iZombie: Recap of Episode 1.04 – Liv and Let Clive; First Look at Episode 1.05 – Flight of the Living Dead
Matt Molgaard
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“Liv and Let Clive,” Episode 1.04 of “iZombie,” opens with a look at Blaine and Jackie in bed. There seems to be some strange romance here that stems beyond a simple booty call. Blaine, the bastard that he is, may still feel some form of actual affection, which only strengthens his polarizing personality. Funny, charming, and somehow slightly compassionate? He’s quickly becoming a magnetic figure in the show (for the record, the Sufjan Stevens song that plays as the intro unfolds adds a strangely uplifting vibe to the scene and actually feels as though it humanizes Blaine a bit… in a very weird way).
Enough with Blaine. We move right on over to Liv’s current conundrum. She shows up unexpectedly at Major’s place. He’s just gotten out of the shower, standing before Liv in his seductive stance. The conversation is going smoothyl until Major’s new girl comes strolling into the room wearing nothing but one of his shirts. We experience an awkward introduction between the two. Liv’s got her emotional feelings back because she’s clearly perturbed by the encounter. Her love for Major still burns but obviously cannot work out as the situation stands.
Back in the morgue we find Ravi working on a dead gang member. Moments before Liv opens the corpse’s brain, her brother shows up. He’ll be staying with Liv for a few days due to some family issues. It’s a brief introduction that will no doubt come into play on a greater level soon. Before we learn of his place in the story, we see Liv feasting on the brains of the John Doe on the metal slab. A quick shift, and Clive shows up, informing Liv he knew the man: Sammy Wong. Clive is very insistent on handling the case himself, and Liv quickly learns why: She has a vision of Clive beating the crap out of Ray, someone associated with Sammy, to whom he turns and issues a warning, “Stay out of it, Sammy, or you’re up next!”
Does Clive carry secrets we couldn’t have foreseen? It appears so.
We get more emotion from Liv, as she vents freely and expresses extreme jealousy of Major and his new girl, Corinne. She suggests Ravi move in with Major – who’s looking for a roommate – in order to essentially cock-block Corinne, as odd as that sounds. Ravi isn’t too into it, but it’s clear he feels for the woman. This isn’t exactly an easy time in her life… or what’s left of her life.
Cut back to Blaine, who is dealing with a couple of hoodlums whom he has running some shady errands for him. We know what he’s got these hooligans doing: tracking meals. Just when we can start to like Blaine, he reminds us that not only was he a scumbag in life, he’s a scumbag in un-life.
Liv is digging into the new case between Clive and Sammy. She digs enough to discover that Clive, who once worked Vice, found himself a little too deep in his work and subsequently got suspended. As Liv puts it soon after, “It looks a lot like Clive’s a dirty cop.” Liv’s likely jumping to conclusions as Clive has come off as a decent human being, but we’ll find out soon enough. Liv and Ravi pursue Ray, the man she saw being beaten in her vision. She ends up at a local shop where the clerk agrees to help her find Ray, but first she has another vision, this time seeing a man on the verge of being tortured when Clive walks in. One man asks Clive how he could have believed Ray was the rat. Is that Sammy being tortured? The vision is a little hazy, making it tough to call. Before Liv can skip out, she’s confronted by AJ, one of the men doing the torturing. “I heard you’re looking for Ray,” he declares, a smug look on his face.
Just as Liv and Ravi are leaving the shop, Clive shows up. They aim to hang around and trail Clive, but one of the guys from the store spots them and jumps on the phone. They make a break for it. And it’s back home for Liv, who’s feeling particularly paranoid.
A quick look at Blaine’s henchmen shows us they’re fed up with handling his dirty work. They decide it may be a good idea to go into business for themselves, pick up some big bucks. They’re about as sharp as the point of a bowling ball, and it’s going to land them in big trouble, but they’re determined. But that little sliver of info pales in comparison to what’s going down back at Liv’s place. She gets out of the shower to find Clive waiting for her. He doesn’t look too happy. Clive fills her in on some of the details of the case, and it seems he may not be the villainous crooked cop we’ve been led to believe.
