iZombie returned to us tonight with one of the most emotional episodes the series has aired to date, with Liv having to face her insecurities about her relationship with Major, while also dealing with the very real issue of the betrayals he has committed during the past few weeks.
Some of iZombie’s best episodes have centered around cases that directly involve one of the main characters, so it should have tipped us off right away when it was revealed that Clive was going to be directly involved in the investigation. Of course, there was no real fear that he was in actual jeopardy, as there as no way he would be capable of murder (we hope).
What was shocking was Liv’s arrest at the hands of the chief of police. We are so used to seeing her get away with everything that it was a bit shocking to see her get caught for once. Seeing her put in a position where she had no access to brains was one of the most tense moments iZombie has done in recent memory, and it played out in spades. This is something that the show could use more of in future episodes. As amazing as the series is (and it is amazing), it rarely has moments of unbearable tension. That moment in the jail cell with Liv hovering over her cellmate while in full-on zombie mode was a nice tease of what is hopefully to come (maybe locking her in a room with Major, perhaps?).
I’m getting ahead of myself here. The main focus of the episode was on the stalker-brain Liv ate, thereby causing major trust issues between her and Major (which, to be fair, she does have a reason not to trust him). It was only a matter of time before something started to pick apart at the integrity of Liv and Major’s relationship. Of course, it’s easy to forget that there are still plenty of lies on Major’s part that are just waiting to come out into the open. Like Liv, we were all in the honeymoon phase of their newly rekindled relationship, forgetting that the truth must come out eventually (or maybe that was just me)
The moment where Liv broke down while trying to open up Major’s safe was some great work by Rose McIver (of course he had removed the list of zombie names and his drug-gun by that point). We haven’t ever seen Liv this broken, and while Regina’s stalker-brain certainly added to those emotions, it has become clear by this point that they still tap into some of Liv’s innermost thoughts and feelings.
Throwing another wrench into Liv and Major’s relationship was Gilda’s jealousy. It’s ironic that she’s actually developed feelings for Major, but it is oddly satisfying for viewers to see her get so frustrated with Major. It was heartbreaking to see her toy with Liv’s emotions when she told her that she should punish him, but it was wonderful to see her refer to Gilda as a desperate woman who threw herself at Major (Gilda’s reaction was perfect). That cat needs to be let out of the bag soon though. iZombie has a tendency to drag out secrets for too long, and this one is nearing that threshold. Hopefully the midseason finale next week remedies that problem with this particular plot line.
“The Hurt Stalker” was an exceptional episode of iZombie, choosing to focus more on the emotional journey Liv is going through in her relationship with Major as opposed to the season-long arc. It was a nice build-up to the mid-season finale next week, allowing things to simmer just before they boil over. We’re in for a treat next week!
Random Notes
- Chapter Titles of the Week: Shamble of Shame; Calling the Shots; I’m Only Happy When It’s Brains; A Very Wrong Engagement; 99 Problems But a Stitch Ain’t One; Dead Woman Walking; Karma Police. 99 Problems is my favorite, what’s yours?
- Brain Recipe of the Week: Brain and Peanut Butter-Topped Celery. Simple, but tasty!
- No Blaine this week. Boo.
- Vaughn du Clark made a brie appearance tonight, and he is ‘roided out from all the SuperMax he’s been drinking. Methinks that will come back into play fairly soon.
- “Go with the urine flavor.” -Gilda
- “You might see his O-face. I bet it’s really angry!” -Ravi, on Liv eating the brain of Clive’s former stalker girlfriend
- “You wanna really set him off? Ask him was George R. R. Martin is doing right now.” -I really like Dale Bozzio. She’s a peach.
- “Clive, what’s George R.R. Martin up to right now?” “NOT. WRITING.”
- Did anyone else audibly gasp when Gilda was taking that selfie of herself? I so thought Liv was going to see her face. Such a tease, iZombie.
- We were awarded with an extra five episodes this season, bringing the episode count to 19 for Season 2!
- Before we get there, here is the promo for the mid-season finale. See you all next week!