Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to Douglas Petrie (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “The 4400,” “CSI”).
What says ABC?
“Chuck turns to Emerson for help in dealing with the consequences of her actions, while Ned and Olive compete at a comfort food cook-off that turns deadly when a chef is found deep fried and dead. Guest starring in "Comfort Food" are Stephen Root as Dwight Dixon, Beth Grant as Marianne Marie Beetle, Eric Stonestreet as Leo Burns, Tim Bagley as Colonel Likkin and Patrick Fischler as the Waffle Nazi.”
Does Ned really resurrect Chuck’s daddy Charles Charles?
He does.
“Consequences” of what “actions”?
Chuck does something more alarming than anything else we’ve seen Chuck do. Really alarming!
Does the Waffle Nazi have a mustache? Does he deny difficult customers his delicious waffles?
He wears lederhosen and sports a smallish mustache. He’s played, incidentally, by the actor who portrays Jewish comic Jimmy Barrett on “Mad Men.”
Wouldn’t it be ironic if a character named Colonel Likkin had nothing to do with a fried chicken franchise?
Yes, and viewers will discover no such irony tonight. The colonel’s secret recipe is a key component of the week’s murder mystery.
The big news?
Beth Grant previously played Marianne Marie Beetle on the 2004 “Muffin Buffalo” episode of Fox’s short-lived Bryan Fuller series “Wonderfalls,” which co-starred Lee Pace as a guy who didn’t resurrect things. Beetle was a trailer-park neighbor of Jaye Tyler who enjoyed baking.
Does Beetle continue to enjoy baking?
She does.
Are there actual references to “Wonderfalls”?
Marianne Marie continues to operate pastry establishment Muffin Buffalo, now The Pie Hole’s rival. A fat individual who gets around via scooter is a component of both Beetle episodes.
What else is ABC not telling us?
Chuck and Ned are sharing Ned’s bed these days.
Does Ned find his dad? Does Emerson find his daughter? What’s doing with Ned’s magician brothers?
No. No. We couldn’t say.
What’s great?
The cheerful manner in which Charles Charles gives Ned and Chuck the bad news. Lily’s Palinesque pose. “It’s as if someone deliberately sabotaged our oven, Cheater McGee.” “That’s the kind of body language you never hear with pay help.” “What’s the part about your gloves again?” “And, as is traditional, he decided to put to an end to the thing he did not understand.” “Clean thoughts, chum!” The logistical difficulty attending the killer’s arrest. Olive’s Bangle-y encore.
What’s not so great?
Emerson sits out almost the first third of the episode. And it’s a bit surprising that Ned can restore rotten fruit to freshness but is so much less successful with the rotting flesh of Chuck’s long-dead pop.
How does it end, spoiler-boy?
“I was going to tell you.”
“L-Prime” liked it too:
What does the Guide say?
“Ned and Olive's comfort-food competition turns unappetizing when a chef is found dead, and Chuck needs Emerson's help coping with the consequences of her actions.”
Anything the book is keeping from us?
Not reeeeally. The consequences Chuck is concerned about begin one-fold, but soon expand, though it's all fruit born of the same tree. It also presents complications in the over-arching mystery that are not yet clear.
Why would Chuck turn first to Emerson, and not the Pie Maker?
Maybe it's something that the Pie Maker would not like to know...
They were about to awaken Chuck's dad, might it have something to do with that?
That, and a leather glove.
Do we run into Dwight Dixon this week? Does he provide answers?
Yes, and no. But there are certainly developments.
Does Chuck find any of the answers she was looking for from her father?
Not in the 60 seconds the rules gave them.
Lily was waiting in a room full of guns, does she fire one?
Only in her dreams.
Ned and Olive are at a cook-off? That doesn't seem fraught with larger ramifications.
It's not, especially. Except for an especially fanciful murder that allows for a pretty simplistic solve and some entertaining guest stars.
Back to an entertaining tangential side?
Much moreso than last week. It wasn't substantial by any means, but Patrick Fischler (Mad Men's Jimmy Barrett) and Beth Grant (reprising her 2004 stint as Wonderfalls' Marianne Marie Beetle) definitely add some colour to the proceedings.
A crossover?
There were rumours Bryan Fuller wanted Jaye from Wonderfalls to make an appearance at some point, but we'll likely never get to see that. We'll have to do with the return of Muffin Buffalo.
What haven't we covered? Emerson's daughter?
Again no movement. This front has been pretty stagnant lately.
What's good?
Lily's dream sequence with note ending; “Are we weird now because I did it with your dad?”; Decorative hats; The triumphant return of Muffin Buffalo!; “Son of a bitch eating into my 'I love you' time.”; “See that body language is something you don't see with paid help.”; “I'm going to win that blue ribbon, wrap it around her neck, and strangle her with it.”; “If I'm gonna go, at least I go delicious.”; “That's the peck of cahoots, which we are not in.”; “But it did happen.”; “Winning would make an excellent cover.”; “I speak English mit an German accent. Pageantry!”; “Sounds delicious. And filthy.”; “It comes in a box you know.”
What's not?
Just more of the same melancholy owing to the possibilities unfurling before our eyes that are going to be cut short by the lack of imagination and whimsy on the part of the greater American viewing public. The usual. But thank God at least we get another cycle of Dancing with the Stars next year. Morons.
How does it end?
A man in bandages steps into the doorway. A look of disbelief and disappointment.
