It's probably not surprising for one with his particular gift/predicament, but Ned the piemaker has never been much of a gambler. On this week's episode of Pushing Daisies [1], Ned reveals a little more of the background that's kept him away from most games of chance. Emerson, on the other hand, takes some chances of his own with love on the brain, and the murder made me suddenly, insatiably hungry for pork buns. To talk about this episode, just .

Oh, poor Ned and his daddy issues. Well, really, family issues: We learn in this episode that once, in a weekend of boredom at school, he gambled away a box of chocolates from his mother, the last thing she ever gave him. Not only has that made him resent his father all the more for sticking him in boarding school anyway, but it's made him an unusually cautious person (aside from, as the narrator notes, pouring all his money into a bakery at the height of the low-carb craze and bringing his childhood love back from the dead).

So it's understandable that he gets freaked out when a man named Dwight starts stopping by the Pie Hole, inquiring after Ned's parents and specifically asking to find his father. It's also understandable that he'd hand over his father's address to Chuck so she could pass it on to the guy and get him to leave — but Chuck, of course, has to meddle. And her meddling takes her to Ned's father's house, where he's gotten up to his ol' abandoning ways again, this time leaving his twin magician sons to fend for themselves. When Chuck tells Ned what she's learned, Ned gets really mad — like, jaw locked, eyes glaring mad, maybe the first time we've seen him like that. What does Ned need with a family? He's got Chuck (and Olive, "to a slightly lesser degree"). But eventually he relents and meets his half-brothers, who instantly fall on him with a big, schmoopy hug. Too bad Dwight's across the street, fingering a gun . . .

Meanwhile, the case — which comes to Emerson's office in the form of a fortune cookie message — also involves gambling, this time of the more literal kind: a card game (but with cards swapped out for food) that's been going on at Emerson's local dim sum place. Turns out the chef, who's been keeping Emerson in pork buns and crispy shrimp for years, placed a bad bet, gambled away his daughter's hand in marriage, attempted to get it back by putting a life insurance policy on the table . . . and then got killed by a wayward pipe when the fiance wanted his insurance payout. That would have been fine by itself, but the brilliant twist is that the game involves Simone, the dog trainer Emerson fell for last season. The two take another passionate spin but decide they'll end badly — until Emerson takes a big chance himself, tells Simone his true feelings, and puckers up for a kiss.

Some other thoughts:

• The names in this episode were cracking me up. The dim sum chef named Bao? A gambling thug named Shrimp Boy? Also, apparently Kitty Pimms has really taken hold as Chuck's full-time alias.
• You can say "piss-jitters" in the 8 o'clock hour?
• Metaphor alert! Ned says his feelings for his father are hidden behind a door that's been wallpapered over so long ago, you can't see the seams.
• So, Chuck speaks Chinese. Just one of those things she knows, like cheese?
• Chuck's suggested secret passwords: "Antwerp," "fiddlesticks."
• Loved Ned's reaction to finding out his half-brothers are named Ralston and Maurice: "Goodbye Ned, hello Mercucio and Ribald."
• I love how Bubblegum the (adorable) puppy saved the day. Good dog!

Your thoughts? Anyone else starving for some dim sum? And what's Dwight got planned for Ned and his family?

Photos copyright 2008 ABC, Inc. [2]