What I’m Watching: iZombie (Series Finale)

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 13 “All’s Well That Ends Well”

It’s early August, which seems an unremarkable time for this series to end four and a half years after its March debut in 2015. But I’m happy that we were able to get five decent-length seasons out of this show, which explored notions of humans and zombies living peacefully – and then not so peacefully – together in Seattle, which became far more allegorical over the course of its run due to current events. I was impressed early on with how the first three season finales completely reframed the format and direction of the show, and while this final run was probably the least exciting and enticing overall, it was still involving and worthwhile. This closer provided some impactful and memorable moments, like Major boldly going on live TV and getting shot repeatedly by Enzo to prove that the zombie cure worked and Liv pushing Don-E into the well after he had just pushed Blaine down there. I for one was always a fan of Don-E, especially in the end, so I’m not sure he deserves to be trapped with Blaine for eternity, but he wasn’t exactly emanating promise after Darcy’s untimely death. Dale holding off on delivering her baby until Clive showed up was sweet, and it’s nice that they ended up raising Michelle’s child too following her death in the bombing of the police station. Flashing forward ten years to a virtual chat with Ravi, Peyton, and Clive was a fitting way to end the show, with the presumed-dead couple of Liv and Major showing up to remind them that paradise on Zombie Island is only a scratch away. This show has been entertaining and enthralling, standing out from other similar projects because of its inventiveness and strong characters, not to mention its comic book storyboard style. I’m glad I chose to stick with it after the pilot surprised me in a great way.

Series finale: B+
Series grade: B+
Season MVP: Rose McIver as Liv
Season grade: B+
Series MVP: Rose McIver
Best Season: Season 3
Best Episode: Pilot

What I’m Watching: iZombie (Penultimate Episode)

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 12 “Bye, Zombies” (B+)

Now, this felt like a second-to-last installment. I love that this episode found Liv and Ravi eating the brains of dead criminals so that they could imitate the roster from “Ocean’s Eleven” and pull off a major con and heist of their own. The playfulness that was present amid the seriousness and doom threatening the world worked well, and it was especially fun to see Liv and Major realize they’ve come to a great point in their relationship. Clive acting like he was never going to see them again didn’t feel like the proper farewell, and I’m glad that Dale convinced him to go back out into the field because he’s the Clooney of the operation. He was pretty impressive in action, guessing his mark’s cats and resisting her very intense advances. Ravi’s accented Russian hacker was entertaining too, and it’s a good thing that Liv managed to talk him down when the fun stopped and he went full zombie mode on the doctor who just wanted to make money instead of a cure. Using the fact that the racist security guard thought all black men looked alike was a humorous notion Clive was able to take advantage of to get through posing as a janitor. Blaine following Peyton and storming in on the Freylich kids was an unfortunate development, one that seems far less malicious than the zombie-human war that’s about to start, and I hope that Peyton can find a way to get out of that situation and save her charges. Enzo ambushing Major’s caravan and going on television to turn humans into zombies spells out a miserable fate for humanity and zombiekind in the finale, but I feel like things could turn out okay thanks to the efforts of Liv and her many partners.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 11 “Killer Queen” (B+)

With just two episodes left to go, this episode featured another solid performance from Rose McIver as Liv was on drag queen brain, boldly wearing a red dress at the station and amping up the drama in all of the interrogations. The case of the hour wasn’t the most interesting part of the episode, which mainly featured the unfortunate acceleration of Martin’s plan. Being able to talk him down and convince him that maybe this wasn’t the only way to do things was indeed quite a victory, though he was right in his final words to Enzo that this particular moment wasn’t crucial since tensions were going to explode at some point anyway. Enzo taking charge and shooting Martin in the head is probably bad news, even if he’s less resourceful and cunning than Martin, because he’s going to put less thought into his actions and just try to achieve his endgame. Las Vegas would be a worrisome enough location to spread zombiekind even if attendees wouldn’t all head back to other cities after the convention. On a lighter note, I did like that Ravi buttered Major up so that he could be the bait for the mistress of the murdered non-zombie and lead them to the Freylich kids. It’s sad that Darcy didn’t survive to marry Don-E, and let’s hope that Blaine is satisfied with how events turned out and that he’s not going to try to get further revenge on Don-E for his betrayal since his once-loyal number two has become one of the more endearing characters on this show.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 10 “Night and the Zombie City” (B+)

