TV Korner: iZombie 2.13 – “The Whopper”

A New Hope

“The Whopper” doesn’t reach the same heights as last weeks episode, but so much headway is made in the main mystery, that it’s clear that the realizations of this one far eclipse those in “Physician, Heal thy Selfie.”

It’s back to the program, and Liv is forced to eat the brain of a pathological liar in order to solve a month old murder in the very field where Ravi and Major are conducting their scavenger hunt.  Alright, so it’s a bit of a bummer to go back to the way things were after “Physician, Heal thy Selfie” but it’s better to have loved and lost, right? More realistically though, it’s much harder to keep things connected perfectly while matching tone, pace, and themes.  Well, luckily we have Rose McIver at the wheel, who keeps up a steady pace of comedy and drama as she balances Liv’s mistrust of her new boyfriend Drake (along with his hypochondriac brain) and her own pathological lying.  There’s a funny bit here also as Clive starts to reflect on how Liv seems to adapt the personalities of her subjects (and it only took like 30-something episodes…good job detective), but unfortunately it’s played off as gag rather than a genuine realization.  The identity of the murderer, so to speak, ends up tying in well with the scavenger hunt and finally gives our heroes some headway for a plot thread that has sat dangling for almost 5 episodes.

Meanwhile, there’s been an unexpected hiccup in Major’s “Chaos Killer” crusade, as he’s abducted by Blaine; just as a realization about Blaine’s father’s will comes to light.  This particular storyline is loaded with convenience which takes away some of the bite, but what it lacks in subtle design it makes up for in spades in creativity.  Despite their antagonistic relationship in season’s past, Major and Blaine’s scenes are still gold as wit goes against wit and the game between the two takes a turn in Blaine’s favor.  Anders is so good at playing this kind of character, at this point, that it defies logic that he can keep it up at this level so consistently.  Charismatic evil is nowhere without charisma and that’s the part of the episode that eats up the screen, when Blaine really gets to flex those villain muscles for the audience in a way that shows that undeniable charm that has kept him from falling in to villain purgatory.

Final Word: There’s so much realized in “The Whopper” that it would take forever to list all the major plotpoints that found homes in this week’s iZombie, it would also be a bit spoilery though.  Suffice it to say, that the episode explores some powerful themes of lying and survival as well as reveals some histories and possible futures for the players; heating up the game, while delivering some much needed insight in to the characters and their histories.  The final scene is one of the most memorable and entertaining I’ve ever seen in iZombie and it helps to break up the slow somber tone of the rest of the episode.

“The Whopper” gets a 7.8/10.  It’s a little slow, and drags most of the time; but David Anders’ Blaine really brings this one to life.  The final scene that combines all of the intelligence and humor of iZombie makes the landing way too good to ignore.