iZombie S2: Hopes and Predictions

With six episodes down for the current entry of Liv Moore’s increasingly complicated undead personal life, we’re nearly halfway through the season already. (I know, right? Wild!) There’s been a lot to keep up with — Liv and Major coming back together, the return of Peyton and her joyfully increasing plot importance, Blaine’s personal agenda, Max Rager’s entirely unrelated agenda, Ravi just generally being the best person to exist — so I’m taking a moment to hit the brakes and consider where we’ve been, along with where we might be going. The writing team has a pretty big juggling act going, and it’s anyone’s guess where Liv and company will end up in coming weeks.

• The incoming zombie apocalypse, or something sort of like it. It’s difficult to imagine the show going through with this and keeping its fundamental premise intact — after all, this isn’t the Walking Dead — but Max Rager’s secret basement zombies who are significantly more shambling and recognizably monstrous than people like Liv is a pretty huge bomb that’s going to drop at some point. I’m not sure if they’re going to be unleashed upon Seattle, or if the protagonists will somehow circumvent their escape (because come on, that is TOTALLY absolutely 100% where this is going), but either way they make me nervous. We still don’t know the extent Vaughn and Gilda’s plans, but they’re going to either succeed horrifically or fall apart in profoundly messy way. Considering the fate of Meat Cute last season, it’s probably going to be the latter.
• Clive getting closer to the truth. Now that he’s found the brain, he has to figure it out, right? RIGHT? I find it very stressful on sci-fi/fantasy shows when there’s only one person left in a group who doesn’t know what’s really going on. (We don’t talk about season two of Teen Wolf.) Clive’s reaction is going to depend heavily on the circumstances of the reveal, and I’m honestly not sure where he’ll fall on the Ravi-to-Major scale of responding to the existence of zombies. On the one hand, he’s more Liv’s co-worker than her friend, which means he might not be as liable as Peyton to forgive such a level of broken trust; on the other hand, he’s a practical guy and I want to believe he and Liv will still be able to team up against the actual threats. Mostly, I just really hope he doesn’t get fired over that slice of brain in his fridge.
• Protect Peyton!!! SERIOUSLY, PROTECT PEYTON. Between flirting with Blaine and being threatened by mob bosses, this poor girl is having a rough time and doesn’t even know the half of it yet. She doesn’t have Liv’s powers, Ravi’s science smarts, or even Major’s cultivated zombie-killing skill-set. Peyton is basically without a way to defend herself while constantly being in contact with dangerous people, which is not a great combination. I’m a little worried about her survival chances at this point. Last season we saw Lowell as the primary character death; at this point, it’s a matter of waiting tensely until we learn who’s the next sacrificial lamb. (Oh, man, and Peyton’s a district attorney — what if she dies and Liv needs to eat her brain for information about the criminal underworld? OH, NO. PROTECT PEYTON.)
• Liv and Major reaching another hurdle in their relationship. The promo for Abra Cadaver mainly promises Liv and Major confronting (or not?) the actual issues of trying to date when Liv is constantly influenced by other people’s personalities. It’s a previously-unconsidered facet worth exploring — I’m just a little concerned this is going to fall into the “perpetuating contrived drama because for some reason we don’t think happy couples can be compelling” kind of flawed television. Generally this show is a lot smarter than that, so I’ll wait and see if there’s any reason to be worried, but I wish the Liv/Major ship could catch a break. Those kids have a way of getting you to hope they’ll make it.
• Blaine. What is up with Blaine? Are we supposed to know for sure? I thought he just wanted to run a successful business and get out from under his dad’s thumb, but then he killed his grandfather and I honestly don’t know what purpose that served. Either way, it was fascinating to finally see what gets the mockingly self-assured villain to show some vulnerability and regret. I just hope the writing doesn’t overdo it — too many bad guys have lost everything that makes them fun, enjoyable antagonists as writers try too hard to redeem them and whitewash their past actions, mistaking apologia for complexity. (Damon Salvatore, anyone?) Having layers and being multidimensional is great, but I don’t need Blaine to be secretly full of inner angst that’s meant to make the viewer feel sorry for him. Just, you know, the right blend of pettiness and entitlement and deeply funny one-liners with an occasional dose of bitterness that only makes him scarier, instead of sympathetic and “not so bad at heart.”

All we can be sure of is that, considering the pileup of season one, the remaining seven episodes have some ridiculous and/or heartbreaking twists and turns ahead. Where do you think the remainder of the season is headed? Sound off in the comments below.