S02.E02: Zombie Bro

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Liv and Detective Babineax investigate the murder of a hard-partying frat boy whose death shocks everyone. After consuming his brains, Liv attends a fraternity party in an attempt to search for clues, but ends up ruling the beer pong table instead. Still desperate to find the cure, Ravi takes matters into his own hands and brings Major along for the ride. Meanwhile, Blaine meets with Angus, a mysterious person from his past.

 

Promo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8OHaZuza04

[Actionmage]

ZOMG! Blaine's dad!  Whee!

 

Still processing.

 

Please quit making Major sad!  It's like kicking puppies and unicorns and stopping all candy being made in the world.

 

I want Utopia!Ravi to go clubbing with me.

 

I want to watch this again and not just because my dogs were super needy tonight either!

[sluggish neko]

So Major's a drug addict now? Poor guy really can't catch a break. He was a bit dull in the beginning series, but he has my sympathies now. No need to keep punishing him, Show. The scene where Major was wasted in the bathroom and asked Liv to stay was the first time they really worked as a couple. I'm still against Major getting back together with Liv because she let him go to a mental institution instead of simply telling him the truth! And, it but him in more danger. Who does that?

 

Ravi and Major clubbing while high was all kinds of awesome.

 

Never figured Blaine to be a rich kid with daddy issues. That was a surprise.

 

On a shallow note, I really liked Liv's crime scene "dress".

[regardez]

I hate what they are doing to Major. :( I am probably in the minority but I really liked him. Poor guy!

 

But excited to hear more of the backstory of how Blaine came to be Blaine.

[supernatural666]

regardez I fully agree with you I wish they would stop hurting Major too,Hurting him is the human version of kicking a puppy and at times during the episode he actually looked like a sad puppy,He doesn't deserve half the things the writers have put him though.

[Lady Calypso]

These cases of the week seem to be so weak compared to last season, not that they were all engaging last season anyway. I just don't particularly care most of the time.

 

Although I loved the Major/Ravi scenes of them being high, I feel so bad for Major. He's this show's punching bag. Can he just get a break from getting all of this pain thrown at him? He's already got the side effects of the cure as a storyline, and he's working for Max under blackmail in order to save Liv's life. Do we really have to have him dealing with that through a drug addiction? Unless it's somehow directly connected to the cure, then I know I'm not going to like it. That 'Major Buzzkill' title card was so right. He's so serious all the time and even though he had a fairly fantastic clubbing scene, we keep getting him doing illegal shit.

Ah, so Blaine's dad is a zombie because of his son, and Blaine's a rich kid with daddy issues. Great.

[Cthulhudrew]

Doesn't Blaine wearing zombie makeup make him more conspicuous to his customers now, considering he was a proponent of the tanning solution last season? I'd think he could blend in just as easily now that he's not a zombie. Just me?

These cases of the week seem to be so weak compared to last season, not that they were all engaging last season anyway. I just don't particularly care most of the time.

 

It does seem as if they've moved a bit away from the procedural slant, not to mention that (at least so far) all the killers have these really sob stories. I don't remember there being so much regret and sorrow amongst the killers last season.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

[GaT]

More Major & Ravi clubbing while high! It reminded me of Angel & Wesley dancing at the end of "She"

 

 

These cases of the week seem to be so weak compared to last season, not that they were all engaging last season anyway. 

Yeah, there's something missing from the cases this year, I don't know what it is, but instead of it feeling like they were investigating a case & there happened to be zombies, it feels like each case is just an excuse for Liv to become someone else. They haven't even showed her eating the brains this year.

[AudienceofOne]

Wow, this Major plotline is a laugh riot, isn't it?

 

Doesn't Blaine wearing zombie makeup make him more conspicuous to his customers now

 

 

Maybe I misunderstood your question because I thought that was the point. He's no longer a zombie and he's pretending to be.

