iZombie: Zombie Bro Recap

Synopsis: Liv solves a frat bro’s murder, while Blaine sets his plans in motion to take down the kingpin of the utopium underworld. Major and Ravi get strung out on drugs and Major develops an addiction. Hair and makeup still need to do a better job with Liv’s lifeless zombie hair.

Rating: ★★★★☆

When did this show get so sad?

I didn’t realize it until this episode, but it’s been a long time since iZombie was the hour-long fun romp with the undead its ridiculous premise suggested it would be.

I get that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but this show is driving me depressive. A little more Psych and a little less Dostoevsky existential angst, por favor. Someone needs to tell Rob Lowe that even Veronica Mars had more humor than this show, and it was far grittier and heavier.

Anyway, this episode was a nice contrast to the doom-and-gloom du-jour.

Say it loud, say it proud: Liv’s on frat boy brains this week!

Mainly we get to watch Liv say hilariously inappropriate things and chug beer while she figures out who stabbed Chad with an ice pick while dressed in a blue furry costume.

To be fair, I would also probably solve murders at a frat house by asking the brothers ‘who totally sucks?’

As a side note, just because your main character is dead doesn’t mean her hair has to be, too. Swear to the hairspray gods, please give Liv a little more crimp or curl because the lifeless look isn’t doing anybody any favors. Volume is the friend of the undead.

After a few missteps, from the hazing ritual which got one of the brothers on the registered sex offender list, Liv gets invited to an ABC party (anything but clothes) where she learns that the fraternity used to bring ‘ugly’ girls back to the house for a ‘dogfight.’ Unfortunately, the girls in question did not commit the murder.

Cue Other Chad, who spends his life presenting at high schools about the dangers of drunk driving. The real killer mistakenly killed Frat Chad thinking he was Public Service Chad. Why? Because PS Chad killed murder boy’s father in a drunk driving accident and Murder Boy mixed the two Chads up.

In the less interesting storylines this week, Blaine’s still working his utopium trade. He’s moving in on Mr. Boss’ (the kingpin’s) territory, which ends up getting all his dealers killed (as per his nefarious plan). Blaine recruited rich boys to deal for him so their deaths would be of more concern to the DA, who Blaine turned into a zombie and convinced to help him take down Mr. Boss lest the PR problem escalate.

Ravi and Major take utopium for ‘research’ purposes, and Major ends up getting addicted. Liv comes and saves them at the party, and it looks like Liv and Major will reconcile.

As it turns out, notsomuch. Major is still a Major Dick to Liv. Major throws Liv’s phone out the window of their cab when he’s high (“THEY’RE ALWAYS LISTENING!”) and when Liv goes to pick up her replacement phone, Major hides in his room strung out on utopium.

Oh, and Blaine also turned his dad into a zombie. He was angry that daddy put grandpa in an asylum to steal the family company. Blaine plans to do the same.