“Chivalry is Dead” is another amusing adventure of the zombie crew of New Seattle and their friends, with new personality twitches galore. Following up on the end of last episode, with Liv doing multiple stupid things at once, she and Peyton are talking about the Fillmore-Graves attack on the local newspaper, and Major’s disappointing part in it. Liv makes a geek joke Peyton doesn’t get about Fillmore, and then Peyton surprises her undead roomie with the decision that she wants to help the Underground Railroad. Liv doesn’t like the idea, but mentions they are severely lacking in resources. Peyton does point out that if Liv can decide to risk her life in a good cause, so can she.

Peyton takes this to heart and makes a really interesting decision about what to do next. You have to give her this; when the girl commits to something, she goes for it. Meanwhile, the murder of the week kicks off, and it’s an odd one, even for them. You rarely find a body dressed in full armor. There are jokes about can openers and time travel, and then Liv is off on another elaborate brain meal preparation, which Ravi makes an amusing reference to.

Clive and Ravi go over the body and possessions. Clive clearly has no idea what LARP-ing (Live Action Role Playing) is, and jumps to a lot of wrong conclusions. Ravi, full-bore geek that he is, knows all about it, and tries to explain. Liv wanders in, her new personality having fully kicked in, and manages to make Clive really uncomfortable, but at least doesn’t piss him off this week.

Clive at least keeps an open mind, but gets disappointed when he finally tracks down the LARP group. Liv acts as a sort of ambassador/translator between the bemused detective and the group. Our heroes find out that Gary, the victim, was keeping a big secret from everyone that probably contributed a lot to his death. Clive and Liv go to work trying to figure out why the man would have done something so odd and dangerous, but they don’t have a lot to go on so far.

Blaine suffers through a lunch with his crazed father, Angus, per their deal. Angus is wrapped up in his new personality as the zombie Prophet, while Blaine makes his usual sardonic comments. Angus asks a favor of Blaine, which Blaine isn’t inclined to just say yes to. As Angus rambles on with a twisted version of his time in the well, Blaine looks incredulously amused.

The strain of Liv’s double life starts to show while she’s working with Ravi. Well, more like a triple life, with the real Liv, the persona of the week, and her secret identity as the new Renegade. Someone calls about the Railroad, and Liv’s flowery, Ren Faire speech patterns don’t help the situation any. The scene is also another example of the horrible glove discipline on most shows. If you were using gloves to protect your hands from a dead body, would you want those gloves on your phone? I know I wouldn’t. Clive and Ravi start mocking Liv’s new way of talking when she comes back, and Clive shares a new lead on one of the people they want to talk to about Gary’s death.

Major is continuing with his assignment to buddy up with the loathsome Russ Roche. They share some Southern brains, making Don E complain about the country music. Clive and Liv find their clue takes them to something more like zombie pit fighting than role playing. Somehow, Clive and Russ have gotten here, too. There’s trash talking, fighting, and Russ not happy about seeing Liv and Major talk. Oddly, while it looks like an intense conversation, we never find out anything about it.

Clive and Liv go backstage to talk to the big bad fighter. He goes from kind of a jerk to very cooperative when they tell him why they’re there. We do get some insight about why Gary was performing the masquerade that he was. There are also some developments with the Clive/Dale mess, which is my least favorite part of the current season. Dale talks to Clive in person later, and this really doesn’t sound like it’s going well for anybody.

Don E and Blaine talk about work issues, including cowboy brains, fine print, and lack of muscle with the recent decapitation. Don E suggests a replacement that Blaine isn’t thrilled with, but they have limited options. Things get worse when a blast from the past pops up out of one of the containers full of ice and brains. They really need to check those better. This talk ties in to what Peyton was up to earlier, and gives Blaine an idea about Angus’ mob. Blaine and his “guest” talk to Angus and barely manage to keep straight faces while conning him.

Major, after explaining his talk with Liv as just flirting with a pretty girl, finally makes some progress learning about what Roche is up to. Liv pays a house call in her role as Renegade, helping some of the sick they’re trying to set up with new lives. The one she talked to on the phone still hasn’t made it, and Liv is clearly worried.

After some dramatic build up, we see Major helping out Roche. They do show us that Major isn’t as far gone as he has seemed to be, although he seems to enjoy some of the more violent bits of this task. Clive and Liv have another talk with the LARP group, and learn a few things. Clive is satisfied to the point where he’s willing to have them in for statements tomorrow and wrap it up. Seem too easy? I thought so, too.

Blaine shows he’s still a slick schemer as he and his associate steer some violent chaos in a direction to help them out. It seemed like a big risk to me, but they manage to pull it off ok. Liv boxes up the victim’s armor, which the family doesn’t want, and Liv gives Ravi some useful info about Peyton. This leads to a potentially awkward scene with Peyton, Liv, and Ravi bursting in, but it gives Liv an important vision, so she scurries off and leaves them to their… fun.

Clive and Liv manage to wrap up the investigation, cutting through a series of complications to find out why and how Gary died. There was a lot I didn’t see coming here, and it was a believable wrap up. Blaine and company find out their plan isn’t as easy as they hoped. Liv brings Peyton to the Railroad, and Peyton shows her worth right up front. Something Liv has been looking forward to finally happens, but doesn’t go at all the way anyone (me included) expected. I really hope that gets more explanation soon.

What I liked: The banter with Ravi, Liv, and Clive over the armor-clad body was great. I really liked Peyton being willing to join Liv’s crusade, and her telling off Liv about risks was great. The pit fighter turned out to be an interesting character. I’m really intrigued by the big mystery at the end. Ravi and Peyton’s scene was entertaining. It was nice to see Blaine back as the skilled schemer instead of the victim he’s been most of this season.

What I didn’t: The weird conversation with Liv and Major seemed like it was just bad editing. I really don’t like the ongoing Dale/Clive subplot. I could have happily lived without Blaine’s guest returning.

It was a fun episode. I’ll give this one a 3.5 out of 5. I really do like this show. It’s a mixed blessing, hearing that it’s coming back next year, but for a final season.