 

I actually loved his Dad, although I personally find the "rebellious entitled rich boy" aspect a little clichéd.

 

I enjoyed this episode a lot, although Ravi's plan to "learn how Utopian works" by doing it was really dumb. Very funny but dumb.

 

I thought the first episode was a little weak but loved this one.

[thuganomics85]

Preferred this episode to the premiere.  Zombie bro Liv was way more fun then Old, Racist Liv, and I felt like their was movement with all of the supporting cast, and I'm curious to see where it goes.

 

Robert Knepper certainly is as good of choice as any, as Blaine's dad.  Yeah, I can totally believe Blaine spawned from the loins of T-Bag.  Have no idea what Blaine's plan is with the Utopia, bribing his dad to help, and pissing off this Boss guy, but I'm sure the body-count is only going to get higher.

 

Ravi at the club and high on Utopian was the best.  Especially the crazy voicemails/messages he left himself.  I really wanted to hear more of that.  Meanwhile, Major ended up just being depressing.  Guy is totally addicted to that now.  I would ask if things could get even worse, but considering last season ended with him dying/turning into a zombie for a second, I can safely say that, yes, things could easily get worse for poor Major.  The guy just can't catch a break.

 

Liv and Clive were hilarious in this episode, even if the case wasn't all that great.  I was kind of bummed that the killer ended up being the boyfriend of that furry.  Poor furry girl: hopefully, she'll eventually find another who will wear that bear costume for her!

 

Rose McIver in a yellow crime scene tape dress?  Why, thank you, show!

[sacrebleu]

I enjoyed the COTW much better than last week's, although I thought it was a missed opportunity for Liv to remember her sorority days. She made several references to being in a sorority early on in the first season-- and I was expecting that once she was dealing with frat boys. (but that's a small nitpick)

 

Ravi continues to be the most entertaining thing on this show. I'll admit that since zombie-ism was caused by tainted Utopia, I was expecting Major to have a bad reaction to taking it-- although an addiction story may mean he could re-zombie-fy himself if he gets some of the tainted stuff.

[Whimsy]

You would think by now Clive would realize that Liv is taking on the personalities of those she is "channeling" (since he thinks she's psychic) and roll with it a little bit more now.  Honestly, him looking at her like "WTH you doing?" is old.  She's done it with SO many cases now.  Dude, catch up!  I don't mean he should have no reaction to her, because it can be funny, but he should expect personality changes by now.  It's not hard for Liv to waive away as a side-effect of the psychic connection or whatever.

 

I agree about Major.  It's just too much.  I always kind of liked him because he's just a good guy. 

 

Still loathing the roommate.  She's not even an interesting villain.

[Primetimer]

Just because you're undead doesn't mean you can't get wasted.

Read the story

[maxineofarc]

I'm amazed Clive is still speaking to Liv after her "one of the good ones" remark last week. I agree it would be nice if he were shown getting a clue about Liv's personality shifts, and it could be easily explained away. Clive is feeling more like a nonentity to me- he shows up and moves the case along, but I don't have any real sense of him as a character. More love for Clive, please.

What even is Gilda's deal? If Max Rager wanted to kill Liv, they could have done it a million times by now. I don't think they actually care about learning more about zombies. They've got other material to blackmail Major with, now that he's stepped up to actual hit man. Those poor kids on the TV.

I still kind of love Blaine and am legit interested to see where his big plans are going. I do hope "take down my neglectful dick of a father" isn't his entire plan, though; that would be disappointing.

[editorgrrl]

Instead of it feeling like they were investigating a case & there happened to be zombies, it feels like each case is just an excuse for Liv to become someone else.

They haven't even showed her eating the brains this year.

I completely agree with your first point—and the episode titles this season just drive the point home. (Coming up next:

a "Real Housewife," then a country singer.)

