iZombie Recap: “The Hurt Stalker”

iZombie was back last night after a week hiatus and thank the TV gods because, hey, after all that turkey and pie and other good stuff settled in, that hunger for more Liv Moore still lingered, amiright? Even after that last magic-themed episode that everyone but me seemed to be into! (I could attribute this to eating a curmudgeon of a TV critic’s brains, but, I, alas, am not an awesome mystery-solving member of the undead, but just a pale girl with pale hair and bad days.)

ANYWAY, so we were back with an episode loosely named after a Kathryn Bigelow movie that you may or may not have liked. And although it didn’t have the exact same plot as said Bigelow budget film, stalking Liv stalking others instead of following an army bomb squad, it was kinda about setting off some ticking bombs between characters. But was the result explosive in a good, can’t-look-away-unless-you’re-a-cool-guy way? Let’s take a step back and look at aftermath!

BRAINSSSY:

• Glindarita (have agreed to call her this, TMS-ers?) returned!  Even if you don’t like her actions, this character is certainly an interesting antagonist for Liv, especially given her close proximity. (Edit: What does everyone think of Gildarita? Since her name is, as commenters have reminded me, Gilda!)

• The death that started the episode definitely recalled P2 for a hot second, right? Or is that just my terrible horror movie senses kicking in?

• “Your Elon Musk bobblehead in the trash….”

• “What if you have a vision of having sex with Clive? You might see his O face! I bet it’s super angry.” Get your brain out of the gutter, Ravi. Actually, don’t. Because a) it’s where I live and b) keeping it there might make your brains less appealing to zombies (this is me just guessing, guys).

• Speaking of Ravi, I don’t like or watch Game of Thrones for my own reasons, but I did like him cheekily trying to get Clive to dork out about it. And him making up the worst fake name while pretending to be Liv’s husband (should have just went with Princess Sparkles).

• Oh hai, Natalie Brown of The Strain looking nothing like her vampire character on The Strain! Can you say undead girl party time … even if her character was a baddie in the end? (P.S. – If you want to know more about Natalie’s time on the show and how much she also loves Rahul Kohli, I talked to her for a recent podcast!)

• “I’m neither underwhelmed or overwhelmed. I guess I’m whelmed.” Was this a 10 Things I Hate About You reference? Anyone?

• Seriously, though, I bet Clive’s po’ boys were super good and worth putting brains and more hot sauce on.

• I obviously couldn’t stop thinking of Zombie is the New Black jokes (Dandelion is dead!) when Liv was in jail briefly and I’m not proud of this. But, hey, at least this slight nod (or was it a nod?) was less obvious than the Scream Queens one a while back.

• We’ve all been waiting for the Gilda/Rita bomb to go off and it’s about near there now that Liv is suspicious of Rita, who she doesn’t realize is also Gilda. That ending, with Liv getting Rita’s sexts was pretty hard to watch and it’s going to be only the beginning, I imagine.

• One more thing. I’m really liking how they are slowly, but surely dealing with the effects all these brains are having on Liv’s own. It’s only natural that she should be struggling with finding herself, her own opinions and views amidst all these unnatural thoughts.

NOT SO BRAINSSSY:

• “If this case were any easier, I would have slept with it in college.”

• This is less of a note about the episode and more of a note about life, but don’t go through your significant other’s phone, even if you’re suspicious. Snooping will just make you feel worse about whatever you’re feeling anxious about and could result in major (Major?) misunderstandings and even unnecessary heartbreak. Case in point: Liv is all jealous about Rita’s texts, but she doesn’t know that Rita and Major haven’t actually done anything since they’ve gotten back together.

• “Badge bunny”? Is that a thing? Also, let’s agree to stop calling ladies bunnies when we can? On that note, I was not into all the shaming terms Liv used for the women that she thought Major might into.

• No Peyton this week, but a lame cover of “Everybody Hurts”? Sigh. Hope she turns up next week to comfort Liv better than that overused song can.

iZombie airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. Canadians can catch it on Shomi.

(images via The CW)

Emily Gagne (@emilygagne) is one of the founding members of Cinefilles, a site for wannabe female film and TV critics, as well as an admitted heroine addict. She may not have super strength, or be able to make a stake on command, but she can slay you with her rhetorical devices, endless knowledge of Final Girls, and passion for geek girl scoop.

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