Running for five seasons between 2015 and 2019, the CW’s extensive slate of TV programming. With its unique premise, likable characters, and compelling overarching narrative, it proved to be a critical hit.
Unlike many shows of its kind, iZombie also managed to stay consistently gripping and entertaining throughout, with five seasons feeling like the exact right amount for the show. Not afraid to take big narrative risks and change up the status quo on a dime, iZombie is filled with great episodes – but these ten stand out as the show’s very best.
“Eternal Sunshine Of The Caffeinated Mind” – 8.6
In one of season two’s most stacked episodes, Liv gets a new lease on life when she ingests the brains of a freshly murdered coffee shop owner, while Drake cancels their plans after an unfortunate run-in with the law.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the episode, however, is the escalating war between Blaine and the mercurial Mr. Boss. Their rising tensions culminate in Boss having Blaine murdered in the middle of the woods, only for him to rise from the grave – prompting the unsettling discovery that the zombie cure may not work after all.
“And He Shall Be A Good Man” – 8.7
With iZombie’s greatest episodes often being their cataclysmic, status quo-altering season finales, season four’s “And He Shall Be a Good Man” is no different.
With Liv set to be publicly executed by power-hungry authoritarian Chase Graves, the race is on for Clive, Ravi, Peyton, and Major to save her by any means possible. After watching Graves’ reign of terror escalate for the past two seasons, his death at the guillotine is a fitting, satisfying way to send off such a despicable character. What’s more, due to Liv’s (seemingly) impending death, the episode has a lot of great emotional beats that highlight the chemistry of the show’s central characters.
“Looking For Mr. Goodbrain, Part 1” – 8.7
The first part of the third season’s two-part finale, “Looking for Mr. Goodbrain, Part 1” sets the stage for an explosive follow-up episode. Although iZombie ordinarily uses Liv’s hunger for brains as a plot device to move the episode’s mystery of the week along – as well as a delivery method for comedy – this episode sees Liv’s altered personality cause some unsettling ramifications after she sleeps with Chase Graves.
The episode also sees the intolerant, zombie-hating redneck Harley detonate a bomb vest at a Fillmore Graves party, after finding out he’s become a zombie himself. While the scene’s political undertones are hardly subtle, the moment is shocking enough that it doesn’t really matter.
“Spanking The Zombie” – 8.7
irably striking a delicate balancing act between the episode’s comedy and drama, “Spanking the Zombie” sees Liv devour the brains of a deceased dominatrix, with her newfound aggression and domineering attitude providing some hilarious moments.
Meanwhile, Major considers testing the zombie cure, unsure of whether it will erase his memories, as appears to be the case with Blaine. Ending on a cliffhanger, Major ultimately uses the cure on himself after an emotional goodbye with Liv and Ravi, leaving his fate unknown – until the following episode, at least.
“Astroburger” – 8.7
The eleventh episode of iZombie’s first season, “Astroburger” finally begins to bring Major into the fold in a big way, when his friend and fellow psychiatric patient Scott E is murdered in cold blood. Sending him down a deep rabbit hole of discovery, Major finally learns the truth about the existence of zombies, before revealing to a disturbed Liv that he plans to kill them all.
“Astroburger” is one the highest-rated episodes of the show’s first season, balancing its plot, drama, and comedy extremely well, all while pushing several of its characters in interesting new directions.
“Looking For Mr. Goodbrain, Part 2” – 8.8
In the follow up to “Mr. Goodbrain, Part 1”, this episode deals with the fallout of the previous entry’s game-changing events. As Chase continues to reveal the ugliness of his true self – something long suspected by the audience – the world of iZombie continues to open up, with the show not being afraid to steer itself in bold new directions.
The episode even sees the zombie virus become widespread when it’s revealed that the widely disseminated vaccinations are actually turning their recipients into zombies – including Clive’s girlfriend Dale.
“Dead Rat, Live Rat, Brown Rat, White Rat” – 8.9
Following on from “Astroburger,” “Dead Rat, Live Rat, Brown Rat, White Rat” continues to up the ante massively, sending its characters in increasingly dangerous and unexpected directions. Peyton finally discovers Liv saves her life from a crazed Sebastian, prompting her to walk out on Liv.
At the same time, Ravi gets closer to creating an effective cure for the zombie virus, while Major closes in on Blaine’s operation, only to be caught in the act.
“Blaine’s World” – 9.1
Serving as the finale of iZombie’s well-received first season, “Blaine’s World” caps things off in exciting fashion. After Major’s capture in the previous episode, it’s satisfying to see him break free and kill Blaine’s minions.
While Liv finally gets her hands on two cures, she’s forced into a tough situation when Blaine fatally stabs Major. Instead of restoring her own humanity, she instead cures Blaine to thwart his criminal activities before turning Major into a zombie to save his life and heal him with the last remaining cure. To make things even more dramatic, Blaine’s butcher shop is blown up at the end of the episode – with Liv’s younger brother getting caught in the explosion.
“Dead Beat” – 9.2
With Major’s story taking on a much darker tone in iZombie’s second season, its penultimate episode “Dead Beat” finally sees the character arrested under suspicion of being the Chaos Killer. When the truth eventually comes out, Liv naturally doesn’t take kindly to the revelation that Major’s been kidnapping and freezing people all season long.
After two full seasons, it also felt like the right time for Clive to be brought into the fold regarding Liv’s condition. It would have been easy to drop this in the final episode of the show as a last-minute gasp, but thankfully the show gives their new dynamic some time to breathe before the season wraps up.
“Salivation Army” – 9.3
Airing immediately after the previous episode, “Dead Beat,” the finale of iZombie’s second season is arguably the best episode the show has ever put out. The episode sees yet another zombie massacre at Max Rager, with Liv being forced to kill her boyfriend Drake to save Clive.
The episode is also a game-changer for the show, with its final moments revealing that Vivian Stoll and her entire private army are in fact zombies, and plan to turn Seattle into an undead utopia.