But the PTV recap even shows a screenshot of the nachos Liv made with Chad's brains: http://previously.tv/izombie/izombie-brings-the-hugs-drugs-and-thugs/

In the bumper, Rose McIver uses her real voice—and her New Zealand accent makes it sound like "Eyes on Me" is coming up next.

Edited to add: Wasn't the killer supposedly over six feet tall? I think Sonny was always seated, but he didn't look much taller than his girlfriend. And I agree with the recap: furries haven't been shocking since that 2003 episode of CSI.

Edited October 14, 2015 by editorgrrl

[Pop Tart]

 

Yeah, there's something missing from the cases this year, I don't know what it is, but instead of it feeling like they were investigating a case & there happened to be zombies, it feels like each case is just an excuse for Liv to become someone else.

 

I agree about the cases. And last night's resolution just did not work at all for me. If that guy's dad was killed by a drunk driver named Chad... in Spokane, there's no way he wouldn't know who the right Chad was. It would have been in all the papers and would make big news. And even if he was too young to remember, it makes no sense to me that he wouldn't have read the local news articles when he got old enough. Instead, he said that he trolled online to find the guy. Well if you're searching in Spokane for Chad...(can't remember the last name) then the search engines are going to give you hits from the Chad who is local and those news articles would be the first thing to come up. 

 

The case was weak. But I thought some of the character development in the larger storyline was better this week.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Well if you're searching in Spokane for Chad...(can't remember the last name) then the search engines are going to give you hits from the Chad who is local and those news articles would be the first thing to come up.

The news articles may not have contained anything useful because of Chad's age at the time.

[Cthulhudrew]

Maybe I misunderstood your question because I thought that was the point. He's no longer a zombie and he's pretending to be..

 

That's what I meant: by putting on makeup and trying to look like a zombie, it seems to me he's just drawing more attention to the fact that he isn't a zombie any longer.

 

I understand the rationale behind it, and it would make sense if every zombie looked like Liv. But in Blaine's case, unless he's got a brand new clientele from last season, then everyone he knows should already be accustomed to the fact that he artificially tans in order to still look human.

 

In other words, why doesn't every conversation he has with his minions/clients "Gave up on the tanning, did you?" or somesuch.

 

As to Clive, to me, its interesting how people can perceive different things. To me, his performance suggests that Clive actually does (or at least is developing) a sense of what is really going on with Liv. He actually seems to have become a much better detective all around since last season, which is refreshing to see.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Cthulhudrew

[dubbel zout]

Ah, so Blaine's dad is a zombie because of his son, and Blaine's a rich kid with daddy issues. Great.

 

Zzzzzzz. I hope there's something more than just this. I had to laugh when I saw Robert Knepper as Angus. Does the CW have some sort of exclusive with Prison Break actors? Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell guest on The Flash with some frequency.

 

When Ravi first talked to Major about getting some Utopia, Major said "[Mumble] is my drug of choice." What was it?

 

More Major & Ravi clubbing while high! It reminded me of Angel & Wesley dancing at the end of "She"

 

I loved that, as well as Ravi grooving up on the stage. Those scenes must have been a blast to film.

[Cthulhudrew]

Speaking of Clive and Liv, there's an interview at CBR where the creators weigh in on that very question:

 

We've written scenes that haven't made it in the show where Clive looks at Liv and goes, "You realize you start acting like the people whose death [we're investigating]" -- we've written that scene three different times, and it's never made it into the episode. And part of the reason why is because Malcolm is so funny reacting to her brains, and there's so much comedy gold.

[editorgrrl]

When Ravi first talked to Major about getting some Utopia, Major said "[Mumble] is my drug of choice." What was it?

Hugs.

[maxineofarc]

We've written scenes that haven't made it in the show where Clive looks at Liv and goes, "You realize you start acting like the people whose death [we're investigating]" -- we've written that scene three different times, and it's never made it into the episode. And part of the reason why is because Malcolm is so funny reacting to her brains, and there's so much comedy gold.

Oh good gracious, it's not THAT funny anymore.

