iZombie comes back swinging! When iZombie’s last new episode aired three weeks ago, I mulled over the idea that it served as more of a filler episode to bridge the two halves of the season (it was the middle episode of the season, after all). “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter,” easily the best episode of the season thus far, proved that theory, as it showed the writers setting up the endgame for the final eight episodes to come. Helping matters was that the case of the week, while predictable, was consistently entertaining throughout (it was one of the show’s more quotable episodes) and even brought in the indispensable Kristen Bell, whom some of you may recall was the lead character on Rob Thomas’ other female detective series.
Reviewing an episode of iZombie can be a tricky thing because, as I’ve mentioned before, even a mediocre episode of it is still an above-average episode of television. To this day, iZombie has not aired a truly bad episode, which is why it’s never earned anything less than a 3-skull rating. Sure, there have been a few that relied on the procedural elements a little too much and suffered from wheel-spinning, but the writing and acting is always top notch. So a 3.5- or 4-skull iZombie could be considered a weaker episode. This entire tangent of a paragraph is just to help you understand my thought process when scoring each episode. Now let’s get to “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter.”
What makes “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter” so important to the series is that the stakes finally feel real. For the first time this season, scenes created legitimate suspense (Major going to pick up Minor from the groomer before Clive and Dale caught him, Peyton granting Blaine immunity before realizing the monster he really is, etc.). It is an intensity that has been lacking from some of iZombie’s previous episodes and was a welcome addition to this latest episode.
What started off as a fun and harmless episode abruptly yet seamlessly turned into a heartbreaking series of revelations between Peyton and the rest of the cast. It was a night of choices for Liv and Peyton. At first, Peyton’s scene with Blaine seemed to come out of nowhere (when was the last time Peyton was on the show?), but it all came together in the end. Both characters chose to have sex with their suitors, and while Peyton was shown the light about Blaine, Liv is still in the dark about Drake.
Ail Michalka hasn’t had much in the way of dramatic scenes since she found out about Liv last season, but this week she had plenty of them. Michalka is a talented actress and she has felt severely underused in the past. “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter” is a step in the right direction for the character the hopefully won’t see any backtracking next week.
The highlight of the episode may have been the final 10 minutes, but that doesn’t mean the first 50 weren’t of high quality. Dale is quickly becoming one of the best characters on the show and her chemistry with Clive is palpable. Their scenes together are legitimately fun to watch and it gives Malcolm Goodwin something to do besides act so stoic all the time. It would be awful if Bozzio became a casualty from their investigation into Blaine, but we will have to accept that as a possibility unless Jessica Harmon gets brought on as a series regular.
As soon as they mentioned turning on Minor’s GPS tracker, you knew it would only mean trouble for Major. While it’s only a matter of time before he gets caught (whether by Liv, Ravi or Clive), he was able to get by unscathed this week, albeit short one dog.
Liv’s brain of the week (that of a sexually-starved erotic fiction author) provided plenty of laughs. It was nice to see Liv get a brain that let her play fun and loose without damaging her relationships as some of her recent brains have. “The husband did it” is an old trope, but it worked out here if not surprisingly, then at least satisfyingly. At the very least this week’s mystery gave us a small dose of Kristen Bell as the celebrity reader of the victim’s audiobook.
“Fifty Shades of Grey Matter” showcased iZombie at its strongest. It dramatically raised the stakes while still moving the plot forward at a surprisingly brisk pace (I’m still astounded that Peyton found out about Blaine and told Liv about it in the same episode that Clive and Dale caught up with Blaine). If the remaining eight episodes this season can keep up the pace, we may be in for a stellar back half of iZombie’s second season.
Random Notes
- Chapter Titles of the Week: If Books Could Kill; Bookworm Food; Lord of the Files; Talk Dirty to Me; Bringing Sexy Back; The Hem-Locker; Arrested Development;
- Brain Recipe of the Week: Brain-Stuffed Peppers! Those looked delicious!
- How sad was it watching Minor in the bus window? I got legitimate tears in my eyes. He’s going to have some major abandonment issues.
- Is it kosher for the police to tell a suspect that the husband of the victim pointed them in her direction?
- “I’ve always felt a kind of connection to her.” -A subtle nod from the writers connecting Liv to Veronica Mars.
- “You’ve been a bad little bitch haven’t you?” -Kristen Bell, reading the audiobook Grace’s novel.
- “I’m going to show you why they call it a cockpit!” -More Kristen Bell. I wish I could have just transcribed the entire monologue but I figured that would be excessive.
- Seriously though, if you’ve never watched Veronica Mars, do it now. It’s a fantastic show (and if you’ve only see the movie but none of the show, your opinion is void).
- “I’ve been a baaaad morgue attendant. I’ll understand if there are punitive damages!” -Liv’s first inappropriate line of the night.
- “And then victory sex. High five!” -I’m totally shipping Clozzio.
- “He’s got a scar on his face that speaks his sin.” -Liv describing Drake.
- “Hey, I’m pre-ordering this book. You’re not the only one in a dry spell.” -Peyton, after hearing an excerpt from Grace’s novel
- The flight attendant is named Alissa Trammell. Nice nod to Basic Instinct.
- Never knew Julian’s fake last name was DeWeed. I laughed unreasonably hard at that. Blaine DeBeers and Julian DeWeed would sell teenagers beer and weed. It’s perfect!
- “Seems pretty unlikely.” “Yeah! That’s what a coincidence means.”
- No brains for Liv next week! Let’s see how the episode pans out with “normal” Liv.
