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iZombie: Dirt Nap Time

“Sometimes we work so hard solving murders that we forget to pat ourselves on the back.”

Halfway through last season the major arcs were starting to intersect in some really exciting ways, with the big bads of the season tying the individual stories of most of the major characters together, and the result was kind of incredible. That type of intricate storytelling hasn’t been on display for most of season three thus far, and as we head into second part of the season it’s starting to look like things will remain mostly segregated for the time being.

While it wasn’t the most pulse-pounding episode, nor was it particularly cohesive, ‘Dirt Nap Time’ does set up some interesting plot strands, presumably to be explored over the remainder of the season.

The first of these is the quest to find out who stole the zombie cure. The main suspect at the beginning of the episode is Blaine, but that seems too obvious and I think I believe him when he says he didn’t take it. Is it just me or does Blaine seem genuinely broken up right now? He was off his game, and that was before his business was taken right from under him and he got shot in the stomach by one of his father’s lackeys. I almost feel sorry for him. Can he talk his way out of this one?

I don’t think Don E was the one to take the last doses of the cure either. Like he said, if he had gotten his hands on them he’d be off living the zombie high life, not lugging boxes of booze around. Who does that leave as potential suspects? A lot of readers on here have pegged FG as the ones responsible, which is probably the case. They have just as much interest in keeping zombies around as Blaine or Don E, and even more resources at their fingertips to steal the cure from under Ravi’s nose.

It seems like things with FG may turn sour soon, and that’s ignoring the theory that they stole the cure. Major’s decision to fake his zombie-ism to stay a part of the organisation sort of makes sense given how limited his options are in the real world, but it’s also kind of stupid. It’s only a matter of time before he’s found out, and I don’t think they’ll take the news well when they find out Major’s been lying about his zombie status. As nice as he is, there’s only so much Justin can do to protect his friend when the shit inevitably hits the fan.

Justin had serious chemistry with Liv, though. I enjoyed their scenes together, and it was nice that this week’s brain was more of a help to Liv on her date than a hindrance, especially considering the pain in the ass she was in the last episode. Maybe it was a bit unfair to ask Major to pass on their love notes, though?

I made a small note in my review of the previous episode that the few discussions of the dominatrix case from ‘Spanking the Zombie’ weren’t all that important, simply a means to make the world of Seattle’s crime catchers tie together. I certainly didn’t expect it to result in the birth of another multi-episode plot. After butting heads with the suspected dominatrix killer James Weckler’s defense attorney (played by Adam Kaufman who will always be that jerk Parker from Buffy to me), Peyton has to decide if she is to join forces with him after Weckler hangs himself when high powered attorney Donald Throne steals the case. I’m not sure what to make of all this yet, and I have no idea if it will relate to any of the zombie hoodoo elsewhere, but it’s nice to see Peyton head up a plot like this solo. She needs some more juicy material that doesn’t involve a love triangle.

Plus

Not sure what to make of the case this week. It was cool to see 90210’s Shenae Grimes, but the details and the victim weren’t all that interesting.

Was that a fun call-out to the pilot with Justin going full on zombie and chasing Harley Johns’ car and hopping onto the bumper? It was cool regardless, though Johns now has evidence of zombies to help rile up the angry masses.

Speaking of full-on zombie mode, was Liv turning all red-eyed at the beginning of the episode the first time she’s done it this season?

He Said, She Said

Liv: “This is Blaine’s fault, not yours. If he hadn’t been faking his memory loss, I would have taken the cure months ago.”
I loved Liv’s reaction when Major told her he gave the cure to Natalie. She was understanding and placed no blame on him. She’s the coolest.

Clive: “Something? Nothing?”
Ravi: “I can think of one way we can figure it out.”
Liv: “Who, me?!”

Most of what happened in ‘Dirt Nap Time’ was fascinating to watch unfold, though it didn’t feel as conclusive as it could have been. I think there are some more exciting times ahead, though, and what transpired in this episode made me long for things to start blowing up. Now that video evidence of zombies in action is in the hands of one of Seattle’s biggest anti-zombie nuts, it looks like things are headed that way, and fast.

3 out of 5 sock puppets.

Originally posted at PandaTV.

5 comments:

  1. Parker! Of course. I thought he looked familiar.

    There were several clues before that the dominatrix case is not solved for good, but nothing definitive.

    Rose McIver is really great at playing characters who would normally come out as super-annoying, but here actually look cute.

    I wrote before that FG could've known about the cure, because Ravi and Liv mentioned it in front of Justin. But it seems that he didn't tell anyone, which makes a case against FG much less convincing.

    Of course, it's possible that Justin is not as nice as he seems to be — maybe he's on some nice brain? Anyway, I can't think of another way of bringing FG back into the game. And they have to get rid of him somehow — after all, Liv and Major are so damn perfect for each other.

    I agree about Donnie — he's not the thief. If not FG, who's left? Blaine? Possible, I mean, the guy convincingly faked total memory loss for quite some time. And he mentioned having a lot of money — maybe he meant still unsold cure?

    Who else knew? The cure made it appearance in Season 2, was there anybody else who knew about it? I can't remember anything like it.

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  2. With 3 plotlines running now no wonder the case of the week does not get a lot of screen time and is mostly forgettable.

    Wonder if Blaine will die and revert to zombie again. Would make the zombie cure flawed and maybe allow us a couple of eps with human Liv without deleting the entire premise of the series.

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  3. Isn't "Some like it hot mess" the 6th episode?

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  4. You're right, Anonymous. I fixed it. Thanks.

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  5. I cant remember any of the episode..Forgive me i was distracted by Parker from Buffy. He is still a douche...Even when playing a seemingly normal character.

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