iZombie: Spanking the Zombie – Season 3, Episode 5 Recap

Jill
10 Min Read

Warning this episode was a little racy, since the murder victim was a dominatrix.

In this episode, we find Major is in battle and using an inhaler to keep his coughing at bay. He and his comrades chug brains to keep their strength up, but their captain is struck down. Major is first to the roof and is stabbed multiple times before his friend saves him.

Back in the Lab, Clive comes in to ask for Liv’s help with the murder of Roxanne Greer. Roxanne’s brain is the one that Ravi has kept in a jar of blue goo all season, running tests on it. The group stands around the jar debating whether Liv should eat it. Roxanne was a dominatrix and Liv worries about what this will turn her into if she eats it, but Clive doesn’t know who Roxanne’s clients were.

At Roxanne’s former business, Liv begins to display dominatrix qualities right away, mildly freaking out Clive. They find a window where they believe the killer broke in, but wonder how Roxanne would not have heard the glass break. They locate a remote for a camera and the camera itself, but the memory card is gone. Liv picks up a mask and has a flash of memory revealing one of Roxanne’s clients was D.A. Baracus, who is the zombie running for mayor. This is perfect motive for murder.

A soldier digs a bullet out of Major’s back and he is looking a little worse for wear with his stab wounds. Noticing suspicious boxes around the warehouse they are in, Major waits until the other solider leaves to take a peek- and finds the boxes are full of frozen heads.

Clive and Liv go to a campaign event for D.A. Baracus. Liv tells Clive that whatever was in the blue substance Ravi kept Roxanne’s brain in is giving her extra vivid visions- she was up all night with visions of Roxanne’s clients. Unfortunately, nobody looked familiar. Clive decides to have Liv visit the sketch artist later. They confront D.A. Baracus, who is genuinely surprised to learn there was a hidden camera. He had a campaign event that night, so his alibi is sound.

Liv goes to see the sketch artist, Jimmy, who is nervous around such a bossy client. Six sketches in, Jimmy has some soup, and this triggers a vision in Liv. This time, she sees another familiar client: Johnny Frost. Johnny is brought in for questioning, but has the alibi that he was on the air at the time. He is worried when he hears about the missing memory card.

In the bullpen, Detective Cavanaugh confronts Clive and Liv for nosing around in his case (the Tuttle-Reid murders). He had gone to see Harley, the owner of the gun range in the previous episode, had lawyered up after being interviewed by cops prior to Cavanaugh’s visit. Clive has an idea that maybe Harley will talk if Filmore-Graves becomes involved.

At Filmore-Graves, Liv explains what she needs from them in regard to Harley. In the middle of this, she has another vision and immediately heads to see Jimmy for another sketch. Before Jimmy can begin, the door opens, and Liv catches site of another familiar face that triggers a vision: Brandt Stone. In the vision, Brandt had caught the peeping Tom looking in on him while he was with Roxanne. Even though his alibi is confirmed, Clive has some questions to ask. Brandt picks the peeping Tom out of the sketches that Jimmy has done.

Don E. is stocking the bar at The Scratching Post and goes out goes out for coffee. Along the way, he comes across a drug dealer and makes a fast friend. They take Lucky U and Don E. offers to turn his new buddy into a zombie.

At the police station, Liv and Clive are trying to find the man in the sketch. Johnny Frost appears with Brandt Stone as his lawyer, and Johnny reveals that he had received a blackmail request for $10,00, otherwise his taped sessions would be released. Johnny received a second blackmail and Clive wants to set up a drop to catch the peeping Tom.

Harley arrives at Filmore-Graves to discuss business with Vivian about his brother’s death. Vivian offers him $10,000 for compensation. They confront him about his zombie theories and confirm there was an outbreak at the Max Rager party. While Vivian keeps Harley busy, soldiers break into Harley’s truck and plant trackers. Harley tells Vivian that his brother Dave, who had worked in the Lab for Max Rager, had told him that zombies have a heart rate of ten beats per minute. He rambles on about the zombie outbreak, confirming all the fears that Vivian has about the pending human vs. zombie war. As he’s leaving, Harley shows Vivian the picture of the zombie that Dave sent him. Back in his car, Harley receives a call from an unknown man. Vivian and company overhears the whole thing thanks to the plants in Harley’s truck.

In the park, Team Z sets up for the drop. Liv and Ravi attempt to casually walk past with their hands entwined. When a biker zips by and snatches the money from Johnny Frost, Clive, dressed as the ice cream man, knocks him down and cuffs him. They bring him in for questioning. James Weckler, the biker, is nervous around Liv after she breaks the camera in the room and confronts him. He immediately confesses to murdering Roxanne- but not for the reasons everyone thinks.

Major is in rough shape after his mission. Justin leaves Major to go to Otis’ farewell, but comes back to find Major all but coughing out his lungs on the floor. He takes Major to the morgue for Ravi’s help. Ravi goes to hit Major with the cure, but Liv stops him when she sees Major’s knife wounds. Either option could kill Major- if they cure him, the stab wounds will do him in. Liv empties Major’s lungs with a syringe and makes Ravi promise not to cure Major until his wounds heal up.

Major is in bed, healing. Ravi falls asleep in the chair beside him and Liv sits at the foot of the bed, watching Major sleep. Liv sends Ravi to bed before crawling in beside Major. Major wakes up and asks if the memory serum worked on Blaine and Liv confirms it did not. Liv tries to be positive, but Major is realistic and has only one request: that when his memory is gone, Liv reminds him what they meant to each other… and to give him a name that’s not so silly. They recall the start of their relationship to each other and the show all but dares the audience not to cry when Major says the silver lining is he’ll get to fall in love with Liv all over again. The two spend the night together.

In the morning, Ravi struggles to keep from tearing up over the serum. He goes upstairs and finds Liv with Major, also trying to keep themselves together. Even though we’ve been building to this moment for some time, it is hard to watch as Ravi explains that the memory fade will take a few days… and that he doesn’t feel up to making a speech that won’t be remembered. Major tries not to cry as he says he will miss them both and Ravi injects him with the cure as Liv holds tight to Major’s hand.

This episode had it all: humor, tragedy, mystery, and the build to the pending war. I will fully admit I cried during the last ten minutes of the episode. Kudos to the writers for making the moment of farewell to Major realistic and heartfelt. The memory fade will be slow, which is all the more tragic, and we’ll have to see how this plays out over the next few episodes.



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