iZombie, Season 1, Episode 5: “Flight of the Living Dead”
Written by Dierdre Mangan
Directed by David Warren
Airs Tuesdays at 9pm (ET) on The CW
Last week’s episode of iZombie showed that, while Liv and Blaine weren’t the only zombies in this world, this was far from a comforting fact, as Blaine was building his own army of loyal subjects whom he was teaching how to blend in with the population. This week’s episode continues to build on that idea, introducing two more zombies and continuing to add details to the show’s universe in an enjoyable episode that opens the door for many storytelling possibilities.
The introduction of Lowell into the world of iZombie opens up a lot of fascinating directions the show could go in. Not only does it give Liv a chance to open up to someone who understands what she’s going through, it also gives her a potential ally of equal strength in the fight against Blaine. This also removes any possibility of conflicting feelings Liv might have towards Blaine. The emergence of Lowell as someone who seemingly doesn’t raise Liv’s red flag ensures that she won’t have to look to Blaine as the only other person who has experienced what she’s going through. With Lowell seemingly an original zombie, rather than a conversion by Blaine, it’ll be intriguing to see how his character arc plays out. The biggest question, of course, comes with how he gets brains, the one thing that gave Liv the biggest hint that Blaine wasn’t being open with her. Given that Lowell doesn’t seem as far gone in the zombification process as Liv, he may have had early access to brains, and how he got that access is crucial to understanding what side Lowell is on. Regardless of what side he ends up being on, as the only other original zombie Liv has found, Lowell will be key to helping her understand how to deal with the aspects of zombification she has struggled with, such as spotting others and maintaining appearances around humans, and how their interactions affect Liv will be worth keeping an eye on.
The reveal of the Lieutenant being a zombie also has the potential to be a fascinating storyline. The combination of his position of power and his clear lack of decomposition seems to suggest that he’s been turned by Blaine as part of the latter’s attempts to gain control over the city, something that’s reinforced by his adamant refusal to follow up on the missing people from the skating park. Not only does this give the Lieutenant some more dimension as a character, it also adds another dynamic to both the impending duel between Liv and Blaine and Clive’s investigations. Last week’s episode indicated that getting people to defect from Blaine’s side may not be as easy as it sounds. However, the defection attempt last week was done by a pair of Blaine’s subordinates trying to turn someone who didn’t have a stake in stopping Blaine. If Liv approaches the Lieutenant, she will be in a much better position, as not only does she represent a viable alternative to Blaine, the Lieutenant is also more likely to be receptive to the idea of stopping Blaine from killing any others, especially if Liv offers to share the morgue brains with him. How Clive reacts to the Lieutenant’s shutdown is also likely to dictate events. If Babineaux continues to pursue the missing persons cases, he’s likely to run afoul of Blaine sooner or later, who may ask the Lieutenant to take care of the matter instead, and how the Lieutenant deals with it will say a lot about which side he is really on.
Overall, this is another strong episode, as the world-building that occurs more than makes up for the somewhat weak mystery of the week. The reveal that Max Rager is turning 1 in 1000 people psychotic, along with Eliza escaping police capture and remaining at large by episode’s end, seems to suggest that this storyline will tie into the show’s larger world, and the drink may be one of the secrets behind what’s causing people to become zombies. What caused Lowell to become a zombie is also an intriguing idea, as there’s no mention of his presence at the boat party, lending further weight to the idea of a third avenue of zombification altogether. The Lieutenant’s mention of how he enjoys looking at food pictures on instagram is a nice bit of foreshadowing about his condition, mirroring Liv’s mentions about not having taste, even earlier in this very episode. Major’s discovery of Jerome’s shoes, and his subsequent beating will also be interesting to follow. With Ravi staying with Major and seemingly becoming fast friends with him, it’s likely the former will be drawn into the loop with Major before long, with the added knowledge of what exactly zombies are and what they’re capable of. With the episode beginning numerous plot threads, all of them bearing the possibility of going down compelling paths, how things play out as the season progresses will be fun to watch.
– Deepayan Sengupta