A little over a week ago, I sat through a 90-minute season finale that had enough commercials to pad a 60-minute show to that 90-minute mark. Aside from being slow-moving and without any form of resolution, it disappointed. I really don’t care that it mirrored the comic frame for frame.
“iZombie” ended its second season with two episodes that buttoned up some story-lines, gave inklings into the continuing of others and ended with the main story-line for season three. But let’s sum up season two by looking at the characters first and see what happened to them in the last two episodes.
MAJOR LILYWHITE
Identified as the Chaos Killer by the dog groomer (with whom he left the basset hound, Minor) Major then grabbed the dog and put him on a bus.
After being arrested, Vaughn du Clark (owner of Max Rager and show runner for Super Max) gets his lawyer to put up all manner of legal road blocks in front of Clive and Bozzio to slow their investigation.
Major has reverted back to being a zombie. He is now on borrowed time, as the cure Dr. Ravi came up with carries a death sentence.
That being the case, he finally tells Liv about the bodies in the freezer.
“Tell me that you believe me.” –Major.
“I want to.” –Liv.
As he is talking with Liv, he is getting hungry.
Liv tries to get him some brains by making a chocolate energy bar with a nougat substitute (hint, brains). She gives the special energy bar to Major’s lawyer, who in turn hands it off to someone else, and that person switches it out with a normal energy bar. Oops! No brains for Major this time!
Just when Major is about to leave jail on bail, Clive stumbles across an informant whom sold Major the guns he used at the Meat Cute massacre. He also found that the urine in the charcuterie’s freezer matched Major’s DNA. With this new evidence, Clive has grounds for arrest, and put Major in the slammer. Again.
Clive then explains the situation to Liv. Since she was Major’s alibi in the Meat Cute case, she might be in some legal trouble with the discovery of new evidence.
Don’t Cook Tonight,
Call Brains Delight!
Back to jail, no brains. Major is in major trouble.
Major lets Liv know that he is about to go Romero and he wants the cure–even though it will wipe away who he is. He reminds her that both ways are bad, but one way is much worse.
Another witness comes forward that may place Major at the scene of another of the Chaos Killer’s victim’s house. But Bozzio finds that at the time of the disappearance, the view of the witness was blocked by trees growing in front of her window. She hopes that it won’t get out that the witness is no good.
RAVI CHAKRIBATI
The FBI enters Ravi’s apartment and arrests him as an accessory to the Chaos Killings, and for being in possession of a controlled substance without a permit (namely, the anesthetic that Major uses on his “victims”). When questioned, he is evasive. Eventually, he is released.
Liv tells Ravi that they need brains for Major. He could “go full Romero in a jail full of walking food.”
The two go to Blaine over at Shady Plots to get a brain from Brain Club.
Blaine, still having lost his memory (or has he?), is willing to give Liv brains, but Don E and Chief want $25,000 for it. They tell her to come back when she has the money.
Ravi visits the prison to get the location of the freezer from Major. Through a series of interesting and not-too-subtle clues, Major lets Ravi know where to find it. He and Liv get to the storage locker in question and find all three freezers, empty. They figure that Max Rager got there first and has the frozen zombies.
But why they have them is not fully understood…yet.
VAUGHN DU CLARK
We see Vaughn at a board meeting. He has decided to sell Max Rager to a private military group, named Fillmore Graves. Vivian Stoll, their representative, appears via satellite and offers one billion dollars for the company. Vaughn, of course, accepts. There is happiness in corporate Seattle.
But there is some unfinished business. Vaughn consults with his henchman, Jacko. He tells him that after Major is released from jail, to kill both him and Liv.
“Thought you would never ask.”
As Major is released on bail (see above), Jacko is in the crowd with an anesthetic gun. Clive’s arrest of Major for the Meat Cute massacre short circuits that attempt.
BLAINE DEBEERS
After an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a brain for Major, Blaine shows up and gives Ravi and Liv a brain from Shady Plots.
Everyone is grateful, but is he being real or fake? We still don’t know.
