On the surface, iZombie is a show about a reluctant zombie mortician, Liv (Rose McIver), who uses the brain-eating side effect of seeing into the lives of her corpses to help solve the mysteries of their deaths. In season 2, the stakes have been heightened as the zombie world gets increasingly entangled with the murders of the living, the race for a permanent cure gets more desperate and keeping track of all the secrets and whose keeping what from whom requires some sort of Venn diagram.
© Kristen Coveleskie, 2016
At WonderCon, the cast of iZombie was abuzz with talk of an action-packed, game-changing finale and what the near future might hold for Liv and her nearest and dearest friends and enemies [WARNING: While no direct plot lines are revealed in this article, an astute reader may be spoiled in other ways]. Perhaps the biggest reveal was that the two part finale, airing Tuesday, April 12th on The CW will look a bit different from the rest of the series, ditching the procedural format to focus on more narrative and character driven plots. Rose McIver divulged that the finale will introduce different character dynamics as revelations occur and secrets come out. Show creator Rob Thomas said he is aware that they threw a lot of stuff at us this season, especially in these last six episodes, but as far as wrapping up storylines and solving opened cases, just about everything will be covered in this finale.
Rahul Kohli who plays Ravi, Liv’s pathologist boss, indicated there would be more on the developing love triangle between Ravi and the newly re-zombified and then re-cured and somewhat re-imagined Blaine with Liv’s best friend Peyton in the middle. Kohli talked about this new relationship with Ravi’s now “arch nemesis” Blaine musing that the two characters are polar opposite, representing lightness vs darkness while physically embodying the opposite with their extreme light vs dark hair colors. Kohli even quipped about his fellow cast mate David Anders, having nothing but good things to say while confessing they have developed a bit of a bromance on the show. Anders followed suit saying he “loves working with both Rahul and Aly” and even teased “after Blaine gets the girl and breaks Ravi’s heart, I’d still like them [Ravi and Blaine] to get together for coffee every day.”
© Kristen Coveleskie, 2016
The woman in the middle, Aly Michalka (Peyton), spoiled that although the love triangle does come to somewhat of a head in the finale, it is not necessarily resolved and although she doesn’t know who her character chooses, she does have a personal opinion. On the topic of Ravi vs Blaine, Michaelka would choose the best friend over the more intense physical attraction. She confessed, “If I were to meet them as real people on the street, I really like Ravi and Peyton.”
It was not the romance, but the action that really had everyone particularly excited about this season’s finale. Thomas acknowledged, “It’s as close to a traditional zombie movie as we have ever done.” Whatever happens in the finale must be a bit violent because several of the actors talked about their war wounds as a result of shooting it. Robert Buckley who plays Liv’s ex-fiancé, Major, lifted his shirt sleeve to reveal a giant bruise on his arm. He joked that the bruise was either from a zombie or perhaps he just tripped at craft services and hit his arm on a hard pretzel. Malcom Goodwin (Liv’s detective partner, Clive Babineaux) boasted of injuries in a less obvious place claiming, “My left butt bone is a little bruised.” Michalka also mentioned some bruising saying she walked away from filming with a few black and blues on her wrist and leg from being roughed up a bit.
The big question that weighs heavily is if all the characters will make it out alive (or, considering that we’re talking about zombies, at least make it into the credits for next season). Robert Buckley teased that the show was getting a little “Game of Thrones-y” and that at least one player will not make it past season two, or as he put it, “someone in the mix is going down!” McIver seemed a bit more positive on the outcome hedging her bets that most of the main cast is safe as long as they remain kind to Thomas.
Season 3 discussion was minimal as most of the cast don’t really know yet what to expect. On their wish list, McIver dreams of a full on musical episode, co-creator Diane Ruggiero wants a hockey goon brain, and Anders would just like to shave his head. Thomas teased that we’ll get some idea of where it’s going in the final scene of the season 2 finale. He hinted at a departure from the bad guy intent on eliminating zombies and the introduction of “a completely new paradigm.”
If that’s not enough to get even the most casual or perhaps brand new iZombie fan to catch up and tune in for the finale, here are some of the cast’s initial reactions to reading the script for the final two episodes:
Rose McIver: “I cried”
Malcom Goodwin: “Let me get on my treadmill and get into shape”
Rahul Kohli: “Can we pull this off?”
Robert Buckley: “It just doesn’t stop. It’s wall to wall.”
David Anders: “A lot of guns. A lot of death. A lot of fun… It reminded me of my Alias days.”
Make sure to tune in on Tuesday, April 12th for the back-to-back, action packed, brain biting, two-part finale of iZombie on the CW, 9/8c.