iZombie 1.04 “Liv and Let Clive”

iZombie Episode 4: “Liv and Let Clive” takes a step away from following our leading lady Liv’s story closely and instead looks at the relationships she holds with other characters. The most interesting thing about this episode is Liv’s consumption of a brain who is a little bit paranoid, which highlights Liv’s insecurities about these relationships around her. “Just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean there’s not some strange stuff going on out there…” The only strange stuff going on is how Liv is acting under the influence of this brain.

Blaine and Jackie, his newly turned booty call who he extorts for money in exchange for a monthly dose of brains, put on what can only be imagined as a tedious show. Together they spray tan, dye their hair and get manicures in an effort to look normal. There isn’t anything romantic between them and it’s obvious they’re using each other for their own benefit – Blaine uses Jackie for the “human” treatment and Jackie uses Blaine for his supply of brains. It’s a mutually beneficial agreement, but it isn’t love, nor is it living.  They’re both zombies and the show of affection is as full of life as they are.

Liv also shows up to Major’s house with a cup of coffee, only to discover Major in a towel and a pretty girl wearing his shirt (and not much else). Ouch. She’s super not over that. They are both still struggling with each other, but it seems like Liv is struggling a little more than Major. The friend zone is something new to both of them and it appears Liv isn’t happy with that zone whatsoever. This problem is exacerbated by the brain – she convinces Ravi to move in with Major to keep an eye on him… sound creepy? It is. Not one of Liv’s finer moments in the show.

This episode, however, is more about Clive than anyone else. Liv goes digging and uncovers more about Clive’s past than she could have ever imagined. Liv’s paranoia drives her to dig into one of Babineaux’s old VICE cases, despite his wishes for her to stay the heck out of it. She suspects that Babineaux is a dirty cop after a body turns up and a vision happens that hints at it. The fact that Liv automatically assumes the worst of Babineaux is a little disheartening, even if a bad meal is partially to blame. On one hand, it’s understandable because of the brain she’s eaten. Panicky, paranoid and anxious isn’t really a recipe for making good judgement calls. On the other hand, Babineaux has done nothing, in her experience, to warrant the suspicion and sneaking.

She doesn’t actually know him all that well – they’ve only been on three episodes’ worth of cases together. However, Babineaux inherently has trusted her from the beginning and she abused that trust. When Liv reveals she thought he was a dirty cop, his feelings are hurt for a split second, but then Babineaux gets down to business and saves the day. He isn’t a touchy-feely kind (he’s a cop), but he was more understanding than she deserved after she explained herself. He still has her back, even after her doubting him.

Ravi, thus far, seems to always be the exception to the rule of Liv’s personality change. She has no misgivings about Ravi whatsoever, unlike her suspicions of Major, Clive, her brother Evan and that-guy-walking-his-dog-by-the-bush-outside-waiting-for-his-dog-to-pee. It’s a small inconsistency and expounding upon why Ravi is the exception would be welcomed. Ravi as a character, however, is absolutely a delight. His catchy quips in this episode are hilarious and endearing – even when it’s about a “whory version of Memento.”

The show hasn’t lost its momentum, but there’s some cracks developing in the rules and the characters that are starting to shine through more than the past two episodes. While this episode did a great job of delineating and defining relationships like Blaine and Jackie’s, but it also seems to have impaired a few others like Liv and Clive’s. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to these characters and relationships as Liv goes through brain-changes in the coming episodes. Each brain is a new trial and a new test; hopefully all the characters can survive them.