On the final season of iZombie, the walled city of New Seattle is at war with itself. There are zombies, anti-zombie bigots, Filmore-Graves trying to keep order, the police, Liv’s Renegade network, and still some fairly normal people trying to just get by. They all need to keep themselves in check, to an extent, so as not to give the US Government the excuse it wants to just nuke the city and, they hope, end the zombie problem for good. In the midst of all this, life goes on with its usual messy complications. There’s a lot of dancing in “Six, Seven, Ate!”

 

The episode starts off with a couple of dance partners rehearsing for an upcoming competition. Seeing this reminded me that this was mentioned before, in what I thought was a throwaway line by Major in his office. I wonder how many subtle things like that they’re planting? At any rate, with this being a crime show (among other genres), when we start off with two people we’ve never seen before, you know things aren’t going to go well. They don’t.

 

In the morgue, they fall back on familiar formula, because it works, as Clive comes in and we get the details of the victims from the discussion between him, Liv, and Ravi. This, of course, leads to another elaborate food preparation scene. I do wonder where Liv got all the gourmet cooking skills we keep seeing. Next up is a very tense scene at a school, where anti-zombie prejudice is rearing its ugly head, and things get worse when some Filmore-Graves troops show up and ratchet things up another few levels. The entire situation doesn’t go well. Video of this gets played in Peyton’s office, and one of the “concerned parents” quotes hatemonger Dolly Durkins, which isn’t a good sign.

 

Clive comes by with more details, and the usual personality shift is at work with Liv. Liv makes an off the wall suggestion that Clive can’t help with. She ends up drafting Ravi, who looks appalled and panicked. Liv sweeps out, and Clive and Ravi have enough time for a mutual eye-roll before Liv texts.

Liv’s outrageous plan proceeds, largely because there are no better options. Liv and Ravi meet up with someone who is going to help them, and start encountering suspects. There’s a lot of suspicion and tension, considering both the recent murder and the competition. They do pick up a potential lead amid the chaos.

 

While Clive does some interviews and gets a free floor show, Peyton and Major have an argument over the events at the school. Neither of them has all the facts, and both of them are highly upset. Clive and Dale go to a childbirth class, which is amusing, and then Clive’s ex Michelle comes in. Clive utterly freezes, and it doesn’t take someone with Dale’s detective skills to know something is wrong. He fills her in on his and Michelle’s history, and Dale urges him to get some answers.

 

Liv and Ravi meet their chief suspects for drinks, which turns into more than Ravi was expecting. The poor guy spends just about the entire episode horribly uncomfortable. Actually, he and Clive share that. Ravi has to out-think Liv’s new personality, but they get delayed enough that they can’t follow up on what he saw. Liv comes up with a new approach, and Ravi heartily endorses the plan.

 

Clive has a very nervous talk with Michelle, and doesn’t get any firm answers. She tells her story, and things are as reasonable as they can be in this mess. At least they’re both polite and civil about it. Ravi watches a dance video and utterly freaks out, which leads to a really entertaining training montage with him, Liv, and Clive. They make a good team, and it’s fun to watch. Dale comes in, takes in the scenario, asks a few questions about another case, and walks off. She was a zombie not that long ago, she should remember what it’s like.

 

Peyton’s argument with the principal of the school from earlier gets interrupted by a bad scene of bullying gone too far and a bad choice of victim. Peyton and Major deal with the aftermath, and the kids we’ve been seeing get identified finally. I admit, I wasn’t sure who they were until this scene. Things are a bit uncomfortable, and the kids are developing some understandable but troubling attitudes.

 

Clive has some more inconclusive interviews that don’t really get him anywhere, but there’s a setup for later. He and Dale have an emotional discussion about what’ going on, and I can really see all sides here. It’s an awkward situation for everyone involved, and it’s not really anyone’s fault. Ravi and Liv’s undercover work comes to a conclusion that goes decently until Liv gets a vision to crack the case, but blow their big event. Between them, our three musketeers figure it out, go to confront the new suspect, and there’s a surprising resolution.

 

There’s a very interesting scene at the birthing class that is going to be nicer, but complicated, in the future. This is also my favorite exchange of the night. The coyotes have a funeral for Baron, which gets interrupted by Peyton and Major arriving. The kids from earlier find a new home, and get their dark world view shattered when they find out the details of how the Renegade network functions.

 

What I liked: There were a lot of great scenes tonight. I really enjoyed the training montage. The last scene at the birthing class was really nice. It was very believable that Major and Peyton would be on opposite sides of the issue, and I’m glad they ended up coming together. They both inherited positions of power they weren’t looking for and didn’t really want, no matter how good they are at their respective jobs. The kids were an interesting note and a good way to wrap up a loose end I didn’t really remember was there.

 

What I didn’t: Blaine is a really entertaining character, and he wasn’t in this one. He misses quite a few, actually. I’m already sick of Dolly Durkins and her racism, even when it’s just her influence and not her actual presence. I really hope she gets dealt with before the end.

 

I’m glad they took the time to do one of their more normal episodes, even with all the plots building up for the coming finale. I’ll give this a 4 out of 5. It was fun, and they solved a murder, and the characters are great. I’m going to miss them.