Thursday, October 22, 2015

iZombie 2x03 "Real Dead Housewife of Seattle" (Driving Miss Crazy) [Contributor: Isabella]


"Real Dead Housewife of Seattle"
Original Airdate: October 20, 2015

What iZombie's done best since season one has been connecting the dots between storylines –– plot points have flawlessly meshed with others and characters have seamlessly found their place within them. This is most evident with the return of Peyton Charles, Liv's best friend and former roommate.

Peyton left last season after witnessing Liv go into full zombie mode right in front of her and is now back to deal with the Utopium situation –– the drug that Major's become addicted to. She left in such a hurry that she didn't even tell Ravi, whom she was dating at the time, that she was leaving. She also didn't tell him or Liv she was coming back. So it is is obviously a complete shock to them when she returns.

When Peyton returns, she visits Major and Ravi at their house. She openly talks to Ravi about what happened (she's still trying to wrap her head around Liv being a zombie) and why she's back (the Utopium case), but she also asks for a hug. It's a little bittersweet. It seems like their feelings for each other are still very much there, but Ravi's moved on to dating... who knows who. You know what, it actually would've been a crazy surprise if he had been dating Glinda, but alas, she's got the hots for Major. Who doesn't? Anyway, it seems like Ravi and Peyton have really missed each other, but we won't know if they'll go back to how they were before. I think I want them to.

We still don't see Liv and Peyton interact like she did with Ravi, but we do see how much Peyton's absence has had an effect on Liv. In a moment that hurt my heart, Liv asks Clive and Ravi if they're free Friday after work to hang out. They can't. Ravi has a date and Clive's busy (busy with what, I still want to know). In my mind, this is such a big deal for me. I actually grasp at whatever moments we get where Liv is actually being herself around them –– we usually only see her under the influence of other people's brains. It's painful to see their reactions, but even more painful is hearing that it was her birthday and she didn't tell anyone about it.

There was one person who remembered, though: Peyton.


Now, Liv thought Peyton hated her after learning that she was a zombie, but this small act of friendship shows Liv that although she may not understand it, Peyton still loves her. It's taken her some time to come to grips that her best friend isn't entirely human, but now that she is back, hopefully their friendship can become even closer, given all they went through to get here.

Bonus: The Veronica Mars reference!

THERE'S BEEN A MURDER

The case: Taylor Fowler, a real housewife of Seattle, was murdered in her gorgeous mansion by a hitman. Now, who did the hiring?

Unlike the last two brains Liv ate to solve the murders, this one has definitely been one of my favorites. I'm pretty positive that no matter what you throw at Rose McIver, she'd be able to act the crap out of it. It seems like she can do no wrong. I'm constantly being amazed by her. Her take on the "real housewife of whatever place they're coming from" is so accurate. She isn't over-the-top, she isn't too flamboyant –– instead, it's her little mannerisms that become the embodiment of Taylor Fowler. It's as if she's been acting this way her whole life. It comes as second nature to her.

This isn't to say that the show doesn't rely on stereotypes of these characters, but that's understandable because we only get a glimpse into who these people are. The writers can only just skim the surface. They don't delve deeper into who the victims are because they don't have time for that and it detracts from our main characters.

Back to Liv, though: I also really appreciate that no matter how heavy the influence of brains is on her, a little bit of real!Liv still comes out. For example, after she slapped Major at du Clark's offices, she quickly apologized for doing it and blamed the brains. Knowing this and knowing how racist she was under the old man's brains in the first episode back, I still believe Liv could've apologized quickly to Clive for what she said to him. Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'll never get over the fact that she didn't say sorry, but there's at least a slight chance she could've done it.

In the case, the perpetrator ends up being Mr. Fowler's stylist, Bethany Miller, who was also his girlfriend that he found on a website called Sugar Daddyio.

When Liv finds out the news from Clive, she's in a store called Hotter Than Hell with the culprit herself. Bethany realizes that Liv knows it's her and tries to run away. Liv's zombie instincts take over when Bethany squirts pepper spray into her eyes. Liz completely knocks her out.

Fowler isn't the only sugar daddy she's tried taking money from, so Bethany will be spending a lot of time in prison.. Clive and Liv cracked the case again.


OH, MAJOR

Poor, poor Major. 

As much as I hate to see Major so conflicted about his new job killing zombies, I also sort of enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, it's horrible to see him emotionally in such pain. It's just that I really enjoy Robert Buckley's acting. I've said it in the past two reviews, but Major really has become a favorite of mine.

He's currently going through a downward spiral and taking somewhat the same path that Liv took last season. He's trying to protect the person he loves (Liv), and in doing so, ends up hurting many others. We see him making more bad decisions in this episode. Like, having sex with Glinda? Nope, not here for that.

But at the same time –– something so important for this show to keep intact –– the episode focuses on  his reactions to killing people. It's inhumane and he knows it. We can see the regret on his face. He clearly doesn't want to do this, to live this life, but he has to. It's understandable why he turns to Utopium. It helps him escape his reality, but it's just pushing him farther away from who he's trying to protect.


The episode ends shockingly with du Clark taking Fowler deep down into his lair to show him some new findings. du Clark leaves him in the lab, pretending to go look for the doctor in charge of the experiments, when he clicks a button and lets in a full zombie, not like Liv's somewhat human form. The zombie promptly attacks Fowler and boom, it's over. du Clark isn't just a funny, self-obsessed bad guy anymore, it's the real deal.

Brainy Quotes and Undead Notes:
  • Liv wants to hang out with both Ravi and Clive after work! My heart rejoices. The friendship with Ravi's been shown a bit, but her and Clive have barely been shown to have a relationship outside of work. The fact that she wants to hang out with them and under the influence of her own brain and not someone else's, is so sweet to me. And it hurts even more that no one remembered her birthday.
  • "God, I thought he'd never shut up." –– Ravi
  • They heard my prayers and gave us more shots of Major working out.
  • Honestly, Robert Buckley just kills every episode. The pain of killing zombies is so evident on his face every time he has to do it that you can't help but feel for him.
  • "My eyes, they burn." –– Liv. Me too.
  • The slap!
  • "I hate rich people. I do." –– Clive
  • "What am I? Driving Miss Crazy?" –– Clive
  • "I promise it'll never happen again because, you know, she's dead." –– du Clark
  • So Glinda is du Clark's daughter. I can see the resemblance.
  • Whoa, Major and Glinda? I'm not sure how I feel about them. I'm just considering this a part of Major's downward spiral along with his addiction to Utopium.
  • Forever here for Clive's reactions to how weird Liv acts every episode.
  • Peyton's back! And she's the only one who remembered Liv's birthday. They are friendship goals. I just want them to be as close as they once were.
  • I've been okay with the lack of Blaine this season. I really liked watching how obnoxious du Clark is. He's scary and powerful, but funny.
  • Seafood and Smoothie sounds like a really gross restaurant to eat at.
  • "Can I just give you a hug?" –– Peyton. This isn't really a show where I ship anything and if you know me, that's a big deal since I can usually guarantee that I'll ship something. Anything! So I didn't really feel anything for Peyton and Ravi last season, but now I do. It was bound to happen. I want to see them reconnect as much as I want that for her and Liv. They did only date for a few weeks, but I still think the feelings are there, as we could somewhat see on Ravi's face during the hug.
  • We finally get to see a full zombie and not just a human version of one! I've been waiting to see that since the start of the show and surprisingly didn't disappoint. It was a very quick view of one, but it left me wanting more.

0 comments:

Post a Comment