DISCLAIMER: This iZombie recap contains more spoilers than the number of times Liv has had that one crucial vision that cracks the case. Our favorite undead morgue attendant is chock full of ’em. You’ve been warned. Prepare for New Seattle, and enter at your own peril.
Welcome back, zombies of New Seattle! iZombie brought us another solid, if not slow burning, episode this week. The pieces are falling into place for an all-out zombie uprising courtesy of Angus, Blaine’s father. Meanwhile, Major and Liv’s “friends with benefits” arrangement comes to an abrupt end when the duo are at odds over New Seattle protocol. No, I refuse to accept this outcome. Livajor (my shipping name for them) forever. Liv ate the brain of a less-than-friendly deceased dowager and annoyed everyone to no end. It was glorious.
Alright, ready to delve into “Blue Bloody?” Just be sure Liv’s martinis are shaken and not stirred. She can be incredibly picky while on this particular brain.
We open with Mrs. Brinks (Ann Walker) and her companion Maxine Lippman (Brenda Matthews) engaging in a rousing game of golf. Well, golf and gossip. We see that Mrs. Brinks is a loaded gun – a spitfire old dowager who has something to say about everybody, and it ain’t pretty. Essentially, she’s who I want to be when I grow up. Suddenly, a rogue golf ball whizzes through the air, knocking Mrs. Brinks bodily to the ground. Said golf ball is lodged in her eye socket. She’s dead. Well, that escalated quickly.
Later Liv (Rose McIver), Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) and Ravi (Rahul Kohli) arrive on the scene. Cause of death seems pretty straightforward, that is until someone uncovers a golf ball gun. Now, Clive changes the course of this scene into a full-blown homicide investigation. It’s time for Liv to do her magic! She morphs Mrs. Brinks’ brains into a delectable martini, complete with a smattering of brain serving as an olive. How does iZombie manage to make every zombie dish look absolutely appetizing? I’ll never know.
Meanwhile, Angus (Robert Knepper) is still at the church. However, he’s a new undead man – clean shaven and bathed. He’s adorned in the robes of the preacher he just slaughtered. With his white blonde hair and sickly pallor, he looks more like Blaine than ever before. Angus has taken up the mantle of Zombie Savior, claiming that God spoke to him while trapped in that well. God loves and favors the undead. He longs for them to take what is rightfully theirs. Uprising time! Angus’ new army is completely on board.
Next, we see Major’s seedy coworker Russ (Giacomo Baessato) in the midst of a deal with a slew of shady dealers. You know, black market stuff. He was bragging about selling brains under the table in the previous episode. Suddenly, Angus and his army make their grand entrance, with the former ordering the latter to take these human dealers to task. A brawl breaks out, with the zombies overtaking the humans in the end. They bring said humans to Angus’ feet and, armed with his trusty hammer, he slaughters them all. Violence is apparently part of God’s will…
Later, the following day, Liv climbs into Clive’s backseat as they set out to start their investigation. She’s donning quite the beehive hairstyle and aristocratic attire. Well, you know what they say – the bigger the hair, the closer to God. She behaves as if Clive is her chauffeur. This version of Liv is going to be uncomfortable for many reasons.
Meanwhile, Major (Robert Buckley) is taking his new charges Jordan (Jade Payton) and Captain Seattle (Jake Manley) under his wing. He’s explaining to them why it’s so important to wear their uniforms correctly, and how all it takes is one shot to the head to permanently end a zombie. Aw, Major is such a stickler for the rules. Liv would be proud. Speaking of which…
Now, Liv and Clive have arrived at Mrs. Brinks’ lavish estate, where moving trucks are whisking her possessions away. They begin questioning her staff, and Liv doesn’t shy away from derogatory, demeaning or flat-out racist commentary. Unfortunately, people like Mrs. Brinks still exist, as cartoon-like as they seem. They grill her chauffeur, her gardener and her chef (Linda Park). We discover her son is very sick, and that Mrs. Brinks refused to offer her chef any aid in the matter, despite her opulent wealth. Hmm. Sounds like motive to me! Clive and Liv also discover a safe nestled away, and they employ Vampire Steve (Kett Turton) to break it open.
Later, Liv and Major are preparing for some sexy fun times in the former’s room. Apparently, they’ve been occasionally partaking in the horizontal tango. I give this my stamp of approval. Liv is still in Mrs. Brinks’ skin, and she rocks Major’s world as the feisty dowager. Role playing, whether prompted by brain ingestion or other means, can be fun. The next day, Major is cooking up the ultimate breakfast for her and Ravi when Liv has a vision. Case cracking time!
Next, Clive comes to Ravi for advice. Advice of the sexual variety. Ravi is all ears and eager to provide insight in this arena. Clive is having difficulty feeding his needs in his relationship with Bozzio. If you recall, Bozzio is a zombie, thus our lovebirds can’t copulate without fatal repercussions for our Clive. However, they want to make their relationship work. Clive was hoping Ravi could prescribe something to suppress said needs. Ravi gives him anti-anxiety medication which is known to curb libido. Yay for modern medicine!
