iZombie - Blue Bloody/Brainless In Seattle, Part 1 - Double Review

Since Fillmore Graves entered the picture at the end of season 2, we knew the world of Seattle would never be the same. Season 4 of iZombie so far has subtly but swiftly introduced into the changed world that Fillmore Graves brought upon us at the end of season 3 and is doing a great job of weaving the threads of what is shaping up to be an explosive season. Both Blue Bloody, and Brainless in Seattle, part 1 delivered great comedy, commentary and cohesiveness. I'm really loving where the show is headed so far and after the lukewarm season 3, I'm feeling invigorated by the creative resurgence of the show.

Blue Bloody
What I'm finding very comforting about Season 4 is that even though things have been changed so drastically and the show sprinkles in reveals here and there, it still proceeds as business as usual. Clive and Liv working cases is the heart of the show, Liv started this because she needed purpose as a zombie, so I like that she hasn't forgotten her mission and that she never stops being a good person. This episode gave us a lot of Liv, even if it was on mean-rich lady brain. In fact, I think this brain featured one of my favorite, vulnerable Liv scenes of the series. What made these past two cases so great though, is how they were able to tie/tap into a deeper plot point for the whole "New Seattle" arc. Liv eats the brain of a stuck-up, elitist one percenter, who is murdered by the help, which on the surface seems run of the mill, but it actually introduces us to the human smuggling ring going on in this new world. The brilliant thing the writers are doing in these first episodes of season four is that the are using the procedural aspect of the show as a way of introducing the several different facets that face a quarantined city that has been deemed as a threat by the outside world. The inner turmoil, the lack of resources, the grim outlook are all things that are very human and stand out in a show about zombies. Liv on this brain is pretty amusing, but also pretty one-note for Rose. The case itself, wasn't a twisty one, but the last act really made up for the lackluster whodunnit this week.

I will say I love that the writers have been able to rise to the occasion and still find ways to have Clive react to things now that he is on the secret, because it's no secret that was half the fun of an iZombie episode. The death itself was kind of boring and the "Help" murdering the mean old lady to get the money she left them was a weak storyline. The minute I saw the sick kid, I knew that the chef did it( probably before that when she tired to misdirect about the necklace. Also, Clive cracking jokes is my new favorite thing) but I still like how the story ended up. My favorite thing is Liv telling Clive she has no intention of helping the kid, but then once the brain starts to wear off, she realizes how awful she was and that she needs to do something. In just that one simple moment, for me, Liv felt like a character again, and I teared up. Couple that with her conversation with Major after he confronts her for covering for her and Ravi to enter the restricted area to help smuggle the kid out, I was pleased with seeing a spark of old Liv. I loved her telling Major that the man she remembered would've stuck by the sick kid. (We knew that they couldn't be together for long) The two of them have been on different paths for awhile now about zombies and their place in the world, but I'm glad they've decided to admit it out loud to each other. Back to the Kid, it didn't really dawn on me that there were people who were going to need help they couldn't get inside the walls, and that they wouldn't be allowed out to get it, it;s depressing to think about, and I can't fault Liv for wanting to help. Sure, his mom murdered her boss to get the money, and she should definitely be in jail, but she did what she was doing for her sick child, a la the Sandman in Spider-Man 3 ( Look, minus dancing Toby, it was an okay film) The best part of the smuggling storyline is that we know it's going affect several relationships of our characters, starting with Liv and Major. Does it suck we only got to see them together as "cuddle buddies" briefly? Yes. But I'm not too sad, because I think they had some things between them that had to be addressed.

Ravi as a sex therapist for Clive is probably better than any brain they can ever put him on. Everything about that scene was perfect and made me giddy. For me, it just made sense that the show would tackle an emotional story line like this in the season and it's even better that it is with Clive. He and Dale are happy, minus the fact that they can't have sex.(I wish Ravi had more of his cure for Dale, so she could be human-ish enough to give Clive the goodies) Clive taking meds to decrease his libido seemed innocent enough, but now that Dale knows, I'm worried how long this relationship lasts knowing they both are yearning for something more physical. (Also, Ravi suggesting mutual masturbation and Clive announcing they tried it made me blush.) The last thing we have to address is what the show is ding with Angus. He's gone full blown crazy zombie pastor and it's interesting to see. I wouldn't doubt that if you were in a quarantined city, you were bound to run into religious radicals. It'll be interesting to see how his ideals will challenge Fillmore Grave's ideals, upset the anti zombie humans, and those just trying to get by in Seattle. All in all, it was a strong episode. We learned there is a part of town where zombies aren't allowed to go, and we saw one of Major's newbie recruits make a huge mistake that is most certainly going to come back to bite them because the whole incident was recorded. (That was an intense scene, but why are they not wearing gloves? That seems like a given! Gloves and mouthguards so there is no scratching or biting!) I had a lot of fun with this episode and was generally intrigued by the amount of world building and plot complexity the writers managed to add in such a simple case of the week episode.A