[Whimsy]

Oh good gracious, it's not THAT funny anymore.

Agreed.  It just makes Clive look like an idiot.  Just have him acknowledge it!

[Julia]

I'm just having trouble getting past the part where Ravi knows that there's a strain of the illegal street drug going around which is turning people into zombies and he just took a dose some random kid at a club sold him.

[FilmTVGeek80]

 

Oh good gracious, it's not THAT funny anymore.

 

Word X 1000! I've liked Clive's reaction to Liv's weird behavior but it's starting to wear a little thin because he's not asking the most obvious question. There's no reason they can't have him comment on it and still react when she's doing something particularly weird, like the way Ravi reacted to her putting make-up on him.

 

 

Zzzzzzz. I hope there's something more than just this.

 

I hope so. I only really enjoy Blaine in limited doses giving funny one liners, I'm not really here for his whiny sob story background. It makes me fear this might be step one in trying to redeem him, since so many shows (especially CW ones ) love to give their "bad boy" characters these backstories where their mom and/or dad didn't give them enough hugs and that's supposed to excuse them being horrible people.

 

 

Although I loved the Major/Ravi scenes of them being high, I feel so bad for Major. He's this show's punching bag. Can he just get a break from getting all of this pain thrown at him?

 

It's only the second episode and I'm already tired of the constant need to dump this heavy crap on Major. I really wished they had just made him a badass zombie hunter instead of having Max Rager blackmail him and now this drug addiction. The drug addiction thing feels so cliche.

 

Major and Ravi's bromance remains a huge bright spot. Their scenes at the club were hilarious.

[norask]

Continuing to love this show. Rose is a delight. I couldn't stop laughing at her frat-boy impressions -  her sheer joy at the frat-party was so fun to watch.

 

Major-Ravi bromance is hilarrious and touching. These two are adorkable. But please show, do you need to cause so much pain to Major? How much more could be take? The actor is hitting it out of the park as Major's downward spiral continues. It is heartbreaking but I couldn't look away. Other shows could take pointers here.

 

When Major refused to open his door, I could feel Liv's heartbreak and his pain too. When I first started watching the show, I never would have wanted Major-Liv to be endgame. He was the bland but perfect ex who lurks in the background until the real love interest pops up. But I now totally buy their connection and want them to get together. Yes, Liv had wronged Major in ways that's probably should be unforgivable but I also believe he does and will love her always and won't ever be happy without her.

 

I am not surprised that Blaine has turned out to be a rich boy with daddy issues. Rob Thomas certainly has a lot of experience writing about rich kids with daddy issues. Blaine is still a psychopath but I felt for him when he was talking about his grandfather. Maybe that's just my undying love for David Anders talking. He had great chemistry with T-Bag - I totally bought their toxic relationship.

 

I don't mind the CotW - I just think of them as opportunities for Rose to flex her acting muscles and Liv to get into hilarious situations and not compelling on their own. But do the cases have to be so sad? Just once let the murderer be an asshole so that I don't have to feel sorry for him. And please let Clive say out loud that he thinks Liv's personality changes are a side-effect of the visions. He can still make WTF faces  and roll his eyes the background but doesn't have to look like a complete moron. He already doesn't come across as a great cop - he seems to need Liv do all the detective work for him.

[sjohnson]

Taking the cases of the week is vital to keeping real emotion in the show, in my opinion. Also, the killers in the last two regretting what they've done is directly parallel to Major's "murders." 

 

Ravi is a mad scientist so leaving humanity in jeopardy of a zombie apocalypse is no problem for him, but it's not at all certain that Major is wrong. But I think that's far to dark a road for the show to go down, no more than Evan dying. If Major went rampaging after Blaine the leader of the street kid killers, it might be more understandable than Liv's decision not to shoot. 

