DISCLAIMER: This iZombie recap contains more spoilers than the number of times Liv has daydreamed about her new beau, Tim. Those hopeless romantic brains pack quite the mushy gushy punch. You’ve been warned. Prepare for nthe zombie uprising, and enter at your own peril.
Welcome back, zombies of New Seattle! iZombie wrapped up its “Brainless in Seattle” two-parter with Clive and Liv snagging the serial killer who was ravaging New Seattle. Consider this case closed! I’ve always wanted to type that sentence (and say it aloud with gusto), and now I can finally check that off the ol’ bucket list. Meanwhile, Blaine closed in on the elusive Renegade/Mama Leone, which made for a happy Chase Graves. Well, as happy as he can appear. Stoicism makes for less wrinkles, you know. Ravi tried on being bait for size, and Major discovered what Angus has really been up to. Oh, and Liv confessed what she witnessed with Bozzio to Clive, and the latter revealed some surprising insight. Clive and Bozzio are in an open relationship, which hardly seems to reconcile with the Clive we know.
Alright, ready to delve into “Brainless in Seattle, Part 2?” Just be sure to give Liv adequate love doodling time. She’s practicing her signature for when she marries Tim What’s-His-Name.
We open with an emaciated zombie scrounging for leftover brain scraps inside The Scratching Post. He looks like your stereotypical zombie. No one seems to stop him from eating. That is, until Russ (Giacomo Baessato) and his goons encounter the starving zombie. Russ takes down the helpless man, using his elevated status as a Filmore-Graves soldier to make the latter feel inferior. Fear is powerful.
Later, Liv (Rose McIver) and Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) are eating lunch in the latter’s car. Liv is still high on hopeless romantic brains, doodling little hearts around the police sketch of Tim she received in the previous episode. Of course Clive is well aware that Liv isn’t herself. However, he’s still clearly irritated with this version of his zombie friend. Alright, enough dilly dallying. Time to catch a serial killer!
Meanwhile, Chase (Jason Dohring) pays Major (Robert Buckley) and his squad of newbies a visit. Chase’s patience is wearing thin, but it was never akin to a thick viscous substance to begin with. The video footage of Jordan (Jade Payton) scratching Tucker is still wafting through the vents of the internet. Chase demands Major and his subordinates find said footage and dispose of it immediately. Bad press is, well, bad press in this case.
Next, Tucker (Jaren Brandt Bartlett) is seen entering his old stomping grounds, a pub, to a very cold reception. Maybe even chillier than the body temperature of a zombie. Tucker is not handling his transition to the undead side of things well. Everyone appears to be shunning him. Mace (Nick Heffelfinger), the one who refused to shoot Tucker after he was scratched, is the only person who treats new zombie with respect. They sit for a while and shoot the s**t. Suddenly, Mace hands his friend an object concealed in paper. We see it’s a gun. Mace suggests Tucker take his own life as a means to avoid living as a zombie. Some friend you are, dude.
Then, Tucker is sitting forlornly in a bathroom stall, gun in hand. He’s contemplating Mace’s suggestion. Tucker presses the barrel of the gun against his temple, but can’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
Meanwhile, Blaine (David Anders) is having a meeting with Don E (Bryce Hodgson) in his office. Blaine reveals to Don E that he ingested the brains of Anthony, the man who was supposedly turned by the Renegade. Thus, his verbal filter is wearing dangerously thin. Everything that pops into his own brain he immediately blurts aloud. Blaine fills Don E in on his mission to capture the Renegade in an attempt to get Chase off his case. He also reveals that he has all of the zombie cures originally in Ravi’s possession. Hodgson’s Don E never fails to make me laugh. Both actors have terrific comedic timing and excellent chemistry. Then again, Anders could have chemistry with a colorless brick wall, that’s how charismatic he is.
Later, Clive and Liv take their findings from the dutch oven to the morgue where Ravi (Rahul Kohli) is. They discover that Bruce Holtz, the serial killer, took part in chat rooms as a means to pick out his victims. Clive and Liv then decide to use Ravi as bait, to which the latter enthusiastically dons an even more exaggerated version of his own British accent. He creates a persona around an upper crust society man who’s desperate to break out of New Seattle so he can return to his family in the UK. Hats off to Kohli for never shying away from the silliness in iZombie. Ravi is one of my favorite characters, and this further solidified my love for him.
Next Michelle (Christie Laing), the new officer of the precinct, drops by the morgue in search of Clive. She reveals that she heard he was in possession of her coffee mug. Liv surreptitiously slips Clive said mug, and he hands it to Michelle. Of course, this was one of Liv’s many attempts to stage a meet cute and play cupid. But Bozzio is cheating on you, boo! Time to find someone new!
Meanwhile, Blaine is working the floor of his restaurant, chatting with patrons about the brain specials on the menu. Every brain locally sourced and freshly dead. This is the zombie version of veganism. Suddenly, Blaine is stricken with a vision of the Renegade speaking with Anthony inside her headquarters, the laundromat. A slew of Filmore-Graves soldiers appear behind her. Bingo! Later, Blaine reveals his vision to Don E, and the duo launches into a search and capture of the Renegade.
Then, a forlorn and hopeless Tucker stumbles upon Angus’ (Robert Knepper) church service. He’s enthralled by Angus’ charisma as well as his powerful speech regarding the inevitable downfall of Filmore-Graves, and humanity as a whole. Zombies are the superior race, according to Angus. Everyone in the church rises eagerly to their feet, raucously cheering and clapping. Tucker is swept up by the enthusiasm of it all, finally settling into a place where he truly belongs. Zombie power!
