S01.E04: Liv And Let Clive

[Julia]

However it was smart of him to turn a chef to make the brains taste better. Although I thought Liv said it doesn't matter what she does because her taste buds are half dead. How can they enjoy food when she can't? 

 

Maybe it's because she's determined to stay as human as possible? Really appreciating brains might be more of a full-bore zombie thing.

[FurryFury]

Haha, I've never seen any Power Rangers, but this is so hilariously cheesy.

[Sakura12]

Power Rangers has always been cheesy. It's a show for kids that apparently ran for a lot longer then I ever knew. I've only seen the originals, never watched any after that. But Liv doing her "kung fu" moves reminded me of Power Rangers so I had to look up Rose McIver's role as a Power Ranger. 

Edited April 9, 2015 by Sakura12

[Ubiquitous]

My favorite part was after Ravi made the "whorish Memento" crack-- then was delighted to find an actual "whorish Memento" in the porn section of the video store. I totally didn't even mind that a video store shouldn't actually exist in this day and age.

I assumed it was a front or used for money laundering,.

 

I was also wondering why the henchmen weren't pale at all.   I also wonder how black skin is affected by the zombie virus.  Does it look albino? Also, why were the henchmen in the freezer after being shot? Are zombie brains ripe for eating? My mind is boggled! 

I thought the henchmen were into bodybuilding and spray tans (maybe they used to compete). Were both left in the freezer?

[Izeinwinter]

He took a "Fresh" henchman *out* of the freezer. He appears to have zombiefied then frozen an entire gang of hoodlums? And apparently you can cryopreserve zombies with no problem. Which.. uhmm.. Oookay. Well, I suppose that does open an reasonable way to deal with a large number of zombies without having to kill them all, you can just stick them on ice until a cure or an acceptable brain substitute is developed. 

[dcalley]

In this case the video store was clearly just a gang front / money laundering operation. Report large sales of second hand dvd's on a cash basis, put gang members on payroll without expecting them to actually show up and work shifts, and there you go, "legitimate" incomes all around. Entirely standard trick.

And no customers to get in the way.

 

During the credits this week, it hit me that comic zombie Blaine looks a bit like Logan.

 

[kieyra]

Diablo III has been out for three years. Being impressed by each other's non-max-level characters was odd. Also: 1.4 attacks per second? Really?

I'll show myself out.

[FurryFury]

They're probably supposed to be casual gamers. Or the writers are. Diablo III seems to be the go-to game on TV, I remember Emma and Henry playing it last year on Once Upon A Time.

(Not a big fan of rogue-likes, personally, so I've never even touched it).

[sjohnson]

Re the frozen zombies: What does the health inspector think? Does it raise or lower the score when the paper publishes the restaurant ratings?

 

From the autopsies I've seen, the custom is to part the hair and slice the scalp in a semicircle. Then the scalp is peeled over the face, leaving the bare skull. Only then is the bone saw used. After the brain is extracted, the skullcap is returned and the scalp is pulled back to its original position. (I think this was put on screen in the movie Contagion, when they showed the Paltrow character's post-mortem.) A mortician can comb over the cut and the head appears pristine. This can be done in any mortuary, so Blaine really just needs to buy one, or three. The killing likely isn't necessary.

 

If you really want to have assembly line murders, I suppose using methods easily detectable only by autopsy could be useful if you control the ME office? Secondarily having someone in the PD's Missing Person's unit (if they have a separate one,) who can falsely report the person being found elsewhere? 

Edited April 9, 2015 by sjohnson

[Lady Calypso]

I am actually thoroughly entertained by Major. I'll be honest, I'm just finding it so refreshing that at least they're trying to give him not only a personality, but hobbies and reasons to be around outside of Liv. Most of the shows I have watched have the 'main lead love interest' as only fodder for the real main character. So for them to throw him into a friendship with another more supporting main character, that is actually so nice. Also, he has a personality! He's quirky! He plays video games and isn't some super serious bland white guy with a generic job! He doesn't just react blankly at Liv! They're making him more 3D than a lot of clear love interest characters, so it makes him somewhat more important to the story, even if he's unaware of her secret.

