The Veronica Mars connection was obvious. At least, that was the main draw for me when I started watching iZombie in March. Rob Thomas, the brain behind the popular mid-aughts teen TV show, was coming back with a new series, featuring another witty, blonde crime-solving protagonist. He makes the reference humorously obvious, using almost exactly the same quote for both heroines. "Life's a bitch and then you die," says Veronica Mars in the pilot episode. As for iZombie's Liv Moore? "Life's short and then you die."
Each episode satisfied the craving—a bit of crime-solving, a bit of ass-kicking, a bit of clever wordplay. But last night's finale blew every other one out of the water. I'll spare you from any spoilers, but let's just say there was one particularly epic scene set to After the Fire's "Der Kommissar." (If you don't mind some spoilers though, check out Collider's interview with Rob Thomas on what's to come next season.)
Though critically well-received, iZombie had a bit of a quiet run—and undeservingly so. No one in my friend circle seems to be watching it. Literally none of my friends are tweeting or Facebooking about it. But I'm here to tell you, you should absolutely catch up on its excellent first season: especially if you are a fan of Joss Whedon's cult show.
Ten years ago, Veronica Mars got the same Buffy comparison (obviously), but iZombie is way more Buffy than Veronica Mars was and it's way more Buffy than it is Veronica Mars. The first time this struck me was when I realized how attracted I was to the show's platinum blonde villain, Blaine DeBeers (David Anders). Of course I was! He was my new Spike (still the love of my life).
2.
Naturally, Rob Thomas has mentioned it in interviews, too. But there's more to this than just the similarities between the pasty, platinum undead bad guy. And there's certainly more to the two shows' comparison than the fact that both leads are good at kicking ass and taking names (or, err, brains). Unlike V Mars, iZombie's Liv Moore (Rose McIver) leads a double life, with only her close comrades knowing her zombie secret (at first, just her adorkable coroner coworker, Ravi, who needs zero convincing that zombies are real and walking amongst the living). Liv struggles to keep this information safe from her family, roommate, and colleagues, who often questions her odd behavior (though oddly not enough about her SUDDENLY SHOCKINGLY PALE COMPLEXION).
3.
Despite her newfound craving for gray matter, Liv Moore—get it, live more?—tries to pass off as just a very pale, but totally human, Seattle PD employee, who explains the visions she gets from eating brains as her psychic abilities (these visions help her solve murders, a tool especially helpful to her friend Detective Babineaux). Buffy, too, keeps her slayer lifestyle a secret from her mom and classmates, trying her best to blend into normal teen high school life. Only her Scooby gang (Willow and Xander) and her watcher, Giles, are aware that she's not actually a normal teenage girl. Though little by little, the secret seeps out to more people in their respective circles.
Then there's the love interest. Everyone's always falling in love with people they shouldn't be falling in love with, huh? Buffy the VAMPIRE SLAYER of course ends up falling for a VAMPIRE (Angel), while Liv is left pining for her human bae, Major (Robert Buckley). One major concern (see what I did there) with Liv is that she worries she may kill Major, or turn him into a zombie, while being intimate with him, which leads her to break off their engagement from her happy, pre-zombie life. Both heroines briefly end up dating people of their own kind—Buffy with Riley (UGH, RILEY) and Liv with Lowell—but we already know that "easy love life" isn't on the menu for these girls.
4.
And of course, there's supernatural strength. The slayer comes with superhuman powers, while Liv can go into what she calls "full-on zombie mode"—scary red eyes, veiny skin—which gives her the ability to crush her enemies with ease. It's a gift that puts enormous amounts of pressure on our two heroines, both of whom wish they had been given a different fate. Still, they find it their duty to protect mankind, and work towards one, big story arc: Stop the goddamn apocalypse—zombie or otherwise.
iZombie returns for season 2 in the fall. 'Til then, get your Buffy fix over the summer.
If you're an iZombie fan and want to discuss that epic season finale, you can find me here.
