Amidst all the chaos, Liv’s life seems to be continuing on as normal, or, as normal as life in a quarantined warzone will allow. The death of a human employee of Fillmore Graves - a zombie-hating, Hawks-obsessed bigot - provides the perfect backdrop for the series to introduce us to the new status-quo of this zombie aware world. With both human and zombie suspects that each have their own unique motives, it’s clear to see how much people’s opinions and circumstances have changed after the virus was distributed.
Liv’s sportsman brain didn’t provide much in the way of her own personal reflection. Instead, her skills were used more practically to get to the truth of the victim’s murder. Perhaps that was intentional, since the same skills that made Liv unique are being employed by the rest of the Seattle PD to solve their own cases. I’m not sure how this switch-up will work going forward, but it will be fascinating to see how others take advantage of this same “gift” that Liv has used so astutely in the previous three seasons.
One change I was expecting to see bear a starker difference in the series’ narrative was Ravi’s decision to get scratched by Liv. Their scenes together here were consumed by the big personalities of their last meals (a sports nut and nudist don’t exactly scream subtle), so it’s difficult to see how their dynamic has changed since last season. I did enjoy seeing Ravi dealing with the ramifications of living in zombie form when his “time of the month” strikes i.e. when the cure temporarily disables. His path for the upcoming season is likely to be dominated by his zombie cravings and attempting to get his cure to stay permanent, which should prove hilarious if not anything else.
Major’s path is putting him back into a more familiar position as a counsellor to troubled youths, only this time it’s troubled zombie youths. Since he spent last season struggling to find purpose, I’m glad this year he’ll be dedicating himself to a worthwhile cause, one that I think means a lot to him. He obviously has these kids’ best interests at heart, so Chase Graves’ proposition of turning these kids into teenage zombie warriors is one that will naturally worry Major. I’d like to see him spending time protecting his chosen few from getting beat down on the field. Though I doubt Chase will be as forgiving to the junior recruits as Major might be.
While Fillmore Graves are still treading that line between justifiable violence and morally questionable tactics, Angus looks like he’s about to tear the world apart by bringing out the animalistic side of the zombies in the quarantine and using it to wage war on the human population. It appears as though his time being held captive down a well has taken its toll on his more calculating side. Now he’s after blood and he’s holding nothing back. That closed-minded priest that he brutalised is probably the first of many victims of Angus’s new “order”. Yikes.
Plus
Blaine has still managed to keep his zombie business afloat thanks to greasing Graves’ palms with insider information. Of course he’d find opportunities in this kind of chaos.
Peyton only made a couple of brief appearances, but it looks like she’s still rolling with the zombie mayor.
Bozzio is still around and seems to have adjusted to live as a zombie detective, though she is assuming she’s smart enough to not have to eat any victims’ brains.
Robert Knepper is now a series regular.
Angus is cited as “The Prophet” in the new opening titles. Interesting...
He Said, She Said
Ravi: “This new world’s going to take some getting used to.”
Clive: “Why bother? Someone’s probably going to nuke us any day now.”
Chase: “Zero-tolerance. That’s our message.”
Blaine: “Message received.”
The parallels to real world politics here are pretty striking, with the zombies facing persecution from all angles. But what I enjoyed most about it was how the episode didn’t lose sight of the horrors of living with zombies in our midst. It’s great to have this intelligent show back on the air, a show that isn’t afraid to deal with some dense themes, while still maintaining a world ruled by sci-fi principles and colourful characters.
8/10
Also posted at Doux Reviews.
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