iZombie 1.01 “Pilot”

Liv Moore (Rose McIver) was an “unstoppable, hyper-focused fireball” of ambition. She was a medical resident with a hunky Disney-prince fiance. All of her life planning and hard work had been paying off… until it didn’t anymore. Liv Moore died. Now, her (after)life is very different than what she’s had planned for herself all along. “Eating brains” wasn’t on her to-do list.

iZombie is a new show to the CW based loosely on the graphic novels iZombie created by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred. The show is created by Diane Ruggiero and Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars’ creator).

Liv is a defeatist for five months after “the incident” – her plans are so extremely derailed that she fails to see the point of doing anything but sitting on the couch and guzzling hot sauce (she can really only taste anything with a kick). She gives up her residency and takes up a job at the morgue for obvious dietary needs. She used to be “passionate, inspired and… alive.” Now, she’s mostly just… hungry.

Her mortician coworker Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli) discovers that she’s a zombie and becomes Liv’s confidant. In “The Eager Ally” chapter of the episode, he’s entirely normal toward Liv after the cat is let out of the bag – he busts her nomming on some brains. Ravi, though initially seems like a “background character,” is a quiet glimmer of hope for Liv, whether she realizes it or not. Ravi is an eccentric, intelligent, witty, slightly off-kilter, likes-to-eat-cereal-over-bodies kind of guy, but he’s a quiet glimmer of hope in the vast sea of undead hopelessness Liv think she faces.

She’s also learning the rules of her undeadness. She eats a brain of a murder victim and she gets the ability to see flashes of their life as well as adapts some of their personality traits and abilities – for better or for worse. (Kleptomania, Liv? Put that snow globe back!) She uses this information to help solve their murder. She literally becomes what she eats. “It’s not just a bitchy thing my mother said about fat people…” Liv says about her personality adaptability.

Detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin) is new to the homicide division (transferred from vice) and visits Ravi for the autopsies of murder victims. Ravi covers for Liv’s “gift” and tells Babineaux that she’s psychic after she spills information about a murder victim she saw in a (brain-eating-induced) vision. Babineaux and Liv investigate her hunch about the murder together to test the accuracy of her “psychicness.” They’re an impromptu investigative pair. Despite Babineaux’s initial skepticism about Liv and her gift, something tells me these partners will have a fruitful, murderer-catching friendship.

The romantic aspects of Liv’s life are complicated, as one might imagine. She isn’t with Major, her ex-fiance anymore, because she doesn’t want him to be a zombie. Understandably. I was initially concerned that the “I-can’t-be-with-my-love” aspect was going to get overemphasized and worn out. However, it’s well-balanced with her home life, crime solving and zombie aspects of Liv as a character. Her relationship with Major doesn’t define who she is, but it is a large part of her. This is so refreshing to see! In a world of tv where women are portrayed as exclusively there as a love interest, Liv and Major’s story is a different one.

In the pilot episode of iZombie, Liv is coming into her own. She’s realizing she has the choice to live despite her undeadness. This episode is about her finding her footing as a zombie, as a friend, as a roommate, as an ex-fiance, and as a daughter. Watching her go through her own emotions and realizations about her life is fresh. Liv chooses not to be a victim of her circumstances after a long five months. She realizes that even though the world has taken a lot from her, she has some things to give back. She just needed to realize it.

I’m thankful iZombie is told from Liv’s perspective. It’s a unique point of view. It could have been a story about the roommate dealing with Liv or from Major’s point of view. Liv isn’t part of the Walking Dead. She’s still a person who is just a little… living impaired.

The composition of the episode is engaging and fun. After each commercial break, the next scene is framed up in a comic book panel and given its’ own title, if you will. It’s a snappy way to hearken back to its source material. The characters are smartly written and relatable on many levels. The authenticity and charm of the show is something that will capture the hearts brains of its viewers.