The first step is admitting you have a problem.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
If you’ve ever wondered how far Major will fall and if anything would turn him back towards the light side, this episode is for you. It’s been heartbreaking and fascinating to watch his journey. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Major’s arc is far and away the breakout one of the series. He’s gone dark, and while I don’t think he’s out of the woods yet, he’s taking a step back. It should be a slow transition — if it happens at all. They’re already on the right track by making Major’s final straw buying drugs from a former shelter kid. That made much more sense than Liv finally getting through to him.
With the brains of a country singer flowing through her digestive system, Liv got in touch with her feelings. They once more relied on stereotypical humor more than they needed to, but the way Liv applied the brains to her life was heartfelt and sweet. She came to an epiphany about Major and next steps, and we saw Liv in there too — not only Lacy.
As fun as it is to watch Liv interact with all the guys in her life, it’s a different dynamic with Peyton. Rose McIver and Aly Michalka have tremendous chemistry, and I didn’t know how much I missed seeing them hang out. Their reunion scene was so warm and fuzzy and sweet. In fact, McIver nailed it when it came to making emotions roll off the screen. Liv’s speech to Major was well-written, but McIver made it bittersweet by infusing it with just the right inflection. It possessed the same sort of sadness and heaviness Lowell’s death did in Season 1.
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photo Gallery:
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
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iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
iZombie: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” Photos
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Peyton’s fitting back into the picture perfectly with her new Utopium initiative, too. Her offering so many deals served well to give us a look at Peyton in action and to tell us how scary Stacey Boss is. And then Blaine popping up? Forget about it. It’s so clever and because he’s a puzzle piece in the Utopium game, it didn’t feel like a stretch for him to cross paths with her.
Blaine has so many balls in the air that make him interesting. He’s trying to figure out the formula for the tainted Utopium, he’s helping Peyton in order to get Boss out of the picture so he can move in as Seattle’s kingpin, and now he has to worry about some of his wealthy clients going missing. He keeps busy. I like seeing so much of his day-to-day business interactions and how his minions work with him. It’s kind of great that tongueless guy is still around.
Everyone in the primary cast got equal attention in this episode, including Ravi and Clive. The duo doesn’t get enough screen time in general, but I’ll take what I can get. Clive got to interact with someone new for a change and seeing Clive happy and getting charmed by a lady was basically the best. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling on his behalf. We need to see more of him apart from his work with Liv. And Ravi killed it by telling Major what’s what. He’s so often in the supportive and funny friend role, which is lovely, but showing him put Major in his place reminds us Ravi isn’t a pushover. Plus, he named the dog Minor. I mean, come on.
One final thought: When are we going to check in with Liv’s family again? That thread has sort of been dropped since the season premiere.
With Liv going full on cowgirl, this week’s iZombie had the potential to be cheesy. Though some of Liv’s dialogue was indeed overly bumpkin — you can be a country music singer without talking that way — her turn as a country singer put her in touch with her feelings and gave her the courage to talk to Major. That combined with some fantastic character interactions all around made this a strong and memorable episode.
