iZombie Review: Killer Queen (Season 5 Episode 11)

The groundwork is being laid for a killer series finale with iZombie Season 5 Episode 11, “Killer Queen.” While the title implies a night of fun and showmanship, this episode was much closer to a Martin Scorsese production. 

From the beginning, iZombie reminds us that there is a war brewing, even if the focus seems to be on a case of killer drag queens. In fact, the case of the dead drag queen is a very nice parallel to all that is going on in Liv’s personal world.

The drag queens were dealing with a battle between the original performers — the OG’s if you will — and the newbies.

Much like iZombie has always done, this not only parallels the fight between OG zombies and new zombies but also society in general. From one generation to the next there is always a discrepancy between mutual understanding of either side.

It was fun to see Liv get to live it up as a fabulous queen at heart. I honestly love her style in this episode. I feel it is the most feminine she has ever been, and it surprisingly suits her. 

It also gives her the air of “boss bitch,” which is a title Liv so deserves. I know Mike was only a phase, but as the series winds down and Liv’s ultimate destiny comes to a head, I would love to see her continue to dress like the leader that she is. 

While it is nice to have that parallel between the “outside” plot and the case of the week, it isn’t hard to see that the multiple villain plots are getting to be a bit much.

It would be more interesting if Blaine’s little revenge plot wasn’t two things — A. predictable and B. so central to the overall struggle. Sure, he is selling off Freylich kids to the highest bidder to make a quick buck, but ultimately the plot falls into yawn territory. 

We’ve been here before with him. The brain smuggling business is one of the biggest that comes to mind. Basically, I love Blaine as a villain, but I feel at this point he is becoming a tired add-on. 

That being said, maybe this less than appealing subplot is merely a misdirection for something even bigger to come down the pipeline in the final two episodes. Who’s to say Blaine isn’t going to be the hero in all of this by the end? 

Now wouldn’t that be quite the send-off?

Blaine has been on redemption storylines before, but they’ve never been able to be fully realized. However, the world is coming to an end soon — let’s be real Seattle is probably going to explode, literally — which would give the writers the perfect opportunity to create the ultimate redemption tale for Blaine — a major sacrifice to save all of zombiekind.

I know that may seem like a bit of a stretch considering his entire plot right now centers on him selling Freylich children so that zombies can get the cure.

Hear me out. If Blaine’s real purpose for this business move was to provide a cure would he have made a stipulation that his clients wait for their brain to die naturally?

There is clearly something else in motion with him and one of the best qualities about Blaine is you never know the full story. That’s not to say he could totally be the one to watch the world burn, but wouldn’t it be nice if Blaine gets the redemption he’s been working at all along?

The only thing with Blaine right now that doesn’t fully make sense is what he’s got planned for Don E. It is clear that he wasn’t happy to find out Don E has kept him out of the brain business that he started. 

The biggest question is, did he kill Darcy? It just seems a bit suspect that on the night of Don E’s wedding to her she just so happens to die.

The other villain subplot is that involving Liv’s father, Martin. When the episode begins we find out that he has not only a stash of various versions of utopium but also a stash of Romero’d zombies. 

So far this season, we have found out that he is the leader of this zombie extremist group. But their mission wasn’t quite clear until now. 

Their goal to overwhelm the whole country with zombies is a sure-fire way to piss off the humans who are out to rid the world of zombies. It is becoming more and more evident that the final battle is going to be between Liv and her team, the zombie extremists, and the anti-zombie humans. 

Based on this episode alone, it’s clear that very few are going to make it out of this fray alive. With the deaths of Stephen’s boyfriend, Darcy, and Martin the show is reminding us that a big showdown is coming, and deaths are inevitable. 

It was evident that Liv’s plea to Martin to stop his crusade was just about to work it’s magic, but then Enzo had to come along and ruin it all. Enzo is the indicator of what is to come. 

Enzo has no qualms killing in cold blood, obviously. This spells chaos and danger not only for the anti-zombie group but for the OG zombie group as well. There is no stopping him from his ultimate plan of zombie domination.

Overall, “Killer Queen” is bogged down with all the subplots, but it is setting up the end very nicely. It’s going to be an uphill battle in the coming days for our merry band of heroes, but they’ve all got what it takes to end things in the best way possible for the majority of our beloved characters, if not all of them.

The darker turn iZombie has taken in the last few episodes has been such a contrast to the show overall, but they still manage to keep the essence of the show alive through it all, which is ultimately a testament to both the writers and the actors themselves. 

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

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iZombie airs Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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