“Maternity Liv” definitely brings out a side of Liv we haven’t seen yet – mostly because Liv isn’t a mom. However, when a pregnant woman is murdered, Liv is willing to do anything to make sure the child is safe and the mother is vindicated – even at the expense of her own safety. Which is what moms do.
Liv eats the brain of the dead pregnant woman and her personality is consumed by maternal instincts and the need to mom everyone around her. From licking-and-spitting Ravi’s hair to looking after the child that survives his pregnant mom, her urges are powerful. This is both endearing and also troubling regarding Liv’s character.
There are slight inconsistencies from episode-to-episode on how much a brain affects Liv and her personality. In the previous episode she inherited some gamer skills, but few personality traits from the victim. An episode before she is bequeathed the power of Kung Fu, but the skill isn’t fully realized until later in the episode. The rules of brain eating are still flexible, which is concerning for Liv’s character. The inconsistencies are beginning to be noticeable as iZombie gets more episodes under its belt.
The maternal instincts Liv inherits in this episode are a new, fresh side of Liv we haven’t seen yet. Liv has neither kids nor pets to unleash her instincts upon, so she turns to her friends, coworkers and most importantly, the murder victim’s baby. However, the blatant mothering of everyone around her comes off as a little forced. The hair-fixing and rocking of rats (she literally cuddles one of Ravi’s rats) aren’t subtle indications of her vast personality change.
“What a pain in the ass, being a mom. This much worrying, all for a child who probably won’t appreciate it,” Liv muses about motherhood on her way to her mom’s office. It may have been meant to be ironic, as she’s constantly one of those unappreciative kids toward her mother. She doesn’t particularly take this musing to heart as much as one would have hoped. While her mother can be overbearing, as mothers are supposed to be, she also actively and pointedly ignores her mom, too. In a previous episode, she brought an ill Liv some soup and Liv just shrugged her off.
The exchange with her brother in her mom’s office is agonizing to watch. She sides with her mother in regards to her 16-year-old brother getting a job. She delivers a “you should be responsible,” speech that is a significant departure from Liv’s normal sisterly self.
There are moments, however, that are more authentic. Each scene when Liv visits the murder victim’s baby is heartachingly convincing. She gets justice for the victim – the mother – not only by solving her case, but also making sure the baby is in loving, caring and capable hands.
This episode has not been one of my favorites, due to the overpowering and overbearing personality changes Liv had taken on. I personally don’t have any kids, so that certainly colors my opinion of the episode. I don’t know what it’s like to have a motherly instinct toward anything but my dog. To someone who is a mom to a human baby, maybe Liv’s changes are accurate and relatable. But for me personally, it seemed forceful and distracting. Hopefully iZombie can sort out the rules for brain-eating in future episodes, because the inconsistencies are starting to get in the way of the fantastic characters and storylines.