Favorite Quote: Ravi: "Have you tried mutual masturbation? It's like taking separate cars to the same fireworks show."

Brainless in Seattle, Part 1
The less I say about the brain in this episode, the better. I don't hate it, but I didn't quite love it, yet that didn't stop me from enjoying the episode. This brain was another case of the week that was used to increase the world building of "New Seattle" but also provide a bit of commentary. I loved that the writers went right back to dealing with the human smuggling ring in this episode. Liv on rom-com brain was a little annoying to me, but it was still able to provide plenty of fun moments, as nothing can top the makeover montage that she and Peyton gave Ravi. Seeing Liv fall in love at first sight was fun initially but after she was hung up on one guy for so long in the episode, I was ready for it to end. Once she found her new beau though, I couldn't help but be a little grossed out. (That was one of Major's new recruits right? A kid? ) What I do love so much about this episode is that how well the show blends the light tone of Liv on this brain with the darker tone of the things going on around the characters. The victim was killed trying to be smuggled into Seattle (in a very tense opening sequence featuring a zombie execution) by a Coyote, and while the case brings back Mama Leoni from last week, it also leads Clive and Liv to a serial killer case.

The club scene at the scratching post felt like it went on way too long, but it was nice to see the gang let loose for a bit and also kind og allude to the Ravi-Peyton elephant in the room. I hate to say it, but I really believed Peyton when she told Liv that Ravi wasn't the one. Another important takeaway from the club scenes was Liv spotting Dale getting comfy with someone who isn't Clive. I'm hoping the explanation will be a lot more agreeable then we assume and that Dale isn't cheating on Clive. Liv being icy to Dale wasn't the smoothest way to not alert Clive, but he's too preoccupied to really dig into her reaction. Ryan Devlin made an appearance this week as a brain supplier who I'm sure we'll see more of, and Jimmy the sketch artist returned as well. iZombie really has a great way of inserting returning bit characters into the current narrative. Both sides of the human trafficking coin are now fully in play in this episode and it's interesting to watch. We have our victim, who was attempting to come into the city for love that was killed because there are affluent zombies who can pay top price for whole brains. There's also Chase Graves, who goes to Blaine with his mission to take out the coyote known as Renegade because he feels that is the solution to dealing with the starving zombies.

I was alarmed at the fact that zombies may only have 4-5 months let given their current supply, because I guess I never stopped to question how long the supply would last. there's also someone advertising "The Darwin Project" which is attempting to lure in zombies to get out the city for science purposes. This is another interesting angle added to the show, because becoming a zombie could be a cure to certain ailnesses and I could see someone wanting to find out why and harness it. In other news, Blaine has the cure! The way the show so subtly name dropped the cure, I had to rewind it to make sure I heard it right! I'm sure we'll get back around to it, but even though it's a predictable move for the show having it in his possession, it's also a logical one, because Blaine is out for money and what better way to make it than by selling the cure. Major breaks the news to Chase about the issue from the last episode with the recruits and Chase tasks Major to deal with it. (It's also good to see that Major and Liv haven't just made up, they really need to address their issues) This was a really solid episode, that despite an annoying brain, continued to deliver what season four has done so well, which is address what life looks like inside a small scale-controlled zombie apocalypse. Since this is part 1 of 2, I'm sure the show is ready to deliver more twists in the story, and I'm looking forward t it. B

Favorite Quote: Liv: "I understand. Most of my boyfriends have died in terrible ways too. But who knows? Maybe you'll find someone new. Sooner than you think. *Leans in closer* Maybe they're right in front of your face and you don't even know it."

So, what were your thoughts on the episodes? Any theories going forward? Sound off below!

The next episode of iZombie, Brainless in Seattle, Part 2 airs 3/19 on The CW!