Now this was an involved episode that fully embraced the mood and nature of the detective brain that Liv was eating. Turning it into a noir was cool, and it worked both for the serious investigative moments and for the humor it involved. Clive insisting that he closes all his cases by the book was one such funny scene, representing his frustration overtaking his amusement with the situation. Liv almost had Blaine against a wall and actually headed to prison, but instead he blamed the whole thing on Crybaby so that he can once again get off without any consequences. Martin was very forthcoming with both Liv and Ravi when confronted about being Beanpole Bob, but they ultimately saw through him and realized that he had far more nefarious aims. Now that the vote has been held, General Mills calling Dolly is a disturbing development, one that’s going to pit them against Martin’s controllable army with all the innocent zombies and humans caught in the middle. In happier news, it was fun to see Peyton let loose and do some karaoke before starting a bar fight, and it was sweet to see Don-E make up for his misstep with a lovely proposal to the girl whose last name he didn’t even know. Darcy, like this show, doesn’t have much time left, and it’s good to see some characters headed for a potentially happy ending. Let’s see if the same is true for everyone with just three hours to go before this show signs off for good.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

IZombie: Season 5, Episode 9 “The Fresh Princess” (B+)

Eating the brain of a pageant queen gave Liv much more than just an obnoxious obsession with 90s notions, including her very incorrect usage of the word “ironic,” and her optimistic attitude was helpful in a number of instances throughout the episode. The murder was hardly the center of this episode that featured so many different plotlines playing out at once, though she did come in handy there when she encouraged the mother to feel comfortable letting go and confessing that one mistake she made years ago which produced fatal consequences. Martin also took note of her peppy attitude and idealism to emphasize that, when sides had to be chosen, she should be on his. Peyton and Ravi had plenty of fun together, and now they’re going to have to deal with more than just Peyton being jobless as they discovered the truth we all knew that Beanpole Bob was none other than Martin himself. Eva was definitely not happy to see him, and let’s hope that Evan makes it safely to a different kind of cure in Boston. Major was sharp to catch on to the fact that Sloan had been kidnapped even though she was continuing to post on Instagram on a regular basis, though Don-E and his new girlfriend’s intervention didn’t prove to be nearly as helpful as they hoped it would be. Sloan and her boyfriend got out of the porter pottys at the pie-esta, and Major shooting Sloan in the head is going to cause just as many problems for Seattle as this brief zombie rampage.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 8 “Death of a Car Salesman” (B+)

It’s fun to see Liv and Ravi both on the same brain dressed in suits and acting impossibly competitive, with Clive far from amused about their excessive interest in the annual raffle and the chance to win the big prize. Their over-eagerness to interrogate the widow and then gloat when they thought they knew who had done it was entertaining, and I like just how prominent and public zombie activities can now be, like Liv asking a follow-up question immediately after having a vision while questioning a suspect. Liv formed a quick bond with Martin, who appeared to be mostly honest with her about his addiction and his being a zombie, but there’s evidently plenty that he’s not telling her as he continues to engineer some very problematic events, namely the scratching of a senator who’s headed back to the other Washington and may soon start infecting a much wider population. I thought it would be the vengeful General Mills that would be their target, though I think it’s his fierce hatred of zombies that’s being weaponized instead. More money was an easy fix for those concerned about the ethical issues with their latest assignment from Blaine, and he stands to create an entirely new and very dangerous industry based around a zombie cure related directly to the hurting and presumable killing of humans. Don-E was immediately smitten with Darcy when he saw her in the bar, and it’s nice to see him finally score a win when she wouldn’t let him just walk away as soon as he found out who she was. Their love might not last long, but this show won’t either, and therefore it’s great to see them find at least temporary happiness.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 7 “Filleted to Rest” (B)