[Sakura12]

Well Clive did tell Liv she's like a box of chocolates, he never knows what he's going to get. His reactions are great, but you'd think as a Detective he'd ask her about it. The she channels the victim when she gets her visions would be reason he'd probably take being he believes she's psychic. 

 

The cases are not always that interesting, but I am still enjoying this show. 

[kieyra]

I became retroactively much more invested in Major after his S1 arc completed, and I like what they're doing with him now. I can watch him and Ravi all day.

They are losing me with Liv's personality trait thing. They need to go for a little more subtlety.

And finally: I don't know how old they expect me to believe Blaine is, and I am really doubtful of Anders' listed Wikipedia age, but his "dad" barely looked ten years older than him. I had this problem in season one when they wanted me to believe he was young enough that his date could be considered a "cougar".

[bookrat]

I hate Major. I want him to die. So now he goes around murdering zombies who may or may not be evil, like zombie dad. And nobody talks to anybody. Liv doesn't tell Major. Major won't tell Liv. It's like Fear the Walking Dead where nobody tells their loved ones what's going on so they all can do idiotic things and act like morons. I'm hoping Major gets arrested for murder.

[norask]

 

And finally: I don't know how old they expect me to believe Blaine is, and I am really doubtful of Anders' listed Wikipedia age, but his "dad" barely looked ten years older than him. I had this problem in season one when they wanted me to believe he was young enough that his date could be considered a "cougar".

I don't see what the problem is. Anders is about 33-34 and Robert Knepper, who plays his Dad is in his late fifties. Yeah, so the character just had his kid in his early twenties which is not that a rare occurence. And Anders really is in his early 30s. His first popular gig was as Sark in Alias and he was visibly very, very young in it. He just aged a bit faster since then.

Edited October 15, 2015 by norask

[Delwyn]

I accidentally skipped the season premiere and went straight to this episode. A quick read of the recap leads me to believe I may have benefitted from that.

I liked that they took the terrible procedural policing out of the police aspect (unrealistic always, so why bother trying?) and Peyton is not missed at all.

Ravi and his princess sparkle beard are a joy forever, but trying the utopium in a club with only notable loose canon Major for supervision was an inexcusable plot contrivance to introduce Major to the drug.

I immediately assumed that they are getting Major into Utopium as either a rationale for him to "survive" the cure, where Hope the rat did not, or for him to get re-infected under his own steam so he will understand Liv's side of things and broker a reconciliation so they can be teammates.

It sounds like I didn't enjoy this ep, but I'm glad to have this show back in a fun "turn off my brain and be silly" kind of way.

And one last thing: living or dead, Blaine always, always has someone on hand to do his makeup and nails for him. And I'm pretty sure that last jacket was stolen from the Once Upon A Time wardrobe Dept.

[kieyra]

I don't see what the problem is. Anders is about 33-34 and Robert Knepper, who plays his Dad is in his late fifties. Yeah, so the character just had his kid in his early twenties which is not that a rare occurence. And Anders really is in his early 30s. His first popular gig was as Sark in Alias and he was visibly very, very young in it. He just aged a bit faster since then.

The problem is a suspension of disbelief issue. The zombie makeup doesn't help; Blaine looks early 40s.

It's only an issue because they want me to believe he's a youthful "Spike" type.

[swanjun]

More Major & Ravi clubbing while high! It reminded me of Angel & Wesley dancing at the end of "She."

Me, too! I didn't go long enough!

[dubbel zout]

We've written scenes that haven't made it in the show where Clive looks at Liv and goes, "You realize you start acting like the people whose death [we're investigating]" -- we've written that scene three different times, and it's never made it into the episode. And part of the reason why is because Malcolm is so funny reacting to her brains, and there's so much comedy gold.

 

IMO, Clive can know she takes on the victim's characteristics but still give "WTF?" reactions. It's not as if he'll know how or what part of the victim Liv will act out.

 

And one last thing: living or dead, Blaine always, always has someone on hand to do his makeup and nails for him.

