iZombie 2.04 “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues”

Hooray! Peyton and Liv are BFFs again! Early on in “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues”, the girls are reunited and you can feel the alleviation of Liv’s loneliness as they sink into a long overdo hug. Last week had Liv BFFing with the murderer she was looking for (unknowingly, of course), making it painfully apparent that she needed Peyton in her corner. I’m glad that the birthday cake at the end of last episode led immediately to their reconciliation. It was a smart choice on the writers’ part not to drag it out. My opinion of Peyton has been greatly bolstered after hearing her explain her absence.

In this episode, the murder mystery kind of took a backseat to the larger arc of the season, which is fine, because it certainly wasn’t the most interesting one they’ve come up with. I think that was sort of the point though. It mainly served as a catalyst for advancing the plot in other ways. This time, it’s a country singer named Lacey that Liv ingests. “I hate that phrase, made love. It’s like sex when it hired a PR firm,” she comments after reading some of Lacey’s lyrics. Side note: they’re getting mighty creative with Liv’s brain recipes. Whether they’re going through a meat grinder, nuked in a Cup of Noodles or fried up and dipped in her signature hot sauce, I gotta say, they make those brains look kind of delicious.

Lacey’s brains wind up being good for Liv. They push her to get up with a guitar and sing in front of a bar full of people. Let it be noted that Ravi, her cheerleader as always, shows up in the best cowboy outfit ever. This performance is cathartic for Liv. She realizes she needs to hash things out with Major. Too much has gone unsaid between them for too long. The problem is that Major isn’t in a mood anywhere near conducive to conversation.

Last episode saw Major banging the enemy (Gilda), who was revealed to be Vaughn Du Clark’s daughter. Still in a fog of Utopium and self-loathing, Liv’s words don’t seem to reach him at all. She finally elucidates exactly how difficult it was for her to leave him after becoming a zombie. After all, the girl that woke up and stuffed her face full of fresh brains is most definitely not the girl that he decided to spend the rest of his life with. Major rejects her, just like he’s done all season. This is especially hurtful, considering she just made herself so vulnerable to him. Liv knows that it’s time to let him go, but some part of her adamantly refuses to do so.

It’s a rough scene for Major, but really this is a rough episode for the guy in general. He’s at an all time low, but at least that doesn’t include murdering puppies. Having kept a dog belonging to one of his victims, he unwittingly leaves the door wide open, letting Minor out. You have to love Ravi for making him get his ass off the couch to go look for the dog. Heartbreakingly, they found him in the park where he was last jogging with his master before Major abducted them.  Piling on to his already terrible lack of foresight, he also failed to mention to Ravi that he invited Peyton to crash with them till her place is ready. So yeah, Ravi’s pretty rightfully irate and gives him a much deserved dressing down.

Meanwhile, Blaine is trying to track down the tainted Utopium, so that Ravi can synthesize a new cure. Of course, Blaine’s reasons are selfish, but at least he and Liv are on the same side of this one. Ambitious as always, he’s also working on taking down the enigmatic Mr. Boss, who according to Rob Thomas is “the man who runs Seattle.” It is in pursuit of this lofty goal, that he goes to see Peyton at her office (she’s heading up the Utopium taskforce) to feed her info and strike a deal for himself. Was it just me or did they have a moment? Poor Peyton.

Even though this week’s central mystery wasn’t as strong as that of previous episodes of iZombie, it wasn’t the crux anyway. This was the most emotionally centered story of the season thus far. Half as funny, but twice as poignant, it had the most satisfying conclusion yet. Hey, it even looks like there might be a romantic subplot for Clive. There’s a sexy FBI agent in town looking into the disappearances of those wealthy men and she seems to have her gaze firmly fixed on him. Of course, knowing Thomas, I doubt it’ll be that simple.