Review: iZombie ‘Fifty Shades of Grey Matter’ – Tensions Rise

After another short break the second season of iZombie is back again, so how does ‘Fifty Shades of Grey Matter’ stack up against the rest of what iZombie has to offer?

Spoilers for iZombie Second Season Episode 11 ‘Fifty Shades of Grey Matter’

It would be a disgrace to write another word without mentioning the fantastic cameo by Kristen Bell. The scene, of course, starts off with Liv saying, “Oh, Kristen Bell, I’ve always felt a special connection with her.”  Which is just, a great wink toward Rob Thomas, and his previous series, Veronica Mars.  We then get to hear a paragraph or so of Kristen Bell reading smut… amazing.

iZombie 'Fifty Shades of Grey Matter' Body 1
iZombie — “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter” — Image Number: ZMB211a_2355.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Rahul Kohli as Ravi and Robert Buckley as Major — Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW — © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

Speaking of smut, Liv’s brain this week was pretty great. Achieving the balance of adding to the entire episode and changing her entire personality without getting in the way of the plot this episode had to deliver. Of course, Liv wasn’t the only horny one, with Blaine and Peyton doing the do, even the camera getting in on the act, with quite a few shots focusing on cleavage and other lewd angles.


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Pretty Boy Drake was a large focus on the episode, him trying to break free of Blaine’s influence, before falling into Liv’s influence and, of course, reminding us that he is not a good guy. He is, however, just a pretty boy.

Peyton finally got some screen-time again, she and Blaine’s relationship that was super obviously going to happen has already hit its first obstacle. Primarily his past (and present) murdering and such. Also, the first scene with Blaine in it this episode, the organ scene, was just great.

Major also ran into some trouble this episode, almost getting caught by Dale and Clive (That one line, “You know where to find me.” Was really freaky). Another small touch was Major using Super Max to outrun the cops, adding further foreshadowing to his inevitable addiction to Super Max. Because, you know, Utopium wasn’t enough.

The murder this episode was pretty standard, it wasn’t bad but neither did it really bring something unique to the table.

While it can’t compare to the previous episode specifically, I’d like to highlight some other great exchanges ‘Fifty Shades of Grey Matter’ had to offer. The first being the ‘Atta Boy’ scene in the beginning of the episode. And the second, toward the end between Blaine and Dale.

“It was a coincidence.”

“I don’t know… seems pretty unlikely.”

“Yeah, that’s what coincidence means.”

iZombie 'Fifty Shades of Grey Matter' Body 2

All in all ‘Fifty Shades of Grey Matter’ did its duty. Filled with far more tension than any typical episode, though it failed to truly make a name for itself. Just another average iZombie episode.

GJ Corban
GJ Corban
Hi there, I'm GJ Corban, that stands for Gregory Jr., but I've been accidentally called CJ, DJ, JJ, and even Jesus... thrice. Other than that I'm just a guy obsessed with storytelling and the culture and news that surround it.