iZombie – Spanking the Zombie

By: Emily Cross

Major (Robert Buckley) and his team are in a gunfight when Major has another coughing fit. He remedies it with an inhaler, but it’s definitely not getting better. The team is trying to secure a building to rescue a group of hostages. One of Major’s teammates, Otis (Wolfgang Klassen) gets killed on his way to the building. Major makes it up to the rooftop with some serious parkour skills, only to get stabbed several times in the gut. Being a zombie, this isn’t as dire as it should be.

Liv (Rose McIver) and Ravi (Rahul Kohli) are in the morgue, discussing Blaine’s lack of memories. They will have to break the news to Major when he returns that when he takes the cure, he will lose his memories for good. Liv worries that he shouldn’t be going on a mission when his health is this bad, but Ravi assures her that he has a syringe of the cure (not anymore…).

Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) arrives with a new case. There is no crime scene because the murder occurred two weeks ago and was just transferred to Clive’s desk. The victim was Roxanne Greer (Kimberley Shoniker) who died of strangulation. Ravi reveals that he was using Roxanne’s brain as part of his research for the memory cure. Liv is immediately grossed out thinking about that because of Ravi’s testing something could go wrong. In addition, Roxanne was a dominatrix and Liv isn’t looking forward to being on her bossy, sex-crazed brain. The first detective was sure that Roxanne was murdered by a client, but her client list was confidential. Visions are definitely needed in this case so Liv whips up fried brain.

At Roxanne’s sex dungeon, Liv already has the effects of being on dominatrix brain. She bosses Clive around a bit (in a very sexy manner). Clive points out a window that the previous detective thought the killer entered through. They find a remote control with the brand “Spy Tech” on it and find the matching camera hidden under a tissue box. The memory card is missing so Clive theorizes that the killer learned his session was being taped and killed Roxanne because of it. This doesn’t explain the window, though.

Soon, a mask triggers a vision. Liv sees Roxanne in a session with D.A. Baracus (Kurt Evans), the zombie running for mayor of Seattle. Clive loves this, thinking it’s a clear shot to Baracus as the killer.

Major confirms that the mission was a success as Justin (Tongayi Chirisa) removes a bullet from his back. He sees the hostages, now free, thanking other members of his team and knows he is doing the right thing. He then snoops in an ice chest and finds it full of the decapitated heads of the men they killed.

Liv (dressed in the sexiest black outfit she has) and Clive visit Baracus on the campaign trail. Before they approach him, Liv tells Clive that the blue juice soaked brain has her seeing more visions than usual, with nothing to trigger them. But she saw some of Roxanne’s clients so Clive wants her to sit down with a sketch artist. When they speak to Baracus, he tells them that he was at a campaign fundraiser the night of Roxanne’s death.

Later Liv meets with Jimmy (Ryan Beil), the sketch artist, and pretends she saw the suspects on Snapchat and therefore doesn’t have access to the images anymore. She’s overly bossy to Jimmy and they get to work. When Jimmy pulls out his lunch halfway through the session, his spoon triggers a vision. Liv sees the weatherman Johnny Frost (Daran Norris) polishing silverware in a session with Roxanne.

Clive and Liv bring Johnny Frost in and he claims he’s only visited Roxanne for an investigative piece. He also has an alibi: he was on the air at the time of the murder. Like Baracus, he was surprised to learn Roxanne was recording her sessions.

On their way out of the interrogation room, Clive and Liv run into Detective Cavanaugh (Robert Salvador), who knows that they’ve been investigating the Tuttle-Reid murders. Apparently, Harley Johns was seen driving by the Tuttle-Reid house the day before they were murdered and when Cavanaugh went to talk to him, he complained that Seattle PD was harassing him. Cavanaugh tells Clive and Liv to stay away from the case. Obviously that isn’t going to happen, because Clive comes up with a plan to get Harley to talk to Fillmore Graves.

Liv visits Fillmore Graves and tells Vivian (Andrea Savage) and her two compatriots, A.K. Fortesan (Mike Dopud) and Carey Gold (Anjali Jay) about Harley. She also suggests Fillmore Graves should pay him for the information they need. Liv has a vision in the middle of the meeting, one we are not privy to.

