iZombie: He Blinded Me with Science
March 23, 2016 3:14 PM - Season 2, Episode 15 - Subscribe
While investigating the murder of a research scientist who was recently demoted at her job, Liv and Detective Babineaux are shocked to learn where she had been employed. Meanwhile, Blaine pays Ravi a visit at the morgue, and Liv discovers something new about Drake.
"Blaine's crack about having to let out the crotch of those pants proved to me that Anders can sell any line, no matter how cheap."
I spend a fair amount of time each episode just marveling at David Anders. There's a synergy involved in this sort of thing -- writers tend to produce better work for talented actors who just totally embody the character -- and so I think he benefits from the writing. But, as you point out, even lines that are mediocre and would be eye-rolling from another actor are great from him.
"My only grump here is that I can't believe we haven't seen Liv confront Major about banging her roommate."
My sense is that she's totally taking him at his word -- that he broke up with her and she kept texting him and stuff and that he had no idea that she had moved in with Liv under a different name. But it is unrealistic that we didn't see her talking to him about it, comparing notes and trying to figure out just how crazy this woman really is, at which point maybe Major's story might have broken down. I dunno.
I'd actually forgotten that Drake was an undercover cop, even though that was revealed in, like, the previous episode (which, to be fair, was a month ago). So he's been infiltrating Mr. Boss's gang for a long time and because he got inadvertently turned into a zombie he was pulled into Blaine's orbit and now is forced to spy on Boss for Blaine. It's not like he can tell his police superiors that he's now a zombie. And I guess that Liv knows that Drake gets his brains from Blaine and is okay with that, but she doesn't think he has any other association with him? And just works as a bouncer? Seriously, I can't help but wonder that if Major had talked to him before he drugged him, Drake wouldn't have just said, "dude, go ahead and knock me out and put me in a freezer, my life's a horribly complicated mess and I'm having to lie to everyone about how I'm lying to everyone else."
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:40 PM on March 24, 2016
I spend a fair amount of time each episode just marveling at David Anders. There's a synergy involved in this sort of thing -- writers tend to produce better work for talented actors who just totally embody the character -- and so I think he benefits from the writing. But, as you point out, even lines that are mediocre and would be eye-rolling from another actor are great from him.
"Yeah, back on the brain gang...dang."That's a good line but it was a thing of beauty from Anders. And stuff like this:
"We didn't know anything!"...he delivers just right, not underlining it, his timing's perfect.
"Given past experience, I'm sure that's true."
"My only grump here is that I can't believe we haven't seen Liv confront Major about banging her roommate."
My sense is that she's totally taking him at his word -- that he broke up with her and she kept texting him and stuff and that he had no idea that she had moved in with Liv under a different name. But it is unrealistic that we didn't see her talking to him about it, comparing notes and trying to figure out just how crazy this woman really is, at which point maybe Major's story might have broken down. I dunno.
I'd actually forgotten that Drake was an undercover cop, even though that was revealed in, like, the previous episode (which, to be fair, was a month ago). So he's been infiltrating Mr. Boss's gang for a long time and because he got inadvertently turned into a zombie he was pulled into Blaine's orbit and now is forced to spy on Boss for Blaine. It's not like he can tell his police superiors that he's now a zombie. And I guess that Liv knows that Drake gets his brains from Blaine and is okay with that, but she doesn't think he has any other association with him? And just works as a bouncer? Seriously, I can't help but wonder that if Major had talked to him before he drugged him, Drake wouldn't have just said, "dude, go ahead and knock me out and put me in a freezer, my life's a horribly complicated mess and I'm having to lie to everyone about how I'm lying to everyone else."
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:40 PM on March 24, 2016
The scene with Vaughn and Gilda in the lab... It was one of those scenes that had me talking to the tv. "Oh wow, he's going to leave her." "OMG he left her!" And then the gut punch of her coming up to his office, still human but aware of her fate. Oh man... I don't care for either of them (since, duh, they're villains) but that scene got me.
posted by bluloo at 4:15 PM on March 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by bluloo at 4:15 PM on March 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I'm really curious to see the repercussions of this. At the very least, she's now a zombie.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 6:31 PM on March 24, 2016
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 6:31 PM on March 24, 2016
One of the great things about this season has been the way any one of Vaughn, Rita, Blaine or Mr. Boss could end up as the ultimate villain of the arc, and even now that things are building to the climax I still wouldn't hazard a guess on which one it's going to be.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:24 PM on March 24, 2016
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:24 PM on March 24, 2016
What an episode! And David Anders really made me actually sympathize for Blaine, again! I wonder who Rita will go to for brains, but I assume she doesn't know about Blaine, and Liv just gave her a black eye... I may have missed it, but did Blaine have any reasons to immediately throw Drake out to Major as his next target? And who knows that they are dating? Besides maybe Rita?
AV Club gave it an A-!
posted by numaner at 8:21 AM on March 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
AV Club gave it an A-!
posted by numaner at 8:21 AM on March 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I may have missed it, but did Blaine have any reasons to immediately throw Drake out to Major as his next target?
