S03.E02: Zombie Knows Best

[tennisgurl]

I really enjoyed the episode, but my big take away? Ravi is totally Majors BFF! Yeah he was on teenage girl brain, but its not like he was possessed, he was still Major, which means Ravi is still his very best friend now. Awwwww. Major on teen girl brains and Liv on supportive dad brain were a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed Liv going around fixing everything.

I'm still not fully trusting Vivian and her company, even if they don't seem to be bad guys as of now. They seem to be more on the defense as of now then looking to take over anything, they seem nice for the most part, and even Vivian seems alright with humans who she feels like are "on the team" so its not a zombie supremacy thing, but...I raise an eyebrow at anyone on TV running their own paramilitary group training for a possible invasion before anything has actually happened beyond some conspiracy nuts on a local radio station in Seattle. And there whole plan to create their own Zombie Island still seems like it raises more questions than it answers. Plus, this is TV. Very rarely will secret keeping heavily armed companies be the full on Good Guys.

[xqueenfrostine]

3 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

"Free HBO" has often been a selling point of package deals; Clive may have had no interest in the channel at all.

I think most premium channels have free preview weekends at least once, if not 2-3 times a year.  Before I became a paid HBO subscriber, I used to binge watch series whenever free preview time rolled around.  I 

1 hour ago, bethy said:

I wonder if someone planted that information about the go-brain packets on the message board. If someone on the inside of Filmore Graves (Viv?) wants the zombie secret out of the bag, that wouldn't be a bad way to get folks riled up. 

Didn't Vivian also say that FG had human employees that knew about zombies?  There's a possibility that one of them could be the direct or indirect (i.e. if someone in their lives find out through about zombies them) source.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Why Is iZombie Treating Clive Like A Suspect?

Could it be the mustache? Eve Batey raises this question, and more, about 'Zombie Knows Best'!

[CaptainTightpants]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

I really enjoyed the episode, but my big take away? Ravi is totally Majors BFF! Yeah he was on teenage girl brain, but its not like he was possessed, he was still Major, which means Ravi is still his very best friend now.

 

That scene actually made me a tiny bit sad for Major. Because I'm pretty sure that Liv is Ravi's BFF. So Major has unrequited bro-love! And I thought Ravi looked a bit hilariously awkward in that scene, and also throughout the episode whenever teenMajor started spouting off. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One thing I appreciated about the flashbacks here (as well as on 13 Reasons Why) is that they gave us a small but noticeable way to differentiate between the current scenes and the flashback scenes. Here it was Clive's mustache and on 13 Reasons Why it's the cut on Clay's forehead.

[AllyB]

12 hours ago, CaptainTightpants said:

That scene actually made me a tiny bit sad for Major. Because I'm pretty sure that Liv is Ravi's BFF. So Major has unrequited bro-love! And I thought Ravi looked a bit hilariously awkward in that scene, and also throughout the episode whenever teenMajor started spouting off. 

The only reason Ravi isn't Major's BFF is that he's a grown ass man and doesn't categorise his friendships like that. He is incredibly close to Liv and they have a wonderful friendship but he also has an incredibly close and fun friendship with Major. I rewatched S1&2 a few weeks ago and it's clear from just before Major checked himself into the psych hospital that he and Ravi had a great friendship brewing. It's when Ravi walks in on Major packing and he makes a joke about Major leaving him. Major plays along and jokes back and Ravi gets the most happy and beautiful smile on his face because he knows he's found a kindred spirit. It's easily missed on the first watch as Major seemed like a drag of a character at that point and the mood totally switches when major explains what he's doing and Ravi is stricken with guilt for his part in letting Major think he is unwell. But on a rewatch that smile from Ravi signifies soooo much.

[aradia22]

Teenage girl Major is my new favorite thing. That actor was doing an amazing job selling it. 

And damn, was it needed with the rest of the episode. They are going very dark and these endings are killing me. I need it all now. 

[aradia22]

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Robert Buckley talks about playing a teenage girl:

Ugh. He is too adorable. And in those glasses? It's setting off my Clark Kent sensors and let's just say I have yet to find a man who plays Clark Kent unattractive. Am I saying it's a problem? Um...

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Still relevant question in either scenario: why did whoever killed them take the fingernails? If they were taken post-mortem, it strongly suggests that whoever who actually physically killed them* are human (ie, can't turn people into Zombies themselves), but want the option of being able to turn other people into zombies? I don't know why zombie haters would want to be able to turn people into zombies, but I'm not sure why else they'd take the fingernails-- research on the bacteria, maybe, but then it seems like they'd take other things than just fingernails. 

This may have come up at some point, but can a scratch from a truly deceased zombie infect someone? It's possible the person who removed the fingernails didn't want anyone (like the CSI folks) accidentally getting scratched and multiplying the zombie outbreak. 

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When Liv presented the two different victims' brains to Major, I already wondered what would happen if a zombie ate two different brains at the same time. Would they get visions from both people? And would they get personality traits from both people? The tube mash is at the opposite end of the spectrum, but how many brains do you have to mix together in order to get rid of the mood swings and visions?

