iZombie Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Brainless in Seattle Part 1
Jasmine Blu
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After all of this time, iZombie finally did something that was long overdue.
On iZombie Season 4 Episode 3, they introduced a serial killer.
This is beyond exciting. They have had so many one-and-dones, but the idea of Clive and Liv chasing after a serial killer rather than solving their case by the end of the credits is the type of refreshing content iZombie Season 4 has been nailing thus far.
There was absolutely nothing to loathe about this installment. It was the show at its best. For one, the quips and witty lines were top-notch. Mere seconds in, Ravi kicked things off with his Harrison Ford quip, and they kept it up with too many zingers and quips to write down.
This show is hilarious.
I love that even when it takes serious, intense, and darker turns, it still doesn't lose the humor.
Related: iZombie Round Table: Talk Sex with Dr. Ravi!
Whether it's Liv's blend of sass and physical comedy as she channels a new personality, Ravi's sarcasm, or Clive's dry humor. (There is never a time when I'm not 100% Clive in an episode, he just captures that exasperated "I'm so over this, but dammit, I love these people" vibe all too well).
Clive: Liv, was that a vision?
Liv: Yes, he is.
Liv on hopeless romantic brain was one of the best to date.
It came with the traditional Rom-Com voiceover action distinctive than the standard voiceover, doe-eyed expressions at nearly any guy with a pulse, and playing Savage Garden's "Truly, Madly, Deeply" which is right up there with Sixpence's "Kiss Me" for the soundtrack of 90's-early 2000's rom-coms everywhere.
While we're on the music, Liv's favorite song is the Space Jam theme song. Liv, I love you!
Related: iZombie Review: A Major Fallout!
Once again, Liv risked being completely consumed by the brain. Midway through, she was able to turn it around, and Liv managed to balance out who she is naturally and who Annie was.
What if the only reason she didn't lose herself completely this time is that there was so little brain for Liv to consume? Annie's brains were stolen, so that left Liv with the bare minimum.
Stolen brains presented an interesting problem that connected many of the characters. There is a brain shortage, and there are too many zombies out there to feed.
Chase, I feel for the poor guy. He's trying to keep things under control but he has a tenuous grasp on all things zombie at best.
The Fillmore Graves soldiers are taking bribes from coyotes, young cadets are scratching folks, and people like Dalton are profiting off of stealing brains from dead people and possibly arranging for people to get killed just for their brains.
Look, no one is going to blame you for the Darwin project, but you're supposed to feed these people, and if you fail in that, the 10,000 zombies we made will come for your head.
Soldier
There is a conflict between protecting and maintaining peace with zombie-human relations and making sure the zombie population doesn't continue to expand so everyone can have enough to eat.
Whether or not Jordan will face consequences for that scratch is yet to be seen, but there is a wrongful death suit that has been filed by the parents against Jordan and Fillmore Graves.
Related: iZombie Season Premiere Review: The New Seattle!
It's remarkable how fast the criminal justice system is catching up to zombieism. In reality, our criminal justice system still can't catch up to technology, so at least there is some urgency with these sort of matters.
Chase is focused on that finding the video footage of the incident before it's leaked. There are bigger problems than Jordan's incident, so maybe she will be spared.
Chase: You bring me Renegade, you go back to running your establishments in peace.
Blaine: And I never have to deal with you ever again?
Chase: Consider it your final favor.
Blaine: Consider it done.
Unfortunately, that means his attention will be directed towards the best new character introduced, Renegade. The deal he struck with Blaine was a deliciously good development, but I hate what it means for Renegade.
Blaine is willing to do anything to get from beneath Chase's thumb. Anthony effed up big time blabbering about Renegade, but it was tough watching Blaine turn him human (with the zombie cure he stole!), and eat the guy's brain so he could get a vision that would lead him to Renegade.
You know what's crazy? All of this sh!t is going on, but Chase and Blaine are still oblivious about Angus! How?!
It doesn't sound like Angus is the one tied into the Darwin Project, but he will be the one leading the charge when hungry zombies come for Chase's head.
It turned into a rat-race, as Clive/Liv and Blaine/Chase were looking for Renegade. Fortunately, Liv was the one to find her first.
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She's an honest and good coyote, but Bruce and the people he works for are not. From the discovery Clive and Liv made in that incinerator, there are at least three other people who ended up just like Annie.
What a tragic end for such a sweet girl. She's responsible for Liv being on one of the most amusing brains in a while. Liv instantly falling in love with Alan had me in stitches.
Liv: How do I find Bruce?
Renegade: You get lucky. His people operate on the deep web. Almost impossible to trace.
Liv: So what do we do?
Renegade: We cry. We mourn. And we never forget the Annies ever.
I love it when Veronica Mars alum guest-star and Sam Huntington was so much fun. It reminded me of how much I miss Being Human.
Liv being adamant about going to The Scratching Post for the zombie-human night was hilarious. While it was ridiculous that Peyton would call Ravi to help her avoid Blaine (Peyton, WTF?!), it did lead to that awesome Ravi makeover segment.
Ravi is a hot commodity, as evidenced by the bachelorette party having a blast with him, and Peyton has noticed. It doesn't matter what brain Liv is on, she still manages to slip in that she's on the Pavi 'ship.
Liv is no longer on Bozzineaux 'ship though. She saw Dale kissing someone else, and she agonized over how to tell Clive about it. That was around the time the real Liv came through a bit more.
She's super protective of her friend, and she went as far as to get catty with Dale, and then tried to set Clive up with the new cop on the squad. The best friendship of the hour goes to CLiv for that reason.
Little does she know, Clive and Dale may have come to an arrangement where they pursue physical intimacy elsewhere. Keep the faith, Bozzineaux fans.
Liv: Oh no, I almost forgot. I saw Bozzio last night at The Scratching Post. She was cheating on Clive.
Peyton: Oh that's terrible. You're sure?
Liv: Yeah.
Peyton: You think he'd want to know?
Liv: Clive won't eat soup dumplings because they have too many secrets. So yeah, I do.
Other Brain bits:
- Clive's face whenever he realizes what type of brain he's dealing for the week will never get old. Ever!
- Major and Liv are still in the middle of their quarrel. I loved how Liv was so serious about the new love of her life, and he swerved that topic in favor of a burrito.
- I need to see Don E on Mime brain! Last I heard, Seattle was mostly hipsters and coffee addicts. How do they find all these quirky brains?
- Jimmy the Sketch Bitch is not amused, Liv.
- Four to six months before mass starvation? More than 10,000 zombies? Seattle is on borrowed time. Humans or no humans, it's a wonder the city hasn't been nuked yet.
Are you as stoked about this serial killer investigation as I am? Clive totally knows about Dale, and this is their way of compromising, right? What will happen when Blaine finds Renegade? Hit the comments!
As always, you can watch iZombie online here at TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
