This review contains MODERATE SPOILERS for "The Legend Of Merle McQuoddy," the ninth episode from the second season of ABC?s "Pushing Daisies."

"The Legend of Merle McQuoddy" opens with some fantastic tension between Chuck and Ned, however the sting of anxiety is very quickly broken by Ned's acceptance of her gruesome decision mere minutes after the episode begins. Following on from the unusually dark Ned?s announcement of "you don?t want to hear what I have to say," their embrace (heart warming though it may be) brings their apprehension to a swift and conveniently easy end.

On the flip side, it allows the episode to jump right into its stand alone randomness involving a light house, the Bat signal and some very suave raincoats. Unfortunately, the death of a lighthouse keeper doesn?t come close to the entertaining wackiness that the series is capable of. The saving grace of the episode is the cast.

Yes, the cast. The entire "Pushing Daisies" team are incredible from start to finish and despite the obvious slant towards the Ned/Chuck story, "The Legend of Merle McQuoddy" allows everyone their chance to shine.

What Worked

The play-doh people exploring the Arabian desert at the beginning of the episode was a wonderful and concise visual that leads quickly up to a summary of Chuck?s recent misadventures. Jim Dale?s narration of the flashbacks is a unique way of side-stepping the "previously on Pushing Daisies ? " prologue that could otherwise bog down the show with too much mythology and serialization. Instead, the summary is very snuggly incorporated into the episode without the feeling that you have missed out.

Olives ghost stories are nothing short of a hoot, and Chenoweth -- as always -- injects so much humor into the scene that you instantly forget about the preceding darkness and the let down that it was. Now that "Pushing Daisies" has been cancelled and Bryan Fuller has a 2-year deal with Universal, maybe we?ll get an Olive Snook spin-off. Partnered with Emerson Cod, the duo is like a new little and large crime fighting team.

And the film-separated smooching gives the episode a surprising romantic twist given the walking dead.

What Didn?t Work

All of the tension was discarded far too quickly and was ultimately a disappointment after so much effort went into the undead rendezvous last week.

Plus, the Mummy-like appearance to Charles Charles becomes even harder to accept, especially with the normality of his activities once he is outed to the Pie Maker. The fact the he turns out to be such a jerk doesn?t help endear him to the audience either and their confrontation in the Pie Hole is just plain embarrassing.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Pushing Daisies" stars Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth. "The Legend of Merle McQuoddy" was written by Dara Resnik Creasey and Chad Gomez Creasey and was directed by Lawrence Trilling. "Pushing Daisies" airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m.

Alan Stanley Blair is the assistant news editor for Airlock Alpha. He is currently studying for a diploma in Freelance Journalism and can be reached at ablair@airlockalpha.com.

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