iZombie‘s “Brainless in Seattle, Part 1” delivered on the laughs (there might have been second hand embarrassment and covering of my face on this end), threw more fire into the division between zombies and humans, and made me realize that I’m done talking about Liv. She’s become this empty vessel which the writers can pop in an interesting personality to make us laugh, week after week. But it’s getting old and it’s getting boring.
So after this episode I’m going to focus on the good, the happy, the game changing, and leave Liv Moore behind like she did last season.
Let’s dive into iZombie‘s “Brainless in Seattle, Part 1”!
Why Do We Put Up With Liv?
We’re told that she cares about her friends and her cases, but time and time again she slips into her new brain of the week and never comes out. We only get to see glimpses of the Liv we grew to love in the first two seasons during the first couple minutes of the show and then a couple before the show ends. That’s it. And it’s kind of boring the hell out of me.
Others eat brains all the time. And I’m not talking about basic brains in those tubes. Plenty of others eat legit brains straight from the cut and you don’t see them acting like Liv does. Biggest example is Blaine. You know he eats like a king, prime brain material, yet he’s still the same zombie he’s always been with no changes in sight.
So this is where I hop off the Liv train. I’m not going to spend my time talking about how Liv is a shell with the capability of having the craziest personality dropped into her mind. I’m just going to ride on the comedy train when it comes to her and dedicate myself to everyone else’s journey’s. They’re secondary characters and they get more development than her.
If they manage to give her some development where she actually cares about her friends and not just the hopped up brain she’s on, then great, but I’m done investing in her. Last year I waited patiently for an explanation and kind of understood that she was diving deep into those brains so she didn’t have to face some harsh truths about her life. But this is season 4, people.
If we haven’t seen any changes in Liv’s development/character IN AGESSSSSS, then we’ll never see it. She’ll just be that awesome actress Rose McIver who kills it at transforming herself into different personalities but whose character never actually moves forward in her life.
Let’s Talk About the Secondary Characters aka The Ones Who Actually Get Development
Peyton has never been my favorite character but it’s nice to see her out with the gang and breaking loose. She loves Liv, always will, but she doesn’t have time to marinade in Liv’s brain mood swings. And that choice right there made me see Peyton in a new light.
She ran from Liv when she first found out about her BFF being a zombie, who wouldn’t. But she’s here to stay. She’s here to support her friend, no matter how eccentric she gets while on brains. Peyton won’t sit around with Liv and wallow over a love that never happened (like her I’d rather go out there and dance with Ravi) but she’ll join her in the club and be around if needed.
And why do I love this so much? Because her world doesn’t revolve around Liv. GASP! Shocker, right? All of the secondary characters have worlds that don’t just revolve around the basic female lead. Peyton is working on running the city from a legal point of view, Major is trying to keep the peace, Ravi is experimenting with the cure to the zombie virus, and Clive is working on his relationship with Dale.
They’re the reason why this show stays afloat. They’re the reason I keep coming back week after week. And they’re the reason why I want to stay and learn more about their journeys. So give me more Peyton, Major, Ravi, and Clive…hell…GIVE ME MORE BLAINE!
Favorite Scene from iZombie’s “Brainless in Seattle, Part 1”:
iZombie airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.
