"Death by scratch-and-sniff? What the hell happened to people shooting each other with guns?"
Emerson Cod
The Past
The Present
Olfactory self-help expert Napoleon LeNez's assistant is killed by a freak book explosion, one that the author suspects was intended for him. He suggests his Rival Turned Evil, Oscar Vibenus, as the murderer.Tropes
- Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Not only are the sewers large enough for even Ned to walk around comfortably the walls are patterened in yellow tiles.
- Decontamination Chamber: LeNez has one the clean off visitors so they don't bring any unpleasant-smelling particles into his office.
- Foreshadowing: Lily goes to "her dark place" when Olive starts asking about Chuck's mother.
- Genre Savvy: Chuck is cautious about Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers.
- Harmony Versus Discipline: Vibenius and LeNez's rivalry. LeNez believes in only engaging with good smells, and lives in a highly controlled environment so he can remove any "bad" smells. Vibenius believes in embracing the full spectrum of fragrance even if it's "bad", and as a result spends a lot of time in the sewer.
- Meaningful Name: "Le nez" is French for "the nose".
- My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: LeNez can tell by smelling Ned that he and Chuck are in love.
- The Nose Knows: Napoleon LeNez and Oscar Vibineous have heightened senses of smell and can pick up minute details based on someone's scent.
- Redemption in the Rain: Aunt Vivian's gorgeous rendition of Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken".
- Rival Turned Evil
- Rocky Roll Call:Chuck: Ned?!Ned: Chuck?!Napoleon LeNez: Oscar!Oscar Vibenius: Napoleon!(Beat)Olive: Hi, Emerson.Emerson: Hey, Olive.
- Sherlock Scan: LeNez and Vibenius both sniff our heroes and report back on what they find.
- Shout-Out: To The Wizard of Oz following the "yellow thick tube"
- Smells of Death: LeNez notes that Chuck smells of "death" but attributes it to the chemicals in her perfume. Except, she points out, she's not wearing perfume so the smell is coming from her. Vibenius picks up on the same scent, and her lack of perfume, and also recognises that Digby has the same note in his smell but considers it different to the smell of death. He doesn't know what this means, but the audience is aware it's because they were both revived by Ned.
- Technicolor Science: LeNez creates the scents for his scratch-and-sniff plates using brightly colored fluids.