OLIVIA MOORE
Liv realizes that if she doesn’t do something about Major, he’ll go Romero in jail and get killed. Everything that they have tried has failed. There is no time left. Liv has to go to the extreme.
Liv goes to Clive and tells him that Major is the prime factor in the Meat Cute Massacre. She tells him about Brain Club. She tells him that Major is a zombie, and that zombies are real.
He looks skeptical. Liv admits to being a zombie, and that she became one at the Lake Washington incident. Clive doesn’t believe her. Liv picks up a knife. Then, in what, is the best OMG moment of the season two, Liv stabs herself in full view of Clive. She turns Romero for a moment. Then, takes out the knife. Looking at Clive, she asks:
“Do you believe me now?”
CLIVE BABINEAUX
Clive gets Major released.
Bozzio shows up at Clive’s and asks about both the Chaos Killer and the Meat Cute charges being dropped. Clive tries to explain but Bozzio tells him that his explanations are not good enough to throw away his case, his career and her. She leaves.
He can’t tell her about zombies.
JACKO
Vaughn’s lackey shows up at the morgue where Liv is on the phone with Ravi. She is suddenly cut off.
Ravi returns in time to help a guy (Jacko) remove a body bag. Ravi discovers that Liv is not there and quickly realizes that she must be in the body bag! He hits Jacko in the side of the head with a fire extinguisher and brings Liv back into the morgue. Jacko is only stunned; a fight ensues.
Jacko tries to inject Ravi with a lethal dose of anesthetic, but gets the dose himself. He’s dead.
Ravi wants to turn himself in. But Liv eats Jacko’s brain on a bagel to try to find out where the frozen zombies, and Drake, are. Major also partakes.
Jacko on Ice
They are all in the basement of Max Rager! Alive and Thawed.
The stage is set. The actors are in place. The hunger is rising.
Everything starts in Liv’s apartment at breakfast time. Newly indoctrinated into “Team Z”, Clive is trying to call Bozzio. She won’t answer. He wants to explain, but she isn’t going to give him the chance.
Meanwhile, Mr. Boss has found that Blaine’s “Lucky U” is back on the streets. He finds that Don E. and Chief are doing the selling. He orders the death of Don E. and Chief, extra bloody. His hitmen happily rush off.
At the Funeral Home, Don E. and Chief are waiting for Blaine to return with lunch. They have grown impatient, but a noise upstairs gives them hope. Chief goes upstairs to get the food, and promptly takes one to the head as Mr. Boss’s men arrive. Don E. tells the hitmen that he is taking orders from Blaine, whom is alive. He stalls long enough for Blaine to show up with Thai food.
Blaine sees the thugs and runs. His face seems to indicate that the memory loss is a ruse!
Don E. takes two in the chest for his trouble. Mr. Boss is told about Blaine and boy, is he upset. He wants Blaine’s head in a hatbox.
Ravi and Peyton are trying to get together again. Things seem to be going well, until Blaine shows up at the apartment.
“So,” Peyton says. “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”
A little later, after Blaine has left, more guests appear at Ravi’s apartment; namely Mr. Boss’s henchmen. The give a good beat down to Ravi and take Peyton hostage. They want Blaine.
Blaine shows up at the apartment again and revives Ravi. He goes into detail about how Peyton felt about him. They grab some weapons and head off to Mr. Boss’s to get Peyton back. Blaine tells Ravi to wait in the car. Ravi’s video game prowess does not impress Blaine, whom shows his real world ability by making short work of Mr. Boss’s men. We leave Blaine and Peyton in each other’s arms. Ravi is sure that he has lost Peyton for good.
There is a party at Max Rager to celebrate the deal with Fillmore Graves. Liv, Major and Clive are not on the guest list, but they have plans to get in. Originally, they were going to take Jacko’s hand with them to work the elevator.
Major made friends with a doctor that worked at Max Rager. He thinks he can get him to help.
