{"id":5861,"date":"2016-09-27T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5861"},"modified":"2016-09-19T13:38:31","modified_gmt":"2016-09-19T20:38:31","slug":"mark-watches-izombie-s02e06-max-wager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/09\/mark-watches-izombie-s02e06-max-wager\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘iZombie’: S02E06 – Max Wager"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0iZombie<\/i>, Ravi helps determine if the zombie virus can be transmitted during sex, while Liv eats the brains of a serial gambler. SHENANIGANS ENSUE. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0iZombie<\/i>.<\/p>\n

WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS SHOW IN A SINGLE EPISODE.\u00c2\u00a0WHAT HAPPENED<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Safer Sex<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll admit to something: feeling slightly awkward at how often this episode frankly addressed sex. I thought about why that was, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly a challenge. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just not used to television \u00e2\u20ac\u201c American television in particular \u00e2\u20ac\u201c addressing sex in this specific way. Look, I was raised in an environment where sex wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talked about outside of the context of sin. I went to school in a district where abstinence-only education was our only option. (I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve shared this story before, but in case you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re new: my sex education in high school was so bad that we were not allowed to learn how condoms worked. All reference to them and all images of genitalia were literally cut out of our health books. CUT OUT.) I am absolutely certain that a lot of my bad decisions regarding sex once I came out and started having sex were because I\u00c2\u00a0did not know any better<\/i>. So many terrible myths and bits of miseducation had seeped into my mind, and I consider myself a smart person. And yet? I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what I was doing.<\/p>\n

What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fascinating and rewarding about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Max Wager\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is that Major and Liv repeatedly talk about safe sex. They devise a method to express their sexual desire for one another without risking exposure to the zombie virus. And when Ravi delivers the upsetting results of his test, the world doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end for them. They speak of creativity, they vow to not let this development tear them apart, and the audience leaves with a sense of hope intact. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an admirable thing for this show to pull off, and I ADORE IT A LOT. The writers are honest about the fact that sexual desire can be confusing or seem all-encompassing, too, and that helps. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a challenging thing to deal with, but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Max Wager\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shows us that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not impossible.<\/p>\n

Seattle Crime<\/b><\/p>\n

Before I get to the THING that completely dominates this episode, I wanted to talk about how this season\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s serialized story has allowed the writers to give us a much fuller sense of how crime works in this version of Seattle. The events of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love & Basketball\u00e2\u20ac\u009d spill over here, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how we get to meet The Barber. (Steven Williams!!!) Now, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re more or less tricked into thinking that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in charge, that out of every character in that barbershop, no one is more powerful than the Barber.\u00c2\u00a0He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a charismatic and practical man, one who knows how to do what he wants and get away with it. (Which is why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so funny when he argues with the Counselor.) The way those scenes were written and shot allowed us to assume that The Barber was the focal point.<\/p>\n

And then, in one expertly acted and filmed sequence, the focus shifted. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still in awe of the reveal of Mr. Boss, first by allowing him that utterly eerie monologue about how to kill someone without implicating yourself. That established that man as\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, a monster. A FRIGHTENING ONE. But by having him confront Peyton so blatantly and fearlessly, we get a sense of his security. This is an episode about risk-taking, about gambling with life, and Mr. Boss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s threats towards Peyton are easily the least risky action in the whole affair. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s terrifying.<\/p>\n

Blaine<\/b><\/p>\n

At the very least, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Max Wager\u00e2\u20ac\u009d complicates Blaine further. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still an awful, vindictive person, one who was willing to kill his grandfather in order to spite his father. Yet you can see how in Blaine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind, he justifies things. He views himself in parts, as the addicted loser before his transformation, and then the version of Blaine that gets shit done as a zombie. So where does that leave him now that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been cured? Is he now a new person or the same he was as a zombie?<\/p>\n

I think Blaine is\u00c2\u00a0trying<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to be the same as he was as a zombie, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not quite working. He appears to express genuine distress at the loss of his grandfather, but\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 dude,\u00c2\u00a0you<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0killed him. (And for nothing, as it turns out.) His job sees him giving people genuine closure in their time of need, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a ruthless murderer bent on taking over the Utopium trade in Seattle. Blaine is a man eternally stuck between worlds, and his father forced him further into that. Surprise, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s someone even\u00c2\u00a0more<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0vindictive and spiteful than Blaine! (Blaine learned from a master, apparently.) Seriously, I hate Angus SO MUCH.<\/p>\n

Except he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dead now. JUST KIDDING, MAJOR HASN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BEEN KILLING ANYONE THIS ENTIRE TIME. OH MY GOD. THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE ALL FROZEN. HE KEPT ALL THE ZOMBIES FROZEN INSTEAD OF KILLING THEM. WHAT A FUCKING TWIST, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BELIEVE IT.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Max Wager\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b>
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0 Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"