iZombie “Pilot” & “Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?” (Episode 1 & 2 Review)
Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright are the team behind the show and are proving once again that they can write and produce a quick-witted, creative story. They were the team behind Veronica Mars and fans would be correct to assume there are some similarities between the shows. Some comparisons could include the clever, intuitive female protagonist, the snappy and humorous dialogue, and the zany yet creative cases that each has to solve. Yes, an unknowing viewer may find the initial idea of a high school teenager or a zombie medical resident solving mysteries daunting or laughable, but fans of Veronica Mars and those who have watched the first two episodes of iZombie probably know that there's way more to each series than that.
(Spoilers Below!!)
The show opens with dark-haired Liv thriving as an intern physician. She acts quickly and easily saves a life. It seems that this usually draws jealousy from the other interns, but this time it elicits an invitation to a party from a fellow intern. Liv declines until her fiance, Major, convinces her to go enjoy herself because “what's the worst that can happen?”. Liv soon discovers what that is when she wakes up in a body bag following massive panic and fire on the boat. Liv was leaving after being offered Utopium, a new drug, and receiving unwanted attention from a party goer before the commotion erupted. The rage-filled party goer scratched her along the arm and sent her flying over the edge of the boat.
Five months later the white-haired Liv is aimlessly walking through life as an assistant at the morgue. Her friends and family try an intervention to question her recent actions. She has left her prestigious role at the hospital, called off her engagement, and is making other questionable decisions. Although they know she was in the boating accident, she has not told anyone what happened to her or that she is a zombie now. They believe she suffers from PTSD and have no idea that she is working at the morgue to have access to brains for her “unique dietary needs” or that her recent appearance is not something she has chosen.
Liv is adjusting to her new life by finding various ways to prepare brains, watching bad TV when she can't sleep, working at the morgue, and trying to avoid the questions and concern from her friends and family. Meanwhile her boss, Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, figures out her secret and surprises her by not only accepting it but also by suggesting they may be able to cure her of the condition. He asks did you think you would have to be this way forever and it's clear that she did based on her recent decisions. (She says she won't risk “giving the man I love zombie”).
Liv doesn't have much time to ponder her relationships or if she is indeed the only zombie as she believes herself to be because she soon starts having visions. Detective Clive Babinaux brings along a pair of handcuffs to the morgue while following up on the victim. The cuffs cause Liv to experience a flashback of the victim because she has recently ate some of the victim's brain. The visions continue and she agrees to help because she thinks it's the least she can do after eating the brains. Not only does Liv find that she experiences flashes of memories but she also discovers she develops some of the victim’s abilities such as speaking another language and also becoming a kleptomaniac. Her mother's old adage that “you are what you eat” means something new now.
Detective Babinaux was very skeptical of Liv's early “psychic” information, but becomes increasingly impressed as she continues to be correct. He is new to his department and has a lot to prove. Liv and Detective Babinaux developed a quick banter and become what he describes as “Cagney and Pasty”. Her visions prove correct and they discover who the killer is and track him down. He escapes and appears to shoot Liv. However, he is surprised when she chases him, busts the front window of the vehicle, and causes him to crash. While Detective Babinaux is playing catch up she goes “full on zombie” and has to restrain herself from eating his brain when the detective arrives. She finds that she can sleep that night, unlike those previous, but she wakes suddenly because of dreams of a haunting zombie.
Episode two, “Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?”, has Major returning items that Liv left at his home. She already fears that he is moving on, but doesn't see how they could work it out anyway. Meanwhile she is back at it when she gets a vision of the victim, a popular artist, with a woman other than his wife. One of the abilities she developed this week was being able to draw, which she uses to draw the unknown zombie from her dream to see if he can be identified. The zombie from the dream who turns out to be the party goer from the first episode shows up after seeing the drawing. They both seem surprised that the other exists. He explains that he robs graves to get his brains. They have a humorous exchange about how they prepare brains and the change that happens to them when they go “full-on zombie”. I like his character and hope that this friendship continues. Of course it seems questionable since he seemingly attacks two men from his drug dealing days and the fact that he is blackmailing a one-night stand in return for providing her with brains after turning her. I think there's more to him than we know at this point and more to his background. It can be assumed that he caused the outbreak on the boat and we're only getting started.
Liv is able to help Detective Babinaux solve the murder again. It took a couple twists and turns and the viewer could have either guessed it or been surprised. Liv gets a new lease on life when thinking about how the victim's brain showed her a more vibrant, brighter view of the world. She still wants the light and realizes the heart wants what it wants. She goes to Major's home, but he can't understand her new emotional response to him after the last six months and tells her to leave. She leaves thinking about her wasted time.
“Days I could have spent sucking the marrow out of life, I spent building a resume for a life I'd never have. There were parts of me that were dead even before I became a zombie. So maybe that means it's possible for parts of me to spring to life, even now that I'm dead.”
I almost feel like there is an underlying message to the show which is something like live life and do more of the things that make you happy. Liv was highly intelligent and successful before becoming a zombie but questions these accomplishments when thinking about her death/life. She says life goes on for those left behind after death, but the living dead have to still be around to see it happen. She wondered what she would leave behind. “Would my mom frame old report cards? Marvel over extra-credit projects?” Liv wonders. Liv is more dead than she has ever been, but seems to be more alive than ever with her ever-expanding abilities and new lease on life. There's something to learn there.
Check out new episodes on Tuesdays on the CW
Review By: LBurden
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