There’s a lot going on right now on this show, and it’s a bit hard to follow all of it. The pacing isn’t always consistent, with the comedic subplots about the zombie brains and the more serious murders portrayed, but the balance felt a bit off in this hour. All told, however, things are still very interesting, and we saw some major developments that are pretty monumental. There was no shortage of suspects for the murder of the terrible chef, and I like that Clive told Liv he’d remember her before she ate the brain and the owner handed her the remoulade so that she could write down the recipe as soon as it came to her. I was surprised to see Liv’s mother because we haven’t heard from her in a long time, and the conversation about who Liv’s father was felt so random because it’s never come up in any way prior to this. That did make the episode’s final scene a total shock, since the big bad guy who’s teeing up against Major on the side of the vindictive zombies is none other than Martin Roberts, the man who is apparently Liv’s father. I wonder if he knew that Renegade was his daughter, and that really does change things in a huge way. Justin’s betrayal was also unexpected, and Major is turning into someone he doesn’t want to be as he deals with problematic elements waging war against his doctrine of peace. Michelle telling Clive that he’s probably not the father but she wishes he was felt somewhat aimless and distracting, while it remains to be seen what the introduction of Charlie’s sister will mean for Ravi and the show in general. On the guest star front, I enjoyed seeing, if only for a brief scene, Jason Gray-Stanford from “Monk” as the head waiter at the restaurant who took his work very seriously.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 6 “The Scratchmaker” (B)

I’m not sure exactly what this episode was supposed to be since it involved a few tropes that didn’t quite last the duration of the hour. Blaine narrating was an interesting and different tact, one that felt a lot more rushed and eager to skip over any boring exposition. Not a lot of time passed between him being behind bars complaining about how “Snakes on a Plane” really didn’t work when it contained lines like “monkey-finger” to being back at his club, murdering his troublesome underlings and hatching his next big scheme. After Stacey’s return and his initially successful partnership with Don-E, it was Major who deserves the most credit for his clever plan to work with a known shipper to produce EuFreightEze brain tubes, a very important solution to his very big problem. Al being revealed as Stacey’s niece makes some sense, though it seems she’s more than capable of handling herself as evidenced by her cool response to Blaine going full-zombie. Major’s problems aren’t fully gone yet, with Dolly proving to be a serious threat that won’t go away, intent on stirring up anti-zombie sentiment even if chaos hasn’t erupted just yet. Liv being on matchmaker brain was entertaining, and I liked that Don-E was so eager for her to have a vision of his match since he was nearly able to attain some promised happiness before the matchmaker’s untimely demise. I don’t know that Clive being made acting lieutenant will change much, and I’m all for seeing more of Ken Marino’s paper-eating lawyer.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 5 “Death Moves Pretty Fast” (B+)

This show doesn’t always feature such overt references to famous pop culture, but I guess it makes sense that there would be a Ferris Bueller-type in zombie-infested Seattle who would continue to live life like a party, with no regard to the seriousness of the problems around him. His “old” neighbor Blaine coming over and threatening his life led to a very overeager bit of grandstanding from the smuggler to Liv and Ravi in front of Al that backfired in a very big way. Al was set on exposing Blaine from the start, and it was evident from the aggressive nature of the questions that she asked Peyton that all she wanted was to take him down. He, on the other hand, was legitimately disappointed when she didn’t show up for the romantic meal he prepared, though he appeared to move on to his next big scheme just moments after finding out the devastating news of his ruined reputation. I’m not sure if she’ll continue to appear as a character, but Al is quite bold, sampling a piece of the brain Liv was eating as soon as she wandered into the morgue. Liv hatching schemes to identify Harris’ killer was entertaining, as was Clive face-timing in to questioning while high on painkillers. On a much more serious note, Enzo tried to take advantage when he realized that Major was on the Alzheimer’s brains, and his punishment revealed to Major much bigger problems that are going to be extraordinarily bad for human-zombie relations.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 4 “Dot Zom” (B+)

It’s strange to remember that, even in this zombified world, Seattle is still a major tech capital. It was far less pronounced than last week’s dancer brain, but I did enjoy watching Liv wax poetic on things like “what is an idea?” and get everyone around her to roll their eyes or express confusion at her entirely too philosophical perspective on simple matters. Discovering that the crime was rooted in protecting zombies rather than hurting them is intriguing since it’s becoming increasingly difficult for law enforcement to be conducted with the interests of both humans and zombies equally emphasized. Liv had a great solution to the problem of the teacher being fired after he was outed as a zombie, but unfortunately there’s a new menace in town who is a zombie but also has it out for the good zombies who has other ideas. There’s also another wild card in the form of journalist Al Bronson, who is both a zombie and a woman who’s playing Blaine for helpful information that he doesn’t quite realize she’s after. Blaine had a creative method for dealing with the “paparazzi” lurking outside his club trying to identify zombies, an unsurprisingly violent move for the veteran criminal. Peyton carefully supervising the development of the “Hi, Zombie” production isn’t going too smoothly, and it’s fair to assume that finding a good balance between informative and entertaining will not be easy. On a more serious note, it is cool to see Liv addressed directly as Renegade by both admirers and detractors.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 3 “Five, Six, Seven, Ate!” (B+)

