Oh hey, look. All logic just flew out the window!
Well, I guess it was bound to happen. The honeymoon is over. This week’s episode of “iZombie” was just weak. It ran in fits and spurts, as one minute it was brilliant and engaging and the next minute it lapsed into varied “No Duh” moments.
Let’s start with bad news first.
Moment One:
Liv goes to Major’s house to apologize for her behavior over the last two episodes. She finds Major, wrapped in a towel, saying he just got out of the shower. All the time the two are talking, he keeps nervously looking back at the stairs. Aside from the fact that neither his hair, nor the towel are wet, did anyone else, aside from Liv, not know that there was a woman upstairs that Major spent the night with? I mean, we have already seen that Major had moved on in a YouTube video that she cried over in Episode Three! How much of a stretch is it that he would have sex with someone of the female persuasion other than Liv?
Moment Two:
Liv has visions that show Clive (Detective Babineaux) seemingly working with the Blue Cobras, a badass Asian gang. Of course, the brain of the current John Doe (who Clive knew) contains enough paranoia to make even Mr. Rogers distrust his neighbor. But, is the viewer supposed to believe that Clive is a dirty cop? How many police shows have had cops working undercover? How many of them had to look crooked to do fit in and infiltrate the bad guys? It’s an old plot device. I’m fairly sure that the character of Rico Rossi, one of Elliot Ness’ crew in “The Untouchables”, went undercover to help bring down Frank Nitti in the 1950’s.
Aside from these two, the script was a bit lacking. Although there were several good lines, the banter between the characters seems to lack the same fire and wit found in the first three episodes.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am not about to bail on the show. It was bound to have an off night. Consider how many shows out there have an off night every week and somehow manage to get renewed every season. “iZombie” is still a bright spot on the schedule.
Rose McIver still continues to amaze with her “shapeshifting”. This time, her comical raging paranoia is tops, peaking when she worries what her neighbor and his “so-called dog” are doing outside. Are they spying on her? It was also a hoot when she utters the immortal words “I can do Kung-fu”, then makes several motions with her arms that I am sure are right from the Power Ranger’s Book of Beating Monster’s Senseless (available through Farkel Press). The Yellow Ranger was in the house that night.
David Anders still impresses as Blaine, evil zombie pusher extraordinaire. This episode gives a large insight into what is happening in Blaine’s after-life. First, he has an office/headquarters, namely the upscale butcher shop: Meat Cute. Love the name. Love the owner. She, I believe, is also a zombie now, as she and Blaine discussed the quality of their spray-on tans. She is also a gourmet (gore-met?) cook, making tasty dishes of brains for Blaine. And remember kids, as Blaine points out to his two zombie errand boys, “Brains are for closers.”
Blaine and the Owner of Meat Cute
Which brings me to another line. Blaine hands a list of women that the two muscles have to collect their monthly fee from. They study the list. Blaine watches in semi-amusement, when the owner walks in with a dish.
“Don’t startle them,” he says. “They’re thinking.” It calls to mind Miguel Ferrar’s great line about the sheriff in “Twin Peaks”, when he tells Cooper “Look. It’s trying to think.”
Try our brains. Let us try yours.
Let’s try not to get startled here, for a moment. It appears that last week’s comment “Two’s company, three’s a horde” is coming into play. We not only find that Blaine has a long list of women he has turned to zombies, but he keeps a number of zombie helpers in the freezer, in case he needs to replace some of the current help. Of course, he did shoot his two “thinkers” in the head for trying to undercut him and start their own business. It is nice to open the freezer and thaw out another worker, when needed.
Two more points I want to cover.
We have found out what happened to Jerome, as we see his body on the butcher shop’s table saw, ready to have his head opened for more “supplies” for Brain Club. We know it was Jerome because of his shoes, which Clive admired in the last episode and the new helper admires and is given at the end of this episode. We can guess that the shoes are going to cause– not end– trouble for Liv, Clive and possibly Major.
And what did you think about the obscure reference at the Vice Squad? Did you see it? It was the name of the Clive’s old partner. Her name is B. DeVore. No?
August Derleth
August Derleth, writer and close friend of H.P. Lovecraft, wrote a wonderful short story called “A Wig for Miss DeVore.” The tale centers on an actress who comes into possession of an ancient wig that was worn during various Aztec ceremonies. Possession is the right word as the wig takes over the actress until the climax when she is found in her dressing room, eating the heart of her manager. So… Clive has traded partners from a heart eater to a brain eater. (If you find my analysis thin, remember “NCIS” and Gibbs Rule #22—There is no such thing as coincidence.)
Keep watching. Keep an eye out too. The CW has yet to renew the show, but the feeling is that it will go to Season Two.
