Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti: He's Been Dying To Ask Questions

[Actionmage]

Rahul Kohli is Liv's boss in the morgue. We can talk about him here!

[Actionmage]

I fell for this character because he is the coolest boss this side of Gil Grissom. Seriously.

 

He has been sitting on the fact that you're obvs a zombie, but he lets you tell him on your timetable. He doesn't flip out because of the brains you've eaten. ( If they were really important, Dr. Ravi would have probably asked before now. He's a cool boss, not a doormat.) He  is automatically trying to find a way to cure the condition. If  he does and she decides to not be cured, I can see him respecting that.

 

He also seems to feel for Det. Clive. I like that there is a genuine feeling of respect and excitement when Babineaux comes by.

 

That he is not hard to look at and has ( to this Texas gal) a sexy British accent doesn't hurt.

 

I am looking forward to learning more about Ravi.

[Featherhat]

I think he's great. He's just this side of believable as a Dr and a Zombie fan who's willing to take Liv on faith until she has no other choice but to tell him and treat any other Zombie whether they are potentially mass murderers or not. Plus well spoken British Asians exist, and he is not stereotype of either (any) of their cultures so far.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Featherhat

[bettername2come]

I loved him in the last episode as he tried to talk Liv back down after going full-on zombie mode to save him. There's a lot of trust there for people who have only been working together a few months, let alone a zombie with rage issues.

[editorgrrl]

There's been some discussion in the "S01.E05: Flight of the Living Dead" thread about Ravi being marginalized as an asexual sidekick. But over in the speculation thread, Watcher0363 suggested a potential storyline for Ravi:

For this show to become great, two things needs to happen: Major needs to become a relentless zombie hunter, without mercy. And Ravi needs to be revealed for what he is and what he is actually doing. That is, studying Liv like the lab rat he views her as. There is no way a person who authored a paper on Zombieism for the CDC would not be studying Liv with the end game of how to eradicate her and her kind.

 

Being a Big Bad is way better than being marginalized, but I like Ravi. On the other hand, now that Ravi and Major are roommates, it might be interesting to have them both be baddies.

[Saje]

He is adorable, funny, and hot. I get a gay vibe too, don't know if that's the case but I'm sure we'll find out. I like his loyalty to Liv, and his interest in 'curing' her is awesome. He's my favorite character, so far.

[FurryFury]

For some reason, I feel  like the show has implied him to be heterosexual (I think it was the ass comment a few episodes ago).

Edited April 21, 2015 by FurryFury

[editorgrrl]

For some reason, I feel  like the show has implied him to be heterosexual (I think it was the ass comment a few episodes ago).

 

In episode 2, "Brother, Can You Spare A Brain?," Ravi said of artist Javier Abano, "Oh, his paintings are very popular. Who doesn't love a vibrant, abstract nude?… I love his work. I particularly enjoy the one that looks like a bright blue jacksie. [uK slang for ass.] But I like my art provocative with a tinge of whimsy.… Also, blue is my favorite color—and I'm a bit of an arse man."

 

Men have asses, too.

[FurryFury]

Believe me, I appreciate men's butts as much as the next straight woman or gay man, but I just felt like it implied him being interested in girls, simply because ass man/boobs men is a well-known contrast. Whatever he is, I don't really care, him and Liv are my current BroTP of the show.

Edited April 21, 2015 by FurryFury

[MisterGlass]

 

But over in the speculation thread, Watcher0363 suggested a potential storyline for Ravi:

Watcher0363, on 17 Apr 2015 - 12:11 AM, said:

   

For this show to become great, two things needs to happen: Major needs to become a relentless zombie hunter, without mercy. And Ravi needs to be revealed for what he is and what he is actually doing. That is, studying Liv like the lab rat he views her as. There is no way a person who authored a paper on Zombieism for the CDC would not be studying Liv with the end game of how to eradicate her and her kind.

