iZombie Season 5 Episode 5 Review: Death Moves Pretty Fast
Jasmine Blu
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Life comes at you fast, my friends.
And iZombie Season 5 Episode 5 came at us faster. Finally, the series got back to giving us the quality content we adore and took some steps toward wrapping up the series.
Are we about to witness the fall of Blaine?
Initially, it was easy to be put off by Al because we didn't know that which she was angling. She remains a mystery with unknown motives, but she's an unapologetic journalist out to get a story by any means and showed it by the end of the hour.
Related: iZombie Season 5 Episode 4 Review: Dot Zom
Al may be the first step toward taking down Blaine once and for all. Let's face it; it's time. The series is coming to an end, and no matter how entertaining Blaine is and how freaking talented David Anders is, Blaine is long overdue for his comeuppance.
It's fitting how a woman in whom he showed genuine interest and one he thought he was shmoozing and impressing with his wiles and charm is the one who wrote a scathing piece about him.
The downside to what Al wrote is she could take down the others with Blaine. She doesn't have the type of background information to understand the particulars as to why Blaine has gotten away with murder.
On paper, it does appear screwed up that Major and FG made a deal with the devil in exchange for brains. She couldn't know how difficult it was for Major to reach a point where he could shake hands with someone like Blaine given their past.
Al: So what's next? Politics?
Blaine: Ha! Do I really seem that depraved?
Al: Jury's still out.
On paper, Peyton comes across as a woman who got seduced by Blaine and who ignored his misdeeds because of how they benefitted her. Al doesn't know about Blaine's amnesia or any of the particulars which color in the story better.
However, as much as her article may screw over Peyton, Major, and the starving zombies, the way everyone whispered about Blaine was too much.
Liv was mincing words about a man she loathes who ruined her life multiple times over because of the service he provides for the 10,000 zombies in Seattle. Blaine holds the entire city over a barrel and gets away with murder -- he has for years.
None of them could continue living under his thumb. When does it stop? Blaine took advantage of the fact that he had carte balance over everyone. Ironically, Al witnessed it herself when Ravi and Liv went to question Blaine about Harris.
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Blaine is confident in his ability to do what he pleases, so when Don E called to warn him about the fallout from the article, it was exciting. The prospect of him facing some consequences for once is titillating.
But of course, we couldn't enjoy the moment for long. No sooner than Blaine could process his world imploding, he already had the look of a man not done scheming.
The news about Freylich's Syndrome being the connection to the zombie cure went national, maybe even worldwide. It was Ravi's biggest fear as he didn't want all of the young teens and children who have it hunted down for their brains.
Blaine lies, cheats, steals, kills, and prospers. Meanwhile, I can't even prevent a bunch of dying kids from being hunted like dogs.
Ravi
The series was due to bring this back up again, and thank the heavens they not only resurrected it, but they also addressed some other loose threads left hanging from iZombie Season 4.
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Through the course of their case, Ravi and Liv managed to confirm Blaine was the one who took the zombie cures and killed the mayor. But now one has to wonder what Blaine will do with the information about the sick teens and their brains.
He's not above killing teenagers; we established that during iZombie Season 1. He was pleased to learn the information, so what the hell is he going to do with it? They can never keep Blaine down and out for long.
It was a great way to give us a bit of satisfaction since many of us have wondered for a while now when Blaine would come close to getting caught and held accountable for his laundry list of crappy actions.
Al going head to head with Peyton was a moment when you wanted to be protective of Peyton, but you couldn't help but understand Al's position.
Weren't we all screaming the same things at Peyton when she embarked on her relationship with "reformed and amnesiac" Blaine despite everything the man did to everyone she cared about (and strangers, too)?
Related: Izombie: Villain, Antihero, Antagonist Why Blaine is Irredeemable and That's OK
Al wasn't wrong about that, even her admonishment of Peyton not seeing through Blaine was harsh but by no means dishonest or inaccurate.
Liv: Stevadore, can you hack a dead teenager's social media account?
Steve: Can a thing that's known for doing a thing do that thing?
What was great about this hour was how nearly everyone had something of substance going on with their storylines, and it was well balanced with all the characters, fun, drama, cases, and the overarching issues.
The B- Team took over investigating and solving their murder case, and it was a blast. Clive, our perpetual dad-friend who keeps the kiddies in line, got taken down by a slippery nipple.
I'm going to miss Malcolm Goodwin's portrayal of Clive Babineaux. He has one of the hardest roles as the straight man of the series. However, his comedic timing is a thrill.
High Clive repeatedly saying "ohh" during the interview with Harris' friend was hilarious. While dad was away, the kiddies were playing, and he had no control over them.
Every moment he appeared on Liv's video call from his bed high or reaming them out was too funny for words. Liv on Harris' brain behaved like a roguish teenager and the callbacks and references to Ferrie Bueller's Day Off were some of the best of the series to date.
Did I mean for Steve to get shot? Of course not. Could the plan have gone better? Sure, but ask yourself, could it also have gone worse?
Liv
The setup using Vampire Steve as bait was ingenious, and getting shot with Liv claiming it could've gone worse had me in a fit of giggles.
Harris was a lucky son of a gun until his best friend killed him. Unfortunately, his friend didn't feel like his friend. The guy felt like Harris' lackey, and he didn't like how Harris did so much for others but not the same for him.
Harris was a fun brain for Liv because it didn't overpower Live completely. It wasn't the same or as exaggerated as Major on teen-girl brain, but it was fun.
Speaking of Major, the development with the Dead Enders spiking the brain tubs with Alzheimer's brain was shocking, cruel, and sad. Major can never catch a damn break for anything in the world, can he?
Related: iZombie: Chase, Fillmore Graves, and Missed Opportunities
It was heartbreaking when he kept losing his train of thought, incapable of counting or adding numbers, and forgetting names.
Who'd want to unthaw are prisoners, and why?
Chase
Inspector Frenchie used it to his advantage and ordered the firing of water cannons on human protestors outside the brain dispensary. I don't know if he was under orders from the mystery guy or he was doing it as a Chase Graves loyalist, but he gave the dead-enders what they wanted.
For once, Major has a real grasp on the politics and optics involved, and he's making genuine efforts to play his cards right, but everyone keeps giving him rhythm.
He's not a perfect commander, though. Fortunately, he now knows about the missing zombies, and he's starting to realize another player is on the chess board.
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Why would this mysterious person want the unthawed zombies, and what's the plan? Major is asking questions for which we want answers. Who was supposed to be the frozen zombie in the end?
They cleared out the freezer, but it looked like Vaughan from the first couple of seasons. However, didn't he get eaten to death?
Over to you, iZombie Fanatics!
What are your thoughts on Al's article about Blaine?
Did the kids do alright while dad was away?
Hit the comments below!
You can watch iZombie online here via 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.
