Aly Michalka, Rose McIver
iZombie, Season 1, Episode 8: “Dead Air”
Written by Aiyana White
Directed by Zetna Fuentes
Airs Tuesdays at 9pm (ET) on The CW
Major’s attempts to expose the police’s apparent lack of concern over the missing skate park kids last week backfired in grand fashion, as he found himself locked up in a cell with a group of thugs who didn’t seem intent on befriending him. This week’s episode sees Major, clearly shaken by the fact that he spotted Julian transporting a human brain, double down on his research, alienating people along the way. Meanwhile, Ravi gets closer to finding a cure for being undead, while Liv gets a shock about Lowell in another compelling episode.
Major’s increasing isolation and obsession with Julian and the operation he’s running is a fascinating aspect of this week’s episode. If Suzuki and the press had reported on the missing skate park individuals being found just a few days before, or if Major had been slower in trying to find out what Julian was up to, he might have been satisfied with the explanation like most of the public apparently is. However, seeing the human brain in Julian’s car is clearly the point of no return for Major in following this thread. There are two interesting aspects of this storyline. One is how far he’s willing to follow this. With his friends already having largely abandoned him, with Liv among them as far as he’s concerned, it’s clear the possibility of isolation won’t affect his pursuit. But this won’t be the last hurdle Major faces, as Blaine is likely to threaten the lives of people Major cares about, which is a large pool despite the loss of his job. Similarly, Major may find his own life at risk sooner or later, at the hands of Blaine or some other zombie that’s part of his empire. In addition, it will also be intriguing to see how Major reacts to evidence of zombies. Ravi is the only character so far who’s learned of the existence of zombies without becoming one himself yet, and he had Liv and his own scientific curiosity to walk him through the initial shock. Major, however, will have neither when he finds out, and that, added to the fact that his experience with zombies so far is mostly negative, makes his imminent reaction a curious case.
Jennifer Kitchen, Rahul Kohli
The story of Lowell also takes an intriguing turn this week with Liv’s discovery that he’s part of Blaine’s network of customers. The confirmation that Blaine is the source of Lowell’s brains casts the character in a different light. So far, Lowell has been someone Liv can experience being undead with, with no fear that comes from spending too much time with living humans. Lowell has helped Liv cope with the changes that come with being a zombie, and has given her a chance to be completely free once again. However, it’s unlikely, given the psychic memories, that Lowell is unaware that Blaine isn’t actually a mortician, which means his statements to Liv about the source of his brains was a fabrication. The reason for the fabrication, however, will say a lot about Lowell. If he chose to lie to Liv to keep her protected from Blaine and make himself look better in her eyes, then his actions are somewhat defensible. The other option, however, is that he was always aware of who Liv was, and has been willfully duping her, either for his own nefarious ends, or based on Blaine’s instructions. This would not only mean that Liv is in far greater danger than she envisioned before, it also has the potential to affect how she views zombies from now on. Lowell being part of Blaine’s empire means that Liv is the only independent zombie so far, which puts her in a powerful position, but also in a precarious one. Liv may be unable to trust another zombie having a truly selfless motivation to get to know her from now on, which will undoubtedly colour her interactions with other members of the undead.
Overall, this is another fun episode, with the brain of the week once again demonstrating the fragile relationship Liv has with those around her. While she’s under the influence of the brain she ate, Liv does have a point when she says she doesn’t know much about Babineaux, something that goes double for the audience, who is also familiar with him only in a work capacity. Hopefully pointing this out this week will lead to deeper characterisation for Clive in the coming episodes. Ravi’s arc this week is also nice to see, and it’s good to see that his confidence isn’t easily shaken. While Liv ended up working in the morgue due to becoming a zombie, it has been clear that Ravi doesn’t see the position as somewhere different from where he wanted to end up, and he’s shown genuine interest in the job. This works well to complement his pleasant demeanour, and it will be fun to see how he and Peyton interact, especially with Major spiralling and moving further out of Liv’s life. The bite from the zombie rat, however, is worrisome, and hopefully it doesn’t bode ill for Ravi’s survival chances, especially since he’s seemingly close to a cure. Suzuki speaking out against Blaine, while confirming his brain source, is an encouraging sign that the latter’s grip may not be as tight as he’d like. With Liv now having ingested Jerome’s brain, she has no choice but to confront Blaine, and how that plays out will be worth tuning in for next week.
– Deepayan Sengupta