Next, Clive and Liv begin to lose hope in ever catching Bruce. Ravi sent out an email as his alter ego in order to lure the serial killer in, but so far it’s been radio silence. Liv wracks her brain on possible solutions, and finds herself at Mama Leone’s (Dawnn Lewis) doorstep. Leone reveals that what she does, turning humans into zombies, is completely different than the other “coyotes” out there. She turns people that are dying and need zombieism to survive. Leone divulges her origins story of sorts to Liv, and how she had her suspicions about zombies before the undead went public. She draws parallels between her and Liv – how they both use their zombie state for the good of humans and the undead alike. I’m slowly warming up to Mama Leone/Renegade.
Meanwhile, Major and his crew decide to stop by various establishments that are not zombie friendly. They arrive at the pub Tucker was initially visiting. Our Filmore-Graves squad is met with cold resistance. Mace and his lackeys taunt Major and co. Major learns that the phone housing the video footage of Tucker’s scratching was stolen by Tucker himself. He offers to pay $1,000 for the number of said phone so Filmore-Graves can track it. However, after Mace relentlessly taunts Jordan, Major’s offer drops significantly. After some threatening on Major’s part, it appears Tucker’s former friends may actually cooperate. Major isn’t called Major for nothing.
Later, at the morgue, Ravi receives a video call from Bruce himself (Christopher Mackie). Ravi is his alter ego, the self-indulgent and charismatic bourgeois Brit just looking to get home to his family. The interaction runs without a hitch, with Ravi establishing a time/place for him and Bruce to meet. Perhaps Ravi missed his calling as an actor…
Then, Liv reveals her true feelings regarding Clive’s relationship with Bozzio without informing him of what she witnessed. She believes that Clive deserves better than Dale. Clive chastises her for overstepping her bounds, and that he’s perfectly happy with Bozzio. Liv is just trying to help!
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Next, Major and his squad track the stolen phone to Angus’ church, where they spot Tucker loitering outside. Tucker makes a break for the interior, hoping to evade Major altogether. Suddenly, the Filmore-Graves crew is swarmed by angry church zombies. Tucker relinquishes the phone to Major, but it comes attached with a warning that Filmore-Graves’ rule will soon end. Angus makes an appearance, much to Major’s surprise. Angus launches into a monologue about how Major used to be one of the “good zombies,” but he lost his way when he became a soldier. The church body continues to close in on the squad, backing them into a corner. Uh oh. This won’t end well.
Then, Ravi meets Bruce at their scheduled location, which happens to be in the same factory where Liv and Clive found those skeletal remains. Ravi establishes that his code word is “pickle,” should things go south and Bruce gets all murder-y. Bruce lives up to his serial killer nature by brandishing a gun on our dear Ravi. Suddenly, the Seattle PD swarms Bruce from all sides and arrests him. Go team!
Later, Michelle and Clive find themselves getting stuck in an elevator together. Is it kismet? Or is Liv up to her cupid antics again?
After said elevator fiasco, Clive confronts Liv believing her to be the culprit. However, Liv knows nothing of the sort, and thinks fate intervened with a real-life meet cute. Then, Liv confesses what she saw at The Scratching Post. Clive reveals that he has an open relationship with Bozzio. Plot twist! However, it still pains him to think of Bozzio with another man, but he’s willing to try anything to keep them together. Love is strange, and painful.
Later, everyone and their mother arrives at The Scratching Post for some human/zombie fun. Even Major and his crew are in on the action. Meanwhile, Blaine has another telling vision at his restaurant in regards to the Renegade’s whereabouts. He sends his best fighters into Mama Leone’s laundromat headquarters and, after some resistance, securely captures the elusive Renegade. Blaine waltzes into Chase Grave’s office and unceremoniously plops Leone into a chair facing the Filmore-Graves CEO. Chase smiles deviously, thrilled that his biggest rival has finally been caught. Uh oh…
Next Liv, Ravi and Peyton (Aly Michalka) run into an already soused Major. He’s on “wrestler brains,” which apparently makes him talk like “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Major reveals to Liv that he’s accepted her new beau Tim. Liv reunites with Tim (Kennan Tracey) in a recreation of their first kiss and, well their only kiss. Her friends watch in captivated disgust. Liv starts a conversation with Tim, only to immediately discover he wholeheartedly believes that humans are food. Zombies are far superior, according to him. Liv’s attraction shatters like glass and, thankfully, the spell is broken. Tim who?
Later, Major finds Liv on the dance floor and confesses his hopes for their continued friendship. Even if they never reunite romantically, Major hopes he’ll always be Liv’s friend. Liv eagerly agrees, and my Livajor heart finds hope in the undead bleakness. They’ll find their way back to each other…eventually. The episode ends in a dance-off between humans and zombies, with our heroes letting off some steam in the midst of the inevitable zombie uprising.
iZombie was heavy on the lighthearted comedy this week, with every major (pun intended) character getting a chance to show off their comedic chops. This series has somehow mastered the art of whimsy sprinkled with substantial plot movement. Never once amid the frivolity of this episode did I think “nothing” was happening. We had the B and C stories with Blaine and Major to push the overall plot forward. Plus, the Renegade was captured! Angus reunited with Major! These are all vital plot points.
Do you think Major will inform Blaine of what the latter’s father has been up to? What is Angus’ next move? Does Chase plan to kill Mama Leone, or does he want to strike a bargain with her? Why can’t Clive ever be truly happy? 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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