Reviews
[TV Review] “iZombie” Season 1 Finale: ‘Blaine’s World’
Now this is how you do a season finale! There were at least three moments in the episode where I audibly gasped during “Blaine’s World” (Major getting stabbed, the Meat Cute exploding with Evan standing outside, and Liv saying she wouldn’t donate her blood to save her brother) and any episode of a television show that can make me do that is fantastic. It’s a good thing iZombie is coming back in the fall, because if we had to wait until next March for a new season it wouldn’t be pleasant.
Everything was tied together in the end of “Blaine’s World,” and neither bad guy was killed off of the show for good. Both Blaine and Max Rager CEO Vaughn Du Clark both emerged from the episode bruised and battered (and cured, in Blaine’s case), but it looks like they will be back next season to go head to head with Liv.
Surprisingly, most of the episode was focused on Major (Ravi had surprisingly little screen time and Peyton didn’t even make an appearance). I’ve said it several times in my previous reviews (and I will refrain from doing so once the second season begins), but Major has become one of the best (possibly the best) parts of the show. His arc all season has been phenomenal, with the only weak point coming from Liv’s reluctance to tell him the truth. Even that issue was remedied once he confronted Liv about all of the secrets she has kept from him all season.
It was a cathartic scene between Major and Liv, brilliantly acted by Rose McIver and Robet Buckley, with Major essentially voicing every thought the audience has had all season. Liv is the main character of the show, but it’s hard not to side with Major in this argument. All of Liv’s motivations for keeping things from Major have been purely selfish, and not in his best interest. It was wonderful to finally see the two hash it out.
Also nice was to see Major kick some serious ass. After creatively escaping from Blaine’s freezer (which was a unique and original form of torture) he went Rambo on the entire staff of the Meat Cute in a thrilling sequence that I would like to see more of in the second season. Hopefully that tease of Clive ordering a gun residue test on Major will just lead to Liv opening up to him as well, as I don’t particularly want to see a season of Major on trial for mass murder.
I don’t want to make it seem like Liv was a supporting player in her own season finale. She still had plenty to do, but none of it was particularly interesting until the final act. McIver got to show off her acting skills by making some tough decisions during the episode. Her decision to turn Major and then cure him again after their heart-to-heart was powerful, but it was watching her decide not to donate blood to her brother that held the most weight. It was also a surprising choice for the season cliffhanger, but that’s what made it work.
Elsewhere, Suzuki blew up the Meat Cute, but not before writing Blaine’s name in blood all over the walls (at least I think it was Blaine’s name). This was a jam-packed finale with plenty of phenomenal moments. It’s everything a season finale of a show should be. Let’s hope season two can live up to the high bar season one has set.
Random Notes
- Chapter Titles Of The Week: Major Cold Spell; And Then There Was One; Meet The New Boss; Great Balls of Ire; Getting a Bum Rap; Don’t Turn Around, Uh Oh; Bloodbath and Beyond. I vote for Bloodbath and Beyond.
- Zombie Power Of The Week: Super Snarkiness! Not one of my favorite brains this season but Liv did get some funny one-liners.
- “Not to speak ill of the dead but she’s kind of a snarky little bitch.” -Liv on Theresa
- “Hey! Creepy Stares-A-Lot. I’m not on a sex cam I can see you!” -Liv to new employee.
- The shot of Tommy’s brainless corpse was pretty gruesome by CW standards.
- “He made a funny sound while spitting on you?” -Liv, when the homeless guy was trying to describe the explosion.
- So…Vaughn Du Clark’s master plan for his energy drink is to make it so that sleep is a thing of the past? Alright. It’s not exactly genius, but alright.
- That Super Max can sure did look like a Red Bull knockoff didn’t it?
- Blaine’s first meal as a newly-cured zombie? Hot Pockets.
- “Just what we need: a noise complaint! You’ve got the slow and agonizing death thing under control, right? Great! I hope it hurts.” -I love David Anders, and I’m happy he’s sticking around next season so we can get more wonderful lines like this.
- “Make more now bitch!”
- That’s it for the first season everyone! Hope you’ve enjoyed reading my reviews as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. See you again in the fall when Season 2 premieres!
Tubi has been making strides with its original horror content lately, albeit small ones. For instance, director Ted Campbell’s first overtly horror offering, This Never Happened, shows how the popular streaming platform is progressing in the genre game while still having plenty of room to improve. These newer originals certainly look better than their predecessors; more effort in the visuals department makes a noticeable difference. Yet this tale of spectral vengeance can’t coast on its good looks alone. Beneath the attractive surface sits an uninspired story that won’t save this movie from ultimately becoming lost in Tubi’s growing catalog of made-in-house horrors.
Looking at both Campbell and co-writer Richard Pierce’s track record so far, the pair doesn’t have much experience in horror. Essentially all they did here was take the plot of one of their grounded thrillers and add a supernatural element. Two, in fact. On top of the ghost is the main character’s preternatural gift: Emily (played capably by María José De La Cruz) can talk to the dead. Not in a “look into my crystal ball” kind of way, but, nevertheless, she can communicate with spirits as well as see into the past. Whether or not she likes it. That interesting facet of the protagonist eventually comes to the surface as she attends her boyfriend’s (Javier Dulzaides) father’s funeral. It also becomes crucial to solving the mystery at the heart of This Never Happened.
While other similar movies might try to be vague — characters having random premonitions with no supernatural origin, for instance — This Never Happened is open about Emily’s abilities. The writers even spell it out for you not once but twice (and not counting a somewhat spoilery opening scene). First, Ana Laura Espinosa plays the kind shopkeeper who picks up on Emily’s clairvoyance as well as provides the sense of tolerance lacking in the young woman’s life. Then, Emily directly explains everything to her incredulous and rather insensitive boyfriend, Mateo. The same boyfriend who says things like, “Maybe you forgot to take your pills.”
Unfortunately, This Never Happened succumbs to stale plot developments and cardboard characters after a promising start. Following the funeral, Emily and Mateo invite friends to stay at his family’s lavish home for the night. A place obviously harboring a dark secret or two, by the way. The script never bothers to give Mateo’s friends the benefit of the doubt either, seeing as they act shady from the moment they first show up. In general, the movie’s mystery aspect is too straightforward and foreseeable for seasoned horror enthusiasts.
Particular design elements of the uncanny manifestation, such as her sharp-toothed snarl, make her come across as more cheesy than intimidating. The restrained interpretation of this angry spirit is preferred to the over-the-top model. Compensating for a goofy-looking ghost are kill sequences that tap into the ferocity of older Italian horror. However, that nasty modern habit of hurrying things along rather than prolonging and savoring the violence comes up here, as does the infuriating trend of poor scene lighting.
This movie fits in well with the likes of The Grudge. Namely those horror movies where a location is haunted by a vengeful and bloodthirsty spirit. Once you make that connection, the story plays out as you would expect. All in all, things definitely happened in This Never Happened, but apart from a decent step up in production values and a solid performance from the lead actor, very little of this movie is of note.
This Never Happened is now streaming on Tubi.
Pictured: This Never Happened poster courtesy of MarVista Entertainment.
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