 

I absolutely agree that he is reasearching Liv and all her reactions, and keeping incredibly detailed notes.  If anyone is going to save humanity from this virus/condition, it's Ravi.  He still proudly drinks from his CDC mug, after all.  I just think he is more focused on eradication of the virus and not the people.  He was even willing to give the zombie in the well a chance until she went for him.

Edited April 22, 2015 by MisterGlass

[Saje]

Agreeing with you, MisterGlass. I feel like he really wants to cure them. I really hope they don't start making everyone evil, so bored of that on other shows. 

[BPOX]

He was totally like an overly enthusiastic puppy with the video game today. It's undermining my assumption that he has to be more evil than he seems since he's so blase about zombies.

[editorgrrl]

Ravi continues to be the Felix and I wish he was in every scene.

Yes! He definitely reminds me of Sarah's snarky brother on BBC America's Orphan Black!

[editorgrrl]

I flove this comment from the A.V. Club recap of "Dead Rat, Live Rat, Brown Rat, White Rat":

Ravi's two cheers this episode—first, exclaiming "It's not alive! It's not alive!" after he creates a zombie rat, and second, syncopating his claps to "Be aggressive! B.E. Aggressive!"—made it click for me that Ravi has played a cheerleader role for Liv this entire series, even as he's remade how a supporting player contributes to a 'heroine with a secret' story like this one. Liv claimed it was too on the nose when Hope the rat died, but her hammering that theme about Ravi reviving hope via his scientific experiments and morale boosts were fitting.

 

Also, Ravi may not be peppy, but he is a spirited cheerleader in his own way. Ravi's delight expressed once per episode is all I need.

[RachelKM]

Ravi broke my heart a little sitting on that porch at the end of the episode.  On a brighter note, he was right, he did look pretty great in that suit.  

 

I'm developing a huge crush on a fictional person. 

[Sakura12]

I felt bad for Ravi. But did he really expect Petyon to show up after witnessing her best friend and roommate in full on zombie mode murder another zombie? That's a lot take in on top of being knocked in the head. 

[bettername2come]

I can see Ravi thinking she might want to leave town after that happened. And yeah, dude was working the suit.

Edited June 5, 2015 by bettername2come

[LoneHaranguer]

Ravi may have hoped Peyton would want to talk to somebody about what happened; she had no reason to think he already knew.

[Bruinsfan]

I'd say Peyton discovering he already knew and let her go on living with a zombie without informing her might be a major stumbling block in their relationship. Assuming she's not, herself, on the train to Zombie Town thanks to Sebastian.

[MisterGlass]

I'm glad Ravi survived the season finale.  I imagine Major will have questions for him now.

[Chicago Redshirt]

One of the things that only just now occurs to me is that Ravi isn't getting enough -- blame seems a little strong, but it's the closest thing that comes to mind -- re: the cure.

 

As smart as he is, Ravi is a medical examiner, not a research scientist. If he had tried to spread the word to actual research scientists about zombie-ism and his attempts to cure it, it seems likely that working in conjunction with 5+ people, say, would be more effective than him working on his own. Heck, one of them might even be able to figure out how to get hands on tainted utopium or something.

 

It was pretty obvious (at least to me) when Major seemed to be going about zombie hunting in a stupid-to-the-point-of-suicidal manner, and that Liv has been dragging her feet in terms of dealing with Blaine (which I just now realized rhymes with "brain" -- hopefully in whatever new brain supply business he can get a jingle going with that). 

 

But I haven't seem anybody criticize Ravi for keeping things on the down low with his efforts to find a cure.

[Sakura12]

As smart as he is, Ravi is a medical examiner, not a research scientist. If he had tried to spread the word to actual research scientists about zombie-ism and his attempts to cure it, it seems likely that working in conjunction with 5+ people, say, would be more effective than him working on his own. Heck, one of them might even be able to figure out how to get hands on tainted utopium or something.

 

In the first ep we found out that Ravi used to work for the CDC, he was a research scientist first. He got fired for believing in zombies. I think he's keeping things on the DL for now because he wants to make it sure it works and what side effects it has. He would look bad if he said he had a cure and the patients all died 48 hours later or grew a second head or something. 