Liv visits Jimmy again and gives him the description of the suspect she just saw “on Snapchat.” When Clive bursts in, leaving the door open, Liv sees Attorney Brandt Stone (Ken Marino) and has another vision of him in session with Roxanne. This time there’s something more useful. Stone sees someone spying in through Roxanne’s window and it’s clear this isn’t the first time. Liv runs after Stone and demands to know where he was the night of Roxanne’s murder. Clive moves them to an interrogation room and confirms his alibi (dog groomer). Still, they ask him a few questions, which he expertly evades. They show him the sketches and he identifies one as the peeping Tom (hypothetically, of course).

Don E (Bryce Hodgson) sets up The Scratching Post while Dino (Ryan Jefferson Booth) reads the newspaper. On his way home, he walks past a drug dealer named Tanner (Nathan Barrett). He asks him what utopium goes for these days ($20 for one dose, in case you were wondering) and learns that quality utopium is a relic of a bygone era. Don E reveals that he still has some Lucky U and offers it to the dealer. He accepts and they both go back to The Scratching Post to roll. They play some pretty sick air guitar and Don E scratches the drug dealer to make him a zombie (with his permission).

At the precinct, Liv and Clive are looking through police files on the hunch that peeping Tom had a criminal record when Johnny Frost returns, now being represented by Stone. Johnny has information about Roxanne’s murder, but will only talk if they look the other way on some wrongdoing of Johnny’s. A few days after the murder, Johnny was blackmailed into paying someone ten grand for not releasing footage of his sessions with Roxanne. Yesterday, he received another blackmail email. Clive begins to arrange the drop so that they can catch the blackmailer.

Harley (Andrew Caldwell) arrives at Fillmore Graves, under the impression there is a settlement for his brother’s death and is greeted by Vivian, Carey and Fortesan. They give him a check for ten thousand dollars and ask him about his zombie theories (without revealing their agenda). They ask him for any information his brother passed along that could help them understand what happened at Max Rager. He tells them that zombies have a pulse of about ten beats per minute. He also shows them the picture of a zombie his brother sent him. While they talk, a couple of Fillmore Graves mercenaries break into Harley’s car to bug it.

When Harley gets into his car and takes a call, Vivian, Carey, and Fortesan, along with Liv, listen in. Harley tells a friend that he didn’t tell Fillmore Graves that the Chaos Killer victims are zombies. Now Fillmore Graves knows they need to protect those victims, so Harley and his friends don’t kill them.

Liv meets Ravi at the blackmail drop. On comms, she tells Clive she will tell him later what she found out at Fillmore Graves. They all have their eyes on Johnny because the drop time is approaching. Liv and Ravi hilariously pretend to be a strolling couple (Ravi should really stick to the lab). Before they know it, a bicyclist rides by Johnny and snatches the ransom out of his hand. However, Clive manages to stop him with the ice cream cart and takes him into custody.

At the precinct, Clive has a hard time nailing the perp, James Weckler (Gordon Michael Woolvett), for Roxanne’s murder because the case is thin. He and Liv interrogate James with Liv playing “bad cop” pretty convincingly. She gets Jason to confess Roxanne’s murder.

In the Fillmore Graves locker room, Major feels weird about the decapitated and talks to Justin about it. Justin knows they need the brains and isn’t bothered. When Major has another coughing fit Justin suggests he sees a medic, but Major refuses. After Justin leaves, Major has a pretty bad coughing fit, leaving him unable to reach his inhaler. Justin returns and Major tells him to take him to the police morgue.

At the morgue, Ravi and Liv rush to Major’s side. Ravi wants to inject him with the cure, but Liv thinks that the stab wounds will kill him if he’s human. Liv performs a surgical procedure so that his lungs can drain of fluid. It’s only a temporary fix, but Major needs time for his wounds to heal before he takes the cure.

The Scratching Post has officially opened and is doing great business. Don E is on top of the world.

Meanwhile, Liv and Ravi are keeping watch at Major’s bedside. Liv tells Ravi to go to bed. After he leaves, Major wakes up. She gives him the sad news about the memory cure. He makes her promise to remind him of what they meant to each other once he’s taken the cure. They reflect on their shared past together, and it’s a bittersweet moment. They kiss, but it feels more like an ending than a beginning.

The next morning, Ravi prepares himself for giving Major the cure. He enters Major’s room with the syringe and tells him that he’s healed enough to survive. They all agree that it’s time for Major to take the cure. Ravi explains that the memory loss will be more of a slow fade and might take a couple of days. Liv promises Major that they’re not going anywhere and Ravi injects Major with the cure.