TV Korner: iZombie 2.3 – “Real Dead Housewife of Seattle”

iZombie gets high class this week.

“Real Dead Housewife of Seattle” kicks it in to full reverse as Liv returns from her booze fueled bender as a frat guy, in to that of a sophisticated (albeit vapid) trophy wife…who also happens to be fueled by booze. That’s kind of a no-brainer of course, as we can all turn to our “Well Established Cliches, Tropes, and Stereotypes” textbooks to page thirty-two, and make sure we have our full list.

High-end alcoholic…check.

Castle allegory, complete with terminal uselessness…and check.

Obsession with appearance and station…there’s another check.

Backstabbing, betrayal, extra-marital relations…alright, I think that’s enough.

Of course while this level of predictibility usually creates a detriment to a plot in pretty much everything else, iZombie manages to turn it in to comedy gold by combining two crucial elements. Rose McIver’s Liv acting terminally crazy is the first. The second is every other character’s reaction to her craziness. While the “wacky Liv and her brains” angle seems like it should get formulaic and dull, “Real Dead Housewife of Seattle” acts as some pretty compelling evidence that it’s possible that it won’t. For one, Rose McIver really throws herself in to this character, completely transforming her personality, look, speech, attitude in a much more significant way than we’ve seen before. This complete eclipse serves to provide some one of a kind interactions that characterize Liv’s relationships and the variations that could occur when someone changes their personality as rapidly as she does. In the case of Babineux though, it feels more like his character has been hobbled when it comes to noticing Liv’s shifts, and it’s getting hard to accept that a detective of his caliber wouldn’t think that there would be a reason behind her complete change-over of her speech and mannerisms every time they work a new case.

Final Word: “The Real Dead Housewife of Seattle” is still another solid entry in to iZombie’s increasingly intriguing season two. Not much in the “a look at what’s to come” department, but a thoroughly entertaining performance from McIver, along with a sound mystery that doesn’t outstay its welcome keeps things moving along at a brisk pace. The Edgar Wright style direction for the brain eating/cooking scenes makes for a quick and amusing way to streamline a process that had the potential to become old hat, if it weren’t for the variations on Liv’s dietary selections each week. Major’s story takes a backseat as far as runtime is concerned, but the heartbreaking truth about the morality of his actions adds a whole new tragic side to his cursed errand. Establishment of all the separate storylines makes the different intrigues of the plot branch the story out in to intelligent new perspectives so the audience get a fair and balanced look at everyone’s side. It doesn’t overcomplicate the lines between the good and the bad, but it does blur the line enough to make it harder to see where exactly our good guys fall on the spectrum. Also, LIV’S FULL-ON ZOMBIE MODE MAKES A COMEBACK! WOO!