iZombie is back in action! Season 3 is now upon us, so join me every week in recapping the latest episodes. Hope you enjoy!
– SPOILER WARNING –
The episode begins with a short recap of the events that took place in the Season 2 finale. I won’t go into detail but you can read my Season 1&2 Review here. We start out with Vivian giving Liv, Clive, and Major info on what to say to the police, and then the episode jumps to Ravi, Peyton, and Blain being interviewed after the events that took place involving them.
Liv, Clive, Major, Ravi, and Peyton have a discussion afterward about the night’s events. Liv, Major, and Clive agree to talk with Vivian the next day and ask her what she meant by a “zombie homeland” in Seattle. They find out that a zombie island is being built specifically for people like Liv and Vivian. A school is mentioned, leading to the information that there are zombie children. Clive sees a child he obviously knows, and they hug. The kid looks at Liv and says she should “tan and dye”.
Major is still being confronted about his Chaos Killer identity, in the forms of big signs like graffiti on his house, to the nickname on his coffee cup.
Blaine is confronted by Don. E about his “amnesia”. It seems as if Blaine’s hiding something, but it isn’t clear what. When taking bodies out of the freezer, Don. E finds a body under a tarp. It’s Blaine’s dad! Blaine is handling a brain and listening to Rob Thomas (after his hilarious cameo and death in the Season 2 finale) when Peyton arrives to talk. Blaine assures her that if she needs anything, he is always available to help her. At this point, Ravi isn’t exactly happy with either, as there was a bit of a love triangle last season.
Meanwhile, a new body arrives at the morgue, and Liv & Ravi are called to investigate a murder. The man was shot, and has had three fingernails removed, as well as a Max Rager can stuck in his jacket. A license plate gives away that this was the father of the boy from the beginning. Vivian is informed and tearfully talks to the class while some rock music plays.
– REVIEW –
This was a pretty solid season opener. I’ll get into its problems in a bit, but this premiere was great. It had tremendous pacing, and the writing was very good as well. The new “zombie army” arc is really interesting, and I’m excited to see where this heads. The other subplots in this episode are also compelling.
However, there are a bit too many subplots for the episode’s own good. I enjoy seeing my favorite characters back again, but there is so much to get caught up in that I feel that it might get confusing. This has happened before for me, with shows like Once Upon a Time and The Walking Dead, shows that both jumped the shark and gradually got worse. Mind you, I still watch TWD, but I haven’t felt a definite need to in a while. I hope that iZombie doesn’t go down that road, but there’s always a chance.
Overall, the Season 3 opener of iZombie was solid. It has issues, but it works in many ways, too, and I’m excited to see where the season is going. “Heaven Just Got A Little Bit Smoother” earns an 8/10.