This is the first time in a while that we’ve seen such an immersive episode based on the brain(s) that Liv was eating. I like that she was able to choose between two brains so that they could deduce as much as possible about the dancers, and that Ravi was bullied immensely by the first brain she ate and then supported entirely by the second. Ravi was so nervous about his performance, yet he somehow managed to keep up the act and actually do pretty decently when forced to dance, even with Liv out of the picture after a sudden flash of memory was triggered during their set. The best part of this episode was Clive, who got to express sentiments not usually seen in two different major plotlines. His enthusiasm for dancing was a lot of fun, and I liked seeing him and Liv dance as they were trying to show Ravi that he would be able to learn. Attending birthing classes with Dale was fun to watch too, with his attentiveness to notetaking and his planning for the worst, quickly shifted to tremendous awkwardness when Michelle showed up in the class expecting a baby that he thought might be his. Dale choosing to be nice to her was refreshing. Major and Peyton making nice after their tiff was good to see, and the knowledge that humans have died helping zombies is an important step forward in positive societal relations. This episode didn’t provide a neat ending to its mystery, and I’m curious to learn more about who has been poisoning all these dancers.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 2 “Dead Lift” (B+)

I was very pleased to see the return of annoying Liv on the given brain of the week, this time a fitness freak who lectured Clive on how many calories are in a pint of ranch dressing and then chastise Ravi for having enjoyed fifty-seven empty calories when he excitedly identified the blood as corn syrup. I knew all along that the human murder scene had been staged, though it was interesting to see how Major decided to play it, pretending to exercise vicious justice against zombie perpetrators in his own midst to make sure that he appeared like a forceful and bold leader. Zombies are definitely in danger with the human forces working against them, and the police force needs to be united in order to provide the protection necessary to all the people within the Seattle borders. Major’s going through a tough time, and he’s punishing himself by not indulging in delights like Liv’s home-cooked brain meal, a nice sentiment that would have been unfathomable at the beginning of this show when he was all muscle and Liv broke off their engagement out of fear that she’d hurt him. I like seeing Peyton’s increased role in daily affairs, having to negotiate between the two city council members who happened to be different species, and her enthusiasm and resourcefulness with Ravi’s proposed “Hi, Zombie” idea. After he was so gruff and unpleasant in the previous episode, it’s good to Ravi get such delight from coming up with smart ways to solve the problems he sees around him.

What I’m Watching: iZombie (Season Premiere)

iZombie: Season 5, Episode 1 “Thug Death” (B)

What an unceremonious final premiere for this show, which will air well into the summer for some unknown reason along with another departing CW show, “Jane the Virgin.” I’m happy to have it back for one last round at least, and, like the seasons before it, it’s a whole new show at this point. Things have gotten pretty bad in Seattle, and I liked how Peyton had to appear on Johnny Frost’s show opposite Dolly, who was spouting comparisons between zombies and humans to humans and T-bones. Clive’s assignment from Dale to find salted caramel dark chocolate was nearly as difficult as keeping the peace on Seattle’s streets, and it was sad to watch Major identify a likely threat with the van too late to stop it from exploding and killing a number of innocent zombies. He has a tough job having to deal with someone like Blaine, who understands his role in helping Seattle to stay balanced but also is more inclined to his mercenary, murderous ways with the border agents, not all of who were happy to give it following his threats. I honestly couldn’t remember anything about whoever it was that made Ravi act the way he did this whole episode, though it was fun to see him trying not one bit to control his behavior while Liv got to act serious and put on her Renegade hat. I’m not sure if a human was indeed killed by a zombie, but it looks like that investigation is about to go down a dark path.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 4, Episode 13 “And He Shall Be a Good Man” (B)

