The Past
Nine-year-old Ned discovers his power to raise the dead when he resurrects his dog, Digby, who was hit by a truck. Later that afternoon, after a play date with his best friend and next door neighbor, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, Ned's mother dies of a brain aneurysm. Ned brings her back; one minute later, Chuck's father drops dead. That evening, Ned's mother kisses him goodnight; the touch kills her instantly. This is the first hint that Ned has of any rules attached to his power: first touch, life; a minute's grace period before another person dies to balance the scales; second touch, dead again—forever.The Present
Nearly twenty years later, Ned—now a lonely, touch-averse man—owns a pie shop and moonlights as a private investigator with Emerson Cod, who uses the baker's unique talent in order to question murder victims. But one murder investigation proves to be of Charlotte Charles, dead at twenty-eight under suspicious circumstances. Ned revives Chuck... and cannot bear to touch her again.He smuggles her back to his apartment above the Pie Hole, not really planning ahead; certainly not planning for Chuck to bring color and vitality and love back into his life...
In the meantime, there's still the trifling matter of Chuck's murder to be solved. Chuck herself doesn't know who killed her, but points Ned and a resentful Emerson to Boutique Travel Travel Boutique, the travel agency she used. There they discover that Chuck's killer was after a package Chuck had with her... a package that, along with the rest of her belongings, has since been returned to her aunts, Lily and Vivian.
The race is on to get the package before Chuck's killer does—preferably before he kills again.
Tropes
- All There in the Manual: A comic book given at San Diego Comic-Con, and later posted on ABC's website, gives some backstory behind Chuck's killer and his motivations for stealing the monkeys.
- Almost Kiss: Chuck asks Ned for one last kiss before he puts her back in her coffin. Ned leans in but decides he can't do it.
- Always Save the Girl: This is why Ned can't bring himself to un-revive Chuck after bringing her back to life.
- Blatant Lies: Emerson can tell when Ned is lying because his eye twitches.
- Blown Across the Room: The Shiny Shoes Killer.
- Chekhov's Skill: Aunt Lily's previous career as synchronized swimmer allows her to hold her breath for a long time, a skill that comes in handy when Chuck's killer tries to strangle her.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: A minor version but Olive's hair is much longer than in subsequent episodes and she doesn't wear the minidresses that will become her Pie Hole uniform. Additionally, Emerson wears a leather jacket and plain purple shirt rather than the patterend jackets and floral shirts he prefers for the rest of the series.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The interior of the Pie Hole is subtly different in this episode, notably the booth seats are a solid dark color and lack the white semi-circle that was added in the next episode.
- First-Episode Resurrection: Chuck was killed while on vacation. Ned brings her back to life and doesn't re-dead her.
- First Kiss: Ned and Chuck shared their first kiss, with each other and in general, during the funerals of his mother and her father. When Ned revives Chuck they reminisce over it and she asks him for a Last Kiss to bookend her life.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The funeral director is shown blatantly stealing the jewelry of corpses while also gleefully accepting a bribe in order to allow Ned and Emerson to see Chuck's corpse. So, naturally, after a minute passes and Chuck remains alive, the director is the one who dies (on the toilet, no less).
- Missed Her by That Much: Despite looking directly at Ned and Chuck after blasting Chuck's killer with her shotgun, Aunt Lily doesn't see Chuck due to her eyepatch.
- Separated by the Wall: Chuck sleeps in Ned's bed on the other side of the wall from where he's sleeping on the cough. They both reach up and place their hands on the same spot of the wall.
- This Bear Was Framed: A dog is framed. The cause of death was in fact being mauled, but it was done by a dog of a different breed on orders from its owner.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Since Ned's power randomly picks a nearby person to kill if he leaves a corpse alive for more than a minute, Emerson is understandably pissed off about Ned leaving Chuck alive (though understandably Ned was so desperate for happiness he would have done anything). It could've easily been Emerson who died and not the funeral director, after all.Ned: It's a random proximity thing.Emerson: Bitch, I was in proximity!
- Whodunnit to Me?: Once she learns about the reward being offered Chuck decides to help Emerson and Ned find the man that killed her.