My assumption is the way it works is that there's just so little of each individual brain that it can't provoke mood swings or visions. That is, that it's not about mixing 5 brains or 10 brains but maybe only having an 1/8 teaspoon of each brain. I'm inclined to go in that direction because of the military angle and eating from a tube. It's sustenance. Of course, I guess they could squeeze out the tubes and do some fancy chef-ing like Liv but I think the implication is they're consuming it like brain go-gurt. 

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I remember during S1, they said that Liv's food preparation usually reflected the victims so how did chili dogs reflect a teenage ice skater and a bank manager?

My thought was that it was "dad" food. Like backyard grilling, picnics, hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ... that kind of thing. I did think they missed a chance with the ice skating angle. Not one Cutting Edge joke?

My assumption with Vivian right now is that the island was just a convenient lie for Liv. But I certainly don't think she set up the murder of Wally's family. And I don't think she'll be as laughably evil as Vaughn. Beyond that, I'm not sure yet. I certainly think she can be vicious when necessary and I shudder to think what she'll want to do to Blaine if her story about her husband is true. But again, I don't have a good read on her yet. I do think the focus on kids might be significant. Both because I've watched media before and women of a certain age are often motivated by children (or vanity, but let's not get into that). I don't think they mentioned if she has children of her own.

[aradia22]

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I really enjoyed the episode, but my big take away? Ravi is totally Majors BFF! Yeah he was on teenage girl brain, but its not like he was possessed, he was still Major, which means Ravi is still his very best friend now. Awwwww. 

I understand why the characters are isolated (beyond the budget for a cw show and storytelling stuff, etc.) especially with everyone being in on the zombie thing now. But it does make me wonder... Liv and Major strike me as the kind of people who would be pretty social. Sure, she had some trouble with the girl who invited her to the Max Rager party. But she was in a sorority. And Major is one of those golden retrievers disguised as a person. What happened to all their friends who aren't Peyton? And I guess Liv is still estranged from her mom and brother but what about other family and friends? And Major? 

[Cranberry]

On 4/12/2017 at 8:55 PM, swimmyfish said:

And did they clarify where the brain melange for their tubes come from?

Yep, last episode Vivian said they give cash to crematorium operators in exchange for brains.

I think the show's been doing a much better job so far this season with keeping the brains' effects consistent. Previously, it seemed like Liv only acted like she was under the brain-of-the-week's influence when it was necessary for the plot (or when it was funny), but then she'd have these important conversations with people where she sounded like herself with no trace of that brain. This episode, she was still Liv but with Dad Brain influence the entire time, and Major was Teen Girl Brain the entire time. It worked well, and I hope they can keep that up. I appreciate that it's a hard thing to balance because the audience can't come off thinking that zombies have no personality of their own, but we know they can't shut the brains on and off as necessary, either. Maybe now that we have a good idea of Liv and Major's base personalities, the writers can show the brains' influence a little more.

[aradia22]

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I appreciate that it's a hard thing to balance because the audience can't come off thinking that zombies have no personality of their own, but we know they can't shut the brains on and off as necessary, either. 

I do think that the zombies can fight the influence of the brains to some degree. Remember when Lowell ate the brains of someone who was gay but was trying to conceal that from Liv? And you can contrast that with Liv giving into the soldier brain after killing Drake. I think they let themselves be a little more susceptible when they're eating brains to solve a case because they want to trigger memories. And then certain brains will want to take over when confronted with particular stimuli. And I think it also probably depends how strong the personality of the deceased was. 

[LoneHaranguer]

On 4/15/2017 at 5:43 AM, aradia22 said:

This may have come up at some point, but can a scratch from a truly deceased zombie infect someone? It's possible the person who removed the fingernails didn't want anyone (like the CSI folks) accidentally getting scratched and multiplying the zombie outbreak. 

Then why stop after the first three out of the 30?

[dcalley]

I guess Liv made two separate batches of chili, to keep the brains separate. For doing all that work, she deserved first choice.

[AudienceofOne]

On 12/04/2017 at 8:47 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Poor Clive. Now he knows that the real reason Wally's mom disappeared was because she didn't want him to know that she got turned into a zombie.
 

22 months ago. I thought they were making that point to highlight some discrepancy in Fillmore Graves' story. 22 months vs 21 months. But it was nearly 22 months and Clive was rounding. Yes, she only broke off contact because of her new zombism.

I initially hated the flashbacks because I felt like it was some post-hoc way to introduce a relationship that had never been mentioned before. But when it got to the end, I actually liked it. Poor Clive looking back on the past from a completely new perspective.

Good episode. Even when this show is extremely silly, it still completely nails it.

On 18/04/2017 at 2:29 AM, LoneHaranguer said:

Then why stop after the first three out of the 30?

It's the one thing about the murder that doesn't make any sense. It's not just 'brain eating'. It suggests somebody who knows how the condition is transmitted.

[aradia22]

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It suggests somebody who knows how the condition is transmitted.

That would be my guess right now. I agree it's an oddly specific number. I guess they'll tell us eventually.