iZombie 5×2 Review: “Dead Lift”

After a catch-up season premiere, “Dead Lift” brought back the memories of why this is my favorite show on TV. It had a little bit for everyone from the return of Dungeon Master Clive, Liv and Major getting some quality time, and a sneak peek into the bedroom behaviors of Peyton and Ravi, this episode was classic iZombie. And it wouldn’t be so without also including some pretty impactful character deaths.

First, can we please give a round of applause to the writing team this week? They brought back one of our all-time favorite iZombie pastimes: Dungeons and Dragons featuring Gorlog the Attention-Seeker. But seriously, I could watch Ravi, Clive, and Vampire Steve campaign all season long. It was a great nod back to simpler times before the walls went up in Seattle. And how great was the meta moment with the introduction of New Seattle’s new PR campaign: Hi, Zombie? I’m not sold on the name either, Peyton.

This show (in my opinion) really thrives went it goes back to its procedural roots with Liv’s brain-of-the-week taking center stage. Although it was downplayed a little in “Dead Lift”, the quips about working out and empty calories were actually pretty hilarious. Any time that I can get more Clive Babineaux eye rolls when learning from fit Liv that a pint of ranch dressing has 2200 calories, I am going to literally laugh out loud.

Unfortunately, the episode was not all fun and games; we had a lot of movement in the bigger story arc of the season: the growing tension between zombies and humans in New Seattle. A big focus of the emphasis was on discrimination and it was up to our band of main characters and their task force to figure out how to stifle the violence and ill will among the citizens. They seemed to come together and put a temporary fix together by faking who was behind the “human” attack from the season premiere as well as footage showing Major bringing back the anvil guillotine. I am not a fan of the fake news thing as it tends to make things a lot worse for everyone (for reference: real life). This should buy everyone some time, but it feels like things are about to get a lot worse. And this forward movement did not happen without losing two greats: Jordan and Baron. RIP, we will miss you both!

My least favorite part of the episode was having to see sad Major…again. I love Robert Buckley in this role, and he is doing a great job as Major in this season so far, but I just can’t take the tears and the self-righteous attitude he has to have now as the head of Fillmore Graves. I would give anything to see him just have his bromance with Ravi and eat the damn brain pasta. I am also not a huge fan of the Dolly plotline, and if you have read my reviews from past seasons, you know I am never really a fan of the season-long arcs. And no Blaine this week. However, Blaine and Don-E (finally!) made it into the opening credits as “Villains”. This should be fun.

Although I don’t like where things are headed in the overall plot (and frankly there are a lot of devices going off at the moment), “Dead Lift” had enough of those classic iZombie elements to make it one of my favorite episodes of the series. I said it! But again, my caveat is that I only think so because of those great moments among our main core characters. After all, that is what is at the heart of this show.

Author: Erin

Erin has reviewed many shows over the years including Orphan Black, iZombie, Penny Dreadful, and Killing Eve. She has a keen eye for on-screen chemistry, and loves to tackle the subject of casting. She is also our horror aficionado. She live tweets shows, and loves to share her feelings. Erin has a BA in History, and likes to analyze the lore behind historical fiction. She attends San Diego Comic Con every year and has also attended C2E2 and WonderCon.

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