iZombie 2.14 “Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind”

iZombie has been moving at a breakneck pace all season, but the last couple episodes have gone to warp speed! Seriously, “Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind” features the death of a major character (sort of), a reveal no one saw coming, another V Mars guest star and the killer right hook that we’ve all been waiting for. Groundwork has been laid, dots have been connected and now all that’s left is the shattering of earth. For real though, when is someone gonna let poor Clive into Club Dead? He’s been circling the water for too long. Although, with everything that happened in this episode, it probably is better to leave him in the dark just a bit longer.

Unlike the last few installments, this week’s case has nothing to do with the larger story arc, but the victim’s brain leaves Liv seeing things through the rosiest of rose-colored glasses. The coffee shop owner, who was crushed to death by an air conditioning vent in the show’s most Loony Tunes moment ever, apparently gained her sunny disposition from some sort of positivity seminar. Whatever though, she now ran the most successful coffee shop in Seattle. The open mic held in her honor not only included an awesome poetry slam from murder suspect Pam (who Liv shared a cell with back in “The Hurt Stalker”), but also a performance by her daughter Cher’s French boyfriend. But wait, Frenchy, he’s faking! He’s actually an American! Red flag, right? Turns out, he was the killer, but Cher put him up to it so she could go to art school with the inheritance. The real unexpected turn though? She’s such a monster that she lets him take the fall and with no proof against her, heads to Paris solo. Part of the brilliance of this show is the way the writers are able to always keep us guessing. The outcome I hadn’t imagined was definitely one in which the murderer gets away clean.

Speaking of plot developments outside my scope, let’s look at Drake (Greg Finley). This guy was starting to seem like some serious trouble, but now we find out that he’s a cop! That guy we thought he killed? He’s alive and well in witness protection. After Drake is arrested and sitting across the table from Veronica Mars alum Enrico Colantoni (oh how we’ve missed you Keith Mars), we discover that he is not Mr. Boss’s lackey, but has instead infiltrated his organization. This makes me feel better about his relationship with Liv, but much worse about his chances of survival. He’s not only caught up with Mr. Boss, but is now also beholden to Blaine as well. That almost became a nonissue in this episode though, after Mr. Boss realizes Blain’s duplicity.

It seemed as though Blaine would finally meet his end here. Mr. Boss is not a merciful man, so once he figured out that Blaine was trying to take over his empire, it was time for him to go, not so gentle, into that good night. I would’ve felt the stakes were higher, if not for David Anders’s incredible acting chops. He has made Blaine such an integral part of the show, that I just can’t imagine iZombie killing him off anytime soon. It was still slightly nerve-racking to watch as he was marched to his death and to see his throat slit before he even finished his saying his last words (snarky to his dying breath, that one). Earlier in the episode though, he couldn’t taste the wine he was attempting to drink, which seemed to be a clue about the zombie virus lying dormant in his system. So, even as I was nervously watching him heading toward his inevitable demise, I was 93% sure that he was going to rise again as a zombie. However, I could never have predicted that an entire Girl Scout troop would bear witness to this splendiferous moment.

Meanwhile, back at the lab, Ravi used the tainted Utopium found at the end of last episode to replicate his earlier attempt at a cure. It might not be a permanent solution yet, but it would buy Major a bit more time before he reverts back to zombie form and shortly thereafter, dies. Unfortunately, the cure doesn’t change the test zombie rat back to a regular rat, but rather, turns it into a full-on zombie rat, à la George Romero. Not knowing how much time he has left, Major goes to Liv finally attempting to confess his multitude of sins. She is waiting for Drake though, so she tries to break that news to him. In the midst of these two awkward conversations, guess who’s coming to dinner? It’s Gilda! Of course, Major pretends it’s their first time meeting, but as he’s walking out the door, he accidentally calls her Rita. Liv may not know about their working relationship, but she sure remembers the sexy photos that Major received from Rita while he and Liv were still together. After ransacking a showering Rita’s room, Liv finds the lingerie in question. This leads to one of my favorite moments of the series to date, which is Liv punching that bitch in the face and telling her to get the fuck out!

With all the story points this episode hit on, it is amazing that there are still so many unanswered questions. Both of the uncomfortable conversations that almost happened still need to happen and one would reveal the whole truth about Rita. I’m not certain that Liv and Major will be able to repair their relationship, following such a revelation. If Blaine just turned back into a zombie, Major will be close behind and who knows how long either of them will have to live, following the transformation? Drake refused to give up Liv, despite the strong urging of his boss, but as much as I like him, he’s just another guy who purports to care about her while hiding important information from her. Unfortunately, we have almost a month until iZombie returns to provide answers. Let the withdrawal begin!