iZombie, S1 E5- Flight of the Living Dead

For those of you dying for a certain British former knight to appear, the wait is finally over in this episode!

Immediately we are introduced to the “case of the week” (or should I start calling them the “brain of the week”?). A sponsored group that are basically daredevils for a living are seen jumping out of a plane. Not before they take a shot first. Yeah, not everyone makes it on the ground. The victim? Holly White. Death by tree branch, skewered like a shish kabob to be more precise. (This hilarious Drake and Josh moment isn’t as funny to me anymore, thanks iZombie writers.)

“Brain on a stick. How scrumptious.”

Liv and Ravi are at the scene, inspecting the body and making several zombie brain jokes at Holly’s expense in the process. In their eyes Holly could be a corn dog, Popsicle, lollipop, etc. Might be a little too soon guys. Especially after Liv receives a phone call from her dear roommate Peyton, informing her of their old sorority sister Holly’s demise: death by skydive. If only Peyton knew that Liv was making jokes a mere couple seconds ago.

Even after Ravi suggests Liv should “sit this brain out” and eat some other body they have in the morgue, Liv knows that this case is particularly personal for her. She’d be stupid not to eat Holly’s brain to find out the specifics of her death. Good thing she does, because courtesy of said visions, Liv begins to question if any foul play was at work towards Holly. The suspects? Carson McColm, head daredevil. Eliza Marquette, head of marketing for Max Rager (the energy drink company that sponsors the daredevils). However, the main suspect is Lowell Tracy, fellow sponsored daredevil (Bradley James). Apparently, he was supposed to jump before Holly and wasn’t seen for quite a bit once safely on the ground. Similar to most crime-related television shows/episodes, the main suspect most likely didn’t commit the crime.

More visions on Liv’s account (turns out Carson is having a not-so-secret secret affair with Ren Smith, another daredevil in their group, and Holly did not approve) and a quick rummage in Carson’s room during Holly’s memorial have Lowell off the hook. Pre-signed prescription papers from Doctor Daddy McColm reveals that anyone with access to them could have easily drugged Holly. I know what you’re thinking – it wasn’t Carson. But Eliza, who would take care of Holly’s persistence on outing Carson. While I am completely against outing someone’s sexual orientation against their wishes (seriously, it’s not cool), that doesn’t mean murder should be on the table.

There were several moments during this episode that I absolutely treasured and adored. The first being Liv’s influences from Holly’s brain. Since Holly was a known risk-taker and a tad rebellious, we saw Liv taking a few risks of her own. Instead of driving her car, she rode her bike and she appeared quite outspoken and much more extroverted then her usual self/personality. Why not live each day like it was your last? Well, in Liv’s case her undead last day? Moving aside from Liv’s actions, I found the cinematography and scenes of Liv riding her bike absolutely stunning. The scenes served as both “brain influences” and as a nice transition from each place Liv traveled to? (Man, you know you watch too much television when you admire how certain scenes are filmed.)

Attractive British zombie? Yes please. Hello Bradley James, welcome to the iZombie family.

What I also enjoyed in this episode was the introduction of Bradley James’ character, Lowell Tracy. As mentioned above, Lowell is first thought to be the main suspect in Holly’s death. Can you blame Liv and co. for blaming him? Not only was he at the scene of the crime, but he also has this odd mysterious demeanor to him (I wanted to say ‘Edward Cullen-esque’, but I didn’t want to completely insult the man) that kind of screams “killer”. No offense or anything, Lowell. It isn’t really until at Holly’s memorial service does Liv see his true (hot) colors. Via a hot bloody mary drink, Liv finds out that Lowell is actually a fellow zombie. Unlike Liv, he dyes his hair to blend in. Fortunately, unlike Blaine, he’s one of the good zombies. The two exchange zombie horror stories (yes, the term “full on zombie mode” is mentioned) and really connect with each other.

What did everyone think of Lowell’s introduction and reveal as a zombie? I had an inkling that he was going to be a member of the un-dead, but actually having it be true will do wonders for Liv. Not only will her love life thrive again, she finally has someone to confide in who understands what she’s going through on a personal level. Yes, Ravi is present as well, but Lowell has first hand experience what it’s like to be a zombie. He knows the pro and cons. I really hope we see more of Bradley and his character Lowell in future episodes. (According to executive producer, Diane Ruggiero-Wright, Lowell will definitely be sticking around).

Liv, Peyton and Major. No one mess with this trio. That means you, writers.

Of course I couldn’t end this review without mentioning a bit of Major’s side story-line. Still heartbroken over his friend’s disappearances he tries to get Clive to help. While hesitant to put time into the missing people when he’s on duty, Clive investigates the missing people during his off hours. Heaps of people end up missing daily, and Clive (and I’m sure anyone would) finds that incredibly odd. Going to his Lieutenant with this information, Clive definitely ends up taking an interest into this potential case. Oh and fun fact: anyone notice the Lieutenant pouring hot sauce into his coffee? Zombie! Meanwhile, poor Major ends up getting beaten up fairly bad by a zombie (unbeknownst to him) who’s wearing his friend’s pair of shoes. The last we see of him is that he appears to be unconscious. All I’m asking is that Major doesn’t get turned into a zombie. Those are the vibes I’m getting. Anyone else have opinions on Major’s current state?

Next episode, 1.06: “Virtual Reality Bites” airs Tuesday at 9/8c on the CW. The trailer can be viewed below.