Liv craved more than just brains in iZombie season 1, episode 2, “Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?”
Brain matter
After a brief pilot recap, we jump to the discovery of this episode’s murder victim, this time with a paint brush through his eye. Liv and Ravi arrive on the scene, and discuss the popularity of the dead artist. And Ravi is an ass man. Good to know. Ravi fills Clive in on the death-by-paintbrush victim, and the Detective suspects that the wife killed the artist.
Ravi takes out the paint brush, and Live microwaves some brain matter. At Liv’s house, Major comes over with a box of her stuff. Liv is treating him stiffly, but Major seems to tak e a lot of care with her feelings.
That night, Liv has a nightmare of “mystery zombie number two.” When Liv describes to Ravi the intensive research she’d been doing about everyone else at the boat party, he tries to distract her with a sexy magazine, triggering a brain flash of the dead artist, Javier, making love with a woman.
Liv tries to fill in Clive, but didn’t hear a name in the brain flash. Our undead heroine starts to get a little bit too into the Javier memory, spurring Clive’s response of “You gave me 50 Shades of Psychic.” He then asks her to join him in investigating Javier’s roommates. Liv recognizes Tasha from the brain flash, whom Javier’s wife states is “one of my favorite of Javier’s lovers.”
Undead reunion
Liv checks out Tasha while Javier’s wife describes how she “respected his process.” Meanwhile, Liv smiles coyly at Tasha, and hold’s Tasha’s hand. When Lola, the wife, explains that monogamy wasn’t important to them, Clive accuses her of being too nonchalant about the whole situation.
The two leave and get a telling email from Ravi about the description of the killer. At the morgue, Liv meets Jimmy, a police sketch artist. The poetic description Liv gives Jimmy of the other zombie colors him confused.
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Clive has Lola’s friend in an investigation, who was also Javier’s art dealer. The art dealer tells Clive to check out the jilted boyfriends of the girls Javier slept with.
At their house, Liv and Peyton discuss a picture on their wall. Having just eaten Javier’s brain, Liv turns full art critic. She starts to paint on a canvas soonafter, describing the details of life that she now observes.
At the morgue, the “other zombie” rises up from behind Liv. He makes sure that she’s really a zombie, and asks what she wants. She reveals that a DUI victim’s brain led her to him. The other zombie tells her that he has to grave-rob to get his brains. The two discuss the extreme rage that they experience that turns them into “full-on zombie mode,” and then relate over the odd consistency off brains.
Ravi walks in on the two, and starts an experiment on the other zombie. The other zombie (he really needed to be named by now!) doesn’t remember his attacking of Liv at the boat party. Some medical tools clatter, triggering a brain flash that shows a boyfriend and his girlfriend in an argument with Javier.
Liv tells Clive of Tasha’s ex, the man in her latest vision. In Clive’s interrogation of Tasha’s ex, Liv turns on her sensual button a little bit too strongly again. Tasha’s ex makes googley eyes while speaking of the new fling that he now has with the art manager’s daughter.
At a bar, the other zombie hits on a woman. The two go to bed with each other, as the other zombie goes into full-on zombie mode.
When artists attack
Back at Liv’s house, Major witnesses her painting. “I would literally be less surprised to come in here and see you building a rocket ship,” remarks Major. To the tune of smooth jazz, Liv slightly comes on to her ex-fiance. He warms back up to her, and she kisses him on the cheek.
At the morgue, the other zombie comes back for a chat. Liv tells him she’s still reluctant to become friendly with him, as he reveals his former drug-dealing past. He then asks her to lend some morgue brains, to which she agrees. In an alley, the other zombie (who is finally named Blaine!) is chased down by his former drug-dealing associates. Liv arrives on the scene just in time to witness what she thinks is a drug exchange. Blaine gets into the car of his past friends, and murders them brutally.
Blaine shows up at the house of the woman from the bar, who is now a zombie. Falling into the patterns of his drug dealing past, Blaine tries to sell her brains. “First rule about brain club: you don’t talk about brain club.” Clever, Rob Thomas. Ravi asks Liv to get Blaine back in for more tests, but she thinks Blaine’s dangerous. Clive then asks Liv to come along to another investigation. Clive reveals that Lola’s dinner pal left their meal for an extended period of time to go to an ATM, thus further opening up the suspicion of him as the killer.
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At a trendy art club, Lola greets Clive, as he asks about the 20 minute ATM trip. While Liv is exploring Javier’s workspace, Tasha’s (Javier’s lover) ex, Tito, enters ominously. Liv brain flashes to an ultrasound Javier was at. She goes full-zombie, fights off her attacker, and witnesses Clive seemingly nailing the art dealer to a wall. Ravi saves the art dealer from prosecution by revealing Lola as the true killer. Frustrated that Javier was having a baby with the art dealer’s daughter, Lola murdered her husband. When Tito comes back for a second round with Liv, Clive punches him out and arrests the two criminals.
Microwaving more of Javier’s brains, Liv rejoices in the artistic expression she feels under the influence of his brain. Liv arrives at Major’s, and opens up an intimate conversation with her ex-fiance. Distraught at their split, Liv kisses him, infuriating Major. He kicks her out for being so insensitive, bringing reason to Liv’s Javier-influenced brain. Liv’s painting is completed, giving her hope for a new future as a member of the undead.
What did you think of ‘iZombie’ episode 2?
iZombie episode 3, “The Exterminator,” airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. eastern/pacific on The CW.