Edited June 15, 2015 by Sakura12

[Julia]

One of the things that only just now occurs to me is that Ravi isn't getting enough -- blame seems a little strong, but it's the closest thing that comes to mind -- re: the cure.

 

As smart as he is, Ravi is a medical examiner, not a research scientist. If he had tried to spread the word to actual research scientists about zombie-ism and his attempts to cure it, it seems likely that working in conjunction with 5+ people, say, would be more effective than him working on his own. Heck, one of them might even be able to figure out how to get hands on tainted utopium or something.

 

Only he is a research scientist, and he was fired once over this same issue, so he may have thought talking about it would get him fired again.

[Chicago Redshirt]

My bad for not remembering that they dropped that background about Ravi earlier.

 

It doesn't dramatically change the underlying equation, though. He can now show for sure that zombies exist, and I don't see anyone faulting him for not being more public/proactive in searching for a cure.

[editorgrrl]

Ravi can now show for sure that zombies exist, and I don't see anyone faulting him for not being more public/proactive in searching for a cure.

It's a TV show based on a comic book. And wouldn't Ravi going public lead to authorities imprisoning and experimenting on Liv?

[Chicago Redshirt]

There were at least a couple other zombies Ravi could have shown his fellow scientists -- Marcy would have been probably the best choice since she was the furthest gone, and because she was the least human.

[editorgrrl]

If Ravi went public with the existence of zombies, he would lose all control. The authorities would take over, seize his research, and round up all the zombies.

[Chicago Redshirt]

As sympathetic as we might be to Liv, I don't think that generally would be a bad thing if the authorities tried to round up all zombies. As things stand now, Liv is the only zombie we know of not directly linked to either orchestrating the serial killing of street kids or profiting from the same. Blaine had about a half-dozen zombies working for him that we saw, which suggests that he was delivering to a fairly extensive network. 

 

And that's just Seattle. There presumably are other zombies in at least the cities where there are other Max Rager incidents, and at least some of those zombies are presumably killing and eating people too. And some of them may be infecting others.

 

I would say that the ethics clearly favor public disclosure of zombieism over worrying that Liv and other good zombies might get hunted. YMMV.

 

By researching on the QT, Ravi is slowing the search for a cure. He has a full-time job that he has to do, which means there's a limit to how much time he can spend researching it. Collaborating with even one other researcher would likely speed up the process. It would also provide a backup. So far, Ravi has had two close calls, with Marcy and zombie rat. Under the current scenario, if he dies, there's a good chance that much of his progress dies with him. 

 

I should add that he need not tell the entire CDC. He could just recruit one or two other colleagues/assistants and emphasize the need for discretion.

[Actionmage]

 I don't think that generally would be a bad thing if the authorities tried to round up all zombies.

 

If Ravi goes public, odds are the Military/ Military-Industrial complex will jump in, take it completely out of Ravi's hands and either screw it up, sit on it, or try to find a way to weaponize the zombies further. When you are a hammer, all problems look like nails.

 

Ravi is taking steps to quantify the zombies he comes across and are willing to let him do tests and gather samples and ask science questions. He's laying down the foundation for the Big Picture, How To Cure Zombies.  If there is media, like zombie movies/games/tv shows, then Ravi is trying to build his case so that he can get more folks on board.  Climate change has been real for decades, but it's only been accepted by a large group of scientists only relatively recently and the public as well.

 

So I can't get angry with Ravi for going slow and steady. If the cure works, next season, no doubt Ravi will be in danger, because Liv and Clive have fired their first shots across Max Rager's bow and he'll come back harder.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Actionmage

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Climate change has been real for decades, but it's only been accepted by a large group of scientists only relatively recently and the public as well.

Are you talking about the global cooling that was predicted at the start of those decades or the global warming currently predicted (except by some in Asia)? Nobody's ever disputed that the climate changes (we're not in an ice age any more); the problem is in knowing where it's headed because there's not enough sufficiently accurate data (it's like predicting where the stock market will be at the end of the year based on last week).