 

I love that about him. Not even a zombie apocalypse is going to keep him from being properly groomed. Hee.

Edited October 15, 2015 by dubbel zout

[norask]

It's only an issue because they want me to believe he's a youthful "Spike" type.

        I am not sure that's true, though - I am not seeing the similarities between the characters. He's portrayed, at least to me, as just some reasonably good-looking guy with a gift of gab and slick manners. He is good at getting not-so-smart people do dangerous stuff for him. And he's been a zombie for less than a year. So it's not as if he'd been alive for hundreds of years like Spike. Lack of aging or aging isn't even an issue at this point.

[Julia]

I think he's supposed to be an aging version of the kids he's hiring. The way he described the dealers he wanted - cut-off dumb rich kids nobody gives a damn about, who can get into clubs but who the cops don't want to mess with - turns out that's who he was. Only now, he's turning into daddy.

[Actionmage]

Only now, he's turning into daddy.

 

::cue "Cat's In The Cradle"::

[Julia]

::cue "Cat's In The Cradle"::

 

I'm sure there were planes to catch and bills to pay. And as much as I have a generational fondness for Harry Chapin, I would really enjoy watching Blaine eat daddy's brain.

[blugirlami21]

This episode made me sad and annoyed.  I don't understand this shows need to constantly have Major be a butt monkey.  All the time and he has too many stupid things going on at the same time.  Its not bad enough that he found out this his girlfriend is a zombie, he became a zombie but he got better, clearly still has issues with his ex being a zombie, he can't go back to his dream job, he still has feelings for his ex, he's being blackmailed into killing people to protect his ex and now he has a drug problem.  For real?  I thought him allowing himself to be blackmailed was stupid enough but now he's addicted to utopium.  Really?

 

Liv being crushed when she finally thought that she and Major were moving forward only for him to basically check out.  I thought that Liv was going to do something about Max Rager?  I still kind of don't understand why they want to kill zombies.  What do they have to do with the drink?  I know that the drink makes people crazy but that doesn't have anything to do with the zombie population does it?

 

I really just want Major to be happy for more than one episode if possible.

[editorgrrl]

I thought that Liv was going to do something about Max Rager? I still kind of don't understand why they want to kill zombies. What do they have to do with the drink? I know that the drink makes people crazy but that doesn't have anything to do with the zombie population does it?

Zombies are caused by a combination of Max Rager + tainted Utopium.

[bettername2come]

Anders is about 33-34

 

God, David Anders has always been attractive, but I was shocked to learn he's 34 (and therefore 21 at the beginning of Alias). 

[FurryFury]

I did think he was too young to play Nina Dobrev's father though.

 

I guess I'm in the minority who doesn't mind Major becoming a butt monkey (it actually makes me more interested in him, but I still don't care about his relationship with Liv and never will, plus the actor still doesn't do anything for me) and Liv's "personality of the week" is always funny to me, be it a racist grandpa or a douchey fratboy. I'm not easily offended.

 

I don't expect for the show to take the usual "CW bad boy route" with Blaine. It's pretty clear by RT's interviews that he (like myself) crosses the line at murder when it comes to stuff like that. Blaine having a reason to become the bad guy he is now is logical and doesn't deprive him of his responsibility for his misdeeds, actually, and I'm quite interested in his and his dad's story.

[aradia22]

Introducing Blaine's dad is interesting because it suggests Blaine's here to stay. Unfortunately the dad bores me. I'm much more interested in his mom (who committed suicide) and his grandpa (who was institutionalized and who I'm assuming is also dead). I like that Blaine is going for the long con though.

 

Major gets a drug addiction - fun!!! It seems like they really do not know what to do with him.

The club was fun but I agree that just watching Major be sad is depressing and rather pointless. Step it up, writers. It's not rich with pathos. It's just lazy and kind of boring and repetitive.

 

 

On a shallow note, I really liked Liv's crime scene "dress".

Me too.