Kyle’s Review

I’m not sure whether iZombie wants me to root for Major and Liv or not; perhaps no show should force you to root for any couple. If that’s the case, “The Hurt Stalker” torpedoes Major and Liv’s relationship. This week’s episode takes iZombie’s trend of getting Liv on a brain just long enough to further the character and give her the push she needs in the right direction. We knew Liv would discover Major’s secret (he’s Seattle’s zombie killer) and I figured Liv would encounter a brain that would lead her there but I’m not sure if Liv knows anything definitive. What we do know is there’s trouble in paradise. Liv was on swimfan—or obsessed stalker—brains during the “The Hurt Stalker,” and that got her suspicious of Major but all she unearthed was him sleeping with another woman (presumably while they weren’t together), so his zombie killer identity could still be safe, for now, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

I’ve lost count of how many villains iZombie’s working into its second season. Major (sort of), the Barber, the head of Max Rager, and old reliable Blaine are all good choices for the big bad villain of the season, but iZombie isn’t as transparent as the other DC Comics shows (Flash and Arrow) when revealing who the season’s arch villain is and that’s enjoyable but it makes the show overloaded at the same time. I suspect Major will be outed by iZombie’s mid-season and the events during “The Hurt Stalker” could lead toward that and I’d be okay with a little clarity.

Still, iZombie fills its episodes with plenty of chuckles and surprises, so the unknown super villain fits. The most pleasant surprises this week belong to Detective Babineaux. I never realized, until “The Hurt Stalker,” how little Liv and Ravi know about Babineaux. Since he’s blamed for this week’s murder, the other two pry into his personal life. Apparently, Babineaux is A Song of Ice and Fire fan and when Ravi pondered, “I wonder what George R. R. Martin is doing right now,” Babineaux’s response—he’s a hard-boiled detective grunting about Martin’s lack of productivity—was priceless.

iZombie started with a heap of tropes but they’ve twisted these tropes into something fun, but with all the groundwork iZombie has made this year, I’d like some hint of what the payoff might be. The show has time and I trust they’ll give us another good cliffhanger by mid-season as well as the finale.