Recap / Pushing Daisies S 2 E 6 Oh Oh Oh Its Magic

The Past

Young Ned's father entertains his son with magic tricks, but then breaks Ned's heart when he leaves him forever. Years later, Ned's father performs the same disappearing act on Maurice and Ralston, Ned's twin half-brothers, and abandons them during a matinee magic show.

The Present

Ned's Long Lost Siblings are professional Stage Magicians, and drop by the Pie Hole with free tickets to their show. Chuck and Olive are eager to go, but Emerson is indifferent and Ned is downright reluctant.

At the magic show, Ned is approached by the twins' mentor, stage magician The Great Hermann. Hermann's animal assistants have been dying; and, suspecting foul play, he hires the foursome to solve the case.

Two suspects emerge immediately: Hermann's frustrated assistant Alexandra, and warmup act The Geek.

The next night, the stakes are upped considerably when Hermann's signature trick goes wrong, leading to his death.

Tropes

• Deadpan Snarker: Ned, unusually enough for him. Being pressured to assume a parental role towards people he still resents seems to have that effect.
• Extreme Omnivore: The Geek is the traditional "will eat anything" version of the word.
• Human Shield: The villain tries to use Olive for this, and is mocked for his choice of hostage by Emerson
  Emerson You need a bigger human shield or something. You're hanging out all sorts of places I can shoot!
• Idiosyncratic Wipes: With curtains.
• Long Lost Sibling: The twins to Ned.
• Parental Abandonment: It turns out that Ned's father also abandoned Maurice and Ralston. Nice guy!
• P.O.V. Cam: An unsettling example from the point of view of the Great Hermann as Ned zaps him back to nonexistence.
• Pull a Rabbit out of My Hat / Saw a Woman in Half : Tricks alluded to but not seen.
• Resentful Guardian: Hermann is kind enough to the boys but he admits to Ned that they were a lot of work.
• Stage Magician: The Great Hermann is the headliner at the show. Maurice and Ralston also perform as "Two For The Show". After Hermann's death the twins give his book of tricks to Alexandra so she can make the shift from Lovely Assistant to magician in her own right.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: The Geek towards The Great Hermann.