iZombie "Liv and Let Clive" Review and 4-Episode Test: I'm Buying Everything You're Selling

iZombie S01E04: "Liv and Let Clive"

iZombie has a relatively small, but strong ensemble cast, and so far everyone has been orbiting around Liv, who sits at the center of the series' universe. "Liv and Let Clive" set out to change that by forging new bonds between Ravi and Major so that Liv didn't have to act as the sole bridge between their characters. Their roommate bromance, which Liv helped orchestrate after an awkward run-in with Major—who was testing the laws of gravity using only a towel and what I assume was a lot of double-sided tape—and his new lady friend Corinne, is already proving to be one of the show's strongest assets thanks to the chemistry between Robert Buckley and Rahul Kohli. Their new living arrangement is also an easy way for the series to include Major in storylines he wouldn't otherwise be in without it feeling too contrived. And I don't think anyone is going to argue against more Buckley.

In addition to his new status as Ravi's roommate, I suspect that Major's work at the halfway house will also continue to play into the rest of the season in a subtle way now that we know what Blaine is actually up to. We took a brief break from his story last week, but we learned this week that he's been murdering people he thinks no one will miss or turning them into zombies which he then forces to work for him or pay for his brain delivery services. As despicable as it is, you really have to admire how quickly Blaine has put this entire operation, which is run out of a place called Meat Cute (seriously), together. He's got a good head on his shoulders, that one.

Blaine is smart enough not to turn people who can put his operation in jeopardy, either by starting their own business or offing him and taking over the one he's built from the ground up. Perhaps the only hiccup I foresee in Blaine's grand scheme is that he didn't count on Eddie and Jerome having people who would notice they were missing. Based on what we've seen and what we know about Major, he doesn't seem to give up very easily, especially when he cares about people. His constant checking in with Jerome—or who he believed to be Jerome—shows that he's not going to be the easiest guy to shake. I have a feeling this will all come into play somewhere down the line.

As the title suggests, "Liv and Let Clive" also focused heavily on Clive, putting him in the spotlight in a way that added depth to his character while also deepening his existing bond with Liv. After Liv ingested the brains of Sammy Wong, a former member of a gang known as the Blue Cobras, she began to see flashes of Clive, who, unbeknownst to her, used to be undercover with the gang during his vice days. Because Sammy, who was in witness protection prior to his death, suffered from anxiety and paranoia, Liv began showing similar traits, which led her to doubt Clive's intentions.

She was certain he was a dirty cop and was dead set on getting to the bottom of the case, despite Clive's insistence that she leave it alone. This led to a hilarious scene that is, in a good way, straight out of the Veronica Mars playbook. Liv ventured to a video store and pretended to be a slutty ditz looking for a guy who's name she caught in a vision. The entire scene gave us a look at what Liv and Ravi: Private Eye would look like. It's good for Ravi to get our of the morgue every once in a while, which is another added benefit to his new living situation, but he's not necessarily the best detective. Like, he's actually kind of terrible, but still, I wouldn't be against more of these types of excursions for these two characters.

Knowing that Clive used to work in vice—Liv definitely knew and even went so far as to meet with Clive's former partner in the department—one would think Liv would have considered he had been undercover in all of the flashes of memory. But anxiety and paranoia do funny things to the brain, so it's also not difficult to see why she wasn't able to make that connection. The case might not have been the most exciting thing in the world—a large part of it actually wrapped up off-screen if that tells you anything—but it did help to further establish Liv's bond with Clive and elevate their relationship from a working partnership to something that, while not quite resembling friendship, is at least in the same realm. I'd called them friend-ish at this point. Maybe Major and Ravi should invite him over for poker night to really bring this entire little ensemble together without the use of dead bodies.

This should probably go without saying, but the TV.com 4-Episode Test requires that I say it: I highly recommend sticking with iZombie. But will you?

thekaitling:list:izombie-4-episode-test-will-you-stick-around-after-this/

POSTMORTEM

– A little more backstory about Clive: He got in too deep when he was undercover so that no one wanted to work with him afterward. That's why he moved over to homicide.

– Liv's brother is still totally unnecessary. I wouldn't mind if he never returned again.

– I hope the different ways to eat zombie brains that Blaine's partner is creating continues. I don't know why, but I really love it.

– "I made you a zombie, but I would never make you a whore."

– "Her life is like the whore-y version of that movie Memento."

– "Brains are for closers!"

– "I know kung-fu!"

– "You're telling me back when Clive worked vice he had a mustache?!" I knew I liked Ravi for a reason. He focuses on what's really important.