Back at the morgue Major shows up and has a conversation with Ravi. Liv’s put in word with Major that Ravi is in need of a new roommate so Major is there to see if he might be interested in moving in. We see where this is headed, and Liv’s plan to deposit Ravi between Major and his new love is looking like it’s going to pay off. Major and Ravi don’t hit it off as best buds initially, but they’re certainly decent, and future living arrangements are starting to look a little obvious. Liv is going to get her wish; whether it works to stymie the relationship between Major and Corinne remains to be seen.
Blaine’s runners are continuing to move in on his monopoly. They target Jackie and offer her a much better deal on brains. Jackie likes the idea of cutting costs so she entertains these two morons – who are clearly digging their own graves.
Back to Major and Ravi’s interaction; things are actually looking up. These guys are finding quite a bit of common ground, and it now feels inevitable that we’re eying future roommates. Liv arrives at the morgue and discovers that Ravi is indeed going to move in with Major. It turns out these two are far more similar than we initially believed. Both actually look excited at the idea of being roomies. Although Liv is now quite disconcerted by her interaction with Clive (which she fills Ravi in on), her plans are falling right into place.
Liv’s concern over Clive’s true personality is boiling to the surface. She discloses all the details she knows to Ravi, who still feels Clive is a good human being, perhaps more importantly, a good, honest cop doing his job, as dangerous as it may be. But Ravi’s stance isn’t convincing Liv, who continues to look into the case and Clive in particular. But while out getting her detective on, she spots one of the gang members trailing her. And then we get another vision, a quick look at the murder of Sammy, and an interesting revelation. Ray is an undercover cop, and he’s in danger; Clive shows up just in the nick of time for Liv to warn him that his life is in jeopardy.
It turns out Clive isn’t the bad guy we’ve been led to believe. He explains the situation to Liv, who finally admits to all the visions she’s seen. But Clive still insists that Liv keep herself far away from this case. It will be no Liv and Clive solving this murder; Clive’s on his own. And it has to be that way because Liv’s life will be put in serious jeopardy if she dives into this particular case. And speaking of lives in jeopardy, the two muscle-heads who have been running for Blaine have been made. And Blaine ends any thought of competition with two bullets. Headshots will end all. Interestingly enough, we get a look at the stockpile of bodies Blaine is gathering. He’s certainly looking to make being a zombie a very lucrative affair.
As the episode comes to an end, the Asian gang in focus have been apprehended. The case is just about wrapped. Leader AJ, however, still remains at large; and Clive is headed for the shop to find the man. But AJ isn’t at the shop; he’s hidden in Liv’s apartment. He attacks Liv and calls her out in her affiliation with law enforcement before attempting to bring an end to the petite and appealing ghoul. His attempt to physically dismantle Liv doesn’t go quite as planned. After consuming Sammy’s brains, Liv learned the ways of martial arts, and given her abnormal strength and newfound knowledge, she’s able to overcome the menace. It isn’t with ease and the beating doesn’t come without mercy, but Liv certainly puts a stamp on things.
While the conclusion of this specific episode felt a bit rushed (we do get a look at Ravi officially moving in with Major), the story as a whole offers – once again – the kind of layering that holds the attention of the viewer. The romantic side of things is still alive and well without being too opposing, and it is most certainly one of the charming qualities of the show. It feels, at times, a bit cliche given the CW’s lineup, but in this case it is needed, and it is welcomed. There are no two ways about it: “iZombie” is a kick-ass series and a fine alternative to overtly serious shows like “The Walking Dead.”
Ready for next week? Here’s a preview of Episode 1.05, “Flight of the Living Dead.”
“iZombie” Episode 1.05 – “Flight of the Living Dead” (airs 4/14/15)
RYAN HANSEN (“VERONICA MARS”) GUEST STARS IN THE EPISODE — Liv (Rose McIver) reluctantly eats the brains of her recently murdered sorority sister Holly (guest star Tasya Teles) to help gain insight into her murder. This case takes Liv and Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) into Holly’s world of extreme sporting, where they meet professional snowboarder Carson McComb (guest star Ryan Hansen), a murder suspect who appears to be hiding a secret.
Meanwhile, Liv has a strange connection with one of the other murder suspects, and Major (Robert Buckley) voices his concern to Clive over a young boy’s disappearance. Rahul Kohli and David Anders also star. David Warren directed the episode written by Deirdre Mangan.
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