Earlier he said something to the effect of "what's the point of having an inside man if it doesn't get me a heads-up." So he presumably thinks Drake was somewhere between ineffective and deliberately not informing him, and having decided to let them continue to think he's dead it's actually better for him if Drake goes away.
posted by phearlez at 8:25 AM on March 25, 2016
Earlier he said something to the effect of "what's the point of having an inside man if it doesn't get me a heads-up." So he presumably thinks Drake was somewhere between ineffective and deliberately not informing him, and having decided to let them continue to think he's dead it's actually better for him if Drake goes away.
posted by phearlez at 8:25 AM on March 25, 2016
The Rita/Vaughn scenes were really intense. I felt something would happen to Vaughn given how over the top he was in the earlier scenes with Major and Liv but didn't at all expect it to play out the way it did.
posted by plastic_animals at 9:02 AM on March 25, 2016
posted by plastic_animals at 9:02 AM on March 25, 2016
So much fun to watch; I haven't been this entertained by villains since season one of Hemlock Grove.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 9:29 PM on March 25, 2016
posted by lefty lucky cat at 9:29 PM on March 25, 2016
I would like to say that Vaughn, Mr. Boss, and Blaine are three very wonderful, very different villains.
I think all of the characters have become a lot more interesting in the second season as everyone has grown into their roles, but any one of these villains could carry an entire show.
posted by absalom at 10:29 AM on March 27, 2016
I think all of the characters have become a lot more interesting in the second season as everyone has grown into their roles, but any one of these villains could carry an entire show.
posted by absalom at 10:29 AM on March 27, 2016
From the AV Article:
Blaine shows he has actual affection for his underlings and concern for the zombie population of Seattle when he gives his underlings the keys to his funeral home business so they can keep the brains coming, all while warning them away from cashing in on the (very, very) large stockpile of Utopium in their presence.
He had just eaten the brains of a guy biking across the country for charity. I'm surprised that the writer didn't catch the fact that all of that was obviously the effect of the good-guy brains Blaine had just eaten. Although, I guess that doesn't explain why he already had the packets made up.
Also: Shout out to Chief. He's so great.
posted by absalom at 10:34 AM on March 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Blaine shows he has actual affection for his underlings and concern for the zombie population of Seattle when he gives his underlings the keys to his funeral home business so they can keep the brains coming, all while warning them away from cashing in on the (very, very) large stockpile of Utopium in their presence.
He had just eaten the brains of a guy biking across the country for charity. I'm surprised that the writer didn't catch the fact that all of that was obviously the effect of the good-guy brains Blaine had just eaten. Although, I guess that doesn't explain why he already had the packets made up.
Also: Shout out to Chief. He's so great.
posted by absalom at 10:34 AM on March 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
"He had just eaten the brains of a guy biking across the country for charity. I'm surprised that the writer didn't catch the fact that all of that was obviously the effect of the good-guy brains Blaine had just eaten. Although, I guess that doesn't explain why he already had the packets made up."
The timing of that was ambiguous because he made the packets and started his speech to them before he had begun eating, but then started eating and IIRC he got more obviously kindhearted through the rest of the scene. So I'm not sure how to interpret that. One part was him and the other the brain? Maybe he'd nibbled on the brain earlier? I don't know. But I don't blame the reviewer for interpreting it that way because with Liv, with whom we're most accustomed to seeing these brain effects, she never instantly has a personality change. It's always in the next scene with her, implying that some time has passed.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:26 PM on March 27, 2016
The timing of that was ambiguous because he made the packets and started his speech to them before he had begun eating, but then started eating and IIRC he got more obviously kindhearted through the rest of the scene. So I'm not sure how to interpret that. One part was him and the other the brain? Maybe he'd nibbled on the brain earlier? I don't know. But I don't blame the reviewer for interpreting it that way because with Liv, with whom we're most accustomed to seeing these brain effects, she never instantly has a personality change. It's always in the next scene with her, implying that some time has passed.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:26 PM on March 27, 2016
Wow, Vaughn's face of "sorry!" with a smirk as he left Rita to die. You fucker. You deserve to be attacked by your daughter.
It was kind of hilarious at how the scientist talk was so unusual when Liv is a doctor and you'd think you'd hear that sort of thing out of her more. Especially given their research on zombieism.
Liv with a blonde wig and normal skin....honestly, I had a very hard time recognizing her. I wonder if that sort of thing allows Rose McIver to be unrecognized in public too?
Poor Drake.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:16 AM on March 30, 2016
It was kind of hilarious at how the scientist talk was so unusual when Liv is a doctor and you'd think you'd hear that sort of thing out of her more. Especially given their research on zombieism.
Liv with a blonde wig and normal skin....honestly, I had a very hard time recognizing her. I wonder if that sort of thing allows Rose McIver to be unrecognized in public too?
Poor Drake.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:16 AM on March 30, 2016
It's not like he can tell his police superiors that he's now a zombie.
Oh come on. If you can't tell Sheriff Mars you're a zombie, whom can you tell?
posted by ubiquity at 1:34 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh come on. If you can't tell Sheriff Mars you're a zombie, whom can you tell?
posted by ubiquity at 1:34 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
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It's a little convoluted but sort of par for the course for this show, where it's hard to remember who has disclosed to X but not Y.
Blaine's crack about having to let out the crotch of those pants proved to me that Anders can sell any line, no matter how cheap.
I'm glad this got picked up for next season but I haven't seen anywhere how many episodes they ordered (or perhaps that's still being negotiated).
My only grump here is that I can't believe we haven't seen Liv confront Major about banging her roommate. The only reason not to is if she thinks he knew all along that it was her roommie - and there's no reason why she shouldn't think that, albeit with a bit of confusion about the name thing - but if that's the case she should be insanely angry at him for it.
posted by phearlez at 8:41 AM on March 24, 2016