It’s been a long, hard wait but iZombie has finally returned to The CW for Season 3! After all the fun countdown pics from the cast on Twitter, there was no choice but to be on the edge of our seats.
In episode 1, “Heaven Just Got a Little Bit Smoother”, we start out where we ended the previous season: the Super Max party has gone super south, Blaine saved Peyton from Mr. Boss’ men (to the heartbreak of Ravi), Major has joined Team Z, and Filmore-Graves has purchased Super Max to make Seattle the capital of the soon-to-be-zombified world. Oh yeah, and Matchbox 20 needs a new lead singer.
Filmore-Graves cleans up the aftermath of the party with explosive precision, but the writers don’t make it clear whether Liv has decided to side with the mercenary company of zombies. Meanwhile, Ravi, Peyton, and Blaine are interviewed by Seattle PD as to what exactly happened during Peyton’s rescue.
Liv tries to deal with having killed Drake, but at least she isn’t alone. Her living room is full of troubled friends who have had an equally hard night. Clive is struggling with zombies being real, Peyton is recovering from the kidnapping, Ravi is caught up in thoughts of Peyton and Blaine’s relationship (or at least what he imagines it might be), and Major feels guilt over not being with new zombie Natalie when she unfreezes. Liv decides it’s important that the group has no more secrets and reveals her conversation with Vivian (the head of Filmore-Graves). They will decide what to do as a group after the meeting Vivian has set up.
Blaine returns to Shady Plots and runs into Don E., who is a tad upset about being shot. Don E. accuses Blaine of faking his memory loss to win over Peyton, and does not believe Blaine as he steadily begins to understand Shady Plots is actually his business. Leaving Blaine to take in this information, Don E. heads downstairs to exact his revenge for Blaine not giving him back his money.
Ravi and Major head home to see “Chaos Killer” scrawled on their home in red paint. Later, Major finds the barista at a coffee shop has written “Chaos Killer” on his order and he wonders how he’ll find a job now that he’s been publicly accused of being a serial killer.
Clive, Major, and Liv meet up outside of Filmore-Graves Enterprises, where a group of military men run by chanting about how they cannot die unless they are shot in the eye. The group speculates whether these are new zombified soldiers. Clive gets a lesson on how brains impacts the personality of the zombie when Liv and Major taunt Clive for being late by military (or train conductor) standards.
The meeting with Vivian reveals that the supposed victims of the Chaos Killer have come forward to blame Max Rager for imprisoning them after they refused to buy stocks in the company. This fully clears Major- except in the eyes of the public. We also learn that Filmore-Graves is preparing for “D-Day”, or “Discovery Day”, when they will reveal the existence of zombies to the public. Filmore-Graves believes that this will give zombies an advantage in the war against humans (who undoubtedly won’t take the news well), and their acquisition of the Super Max formula will only make them stronger. Zombies will relocate to Zombie Island (not to be confused with a summer blockbuster), and live apart from humans.
Vivian reveals her zombie back-story, describing a zombie that sounds suspiciously like Blaine as the mastermind behind it all. She makes it clear that if she ever figures out who turned her husband and extorted money from him before brains before he disappeared, they will meet an unsavory end. She also reveals that she has turned every single employee (and their children) into the undead. Clive is particularly disturbed when he sees a child he knows.
Liv returns to the lab to tell Ravi about the meeting, and he finds it hard to take in. Yet, he still has Peyton and Blaine on his mind. Fueled with soldier brains, Liv tells Ravi he needs to get over it and move on.
Peyton goes to see Blaine at Shady Plots. She lets him know Mr. Boss has escaped to Montenegro. She thanks Blaine for saving her and he apologizes for getting her into that position in the first place. Still unsure of his memory, he asks Peyton if they were a couple.
Ravi and Clive discuss how the cure may affect Major. Since Blaine lost his memory, they theorize that Major may have the same results as the rat Ravi originally tested on. Major’s lungs will liquify unless Ravi can figure out how to reverse the effects. Showing Clive a brain in the jar, Ravi explains how he might be able to restore memory. Liv interrupts them to tell them about news she heard on the radio: a survivor of the Max Rager party is going to tell the truth on the air. Surprise: it’s the security guard who bailed on opening the front gate during season 2’s season finale. The DJ begins shouting about the government hiding the truth when the guard recognizes Babineux as another survivor of the party.
Liv and Clive leave the station and listen to the show in the car. As the soldier brain wears off, Liv begins to react to having killed Drake and the possibility of the human vs. zombie war. Clive shows Liv how cops deal with their woes and takes her back to the lab.
Peyton calls Ravi, and he does not pick up. She has learned that someone is sending her death threats on Twitter and she leaves Ravi a voicemail asking for him to come keep her company. When Ravi doesn’t get back with her, Peyton calls Blaine.
Don E. defrosts Blaine’s father and explains to him that Blaine is faking the memory loss. Don E. floats the idea that he and Blaine’s father go into business together.
Ravi’s ex-boss shows up with a body from the Max Rager party and begins asking questions about why there might be brains in the intestinal tract. Luckily, a murder calls Ravi and Liv away to a crime scene before they can explain why the corpse appears to be dead a tad longer than the three days since the party. The corpse at the scene has Super Max in its pocket and is missing fingernails. Clive is also on the scene and cries out when he finds Wally, the boy from earlier, shot through the head.
Vivian, Liv, Clive, and Major begin choosing their stance for the approach of “D-Day”.
This episode was a very strong start to the season! It kept all plot lines moving and inter-connected without feeling weighed down or overly-complex. Certain questions are yet to be answered and there are plenty of heartstrings to pull as the season progresses.
Watch iZombie on Tuesdays on The CW.