iZombie 1.10 “Mr. Berserk”

The Max Rager case is back and more haunting than ever. The brand first appeared five episodes ago in “Flight of the Living Dead.” Max Rager pays intense athletes to do crazy stunts to promote their energy drink. One of those stunts went bad in 1.05 and a girl lost her life because of it. However, they also mentioned there was a memo that was sent to select people within the company stating that the Max Rager drink made people have violent psychotic breaks. People would go… crazy. Hostile. Berserk.

Liv is faced with pulling at the strands of this Max Rager case, all while trying (and failing) to cope with Lowell’s death. Lowell stabbed Blaine after a mission-gone-wrong and Blaine shot him in the head. Ravi wants to sign papers stating Lowell’s death is a suicide, only if Liv agrees to it. “The real killer is a zombie. Anyone on Blaine’s trail is in danger and we can’t warn them. And if they do manage to catch him, then there’s the whole zombie-in-a-prison problem.” Liv avoids all of it. Meanwhile, she downs a brain of a reporter… who happens to be an alcoholic. This isn’t the healthiest way to deal with her feelings, but it does look and feel human. People cope in different ways. How do zombies cope? Apparently, the same way people do.

Major is also having a hell of a time. Upon reading some comments of another review of this episode, people weren’t in favor of the “gaslighting” that was happening to him. Honestly, I had to google it. Gaslighting is when “someone is manipulated by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.” What Major is going through is very real. He shot Julian, who broke into his house during the last episode. His foster kids are missing. He saw a brain in a cooler in the passenger seat of Julian’s car. However nobody – not the police, not his friends, not his family – believe that any of his stories are true. His behavior, from the outside, looks erratic and dangerous. Major elects to check himself into a mental institution.

Major’s fall from grace is disheartening to watch at times. However, his insatiable curiosity and earnestness often comes off as unnatural or forced. He’s been through a lot – from the break off of an engagement to a home invasion. His character, though, doesn’t feel like he’s as haunted or troubled as someone like Liv in her present situation. He isn’t brooding or listless, he’s eager and adamant. While he and Ravi have a mildly heated exchange regarding checking himself into a mental hospital, that’s as angry as we’ve seen Major get in his situation thus far. More emotion and less action from Major would be a welcome change. Shooting a zombie in the chest is one thing; dealing with it after is a whole different ball game. That’s the ball game that Liv has to play.

Ravi’s a proponent of telling Major about zombies. He wants Liv to come clean – to let Major know he isn’t crazy and knows more of the truth than he thinks. “Hey Major, wacky news! Zombies exist and they’re trying to kill you! Not me, though, I’m a nice zombie…” Liv counters.

Clive is still very much a background character. He essentially moves the murder-mystery part of the story along. He doesn’t serve much other purpose at this point. Ravi, however, is his sweet, supportive self as always. He pleads with Liv to tell Major about the zombies. “He’s being chased by homicidal zombies. And when he’s asked for our help, we’ve told him he’s nuts.” Ravi’s character continues to shine in the show.

Liv, in the end of the episode, finds herself bloodied on a boat with a homicidal maniac from the Max Rager case. Sebastian, the bad guy, lies on the boat with her, wipes blood off her forehead and licks it. It’s a spine-shuddering moment. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. What a creep. Liv comes back with some forehead-to-forehead action and cracks his skull. She goes full-zombie in the midst of the fight – the fight for her survival. Things come full circle for her. Liv was turned into a zombie on a boat and now she’s turned someone into a zombie… on a boat.

The storylines are getting stronger and the characters are becoming more intricate, which is fantastic news for iZombie. It’s garnering more viewers, as it should! After a few faltering episodes, iZombie comes back strong with emotion, suspense and authenticity.