After last week’s super brainsssy series premiere, iZombie was back last night with “Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?” This intriguingly sexual (gettin’ there in a hot minute) follow-up ep not only introduced a new villain/possible future lovah for our zombified Veronica Mars, Liv Moore, but also got down to business about the kind of business the dead can get down to in this world.
Was the end result more brainsssy, or brainsssdead in the end? Let’s investigate!
BRAINSSSY:
– That new opening, which quickly and subtly conjures up memories of another story about a girl trying to figure out her true identity.
– This episode directly addresses the “myth” that you have to be alive to be sexually enticed (so long to your “Hey, I’m not dead!” defense re: all sudden hornball blurtations) and thus, answers all our major (and Major!) questions. Liv is pretty much super turned on the whole time, seductively describing features of hot people left and right, just like the warm-blooded lot of us!
– At one point Liv talks about the lady lover of a victim suggestively (“The way she moved… it was like watching a flower bloom”), meaning she may or may not have bi tendencies, which is a RAD thing to address in the second episode of a brand new series. (Keep on with that LGBT reppin’, CW!)
– Blaine, that zombdude who turned Liv, totally engages in some casual necrophilia at one point. Which is gross to think about, but also reveals that in the iZombie universe, zombies sleeping with humans = humans becoming zombies. In other words, don’t expect actual Liv/Major hook-ups anytime soon. Sorry, #MajorTeam, but this seems like a plus for our gal right now given his reaction to her jumping him at the end of the ep and her follow-up reaction.
– Even if Blaine and Liv don’t become a romantic thing (cause that seems inevitable, right?), you have to admit this also dead dude seems like an interesting foil for her, even just in the one-liner department (see: him referencing LL Cool J lyrics off-hand, and you waiting patiently for his take on “My hat is like a shark fin!”).
– There are defs rape undertones to Liv’s interaction with Male Suspect of the Week… BUT she kills that vibe real quick with her quick-change eye colour/zombie strength!
– Not only do we have a lady heroine, but there’s also a lady villain at the end of this episode!
BRAINSSSDEAD:
– Major already broke the panini press that he and Liv got for their engagement?! Seriously, did Liv eat his brain before leaving him? #MajorPain
– Clive’s “Fifty Shades of Psychic” joke? Lame. Even for an ep that was likely written last year, before the Fifty Shades movie buzz was harshed.
– Speaking of Clive, his “It’s always the wife!” prediction comes to fruition in the worst way when our lady villain turns out to be fueled by that stereotypical lady jealousy we see overused on every show (she says her hubby left her for an—cue young adult slut shaming—”18 YEAR OLD GIRL”).
– Yeahhhhh, Blaine’s make-up makes Liv’s look super natural. (Note the space between those last two words.)
Emily Gagne (@emilygagne) is one of the founding members of Cinefilles, a site for wannabe female film and TV critics, as well as an admitted heroine addict. She may not have super strength, or be able to make a stake on command, but she can slay you with her rhetorical devices, endless knowledge of Final Girls, and passion for geek girl scoop.
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