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Liv enjoys a highly erotic foot run from Lowell (hey, if he’s going to wear those boxers he can rub anything he wants) and I have to giggle at the idea of “Kelly Clarkson” being a safe word. The implication is that this is a post-sex foot rub.
And her phone rings. Let it be known now that if I am in bed with a half naked Bradley James, not only will I not answer it (even if the house is on fire) but I will hunt down and murder and eat the brains of the caller.
Liv hangs up on Major (who is in prison. No, no excuse.)
in the car Liv reflects on all the things she can’t enjoy as a zombie and is happy that sex is no longer one of those things. She’s also enjoying a new relationship call-in radio show
Since Liv was distracted, it’s Ravi who is waiting for Major to be released (and we have an awesomely snarky desk clerk). More effective is Payton who is an ADA who rips into said snarky desk clerk with her legal super powers and has Major released right away. Ravi is, rightfully, impressed. Major has also been pretty badly beaten while in prison
He is, sadly, not interested in suing but more concerned about the missing kids. Which means it’s down to Ravi to break the news about their deaths since everyone is buying last week’s cover up. Except Major - he is sure the police are lying
To the morgue where Liv is listening to her radio (much to Ravi’s disgust) and the hose dies on air. To the body!
She was electrocuted and Clive is on scene to call it murder - her microphone was sabotaged. Ravi makes a too-soon joke (awww, Ravi, I laughed). They learn that the woman who called in threatening to kill the woman her husband was cheating on her with seemed to be aiming her threats at the victim, Sasha. A slightly more honest (or cruel) co-worker tells them that Sasha had a thing for men who were already in relationships. They also confirm that’s just about anyone has access to set up the trap
So it’s time for Liv to plough through 30 hours of Sasha’s broadcasts while eating her brains. Ravi also asks after Peyton as he’s interested, Liv quickly changes the subject apparently thinking that she won’t be interested - so they discuss rat zombie cures. And find that all the rats are dead and their brains missing (and Liv makes a Game of Thrones reference? That’s it this show will forever be hailed as beyond awesome).
They find the escapes zombie rat (“he’s white and murderous, you did it!”) which Liv is all thrilled about while Ravi, wisely, jumps on the high furniture. Liv is safe, as she cutely explains to her little zombie rat, because zombie brains are nasty. She also giggles very inappropriately at the idea of the rat ending civilisation.
Time for Clive to bring them back to the case with doctored pictures of sex dolls with Sasha’s face - it seems another radio show led by a guy called Chuck was feuding with Sasha and encouraging his listeners to abuse sex dolls with Sasha’s face on them - because he’s aiming for maximum misogyny points to win his own special golden fedora. Sasha responded with a round table interview of Chuck’s past lovers (I’m saddened by the plural).
With Sasha’s brain Liv wants to talk relationships and feelings with Clive who firmly keeps his boundaries in place. They meet Chuck and he is every bit as vile as you could imagine.
With her new Sasha brain, Liv analyses the man (rather than just eating his brain - but that brain would be really nasty). He’s also married and Liv has a flashback of the man’s wife calling Sasha a whore and throwing a drink in her face. Liv asks if his wife was mad enough to kill Sasha when she learned Chuck was sleeping with her
He protests that his wife - a mail-order-bride - didn’t speak good enough English to call in to the read show and be Cheated (the woman calling in with death threats went by the handle “Cheated on in Chattanooga”).
While Liv reflects that she’s feeling compelled to “fix” people whether they want it or not, she has a vision of Sasha throwing baked goods at her worshipful loyal colleague, Jane. What a waste of cake. They interview her and she admits they argued over her sending in tapes to other radio station (she believes she “had it coming”) and they made up.
Meanwhile, Major’s new relationship with Corrine crashes and burns as she backs away from him and his dangerous investigation (and staring at brain pics).
That “compelled to fix” comes to the fore with Liv analysing Ravi crush on Peyton. As Liv puts it, knowing you’re being affected by zombie-ism doesn’t mean you can help yourself. Which is why she goes to see Major (and his “mopey shadow”) about his break up with Corrine. It gives Liv chance to catch up on Major’s life. He’s also been fired for being arrested. He tells her his police cover-up story which she doesn’t agree with - until he talks about human brains.