There’s no denying that this episode felt a bit rushed at times, running to sum up a few plots that were out there and then hastily presenting admittedly great resolutions. Chase giving Clive, Ravi, and Peyton mere moments to say goodbye to Liv was cruel, and it became even more clear that he had become a dictator who wanted to use excessive force to subdue a mere hint of insurrection from anyone. It was a (preventable) shame that Levon had to die before Major burst in and Liv dove at just the right moment to ensure that Chase was the final victim of his guillotine, resolving a few problematic threads all at once. Ultimately, there were more sympathetic people who wanted to do the right thing than villains, and even those who don’t offer favor the moral route showed their softer sides. I was sure that Blaine was baiting his father to go out and get killed, but when he confessed that he had tried to feed his faith, his father didn’t want to listen and paid for it with his life. Major being in command of Fillmore Graves is a good idea, and employing Blaine and Don-E to work for him rather than against is also smart. Liv being applauded as the rebellion leader she was felt good, and I like how this episode ended, sending this show into its final season with a new, brighter world ahead. I could have done without Clive and Dale being so blatant about spanking and their sex lives during their own version of a shotgun wedding, but it was nice to see that Liv will remain undead as she gave her cure to Dale instead so that they could start a family. I didn’t love this season as much as years past, but I’m still eager to see it through to its end around this time next year. It deserves the chance to wrap up the way its creative minds want.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Rose McIver as Liv

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 4, Episode 12 “You’ve Got to Hide Your Liv Away” (B+)

It was weird to see Liv and Major playing house like a couple straight out of the 1950s, showing that it’s possible not to resist the brain that you’re on and to actually embrace what living someone else’s life could look like. I was waiting for Liv to wake up and lock Major in the basement, but I didn’t expect the hostility she expressed when she refused to let him go and got extremely angry at him for daring to kidnap her so that she couldn’t turn herself in to face certain execution by Chase. Levon turning himself in as Renegade was brave, and unfortunately he made a failed attempt to get Liv out of there that now has him on the chopping block right alongside her. With Russ at the safehouse gunning for Major, it’s hardly likely that he’ll be able to pull off the coup that was suggested to him, albeit as a test, by Hobbs. Angus being released from custody and then getting an orchestrated, supposedly divine sign of snowing brains means an entirely separate threat to human-zombie peace that might derail things in the season finale, which somehow has to spare Liv’s life unless this show is going to change in a big way. Ravi served as an entertaining stand-in, going full on social media millennial, much to Clive’s chagrin. Let’s hope he can Isobel’s death as a catalyst for getting the cure out in time. Clive went back to Dale without much hesitation as he was about to leave for a date with Michelle, but it seems that proposal may have been premeditated. This hardly seems like a time for celebration, but I’m sure that an hourlong finale can cover some of these threads.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 4, Episode 11 “Insane in the Germ Brain” (B)

It was just confirmed earlier this week that this show’s next season will be its last, and I’m not too disappointed given that five years is hardly a bad run in this day and age, especially considering this hardly seemed like the CW’s priority with just one out of four seasons slotted for the fall and renewals always coming later than the rest of the network’s slate. I think about how much this show has transformed each season, with the introduction of Fillmore Graves as an out-and-proud zombie force in season three and then the new world order in this place this season. I’d like to think that the show will now have a renewed sense of purpose and direction, all trying to get towards a specific end that helps to better the world or make it all the more chaotic. Isobel’s death in this episode, coming just after her mother finally made it to see her, refocuses everything in a tragic lens, and it’s going to be hard for the good guys to bounce back from that loss. Chase shooting one of Major’s soldiers in the head after a screw-up on an otherwise extremely successful mission shows that he’s transformed into a tyrant, one that should be opposed in a more active way than Liv secretly scratching people. Maybe Peyton can do more to help improve zombie-human relations on her trip to the capitol, but she has a lot stacked against her, most notably Angus and his now very well-known preachings about how zombiekind should overtake its inferior predecessors.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 4, Episode 10 “Yippee Ki Brain, Motherscratcher!” (B)

I liked this episode’s title and expected a few more “Die Hard” references than we got from the opening word duel between Liv and Clive. Police brutality is hardly a laughing matter in this day and age, but this was more about flashing back to the kind of 80s and 90s use of excessive force in tackling subjects, however entertaining that ever was. Dale suspending Liv was the first actual professional consequence in a long time that we’ve seen her get, though her subversive activities have a lot less to do with law enforcement than with her smuggling efforts. It was only a matter of time before Major found out about what Liv was doing, and while I suspected that he would discover it in some dramatic way that would make them both feel terrible, it was a much simpler moment, one that showed how unsurprised he was by the fact that she was trying to save the world in this way. I’m curious to see what will happen now that he knows and will have to lie to Chase, who is already quite on edge about everything. Angus trying to impress Blaine by having his flock devour the woman who made his childhood miserable was certainly an off-putting attempt at parenting, and I have to wonder how long that church is going to be able to last with its very frequent public murder scenes. I’m sure diehard Rob Zombie fans were thrilled to see Enrico Colantoni in what’s likely to be his final appearance on this show.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 4, Episode 9 “Mac-Liv-Moore” (B+)

