We finally catch up
with Peyton - she’s doing her job working for the local government, inasmuch as
there is government given that Fillmore Graves pretty much controls everything.
One of her local councillors is trying to have a bus driver fired for being a
zombie - obviously that’s not going to fly and is very much against Fillmore
Graves’ policies. She does notice that the bus driver is starving and he tells
her his family, also zombies, are similarly suffering. Which brings some more
ominous to this setting and highlights that brain shortage is the main pressure
on this city
But the crime of the
week brings a new pressure - one of what kind of city New Seattle is. Liv,
Clive and Ravi are investigating the murder of 1 human and 3 zombies when
Fillmore Graves’ investigator - a man with an intense French accent, tries to
take over. There’s lots of snarking over jurisdiction between them and an
accent battle between Ravi and the man. Clearly no-one is friends with this guy
So Liv consumes the
brain - which turns out to be a Canadian hockey player - which comes with some
weird accents and lots and lots and lots of violence, but not a lot of
intelligence. Investigation means she does a lot of attacking people. Though
the hockey match amuses Ravi and Clive to no end.
They discover one of
his team mates is a zombie and knows he worked for Mama Leone/Renegade… and Liv
gets a vision of Blaine committing the murders. Of course zombie visions aren’t
admissible in court and Blaine is very wiley but they could have built a case
Except Fillmore
Graves shuts them down, scapegoating an anti-zombie gang despite the killings
being far too obviously professional for such a gang. Just as Liv and Clive
realise that Blaine had no reason to target Renegade (more zombies means more
customers) but Fillmore Graves certainly would.
Through this, the
dead man’s team mate is very clear that there is no justice or order in the
city any more.
We see the other side
of this following Chase Graves who is becoming increasingly desperate and
troubled trying to run the city and make some very difficult decisions. He also
seems to be losing the faith of his followers
There’s a US general
pushing to have New Seattle nuked - and he is gaining support which is making
people fret. And they continue to have a desperate shortage of zombies - Chase
is frustrated by the lack of progress in stopping people diverting the supply
but everyone else is pushing to stop new zombies being produced
Which brings us to
Mama Leone. Chase is planning to have her frozen in zombie prison rather than
allow the messy public execution as an example his board members demand. He is
worried about the “bad optics” killing an older, helpless woman would bring
They also had a
pretty layered conversation with Leone poking his leadership and even seeing if
he has a messiah complex thinking he’s creating a better world. His cynical
reply clearly expects a wasteland not a better world. She tells him of the
simple joy of helping people which he should try - but also how they need good
PR. Because they’re relying on the rest of America to donate brains… and the
supply isn’t great
As for his other
problem - he has sent Major and Donnie out of the city to kidnap Sloane… the
daughter of general Mills who wants to nuke them. Of course Major isn’t
experienced at this and donnie is pretty useless at everything and even manages
to get himself recorded in zombie anger in a convenience store. So well done
Donnie. They also both fall asleep long enough to give Sloane chance to
accidentally overdose
This is most certainly
not the most successful kidnapping ever
They decide to
scratch her so she can still be used as a bargaining chip when they’re smuggled
back into the city where she will be monitored and basically used as a hostage
We get more of Chase
being extremely troubled - which becomes even more of a conflict when he hears
about a bus crash and goes to see the bodies. (And points here for Ravi not
having Chase’s rudeness and insisting on his title and artfully setting Chase
down). The bus driver Peyton saw passed out behind the wheel from hunger.
People died in the crash and the smell of brains sent him on a rampage -
followed by one of the survivors shooting him. All because of brain hunger -
but all causing even more bad optics. And more disasters and less faith from
his followers
Which may be why he
decides to execute Renegade. Mama Leone goes to her execution scared and
grieving but also dignified - I like that she isn’t a super noble martyr at
least because that would be even worse for the Inspiration Trope
Peyton is disgusted,
Liv is enraged - she sees the execution and can’t stop it. But she does give
Major a look. And tell Mama Leone’s followers that she’s going to step into her
shoes.
Hey, remember when
Liv’s brain powers provided insight, perhaps examined an interesting
characteristic or were even disturbing like the psychopath brain? Especially as
otehr storylines become more powerful she is rapidly becoming irrelevant. Of
course her stepping into Mama Leone’s shoes may change
But if we’re going to
talk optics, having a rebel/revolutionary moment be started by a Black woman
who then dies in a martyr/inspiring fashion so as to drive the white lady to
step up and lead the rebellion instead? This is not good optics. This is tired
optics.
We see more of the
conflict over the city - but Major doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Because…
he’s gone awfully deep end here. It’s not so much that he has decided to follow
Chase’s “Necessary evil” awfulness… but he seems to be even less troubled by
this than Chase. I mean the whole episode has made a really heavy point that
Chase is being torn apart by the decisions he’s making, that he’s trying to be
good and is basically falling to hopeless despair… then in comes Major who
looks… marginally guilty when Liv gives him a look? He went on a kidnapping run
with Donnie and his main concern was how ANNOYING Donnie was
