A few episodes into iZombie‘s new season, which airs Mondays 9 pm ET on the CW, confirms it as a show with an odd split personality. The show is continuing with its basic police procedural idea, where Liv (Rose McIver) eats brains and lives up to her punny name. But it’s also, trying to turn its setting — a Seattle filled with zombies cut off from the world and facing social unrest — into a broader metaphor about how fascism grows in tense situations. It doesn’t always work, but it doesn’t work in ways that are intriguing.
Part of the challenge is that iZombie has, since its second season, really been two shows: Liv going about her dramatic/comedic way and the slow collapse of her on-again off-again fiancee Major (Robert Buckley), who goes from social worker to zombie-killer-for-hire to zombie soldier. Major, in other words, has become a monster, and it’s been a tricky and not entirely subtle dance, especially now that he’s terrorizing the population to cover up evidence of his troop’s misconduct.
Odd as it sounds, police misconduct has been a theme from the start of the show; Liv’s supervisors have always been varying degrees of shady, shades that have darkened from ignoring cases to outright framing suspects as the show goes on. Liv and her partner Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) have increasingly been the only honest cops. And truthfully, it’s not clear how long they can keep up Liv becoming a hopeless romantic or, this episode, a hockey enforcer while simultaneously having Major slowly go mad with power. But that they’re willing to step up to the plate to take a swing in the first place makes them stand out.
Legends of Tomorrow, Monday, March 26th, 8 pm ET, The CW: Oh, Sara, honey, superheroes breaking up with their lovers to ‘protect’ them never works.
Black Lightning, Tuesday March 27th 9 pm ET, The CW: In all sincerity, Jennifer’s arc, where she doesn’t want to be a superhero but realizes that through no fault of her own she won’t have a normal life, is pretty great just on its own.
Riverdale, Wednesday March 28st, 9 pm ET, The CW: Archie and the gang take a midseason break after this episode, which considering the title is “The Noose Tightens” is probably not good news for the gang.
Krypton, Wednesday March 28th 10 pm ET, SyFy: Seg-El had one of the worst weeks ever in last week’s pilot, and he probably thinks it can’t get worse. Wanna bet, Seg?
Gotham, Thursday, March 29th, 8 pm ET, Fox: Ben McKenzie directs this episode as Gordon and Bullock go up against Arkham’s more dangerous inmates in a prison break.
Agents Of SHIELD, Friday, March 30th, 9 pm ET, ABC: HYDRA is back, the Framework is back in play, we’re telling you, before all this is done, Ward is coming back yet again!