My goodness, that was just delightful, wasn’t it? I’m glad the CW decided to release the season’s remaining episodes as a two-parter because those halves certainly deserved the back-to-back treatment. iZombie’s second series closer was a perfect storm of escalating absurdity, tension, humor, and stakes. I’m so excited about the future of this show. More reactions may settle in as I have time to think about them, but here are my immediate thoughts, fresh out of the post-viewing oven:
- I asked to be delivered from the Clive-doesn’t-know purgatory, and so the writers looked down upon me and smiled, and on that day I was blessed. Liv’s confession was everything I could have wanted, and Malcolm Goodwin nailed the material. Clive’s blend of skepticism, shock, suspicion, sadness, and concern was some of the most nuanced material we’ve seen for the character. And, in an act of true selflessness, his first response was to sacrifice his career and his relationship with Dale in order to protect Seattle from a starving-Major-induced apocalypse. Clive is a standup guy. I love Clive. You probably hadn’t noticed.
- Liv officially has two boyfriends who have been killed off. That girl is never going to date anyone again in her unlife at this rate. Jokes aside, I actually thought Drake’s death was a very cool and interesting foil to last season: the old Liv couldn’t bring herself to murder Blaine despite hating and fearing him, which led to Lowell’s death. Now, she’s evolved enough to put down a rabid zombie she still loves. Liv’s feelings about her own stern moral code are one of the most interesting parts of the character, and I hope the show doesn’t gloss over it — we’ll very likely see her mourning Drake, but I’m also interested in the broader implications of Liv mourning her identity. She’s the kind of person who would be affected by the act of killing itself, separate from the trauma of losing Drake specifically. This is the perfect time to further deepen the series’ themes of conflict between Liv’s alive and deceased selves.
- One thing I wasn’t expecting: SURPRISE MYTHOS EXPANSION. Before, our plot concerns have been humans exploiting zombies and independent up-and-comers like Blaine abusing their newfound abilities. Now we apparently have a secret organized network of undead folks preparing for societal instability and conflict, if not outright war. Vivian looks to be just fabulous as an antagonist (?), and additionally a fresh change from the usual lineup of flippant white guy villains. (I say this as someone who finds iZombie’s flippant white guy villains entertainingly goofy. So long, Vaughn du Clark.)
- On that note, I will miss Rita. She’s a jerk I grew to truly appreciate.
- I am roughly 92% sure Blaine is faking his memory loss. With the writers cleverly sidestepping Major’s potential use of the cure, we have not yet had any outside verification of that condition’s reality. Plus, he was just a little too much his smarmy self tonight, as opposed to the previous “helpless and newly moral” persona he’d adopted. I see you, buddy.
- Speaking of Blaine, I am theoretically always pleased when he and Ravi get to interact — Rahul Kohli and David Anders give good razor-sharp banter, and seeing them onscreen together always reminds me of the iconic Friday I’m In Love sequence — but Salivation Army’s one sour note was that nonsense featuring them with regards to Peyton. Why does Peyton have to be victimized so the boys can save her? Why does the show put her in a position to gratefully hug Blaine after his big hero moment (ew), when we had an entire subplot about her feeling gross and violated due to her discovering the truth about him during their fling? Why does Ravi’s final moment of season two have to be him watching them sadly, implying some kind of future love triangle? That is weird and bad and doesn’t make any sense. Ravi and Peyton are treasures together and they do not deserve this. I will personally riot if Blaine is framed as some kind of alternative romantic option forcing inorganic conflict into their relationship. RIOT, I SAY.
- The crew arguing about whether to sever a dead man’s hand for the greater good was incredibly funny. One of the great things about all of the main characters finally uniting, with Major and Clive no longer isolated to their personal side arcs, is that we have a lot more contrasting perspectives and viewpoints to bounce off of each other. Liv and Major, even without sharing brain meals, are like-minded individuals who love leaping into reckless action in order to help others, while Ravi and Clive are much more wry and levelheaded. I look forward to other combinations coming together in order to baffle and sass each other.
- Man, Rob Thomas (the writer) sure loves a good meta joke about Rob Thomas (the singer), doesn’t he? In all fairness, I would do the same thing if I was Rob Thomas (either one). So would you. Don’t pretend otherwise.