iZombie - He Blinded Me With Science - Review: "Daddy"

First thing's first, I would like to dedicate this here quick review of iZombie's latest episode, He Blinded Me With Science, to all the haters out there who have spent the whole season stating the show would never be renewed because it has horrible retention from the Flash or because it was the lowest WB show on the network. iZombie was never in any danger. It is a modest performer with its' own audience that maintains its' modest ratings without its' lead in and while yes, in the weeks it has aired with The 100 in the beginning it was lower or even with it. While it also had a slightly lower average in the 18-49 rating overall, iZombie has aired a lot more episodes this season than the 100 has, and now that the 100 has hit the .4's it was close to hitting after hitting it in the finale last year, they are neck and neck with average. I really think there was always room for both shows, but the constant tearing down of the iZombie to basically glorify the other shows was unbearable for us fans. So with that, I am so glad that the show is coming back for SEASON 3. I don't think it will go to Friday, which is now the newest tear down tactic. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens as all of the threads of this season finally get tied up and the aftermath that will lead us into next year! While, this season has felt like it has been more of a slow burn thanks to the extended episode count, I do think we are headed to an epic conclusion. This week really started to get the ball rolling onwards towards a finale showdown, so let's dig in shall we?

“Thanks to her, I am now serving crab dogs, dressed like I’m in the world’s worst Adam Ant cover band.”
This week's case of the week centered on a Dr. Eleanor Cash, a former acne med researcher who overlooked a clinical trial data snafu that scarred the face of Annie, a beautiful girl who now looked like early season 1 Vincent of Beauty and the Beast when he beasts out. Dr. Cash was apparently set on fire with lighter fluid and Ravi urges Liv to 'eat on up' to help solve the case. Annie though, is fine when they visit her, new skin and everything thanks to a small settlement and loans for surgery. Their visit with Dr. Cash's former coworker reveals he is disgruntled, but not exactly an arsonist either. A vision does trigger the case in a new direction though. The case is interesting because it does set Liv onto a crash course with Max Rager Super Villain of the world, Vaughn DuClark, because one of her visions tips her off that Cash was working for him under an alias. When Clive and Liv pay him a visit, Vaughn is cryptic about the type of research that Dr. Cash actually did for the energy drink conglomerate despite Liv's sciencey advances. Liv then decides to go undercover as her former self as a potential applicant for Dr. Cash's job at Max Rager.(Something she swore to Clive she wouldn't do again.)

While at Max Rager, Liv discovers that Max Rager has a secret basement testing facility that she just must check out and I'm going to chalk up the ridiculousness that is Liv thinking she can get past an elevator finger print scanner to a secret lab to the scientist brain's long for the need of discovery coming out. After being spotted by Gilda/Rita and setting off alarms, she comes face to face with Vaughn and his henchman. It is a tense confrontation, but also an enjoyable one because Vaughn is the only real threat on iZombie this season. (Mr. Boss is just the worst) Liv is sure whatever is going on in the basement of Max Rager got Dr. Cash killed, but it turns out that Annie wasn't exactly okay.

Annie had a twin. I think her name was Jenny, but anyway, Annie was still walking around burned-face and Groot like, and Jenny had been pretending to be her when Clive and Liv came. Jenny killed Dr. Cash because it was justice for what she had done to Annie. (Yawn) For me, the best part of all this is that Liv gets a vision thanks to scarred up Annie that reveals that Max Rager knows about the existence of Zombies. Which again, means that we're getting full steam ahead to a convergence of storyline here.

“The only thing that can take down a bad guy having a Super Max freak out is a good guy chugging a Super Max.”
I really hope Vaughn DuClark gets his. Except I really want Vaughn to stick around, because the guy is ruthless. How ruthless? Well, he leaves his daughter to get killed by a zombie. Let me back up though. Vaughn has a daughter and it happens to be a sunglasses wearing black eyed assistant named Rita/Gilda. Early in the episode when Vaughn calls Major in for his new list of names, Major lets it be known that he feels violated that Vaughn didn't trust him to do the job he'd been given and slipped Rita in as Liv's roommate for insurance. Major also says he didn't have to get Rita to seduce him either which prompts Vaughn to reveal the red-headed she-devil is his daughter. Vaughn rages out once he sees Rita's eye and thinks that Major is responsible, so Major gets out of dodge.

At the end of the hour, we finally see the zombie test subject in the secret lab in the basement of Max Rager is yielding some positive results for the new Super Max Drink. Of course, this isn't good enough for Vaughn, who decides to give the zombie a little shocking prod and this causes the zombie to break free and attack the trio down there. Vaughn runs off and leaves Rita to die and I can't even say I'm that surprised. Vaughn is the legit real-deal sociopath villain on this show and a move like this makes sense. To really drive home this point, when bloody and scratched Rita emerges from the lab and bangs on Daddy's glass office doors to be let in, Vaughn ignores her and solidify his title as worst father on the planet.

