge before her pregnancy started to show
(unless the convent just *really* didn't care). It's more likely that Lily really is Catholic, and that Chuck's 'fake' mother, if she existed, was Jewish.

(Sidenote: there's no theological problem with a nun doubting her place in heaven.)

I was glad to see the metaphysics, finally.


(I'm guessing their stance on the afterlife is that if it exists, it starts some time after death, because nobody Ned's woken up has been all, "You took me away from the angels!" or "Thank GOD you got me out of the burning fires of hell!")

One could make the argument that heaven and hell are too remote from earthly human experience to be remembered that clearly upon re-awakening. It seems unlikely that they could parallel the mortal experience that closely. (That's what's always bugged me about reported near-death experiences: what's the point of dying if you're still trapped within mortal consciousness/perception/temporal linearity?) That's completely my opinion, not the show's, but point is, once you're getting into as murky a concept as human perception of death as a temporal construct, it's hard to find plot holes that can't be argued away.

[icepixie]

I think Lily and Vivian really are related, because otherwise Vivian would have to be the fiance's sister.

I could swear I heard Lily say she wasn't related to Vivian...but I may be completely wrong.

The step-family thing feels like such a cop-out. There has to be something more interesting happening here.

I'll settle for "less confusing"...

It's kind of hard to lie about being Catholic if you're going into a convent.

Would it be entirely out of the question for a convent to take in someone non-Catholic until she had her baby? I honestly don't know.

(Sidenote: there's no theological problem with a nun doubting her place in heaven.)

That struck me as weird, yes.

I was glad to see the metaphysics, finally.

Indeed.

One could make the argument that heaven and hell are too remote from earthly human experience to be remembered that clearly upon re-awakening. It seems unlikely that they could parallel the mortal experience that closely. (That's what's always bugged me about reported near-death experiences: what's the point of dying if you're still trapped within mortal consciousness/perception/temporal linearity?) That's completely my opinion, not the show's, but point is, once you're getting into as murky a concept as human perception of death as a temporal construct, it's hard to find plot holes that can't be argued away.

That's something I hadn't considered. I wonder if the PTB are thinking along the same lines, or if they're just ignoring it and hoping no one asks too many questions...

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

They aren't related, right? Lily and Vivian, and Vivian and Chuck?

I assume Lily and Vivian really are sisters. The matching neuroses, the living together for twenty years... they're either sisters or girlfriends, and Charles Charles kind of squashes the latter theory...

That would make Vivian... still Chuck's aunt? But no, neither Lily nor Vivian is related to Charles Charles.

Because otherwise it would be a wreath?

Festive?

She made an okay nun, actually. Deceptively so

Seriously, who doesn't know what "taking the veil" means, especially with all that context?? Slip of the brain, indeed.

I think it's been confirmed that Chuck's fake parents at least were Jewish, thus making her Jewish

I would assume that if she was raised Jewish, that would mean that her dad was Jewish, too. (Although I'm curious to learn where they got "Susan" from as a fake mother...) And nothing (except the deceptive nun business...) seems to contradict the plausible theory that L + V are at least Christmas-and-Easter Jews.

and that Ned and Olive are Catholic.

That much, at least, I can get behind. Olive doesn't seem very *good* at being a Catholic, but maybe she's just rusty. Ned, on the other hand, seems to have gone to a Catholic boarding school, and he retains snappy reflexes with the crossing-self skills.

Maybe he's Catholic too, if he's taking Olive's Catholic prayers?

As a devout Capitalist, I think Emerson's open to any sort of prayers he can get.

Well, if we're just comparing to The Italian, then all they would need is a bloody lump of clothing hidden away in a dark corner.

Ewwwww pass.

[sleepingcbw.livejournal.com]

I could swear I heard Lily say she wasn't related to Vivian...but I may be completely wrong.

Really? Huh. BLARG DOES NOT COMPUTE


Would it be entirely out of the question for a convent to take in someone non-Catholic until she had her baby?

I don't know, either, but I'm skeptical.


That's something I hadn't considered. I wonder if the PTB are thinking along the same lines, or if they're just ignoring it and hoping no one asks too many questions...

Well, seeing as how they haven't answered the "how did Digby know not to touch Ned? How did the bees not touch Ned when he brought them back to life? How do the corpses have intact vocal folds, even though they're still [covered in bee stings/flat-faced/etc.]?" questions yet, I'm guessing the latter. ^_^

[sleepingcbw.livejournal.com]

Seriously, who doesn't know what "taking the veil" means, especially with all that context?? Slip of the brain, indeed.

Chuck was locked away from society all those years. Maybe nuns didn't figure prominently into her library?


Charles Charles kind of squashes the latter theory...

Well. Not necessarily. But I can't think of many less-appealing subplot romances than Lily and Vivian.

[icepixie]

Perhaps they will clear all of this up at some point...