iZombie Recap: “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter”

iZombie is back! Again!

Seriously, though, guys, what was with that, uh, multi-week hiatus that came after the midseason premiere in January? It was such a tease considering we’d already gone about a month without the show already! But, actually, this first episode back after the hiatus actually may be even more of a tease and for a whole different reason. Yes, I’m talking about sex (baby).

As you probably gathered from the title of the episode (“Fifty Shades of Grey Matter”), this week’s new iZombie brings all sorts of sex appeal. Not only does it focus on an erotica-based case (Liv eats the brains of a romance writer!), but there are definitely some sensually inclined moments between characters (new and old!) that I will get to in a hot (oh so hot!) sec.

Enough with the foreplay, let’s do this thing!

BRAINSSSY:

• WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULAR IZOMBIE REVIEW TO STATE SOMETHING OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE: THIS IS THE KRISTEN BELL EPISODE. A.K.A THIS IS THE EPISODE WHERE KRISTEN BELL MAKES A VOICE CAMEO AS HERSELF AND READS A FAUX ROMANCE NOVEL CALLED THE UPRIGHT POSITION AND SAYS, “I’M GONNA SHOW YOU WHY THEY CALL IT A COCK PIT.”

• “I’ve always felt a connection to her.” – Liv on Kristen Bell, getting all meta on us and *turns into a Marshmallow again*

• Not only do we get the unofficial return of Veronica Mars in this episode, but we also get the official return of Peyton! What’s more, Peyton is not just in one throwaway scene, but several important story-based ones, suggesting we’ll see more of her going forth. (Fingers crossed at least!)

• Speaking of much-anticipated moments, can we talk about the whole conversation where Liv asks Ravi and Major if they’ve ever wrestled and seen who came out on top??! So many ships be sailing after this episode!

• “He really fills out those fitted shirts…” “Uh huh.”

• In general, how great is Rose McIver in “sexy librarian” mode? She really is able to pull off the quick transitions from awkwardly, matter-of-factly flirting to flawlessly recovering from whatever weirdness said flirting caused. (See: the Ravi/Liv baseball chat.)

• Liv’s flirty moments with Drake? Particularly saucy (hello, handcuffs and me getting all hot and bothered!). I was actually feeling them a lot until the “roofie” comment. It’s never appropriate to give someone an altering substance (brains or booze!) in an attempt to make them want to have sex with you when you’re unsure if they would otherwise.

• Continuing on the flirty note, how are we feeling about Peyton and Blaine? Because as hot as their interactions are in this episode (hey, couch sex!), they could have major (not Major) consequences in the future (are we absolutely sure zombieism can’t be passed sexually?).

• Can I just give another shout-out to the title of this episode and, quite frankly, all the iZombie episodes this season? To give you a taste of what pun is still to come: “Physician, Heal Thy Selfie” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind.”

• Another shout-out goes to the women behind this episode (director Mairzee Almas and writer Deidre Mangan)! I so love how iZombie gives women in the industry a chance to shine.

• Final shout-out to the general sexual openness of this episode. Almost everyone gets some (see: Dale and Clive’s allusions to future sexy times, Liv and Peyton’s actual sexy times), except for Major and Ravi (they were too busy running around in my dreams).

NOT-SO BRAINSSSY:

• Okay, I’m still getting over the part where Major has to say goodbye to Minor. As someone who lost a beloved pet this past year (I miss you, Charlie), I can barely take anything involving dogs dying/getting sent away, and this was a particularly tough one to shake. I actually took a screenshot of them on the bus, but I didn’t want to edit it because it made me emotional (sorry, guys).

• “We can’t all look like we were created in a lab by 14-year-old boys, can we?” Ugh, I hate Weird Science and Weird Science references.

• Someone’s gotta pay (Pey?) for breaking Peyton’s heart and I’m sure that if Ravi finds out what Blaine’s done, he’s going to be going straight to the zombie bank. Which could be a great moment for the show, but also scary because … RAVI!!

(Images via The CW) 

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