iZombie Review: Insane in the Germ Brain (Season 4 Episode 11)

It might be peak flu season on iZombie Season 4 Episode 11, “Insane in the Germ Brain,” but the real killer here isn’t germs. No, it’s every bad guy this show has created over 4 seasons coming out of the woodwork to wreak havoc on Seattle.

Okay, not every bad guy.

Blaine isn’t present for this episode, which is more than a little insulting considering he’s the veteran villain here.

But characters that have operated in the shadows or gray areas like Chase Graves, Don-E, Angus, Crybaby Carl, and A.J. are finally ready to kick things up a notch and make a name for themselves in this series.

And that is really what makes “Insane in the Germ Brain,” one of this season’s strongest episodes.

It’s not the comedy and it’s not the character work that makes this newest installment so incredibly captivating. It’s is just the sheer amount of people finally letting their crap hit the fan after an entire season of barely managing to keep it together.

The lack of caring if their actions are considered unjust or immoral has created an unpredictable and thrilling path to the finale that will only put Liv and others in more danger as we approach the end of the season.

The weakest of storylines this season has no doubt been Angus’ zombie church cult. The entire plot has just been dull and uneventful. Not to mention that there has been little to no overlap between Brother Love and Team-Z to warrant an interest in his holy plan.

But Don-E on diabolical director brain orchestrating a plan for a recruitment video to rally zombies against humans does bring some life to an otherwise lifeless storyline.

It’s likely there hasn’t been much development in Brother Love’s cult because his mob of zombies aren’t meant to be more than mindless soldiers on the pro-zombie side when a riot inevitably breaks out between the two races.

That doesn’t excuse iZombie’s lazy writing when it comes to Angus this season, but honestly, you have to be glad they didn’t spend more time on a storyline that in the end, just wasn’t worth the effort.

Now if you want to see how effective iZombie can be when it puts effort into a storyline, look no further then Isobel’s arc this season.

This girl has been in a total of 4 episodes and yet it feels like she has been apart of Liv’s world for years. Her banter with Ravi is blissfully fun to watch and she demands the same level of attention as the core cast when she enters a room.

Which makes saying goodbye to her so incredibly difficult to do despite having known Mayor Baracus longer.

Maybe it is the attention iZombie has put into fleshing out her character over the course of the last few episodes or maybe it is the choice to form an emotional bond between her and Ravi early on that makes the girl’s death so impactful.

Ravi being the one to find Isobel dead onscreen is a sad but smart choice considering how much more emotional her goodbye is with that connection between them.

I mean Ravi was going to take the girl driving to appease her dying wish. Seeing him with a helmet on his head, begging the girl to stop joking around is certainly effective in its attempt to make us all cry.

When it comes to tear-jerking moments, iZombie is never lazy.

Despite the abundance of bad guys and deaths in this episode to keep us entertained and invested, the true excellence of “Insane in the Germ Brain,” centers around Major.

Can we consider Major a bad guy? Not really, but he has been a major annoyance this season with his immoral and just plain stupid choices to continue following Fillmore Graves blindly.

But the show does something rather interesting in this newest episode with the Fillmore Graves soldier. Instead of pushing Major to take back his actions and return to Liv’s side of the fight, iZombie digs into the reason why Major does what he does for Chase Graves and really, the reason why Major does anything.

Ever since he was outed as the Chaos Killer, Major has found himself alienated from society and without the same support system he has built his life on. A man like Major is used to having teammates and people that accept and encourage his Boy Scout attitude.

After Max Rager fell people could only see Major as a monster. Then he found a place at Fillmore Graves where he had those teammates that would thrive off his personality, praising him on a good job and joking with him over beers.

While Liv has always needed a purpose in life, Major has always needed someone to tell him his actions have purpose. This reasoning behind Major’s actions is something iZombie has brilliantly woven throughout his arc this season and proudly shows off in this episode.

iZombie has continued to develop Major’s character over the seasons into a man that is nearly unrecognizable at times and yet they have kept the foundation of his character the same.

Major Lilywhite came into this story as a human.

A vulnerable human that witnessed young children being murdered at the hands of a powerful man and stepped up to save them regardless of his own safety. The choice to bring in child soldiers and put them in the line of danger with Major is a clear one now that one of those children has died at the hands of Chase Graves.

It’s a smart way to come full circle with Major’s journey and set him up for a big moral decision in the coming episodes. Which is why Major’s is looking up to be the most effective storyline tackled this season.

“Insane in the Germ Brain” feels like the cocking back of a gun right before it’s fired. The intensity and tension are undeniable as we approach the last 2 episodes of iZombie‘s 4th season.

One thing is becoming clear, Team-Z is severely outmatched and outnumbered in a war that is surely coming to Seattle.

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

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

iZombie airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!