Of course, unbeknownst to the team, the doctor in question doctor has found some leftover tainted Utopium from the Lake Washington Incident. He and his cohorts are going to use it, because well, it is a party. They wash it down with some Super Max. Yes, they go full Romero!
So, the plan is to get to the thawed zombies in the basement, and get out before the party locks down. Of course, this doesn’t happen.
But why are the zombies in the basement?
As Vaughn explains to Rita, still under glass (Rita under glass, tonight’s special), he sold the company to fund research for her cure and the zombies are his guinea pigs. So far, they are “Oh for Two.”
In looking for the next subject, Drake volunteers.
As usual, the band is late and comes after lock down. They happen to time it perfectly with Clive’s attempt to get in. He goes in with the band, who is fronted by Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas, namesake of iZombie’s showrunner, Rob Thomas.
Vaughn, while enjoying the show, spots Clive, who sees Liv and Major and follows them. They meet in the stairwell and head upstairs to where Major’s doctor friend is. They are met by Vaughn, who tells them that they are not going to make it. He tells his armed guards to take care of the three and leaves. But before they can do anything, the now zombie doctors attack the guards.
Did you hear that?
And all hell breaks loose…
There is shooting. There is running. There are people being eaten.
Being the only living human of the three, Clive attracts a lot of attention. The group finally holes up in a control room. They are trapped. A panel in the ceiling gives way. Zombies fall into the room from above. A check of rounds has Clive admitting that he is saving one bullet for himself. Liv offers to scratch him and make him a zombie. No dice.
As all looks lost, machine gun fire breaks out and zombies drop. It is Vivian, who has purchased Max Rager.
They still have to get to the basement. Liv has the doctor’s hand. That’ll help.
“Come on,” she says, “we all have the same things in common. We all hate my father. We all have seen Major naked.”
“I haven’t seen…” Clive says.
They arrive and find Rita, whom wants out. She offers to show them where the other zombies are. They have to punch in the code to open the door.
“The code is 8675309.”
“My father loves the 80’s.”
Vaughn shows up and cuts Major off from Liv and Clive. They find the zombie victims. and Drake whom is now a Romero. Vaughn lets Drake loose and he attacks Clive. Liv cannot get Drake to recognize her. She ends up shooting him. They let all the guinea pigs go.
Drake, the Romero Version
Vaughn makes a huge narcissistic rant. He is more interested in the possible loss of a billion dollars than his daughter, Zombie Rita. Major shoots Vaughn in the hand. Bet that hurt. Major manages to get the doors open, which sets loose Rita and two Romeros. Vaughn heads for the elevator. But his hand has been shot and the biometric lock on the elevator won’t work. He is finally set upon by Rita and the other two zombies.
Vaughn finally makes his daughter happy
After the smoke has cleared, the doors open to allow the zombies out. Rita spies Clive and charges toward him. Two bullets from Major dispatches her.
Vivian’s private army shows up to take control, ignoring Clive and his police badge. Liv wants to go looking for survivors.
What she finds sets up Season Three!
One the stage, where the band lies dead, Vivian Stoll and a trio of her guards are dining on their brains.
Vivian and her army are zombies!
“Are you ready for the New World Order, Olivia Moore?”
“Ready to do your part for your kind?”
“Someday soon, Seattle is going to be the capital of Zombie Heartland and a lot of people aren’t going to want to see that happen.”
“So are you with us…or against us?”
“Wait…did I forget to turn the stove off?”
So here’s the score.
Chief, Vaughn, Drake and Rita are dead. Don E. has disappeared. Blaine and Peyton may be getting back together. We still don’t know if Blaine is faking it. Mr. Boss is short three hitmen. Nadine, the woman that Major promised to help when he thawed her, is also missing. And, there is a new bad guy, I mean bad gal in town.
“iZombie” did not disappoint. Of course it didn’t. It didn’t disappoint all year! Excellent cast, excellent writing, some of the best humor and repartee have all been a part of the show. “iZombie” is deserving of the renewal and given the ending, it should be an interesting new season! I cannot wait.
The After Party
