iZombie 5×9 & 5×10 Review: ‘The Fresh Princess’ & ‘Night and the Zombie City”

Things are moving right ahead in iZombie and in my double review this week, I enjoyed “The Fresh Princess” for its brain-of-the week, while “Night and the Zombie City” hit all the right notes for me with the season arc. It truly was the best of both worlds.

I am a sucker for anything ’90s because that is when I was in high school, so it is peak nostalgia for me. Fortunately, that was exactly the theme for the brain-of-the-week in “The Fresh Princess”. The music, the platform shoes, and a lot of whateverrrr…everything was just a lot of fun for me. How can you not love an episode that features Spice Girls?

As someone who came of age in the ’90s, this was a definite love letter, and not everything seemed so far out of reach…even if it was meant to. Who still drinks Capri Sun? (Raises hand.) And who else loved that “Ironic” reference?

It was interesting to see Liv’s mom and brother show up this late in the game. As much I enjoy the callbacks, I don’t really like ones that involve family. Perhaps I have the advantage of being close with my family, but I find this whole story line very unrealistic. However, I am so appreciative of Martin and Liv talking Evan into realizing that becoming a zombie does not change who oneself is, it merely makes them different biologically. This whole season’s take on becoming a zombie, segregation, and prejudice has not gotten past me; the parallels to real life are clear and I appreciate them very much. Some families are just more accepting than others.

Even though the brain-of-the-week for “Night and the Zombie City” was meant to be the highlight, I actually enjoyed the long arc more this time. Sure, the film noir style was technically gorgeous, but it was a little over-the-top, even for iZombie. I did really enjoy getting to see Liv and Blaine finally go at it in full-on zombie mode…I have been waiting for that since season one! Way back then, I really thought Blaine could be redeemed, but how so wrong I was.

I think the biggest thing for me this week was that Liv and Ravi finally made some headway in figuring out what the previously known Beanpole Bob is up to. And I am all for the season two callbacks to Max Rager. All of the characters are really at their best when they put their heads together and figure things out, so this really worked.

I do have to give a couple of additional honorable mentions to the newly engaged Don-E and Darcy (even though they really don’t know each other–they are sweet), and to Peyton for totally clocking that guy in the bar. She has always been wound super tight, and it was just a matter of time before she publicly let it out. Luckily for her, Clive let her off the hook.

I am so ready to see how Liv is going to react moving forward with the revelations about her father, and also how Ravi is going to (inevitably) recreate the zombie cure. There are only a few episodes left of the entire series, and even though it feels like we are reaching a climax, everything is really falling into place. I am so here for it!

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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