 

You see, as much as I like Clive, I find him a bit more bland because he's playing the typical 'partner who is unaware of THE SECRET, is untrustworthy of lead character but grows to like her and trust her over the season. OH AND LOOK HE'S A COP WHO WAS UNDERCOVER AT ONE POINT'. I mean, I like Clive, I truly do, but he has more of a stereotypical role on this show right now than at least Major. Even Ravi's playing a more cliche role, but I also like him. Major, I don't love but at least he's somewhat refreshing (girlfriend trope notwithstanding) and I see his potential. I dont wish him off the show for wasting space, and they use him sparingly.

 

I didn't actually like this episode at all. I'm bored of the undercover cop storylines and I didn't love Liv's paranoia that much, though I like how her and Ravi got to do their own undercover mission. Her brother's ok but I'm not loving him (but I do love how Liv stopped going full on zombie mode because of him, which shows her humanity), and Blaine's storyline was ok yet predictable. I guess I'm enjoying the humour and the entertainment value, and I now need it to be renewed for a second season. I'll happily sacrifice The Vampire Diaries for this show. 

[twoods]

I like this show but also wish like you guys that they made Blaine more of a grey character. There is no reason for him to be killing innocent homeless kids- a better angle would have been to try to butter Liv up for some dead people brains. He is showing no remorse for killing all these people, and his scenes are causing me to not fully invest in this show.

I'm pretty much sticking around for the awesome duo of Ravi and Liv. Plus, throw some Clive in there.

[Sakura12]

I actually don't mind that they got Clive's "dark" past out of the way now. Too often shows like to throw that in randomly in the third or fourth season when the characters should know each other better and not jump to conclusions like that. Right now Liv doesn't know Clive that well, they've only been working together for a few months. I can buy her thinking he might be dirty especially on top of the vision she got. 

 

What I really love is Ravi and Liv's friendship. I love that he can just go along with whatever she's doing. The video store dialogue was great. I don't hate Major or anything, he's just kind of there. He doesn't stand out even with his abs. Hopefully they develop his character more soon or I will start to resent him taking away screen time from other characters. 

 

Also if Blaine is a one dimensional villain he does not need to be a regular. That kind of character is best used sparingly. For me the worst kind of troupe is the sob story we will probably be getting for Blaine so we feel sorry for him and so he can have a redemption arc later on. 

[Watcher0363]

I don't mind Blaine being so blatantly evil, because there is so much potential in the personality changes that come with eating brains. Can you imagine what we will be treated to when Liv eats the brain of a truly evil person. Equate it to a dark quickening. Or what will happen to Blaine when eats the brains of a deeply religious and pious man.

[Ubiquitous]

Diablo III has been out for three years. Being impressed by each other's non-max-level characters was odd. Also: 1.4 attacks per second? Really?

I'll show myself out.

I thought they said they were WoW players. *shrug*

[kieyra]

I thought they said they were WoW players. *shrug*

 

 

Nah. No Wizards or Demon Hunters in WoW. 

[FurryFury]

They've mentioned Diablo III specifically.

[MisterGlass]

I think the fine minds on this board are ready to tackle the brain acquisition and distribution enterprise when the zombie apocalypse comes.  Some great ideas here :-)

 

I enjoyed this episode.  The undercover cop storyline was a trope, but it wasn't that bad.  It is worth observing that Liv can misinterpret what she sees, and this may be the first blush of that.  I liked the effort to bring Major (still a weird name) into the storyline in more detail, but I would not like to see his current relationship actively sabotaged.  Ravi is so likable, so maybe that will transfer to Major.  Liv's brother is too much of a stalker.  That should be toned down, since we have enough creepiness.