Here was a great example of Liv being on an entertaining brain in a way that didn’t dominate the entire episode. Eating a rapper’s brain and dressing in all pink was fun, and I enjoyed her brief raps and the way in which she spoke to Major when he showed up. Otherwise, this was more of a serious installment dealing with Isobel and the fact that this extremely precocious girl who’s going to die soon has an oddly optimistic way of looking at the future. She wasn’t exactly subtle while she was hiding out in the morgue, with Ravi discovering her and then offering to scratch her if Liv didn’t want to. This doesn’t bring us any closer to figuring out why her scratching him didn’t work, but she does seem to want to stick around to be a test subject for research. As Blaine put Don-E on nerd hacker brain to set up his latest scheme, they made a killing by turning the well-known zombie mayor human, videotaping it, and then shooting him on camera to prove that their serum, now up for grabs for more than $10 million, was real. Chase ordering Major to scratch Sugar Cain showed how desperate Chase is to quell rebels even if he’s willing to break his own policy to make an example of them. On a far more entertaining note, Ravi having Major deliver a briefcase to the station with a crucial Dungeons and Dragons piece was almost as fantastic as the fact that Michelle likes the game and shared a very passionate kiss with Clive when they left the room for a moment.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 4, Episode 8 “Chivalry is Dead” (B)

I wasn’t overly fond of how Liv was acting throughout this episode. Rose McIver’s performance and accent work deserves unending commendation, especially since she, unlike many of the larpers, never broke character for the entirety of the hour and still managed to communicate what she was trying to speak in the style of the dialogue. But it felt like a lot, and we never got to see what would have been infinitely more enticing: Clive getting into the spirit of it after initially thinking that it was a laughable notion. Things did definitely get relatable for Clive when it came to human-zombie relationships, and it’s obviously remained just as difficult for him to be okay with the arrangement he and Dale currently have. Major’s befriending operation isn’t going all that smoothly, and his new pal is certainly volatile. Stacey Boss’ return provided Blaine with a rare opportunity to make nice with his father and take advantage of his legion of followers to achieve a shared benefit – the location of Boss’ money and brains to feed Angus’ hungry flock. Peyton managed to get that money just in time, and she’s made clear what her allegiances are after she caught Liv printing up the fake zombie identification cards. You’d think bringing a big bag of money to a meet without having been vetted first does the opposite of automatically clearing you, but at least we the audience know that she’s on the right side of the fight. Liv not being able to turn the latest refugee into a zombie is very puzzling, begging the question of whether some new evolution is preventing it, if she can only turn a limited number of people, or if something far more worrisome is getting in the way.

What I’m Watching: iZombie

iZombie: Season 4, Episode 7 “Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Brain” (B+)

It’s weird to see Liv looking more like a human and less like a zombie, especially when she’s on a brain that’s making her act especially sexual. Liv was running wild, texting a number of guys in the middle of the night to ask if they were “down to duck,” and the most entertaining part of it was how she tricked Levon into sharing a passionate kiss with her when he thought that she wasn’t on the brain anymore, only to discover that she was just trying to get rowdy with him. Clive’s efforts at romance were poor, starting with his Tinder photo that made him look teeny and his list of hates that included “This Is Us,” which I would agree, though not nearly as strongly, is somewhat emotionally manipulative. Putting on Liv’s fedora and telling prospective dates about Dale wasn’t much better, but at least he and Dale got to connect on a real level about how they still feel strongly about each other, determined to make it work somehow. I like that Clive knows that Liv is up to something and that his first instinct is to protect her even though she won’t discuss it with him, and hopefully Peyton will be just as sympathetic now that she’s caught Liv printing fake zombie IDs. I wasn’t too fond of all this “fake news” talk, but it does seem clear now that Chase, with Major by his side, is actively working to suppress the reporting of real information and deny what definitely happened, which is a worrisome development. Liv seemed shocked to find out that Angus was Blaine’s father, and I’m curious to see what she’ll do with that information.