iZombie finished its fifth and final season this year. While we weren’t ready to say good-bye to our zombie protagonist, Liv, her zombie and human friends, and the zombie world of Seattle, we recognize that it was right time to end the show. The zombies vs. humans storyline had been brewing for a while and hit a strong climax in the final season. So, this season was full of even more ups and downs, and it also had the pressure to wrap-up things.
In some ways, the final season was a success, even adding more nuances to the story. In other ways, we were left disappointed. Here are the 5 things that were done well, and the 5 things that didn’t quite work. Obviously, spoilers ahead.
Did Well: The Fanaticals
We entered Season 5 with a very fractured Seattle. Both sides were afraid of each other. Previously, Major Lilywhite (Liv’s friend and ex), becomes the head of Fillmore-Graves, the zombie military group. Here, he tries to keep the peace. However, there are challenges. In his own group, some zombies believe that they are superior to humans and should be on the offensive. Outside of his group, human fanaticals want to get rid of the zombies.
In a particularly tragic moment, the human leader of the fanatical group actually kills her zombie son in the zombie/human altercation after he looks up at her asking, “Mom, help me.”
Didn’t Do Well: Blaine’s Story
Blaine, the villain we love to hate, has a character arc that feels only partially realized. On the business side of things, Blaine is the same as before, looking for his survival and advancement. However, outside of this, Blaine’s story falls flat.
What made Blaine so great in previous seasons is that he was a complicated villain. Molded by his upbringing, he still had moments when he could be good or at least could reflect on his actions. In Season 5, he saved Peyton but we aren’t left knowing the reasons behind his action. The final season lacks a level of introspection.
Did Well: Don E. and Darcy
Don E. finally gets the love of his life in Darcy, a college-aged woman with a Freylich brain. Darcy strikes a deal with Blaine–he can have her brain, but only after she dies naturally. Afterwards, she goes to live with Blaine’s crew.
While there, Don E. and Darcy fall in love, eventually leading to marriage. It was great to see Don E. so joyful and happy because as Blaine’s constant sidekick, he often doesn’t get his own story. Darcy was his story, initially a happy one, and later a tragedy.
Didn’t Do Well: Justin’s Death
Major finds out that Justin - his good friend - had betrayed him, supporting the zombie fanatical group. In addition, he had been one of Liv’s boyfriends. When Major catches Justin, he says to Major, “I love you, I do,” but that Major needed to pick a side (i.e. the zombies’ side). In a frantic attempt at escape, he tells Major that Major is a good guy, but, “You’re soft. You don’t have the nerve.” Major shots Justin in the head before Justin can continue the speech. Then Major barks the order, “Clean this up.”
While this death shows the hard times and the fracturing between friends, we felt Justin deserved better. At least Major could have mourned his good friend, just a little.
Did Well: Commercialization of the Cure
Ravi had been worried that once it has discovered that eating the brain of a kid with Freylich disease cured zombies, the kids would be hunted. He worked with his CDC counterpart to cover his findings. She did try to cover them, but the information still got out. Ravi was right, and Blaine was one of the first ones attempting to obtain and sell the brains. This threat hinted at in Season 4 came to be, resulting in an extra level of horror.
Later, Ravi does discover a more direct cure. He waits for the CDC to manufacture it to save lives. However, he finds that the person in control wants to commercialize the cure, making this person not much better than Blaine.
Didn’t Do Well: Outside of Seattle
In other seasons, Seattle’s interaction with the world-outside of Seattle is only hinted at, especially through Peyton’s visits. In this season, we see how the USA reacts when the political leaders debate about what to do about the infected state. Peyton cleverly uses the media to help her cause by producing a human/zombie sitcom.
However, the rest of the information we learn about the outside world falls flat. We have the zombie fanatical group trying to turn politicians into zombies, which doesn’t seem to go very far. Also, we could have had more about Liv and her semi-celebrity status as Renegade. We only get hints that she is known outside of Seattle, but we would like to have seen more.
Did Well: Liv’s Father
When we’re introduced to Liv’s father, we find out that he created the tainted Utopium, which turned people into zombies. Her father is also a zombie. This season allowed for bonding between father and daughter. Making it better was that both were incredibly intelligent and seemed to get along well.
When Liv finds out that her father is a key part of the fanatical zombie group, she begs for him to reconsider. And surprisingly, he does. Although he built this elaborate plan for zombies, he listens to Liv. Unfortunately, this leads to his death.
Didn’t Do Well: Liv’s Brother and Mother
Finally, we see Liv’s brother and mother again. Liv helps to get her brother out of Seattle since he needs medical care he can’t get there. Although she and her mom do have a heart to heart, their relationship feels weak, at best.
We know that Liv loves her brother. Also, we know that her mother had been a big part of her life before she was a zombie. However, in the final season, the two are barely there as more time is dedicated to her father.
Did Well: Liv and Major!
Finally, the question we have all been wondering has been answered: Yes, Liv and Major get back together. We can partly thank Ravi for this one. Major was willing to sacrifice himself to prove that the cure did work. He planned to do it live on television by having Enzo (the new commander of Fillmore-Graves) kill him and then show the public that he was dead. What a horribly tragic plan.
However, Ravi tricked him, giving him something other than the cure, and giving Enzo the cure instead. We were worried that Liv and Major wouldn’t be together, that our ending would be tragic. Thankfully, we saw the return of their romance.
Didn’t Do Well: The Teacher and Renegade’s Operation
Liv locates a teacher shunned from his school because he is a zombie. She asks if he would like to teach the zombie kids and trusts him with the knowledge of Renegade’s operation. Unfortunately, the zombie fanatical group gets a hold of him, threatens his boyfriend, and turns him into a mole who finds out how to make more zombies using Renegade.
We are supposed to believe that he is torn because of this, but we don’t ever really know him well enough to feel anything in the first place. All we feel is wonderment that someone on the outskirts of the operation would know enough for the other side to infiltrate it, making us think that Liv needs to run a tighter ship.
