iZombie - You've Got to Hide Your Liv Away

It was no surprise that eventually Liv would give herself up as the Renegade, responsible for creating zombies from coyotes who were to die if she didn’t help them, entering the city of Seattle illegally. Major, to his credit, tries to kidnap Liv and hoist her off far away (in fact, Oregon, at the farmhouse of an elderly couple of 95) so she won’t give herself over to Chase Graves, but eventually he goes into the basement—after encouragement from an annoyed Liv, even if her personality is altered by the brain of a homemaker wife who devotes time to cooking meals, apron on and cheery smile wide, complete with dress and hairdo—and is locked in a cage (two zombies of former owners of the farmhouse, rotting and monstrous, reside there). Liv doesn’t know where the keys are to Major’s car, leaving him locked away while off looking for them. Meanwhile, an old nemesis, Roche discovers Major in the cage, shooting him in the leg, and in the head of one of the zombies, not realizing Liv is behind him. As the show often does, it kills off a recurring seasonal character, and a fireplace poker into the skull dismisses Roche forever. Major still doesn’t get out, and Liv leaves Oregon, confronting Graves when she learns from her smuggling team that boyfriend Levon confessed to being Renegade. The fourth season has made sure to establish that Chase Graves has grown increasingly hostile and prone to outburst when his mission plan comes under attack, suffering from defiance and resistance from those who disagree with the philosophy regarding stopping zombie outbreak due to eventual brain shortage. And Blaine once again speaks to his prophet pops about initiating a plan of action, inspiring his flock to flee the city and populate the entire country beyond Seattle. Looking for a sign, Blaine gets his buddy, Don E, to crush brains in a woodchipper that sends little pieces into the  sky so they snow into Angus’ mouth…Blaine is the kind of clever, devious mind who could come up with such a ploy in order to convince his father to act. Blaine feels the end is near for Seattle, expecting a nuke anytime. Because few in DC remain willing to fight for the peaceful co-existence between humans and zombies (Peyton left Seattle for this very cause), Blaine senses that Angus has such a devoted following his words would immediately send them into action on his command.

A key scene has Clive interrogating Angus in regards to a sermon he preached, encouraging a member of his congregation to murder a former zombie who was given a cure, considering her a “apostate”. That selfie diva called White Girl is clunked over the head with a hammer in the restroom of Blaine’s club, winds up on Ravi’s slab. So because Liv is kidnapped Ravi takes it upon himself to eat her brains and help Clive seek out the killer. Ultimately, Tucker takes responsibility (but let go by Filmore-Graves officer, Enzo, who tells him that Angus has an ally in F-G) so that Angus could be set free from his handcuffs before Clive could officially arrest him. What makes the police station scene key is the flock praying for Angus as Clive prepares to arrest him. Their presence is very foreboding and the danger of this flock turned loose on the city at large seems to be only a matter of time. This flock now repeats Angus’ sermons, taking his words for a truth that enriches them. Blaine sees them all as his ticket out of Seattle and eventually securing serious power in a country overrun with zombies and fewer humans.

And with all of that, You’ve Got to Hide Your Liv Away is so overloaded with developments (it is indeed a pivotal episode, preparing us for the season finale), two big subplots almost get lost in the shuffle. Ravi, through his studies of Isobel’s brain, after testing a rat with help from White Girl’s “healed” brain as well, doesn’t just come up with a vaccine for the zombie virus but a cure. And Clive learns of why Bozzio actually broke up with him, because of his admission to wanting children, resulting in his making things right, proposing marriage to her! Poor Michelle had left believing Clive would meet up with her later, not realizing he proposed to Bozzio, declaring that she is the true love of his life!

Levon cannot accept Liv’s sacrifice, trying to hold Graves hostage with his gun so that she would be released, but it doesn’t go according to plan. And because of Levon’s actions, he’ll join Liv in a double execution! Graves will have to be stopped or else. Obviously with the news of a fifth season, Liv will turn out okay, but a greater concern will be Angus, Blaine, and the flock. And will the government drop a bomb on Seattle? The whole 50s married couple shtick (something out of a happy smile commercial, selling vacuum cleaners or kitchen items) between Major and Liv in Oregon is purposely corny, while Ravi as the narcissistic diva concerned with his looks as Clive dutifully tries to do his job as a detective provides the typical caricature amusement. But the attempts at humor kind of spar with the melodramatic tone that condemns Liv to the guillotine, something iZombie often undergoes. Fans are used to it, though.

3.5/5