Ned (Pushing Daisies)

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Ned
Pushing Daisies character
First appearance	Pie-lette
Created by	Bryan Fuller
Portrayed by	Lee Pace Field Cate (Young Ned)
Information
Nickname(s)	The Pie Maker
Gender	Male
Age	29
Occupation	Pie maker
Address	Liberty Apartments

Ned is a fictional character in the ABC television series Pushing Daisies, portrayed by Lee Pace.

Ned has a unique magical ability to be able to bring back to life anyone or anything that is dead. Ned works as a pie maker at his restaurant The Pie Hole, and also uses his gift to aid Emerson Cod, a private investigator, by bringing dead people back to life to find out how they died.

Contents 1 Ability 2 Personality 3 Childhood 4 Current life 5 Critical reception 6 References

[edit] Ability

Ned has the ability to bring the dead back to life with a single touch, but there are two conditions. First, if he touches whomever he has revived a second time, it will die forever; and second, if the revived thing—person, animal, or other organism—remains alive for more than sixty seconds, something or someone else in close proximity will die in its place. Generally, whatever dies is a rough equivalent to what has been revived: a person for a person, an animal for an animal, or a plant for a plant. It would appear that the 'proximity' factor only affects things that Ned has not touched previously, as he was shown to revive an entire jar of fireflies and only the flies in another jar died when the minute expired. Also, given that his dog Digby was brought back to life when Digby was only three and still appears in good shape twenty years later, it would appear that whatever Ned revives cannot die of natural causes afterwards, suggesting that the resurrection also suspends the aging process, but this has yet to be confirmed.

[edit] Personality

Due to Ned's unique power, he rarely touches people and as such dislikes physical contact. He tells Chuck in one episode that he doesn't really like hugs, although she tells him that a hug can "turn your day around". Ned is apparently intelligent and very creative. He also seems to fear any sort of change, saying in the episode Smell of Success that he prefers to not be a shapeless mass that can be added to. Chuck points out that he made room for her, which he admits took a lot of hard work. Ned also has a fear of Halloween due to events in his childhood.

[edit] Childhood

Ned grew up in the village of Coeur d'Coeurs, next door to a girl named Charlotte Charles, nicknamed "Chuck", whom he had a childhood crush on. Ned discovered his gift by reviving his dog, Digby, who was run over by a truck. Later that day, Ned also revived his mother after she suddenly died of a brain aneurysm. However, he soon discovered that his gift had consequences when Chuck's father died next door in exchange. Ned discovered the other effect of his gift later that night, when his mother kissed him goodnight and died a second time.

During their respective parents' funerals, Ned and Chuck kissed—the first time for both of them. After the funeral, Ned's father dropped him off at the Longborough School for Boys, never to return. Ned continued to test his gift, learning its limitations and rules. The only contact he ever received from his father was a pre-written postcard that announced, "We've Moved". On Halloween, Ned dressed up as a ghost and went to his father's house, but discovered that his father had remarried and had two sons, Ned's half-brothers.

[edit] Current life

After finishing school, Ned opened his own restaurant, The Pie Hole, a restaurant specializing in pies. Ned lives above the restaurant in an apartment, next door to his employee, Olive Snook, who is not aware of his ability. Olive has long held a deep affection for Ned, but despite her many attempts to attract him, he has no feelings for her beyond friendship.

Ned enters into a partnership with private investigator Emerson Cod, who accidentally discovers Ned's ability when a criminal he was chasing fell off a roof into an alley where Ned was leaving his rubbish; Ned accidentally made contact with the criminal's body as fell out of the rubbish bin and was forced to grab him before the minute was up. Ned uses his ability to revive people who have died under suspicious circumstances to ask them about the nature of their death, thus allowing Emerson to solve the crime and collect the reward money, which the two split.

During the pilot episode Ned and Emerson hear of a woman being murdered on a cruise ship, with a $50,000 reward for solving the crime. Ned soon learns that the woman is Chuck, whom he had not seen for almost twenty years. He revives her to ask her who killed her, but discovers that she doesn't know. He is about to touch her but cannot bring himself to do it, allowing her to live instead and inadvertently causing the funeral director to die. Chuck and Ned soon develop strong feelings for each other and begin a relationship; however, they cannot touch at all, as doing so would kill Chuck.

[edit] Critical reception

Lee Pace, the actor who portrays Ned, has received mostly positive reviews from critics, described as "an immensely likable lead, full of childlike vulnerability and almost palpable longing"^[1] and "endearing but not too cute".^[2] However, he was also described as "overly slow-witted".^[3]

Pace has also been praised for his acting with Anna Friel, who portrays Chuck; critics have said, "Pace and Friel are so darn adorable together"^[4] and "the chemistry between Lee Pace and Anna Friel is undeniable".^[5]

[edit] References

v • d • e Pushing Daisies Episodes · Awards and nominations · Ratings Characters Ned · List of other characters Cast Lee Pace · Anna Friel · Chi McBride · Kristin Chenoweth · Swoosie Kurtz · Ellen Greene