iZombie Season Finale Review: Out with the Old, In with the New

iZombie’s Season 2 finale (Dead Beat & Salivation Army) made sure it keep surprising us throughout the entire two-hour airing. It cut down, all those pesky villains we’ve been itching to see dead for ages in one fell swoop. Vaughn is gone along with his daughter Gilda. And dozens who knew the truth about Max Rager were swept along in the tide. They built up on the shock factor by finally telling Clive the truth. (About time!)  And Vivian’s arrival sees the shift of zombies going from local to global. There are more zombies than previously thought, many of them in positions of power. Welcome to the new world Liv & Co.!

Let’s talk about it!

Liv finally pieces everything together and doesn’t collapse under the pressure like others would or many expect. She doesn’t need a brain to be resilient and brave. That’s already inside of her. She looks for solutions when there are none and does what she has to (aka exposing her true nature by stabbing herself to get help from Clive.) When it comes to the ones she cares for, she’ll do extraordinary things. Turning into a zombie made Liv a better person.

Drake’s death is something that she will carry in her heart from now on. This is the second person she’s opened herself up to romantically. As in every hero’s journey, this is the time where she closes herself to protect the ones around her. Time for brooding Liv to begin.  

Major’s release was a little too convenient. After all the work put into making him have such an interesting story line, it’s all pushed aside and tied off with a pretty bow from a judge. They should have given us more. He survives by the skin of his teeth and accepts his new existence with ease? It’s out of character for Major.

Clive is finally part of Team Z! He’s still human of course, but he knows about zombies and the Max Rager crazies. In a surprising move he sacrifices his relationship and future at the FBI to do the right thing. He worries when Liv doesn’t call him and steps up to face the unknown. This is his friend, he might not have known her as much as he thought he did, but he’ll stand by her.

It’s moments like this where we see past the tough cop exterior he wears 24/7. Inside is a man who instantly recognises that humans have been knocked down on the predator scale. He doesn’t have time to be anything but rational and composed because his friends need him. Knowing about zombies will test the kind of man he is in Season 3 and his willingness to assist Liv while still being a cop. There’s going to be some tugging from both sides before he picks.

“It’s not what it seems” should be the motto of this episode. That employee finding Utopium at a Max Rager launch party isn’t a coincidence. On one hand it could be Vaughn cleaning house. He’s selling off a high performance drink that he’s sacrificed so much for. (His daughter being a prime example.) There’s no way he would let his employees continue living with that knowledge in their heads. So he just drops a couple of packets of Utopium and hopes that he’s right about his employees.

Then there’s option number 2, the new owner Vivian Stoll, planned this all along. Like Vaughn she needs to start fresh. The only difference with her plan is that it involves eliminating Vaughn as well and eating Rob Thomas’ brain. She’s looking at the bigger picture and right now it doesn’t involve the precious owner.

While we’re on Vivian, her final words are harrowing and tell us a little about what’s coming in Season 3. She believes zombies have evolved past their sources of food. And she wants Liv to pick the winning side while her friends and family lose. It’s a scary decision to make at a moment’s notice and hopefully Vivian will give her a chance to think about it. Freedom of choice in a power dynamic like this is more important because it breeds loyalty. She’ll wait for Liv.

Despite all of Vivian’s posturing and aura of self-importance, she’s not as frightening as she plays herself out to be. There will never be a zombie takeover where the world figures out what’s happening to their deceased loved one’s brains. Why? Because then humans would be afraid. In the back of their minds they will fear the possibility of death via zombie. They’ll take less chances in the world, have less experiences, and become bland means for the undead.

We’ve seen what brains have done for Liv and what it did to the ones who killed Rob Thomas. Those experiences and feelings are more important than telling the world zombies exist. So, no I’m not as afraid of Vivian as I should be. You have to let humans continue living their lives, so when they die, their brains will be ripe for the picking.  Vivian will hide in the shadows instead, holding onto the belief that she’s better than all humans. Along the way she’ll cater and take care of the ones she deems worthy.

Too bad she underestimates Liv. Everyone always does. This transformed, experienced, and courageous zombie will be the death of Vivian. Just you wait.

 

What did you think of this finale of iZombie? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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iZombie will be returning for Season 3.

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