iZombie is not the latest hot product from Apple, but a tv series based on a comic book series that I don’t know. The zombies in iZombie are not the mindless eating machines that audiences are familiar with, but rather vampires who need brains instead of blood to survive. Unfortunately because they are not mindless, but retain their personality before they were turned, they face ethical dilemmas since getting brains equals becoming a murderer or other unsavory choices. iZombie primarily focuses on Liv, who uses her professional skills to become a morgue assistant, get a steady supply of brains and solve crimes.
Rose McIver plays Liv. I am actually a Rose McIver fan, who is usually the best part of anything that she is in such as the little sister in The Lovely Bones. Saorise Ronan is no slouch so for Rose McIver to steal the show is no small feat. Overall iZombie’s cast is pretty solid.
I think that it is more fun to watch a bunch of iZombie episodes in one sitting than week to week since some of the plot points are stronger than others. iZombie is great at creating multiple conspiracies and villains, has terrific fight scenes and is great at surprising the audience, but suffers from two annoying tropes: the thwarted love interest and keeping a secret from said love interest.
iZombie is at its weakest in the relationship department. Epic things are literally going on around Liv, and she is in her own world absorbed by her relationships, which I don’t think Liv would do considering how she has chosen to live her undead life. The fact that Liv hasn’t actively seemed interested in the cops’ role in Blaine’s zombie apocalypse is just bad writing, especially since she cares deeply about stopping Blaine. Also the fact that everyone is better at disguising the zombie identity than Liv needs to be explicitly addressed. Why is she hiding it/not hiding it? If iZombie can resist making Liv too emo and selfish, the series shows more promise and pep than the average supernatural weekly police procedural.