Then, Liv tells Clive of her vision – a trio of Mrs. Brinks’ staff were playing with the golf ball gun in her back lawn. Thus, one of them must be the perpetrator. It all makes sense! Our favorite duo launches into action.
Meanwhile, Angus is standing on the back of a truck bed, shouting his prophecies through a megaphone for all of New Seattle to hear. He tosses bits of brain to malnourished zombies trailing behind him. He urges them to gather at his church, to find strength in their newfound purpose of rising over the humans. The apocalypse is nigh!
Next, Liv and Clive bring Mrs. Brinks’ staff to the precinct for questioning. They discover through their research that Mrs. Brinks left each of her employees a million dollars in her will. However, said employees are unaware of their bequeathing. Thus, Clive and Liv begin their questioning, dropping the million dollar bomb on their potential suspects to see how they react. Each person reacts as if they had no idea of their bequeathing. Mrs. Brinks’ chef claims it impossible, since the dowager was so cross with everyone when she was alive.
Now, Clive and Liv sift through what they’ve learned. Vampire Steve beckons them to Clive’s desk with the findings from Mrs. Brinks’ safe. Her will, for one. The puzzle pieces are falling into place for New Seattle’s finest.
Meanwhile, a trio of humans notice that a restaurant has opened its doors to the zombie population, and proceeds to spray paint a red letter “Z” on said doors. These particular humans don’t take too kindly to the undead. They begin harassing the owner but thankfully it doesn’t escalate before Major and his squad arrives. Major urges the owner to venture back inside while he takes care of the unruly humans. One of them purposefully bumps into Jordan and nicks her helmet off her head. She launches into full-blown zombie mode and attacks the man, scratching his arm in the process.
Now, he orders his friends to shoot him in the head, as he’d rather perish than morph into a zombie. A pair of soldiers hold back the zombified (definitely a word) Jordan while Major attempts to pacify the scratched man. Major notices a passerby who’s filming the whole scene on his phone, and demands said passerby cease from doing so. PR nightmare, am I right?
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Later, Mrs. Brinks’ chef confesses to the murder of her employer. Her son has a heart defect and is in desperate need of expensive medical care, and the million dollars would help immensely in that regard. Aha, motive, my dear Watson! She jots down a street address for Clive and Liv, begging them to take her son to said address. From there, he can be transported to his father in Los Angeles. Clive mentions the dangers involved in that, since they would have to cross the quarantined zone. However, Liv’s heart is breaking for her, and we see the effects of the brain are wearing off.
Then, Bozzio (Jessica Harmon) discovers Clive’s medicated secret, that he’s taking anti-anxiety pills to quell his libido. Bozzio tosses the pills and assures her boyfriend that they’ll find another way to satisfy their collective needs. They love each other, right? That should be enough. I just want Clive to be happy!
Meanwhile Ravi, seeing how distraught Liv is, vows to help her sequester the chef’s son away through the quarantined zone, so he can get to his father. Various members of Mrs. Brinks’ staff offers to help our pair in their quest. They conceal the son in the backseat of the Morgue Mobile. Liv and Ravi are en route to the meetup location when they encounter the quarantined zone checkpoint. A soldier of Filmore-Graves stops them and seeks the guidance of his superior officer, who happens to be none other than Major. Major questions why they need to drive through the zone so late at night, and Ravi fibs that they must collect a body. Despite the fact that a slew of other soldiers sense something peculiar about the scenario, Major allows his friends passage. That was a close one!
Later, Liv and Ravi arrive at a laundromat. A woman named Mama Leone (Dawnn Lewis) takes the son, vowing that he’ll be reunited with his father in due time.
Next, Major arrives at Liv’s door, demanding answers. He reminds her that she’s not the only one attempting to do good as a zombie. Liv believes Major may be on the wrong side of the fence on this one. After a few minutes of intense arguing, Major proposes that they end their “friends with benefits” arrangement. Liv agrees, and Major storms out. No, this isn’t what the people wanted! Livajor can’t be undone!
Then, we see Angus back at his church, feeding his new followers what they crave – brains. The church is now completely packed with overzealous members of the undead, eager to follow Angus wherever he takes them. A new day is dawning for zombies everywhere…
iZombie is laying the groundwork for a sizzling season this year. Yes, sizzling. I love the intricate details and setup we’ve received for this new world, New Seattle. Very post-apocalyptic, yet relevant to the current societal climate of today’s world. Liv and Major may be on opposite sides of the fence, but eventually they’ll have to grasp hands across party lines to prevent a more sinister threat from destroying the world as they know it. Angus and his army are out for human blood.
Do you think Blaine will stand with his father and fight to demolish the humans? Does Chase Graves have pure motives, or does he too wish to terminate all human existence? How long before Liv is thrown into the fight? Join me next week as I continue to recap iZombie, here on Geek Girl Authority.
iZombie airs Mondays at 9pm on your CW affiliate.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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