After last week’s gimmick episode, “Killer Queen” wastes no time getting iZombie’s many moving parts back into place. The episode jumps right back into action with Ravi and Liv narrowly escaping after they discover Martin’s basement zombies. Until now, iZombie hasn’t done a great job balancing Liv’s daddy issues, Ravi’s search for the cure, the whole government thing, Freylich kids, Hi, Zombie and…whatever they’re doing to Blaine, but “Killer Queen” forces the season to finally focus on an endgame.
It helps that this week’s murder mystery is self-contained and Liv doesn’t go “full brain” this time around. The entire “drag queen murder” and rainbow brains jello mold makes it feel as though this episode was meant to air during pride month. It’s always enjoyable to see Liv in new outfits and it’s even better when she’s tearing down Ravi by calling him a “British school boy mannequin.”
Still, in an episode that moves a lot of important plot points forward, Liv is given very little to do. She can only passively watch as her father is shot. She’s far removed from Ravi and Major’s Freylich adventures. She wasn’t even invited to Don E’s wedding. She’s also so unaware of what’s going on in her own human smuggling operation it almost seems silly that anyone thought she’d have time to seriously be the next Renegade all those months ago.
Rose McIver has had to do a lot of heavy lifting this season, but if there’s one blessing to Liv’s passive placement in “Killer Queen,” it’s the gift of a classic Major and Ravi mess around. Major’s promotion has left him pretty far-removed from the rest of the gang, so it’s great that he’s finally been given something fun to work with (although you’d think Ravi would mention the whole “Liv’s dad has zombies in his basement and wants to start a war” thing to the guy who’s in charge of the zombie army and has access to insane technology…but…nevermind).
Ravi and Major have always had great bromance chemistry and that’s on full display as they set up their plan. Jude Weng’s direction provides levity to the proceedings even as Ravi finds a truck full of tied up teenagers and gunshots ring out. Ravi and Major get away and Blaine’s goons can’t even identify them. It’s a satisfying escapade that hopefully puts an end to Blaine’s teen smuggling business.
Because, well, Blaine’s full villain makeover could not be more complete. Since the show has all but erased Blaine’s past, it’s almost comical how any character who comes across his path is doomed to death. The second Darcy came running into Blaine’s office, I knew she’d end up being the last Freylich brain he could get his hands on. Darcy was never put on the show to do anything but die, but it’s sad she didn’t get to be more than another bullet point on the list of things that make Blaine a bad guy. It shouldn’t take long for Don E to get suspicious about the circumstances of Darcy’s death, but at this point, he should know what Blaine is about.
and with “Killer Queen,” we also lose Martin, Liv’s father. The show has failed to build real momentum around Martin. He isn’t trustworthy and even in his final moments, it was hard to tell if he really believed Liv’s “we can all get along!” spiel. Was he really going to NA for Liz? Is there more to this crazy idea to start a human-zombie war? The show hasn’t known what to do with Martin, so his death mostly feels like necessary table setting as iZombie gets down to its final two episodes. This season has had a lot going on, but things feel far more focused than they did before.
Stray Observations
- I thought we’d get to see Liv do a drag routine.
- Whatever happened to Clint’s multiple pregnancies storyline?
- Liv finally figures out that her coyote group has been infiltrated. It’s hilarious how out of touch she now is with the group. Her role as Renegade seemed so important in other seasons, but now it’s just another plot point.
- RIP Darcy. You were among the best manic pixie temporary love interests put on a show to teach a man a lesson. Hopefully this makes Don E take Blaine down for good.
- So did the zombies in the basement not try to eat Ravi because they can tell he turns into a zombie once a month? I just…don’t understand why Ravi was afraid? They didn’t seem to care that he was human at all. This is an area where iZombie’s rules don’t make complete sense.
- How many kids is Liv hoarding in that house now? Was no one else looking for all these missing Freylich kids? Was Ravi the only one who noticed they were all missing?
- Hi! I’m Ashley, I’m filling in for LaToya this week!