 

I thought the look at Blaine's side of the fence was interesting and a good expansion of the zombie universe.  All of his henchmen are spray-tanning, and the brain junkies are probably doing so too as part of the arrangement.  The chef commented that Blaine's tan was more even than hers.  A mass outbreak of albinism is going to raise flags, and I imagine Blaine wants to keep his victims/junkies/clients from knowing who their fellow zombies are.  While his procurement activities and infections are explicitly evil, the character may still gray with time.  It seems that Jackie and the chef have gotten over being zombified to the extent that they are enjoying things.  I'm sure that the food the chef makes is prepared for a zombie palate - curry, jalapenos, stilton maybe?  Wouldn't ghost peppers be more appropriate?  Part of me wonders if the chef is helping to dispose of bodies in the Sweeney Todd tradition to her non-zombie clientele.

 

I think it is interesting that they are maintaining Blaine's relationship with Jackie.  She could be an enterprise partner, to be sure.  Blaine is keeping things fairly contained by freezing henchmen, who were probably some of his old drug dealing acquaintances, and the list of deliveries was fairly short.  His is a concierge business, and I'm sure the list of people who can pay for his services is small.  He'll kill off accidental infectees who do not fit the preferred client profile.  It will be interesting to see if he starts leveraging his client base to provide favors rather than money.  If he can influence politics, for example, his enterpirse takes on new meaning. I am curious what will happen when one of his clients runs into Liv, and how they react to each other.  The behavior of the clients will probably determine how long Blaine can keep this system running.  If he starts franchising to other cities, it'll get awkward fast.

 

These two henchmen cracked me up.  I also enjoyed that the butcher shop was named "Meat Cute."

 

 

Re the frozen zombies: What does the health inspector think? Does it raise or lower the score when the paper publishes the restaurant ratings?

He's probably queing up for brains himself.

[SanLynn]

I think I like this show more and more with every episode and that's saying something considering how much I DON'T like Zombies. It's just so refreshing and different.

 

I loved getting to know a bit more about Clive and I thought it was the most interesting case of the week since the dirty copy in the pilot. And Ravi and Major moving in together was a nice subplot. I feel like that might backfire on Live though, especially with Ravi pretty much confirming that there's no lease because Major thinks he has a chance again.

 

Like others I'm disappointed that Blaine is not so grey. I think it's detrimental to the longetivity of his character. Plus I feel like making his own Zombie Horde will eventually backfire on him. Jackie can't bail him out every time.

 

Seeing Jackie though makes me wonder why Liv didn't use any of the bronzer she bought in the first episode. Did she just decide to embrace her albino bad ass self? I would have liked to know a bit more about that. Maybe we'll find out later.

 

Did I miss us getting a definitive answer on how Jackie got turned into a Zombie? The thugs mentioned Blaine scratching them but is it confirmed that Jackie got turned just because of the sex? I feel like they might be setting up an out for Liv and Major if Blaine somehow scratched Jackie during sex.

 

I love this show so much, can't wait for the next episode.

Edited April 11, 2015 by SanLynn

[Julia]

Like others I'm disappointed that Blaine is not so grey. I think it's detrimental to the longetivity of his character. Plus I feel like making his own Zombie Horde will eventually backfire on him. Jackie can't bail him out every time.

I wonder if that's not how he stays in play. At some point they're going to turn on him, and then he and Liv will have a common enemy.

I wasn't really surprised that he turned out to be super dark, but then I thought he turned Liv on purpose.

[jhlipton]

However it was smart of him to turn a chef to make the brains taste better. Although I thought Liv said it doesn't matter what she does because her taste buds are half dead. How can they enjoy food when she can't? 

 

The second dish was "fra Diavolo", which is super spicy.  I think the first dish was also spicy but can't check.

 

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ETA: I really disliked the Evan plot-line. "Boys will be boys" yuck yuck.  "Invasion of privacy" -- ho ho.  After his first sexist, stalkerish comment about Peyton, Liv should have called him out.  That s**t ain't funny.

Edited April 14, 2015 by jhlipton

[AudienceofOne]

I also enjoyed that the butcher shop was named "Meat Cute."

 

 

Especially because it's a charCUTErie. The name is actually briliant. It almost makes up for Liv Moore.