Maternity Liv

We are now past the midpoint of iZombie's excellent first season. The show has gotten into such a groove where even the somewhat mediocre episodes (by iZombie's standard) are above average. This week's episode, "Maternity Liv" is one of these so-called mediocre episodes. There is plenty to like, but it is not as strong as previous episodes. Mainly you can blame Liz's brain and the personality it gives off. The brain, as the title suggests, gives Liv a more maternal personality, which makes her fussy and she makes sure all her coworkers eat their vegetables. Furthermore, her relationship with Lowell is not advanced because he happened to eat a gay brain...but that did allow for some cool interactions with Ravi.

This week's case focuses on the killing of Emily Sparrow. That was somewhat of a surprise because it had already been believed that she was killed months prior by her boyfriend. Regardless, the case was reopened. This time, Clive's superior will be involved. We learned last week that he is a zombie and it is apparent this case has something to do with that. This case also revolves around a creepy cult. As for the "Candyman" subplot, Major runs into an intrepid reporter who questions if law enforcement officials are even concerned with the missing homeless teens, especially when set against rich kids. Major is becoming more likable, ain't he?

Overall, this is a still a solid episode. Liv's brain and personality was just not my type, although she did have some amusing moments. The ending was great, especially since the episode became more supernatural and occult-like. I also liked when Clive described his first ever stakeout...and had to chase the perp on a sugar-high. Although the case of the week was not as strong, there were still excellent moments of humor and drama.

My Grade: B

While Maternity Liv is marginally better than Virtual Reality Bites, but it's not as strong as the first five episodes, which were great after a solid debut. It did feel a bit abrupt, especially towards the end, (which was the only problem I had with the pilot episode, but at least it was still a strong start) and some parts of the writing lacked something that made the first four episodes very interesting. That being said, the rest of the episode is good. The blending of the comedy, crime, and drama is still handled well (especially the drama, which was an improvement over Virtual Reality Bites and Liv and Let Clive), the pacing didn't drag, the directing/editing is still solid, the music score continues to shine, and the performances continue to be spot on as they continue to being complexity and charm to the protagonists and the villain played by David Anders (who played Dr. Whale/Victor Frankenstein) in the 1,2,3,5, and 6 seasons of Once Upon A Time. Overall, not as strong sadly, but another good episode and marginally better than Virtual Reality Bites.