“I know Netflix and chill is supposed to be code, but there really is a movie I wanted to see.”
I know that Drake has been revealed as a good guy to us and I should be thankful that Liv isn't wasting her time rebounding with a goon. Yet, I still can't find it in me to actually LIKE Drake though. He's got muscles, he's sweet on his mom, and he and Liv can have full on hamburger sex without worrying about anything. Other than that, I don't see the point. This week's science brain has Liv seeking out data to validate her relationship with Drake. By weighing out pros and cons from several different situations she can form a conclusion about her relationship with Drake. She does this by seeing him in his natural environment (The bar he bounces at) and then putting a cell his car and tracking his movements. The latter situation leads her to seeing Drake with Mr. Boss in a car together and deducing they are in cahoots. She presents this info to Ravi and he suggests that she confronts him with it in a very safe and public place.(I suggest you just call it quits, even though he's a double agent and we know this, Liv doesn't, and with what little she does know, the smart thing would be to run far away and fast.)Just as Liv is waiting for him to show up at Heaves & Ho's (The current workplace of Dr. Cash's former coworker) Drake gets kidnap by Major because he knows he is a zombie thanks to Blaine's (Vengeful) tip. Liv then leaves thinking she's been stood up.

“It’d be a real shame if your local brain supplier died and you ended up with a horde of zombies running around Seattle just as the Mariners were set to contend.”
Blaine is a zombie again. It looks as if the cure just ran out and he reverted back to his zombie self. (I thought it was activated by his apparent death, but hey, what do I know) Blaine shows up at the morgue and relays this info to Ravi, while asking for brains and it turns out Ravi already figured as much. To make it worse, Ravi reveals that soon after reverting back, Blaine should expect a true zombie death to follow unless he can make a new cure. Ravi gets stumped as to what would make a cure work, and science brain Liv suggest a buffer in the form of an energy drink....like a Max Rager energy drink.

Ravi delivers this version of the cure to Blaine, who has set his affairs in order. Blaine tells his boys to lay off the utopium trade and bury it (because they should fear Mr. Boss apparently) so they can just worry about the brain business because in their own twisted way, they are staving off the zombie outbreak by being in business. Blaine seems to be deteriorating, but he does take the new cure at the end of the hour, so hopefully it works. Also it is worth mentioning that Bozzio and Clive found out that some brains found in a property of Blaine's father was human, and that their previous lab results on the brain Suzuki's wife brought them had been altered and the brains were human as well.

Final Thoughts: iZombie returned from another hiatus hell with a really good episode from a serialized standpoint. The procedural case was really lacking and really seemed dull and uninspired but just a tool to get Liv on the trail of Vaughn and Max Rager. I am really loving how Blaine has evolved into this loveable anti-hero and am just counting down the days until the inevitable Liv-Blaine moments. We were promised these two would work together this season but it seems that Ravi and Blaine share more screen time than they do. Peyton was MIA, again. But she'll be back in time for stripper brain, so yay. It looks like Clive is inching closer(and I do mean inching) to the discovery of zombies, so I hope that it plays a big part in the final stretch of episodes. I was amused about the last second reveal of the Rita-Vaughn connection but in hindsight it seems like a cheaply-timed development used just to show how evil Vaughn can be. It was almost unnecessary because compared to Mr. Boss, Vaughn already looked like Lucifer incarnate. If you have to tell me I need to be afraid of someone repeatedly because he is so non-threatening, he's not getting the job done and we need to move on. Finally, the Drake and Liv situation is boring me to no end. I just don't get Liv's or the writer's fascination with him. I'm sure his character's personal web of deceit will play a huge role going forward, but I'm not sure he has to still be coupled with Liv for it do so.

Character of the week: Blaine. Please don't die.

What did you think of the episode? Are you over Liv and Drake? Are about season Three and Stripper brain? Sound off below!

The next episode of iZombie, Pour Some Sugar, Zombie airs Tuesday March 29th at 8pm Central on the CW.
Check out these glorious podcasts @iZombieNation and @iZombiePodcast

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About the Author - Winston Mize

Winston is a 25 year old goofball, born in the north, and currently living in the south. He loves TV.... for some it's coffee, for him it's TV talk that gets his day going. He wants to be a screenwriter, and watches some of everything. You name it, he's probably checked it out. And he would like you to know that it is okay for a 25 year old to play with action figures... well, he does anyway. He's semi-active on twitter (so do him a favor and help him get 500 followers) and has quite a lot of nothing to say. Get to know him and learn he is just randomness personified. You can check him out with previews/reviews of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and iZombie this fall.

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