He’s desperate for her to believe him but, of course, even though she knows he’s right she also doesn’t want him near her secret. He seems to accept her explanation and analysis - and agrees to back off. Until she’s out of the house anyway.
This leaves Liv all mopey because she and Major were so close and told each other everything and now she can’t have that with Major - and she worries that she doesn’t have that with Lowell and it’s just sex with them. She thinks knocking on the door and he opens it without a shirt. He wants sex, she hits him with her relationship worries including whether they would even be together if they weren’t zombies. Lowell calls brain influence but then they realise that part of Sasha’s title is “sex expert” so it’s time to put that to the test.
And they have a vision (Lowell wins many points for “guy you’re secretly pretending I am, or a vision?”)
The next day she gets to spend time with Peyton who is happy about her and Lowell - but still thinks Liv should be with Major. And she does finally ask Peyton about her relationship status which is currently “not that interested”
Alas Ravi keeps asking at the morgue and Liv considers Peyton to be out of Ravi’s league (though he points out he’s a tall doctor with a British accent). In Liv’s favour, she’s been on side to many of Peyton’s relationship disasters and crushed hearts in her wake. Ravi drops the snark for a moment to point out that the brain Liv is currently channelling is an arse and doesn’t know everything.
While listening to the show, Liv hears Cheated’s voice on advert - speaking to the radio station they find that Kayleigh - the honest/nasty assistant - was behind it. to Kayleigh’s house where they find her partner us a man that Sasha was sleeping with (confirmed by Liv’s vision).
Ah but twist- yes Kayleigh is Cheated but she didn’t murder Sasha - she was just getting back at her in a way that wouldn’t get her blacklisted - as Sasha did to Jane when she heard she was approaching other radio stations (and why Jane got no replies). Jane also planted the advert on the recording - since the advert had aired a year ago not on the recent show.
And now Jane has her own career, taking Sasha’s place. Though she’s already finding she’s not nearly as popular as Sasha. Seeing she is about to be arrested she goes out with an anti-Sasha rant on air.
Back at the apartment, Ravi calls Peyton and when Peyton asks Liv if she’s ok with her dating Liv’s boss, Liv says it’s fine
As she reflects on how awesome and selfless Ravi is and how he needs to live his own life - we also see him working with zombie rat - which bites him. Uh-oh. She also thinks on Major and how he’s “sweetness and light” and needs to hold on to that - as we see Major buying illegal guns.
To the villain! Blaine praises Suzuki’s cover up skills but Suzuki is both angry and upset - hiding the kids’ bodies is costing him (emotionally) and Blaine isn’t even trying to be careful any more, just relying on Suzuki’s cover up. Blaine isn’t even open to talking about it - he lays down the law; Suzuki needs him for brains so Suzuki has to obey. Suzuki also mentions Liv - he’s noticed she’s a zombie
We finish with Liv, eating a scrap of brain in Lowell’s flat - and then seeing Blaine out the window. She’s eaten Jerome’s brain and has a vision of Blaine kidnapping him
I was initially put off by Ravi’s continued pushing about Peyton, but, then he wasn’t actually pressing her or nagging her or, indeed, talking to her so much as asking Liv if she were available. And Liv was drawing the line, basically, because she doesn’t see Ravi as attractive enough for Peyton which I am going to put all kinds of dots on because Ravi is far from an unattractive guy. I’m especially leery because the guys held up as the uber gorgeous sexy men are Lowell and Major - and they are supremely handsome men - but to have an episode where Lowell and Major’s attractiveness - the two white guys - is played up while Ravi’s is dismissed is shaky
Of course, the flip side is that Liv was wrong. That the nosy brain she’d eaten with it’s narrow categories and judgements and her own general assumptions about Ravi’s attractiveness was all off kilter and Peyton, at least initially, does seem to be interested. So while there was a level of dubious to begin the counter is that it’s a judgement on both Liv’s assumptions and the gross simplistic assumptions of Sasha’s brains than of Ravi’s actual attractiveness.
I quite like her raising legitimate questions about her relationship with Lowell, acknowledging their issues, while at the same time challenging her own Sasha-born over-analysing of events and not simply enjoying what she has with Lowell.
I’m curious as to where we’ll go now that Liv knows about Blaine - and him being Lowell’s food source (and how much does Lowell know?)
And Ravi… there will be no killing of my Ravi! NO NO NO!
And I still love how they all work together
