Following its highly addictive theme song, each episode ofiZombiestarts with a murder. The CW horror dramedy series revolves around the recently undead,not-quite-a-zombieOlivia “Liv” Moore(Rose McIver), who uses her new supernatural powers to solve murders, able to see the victims' final moments. Liv’s former fiancé, all-around do-gooder Nathan “Major” Lilywhite (Robert Buckley), is among its cast of non-zombies. In a series about murder, mayhem, and eating brains, Lilywhite’s moral fiber is a hallmark of the show. He tutors at-risk teenagers, coaches basketball for free, and volunteers at a homeless shelter. WhileiZombiehasits fair share of undead-fueled violence,its true horror lies in the corruption of Major’s soul after he is forced into being a killer to save Liv’s life.
While it may seem like Major’s choices are a coincidence initially, many of his bad decisions are primarily self-inflicted. The shock of learning zombies are realsends himdown a rabbit holeof self-destructive behavior, much akin to that of someonestruggling with addictionand depression. He is roped into service after being blackmailed by vile Max Rager founder Vaughn Du Clark (Steven Weber), who employs himto eliminate names on his zombie hit list. It all comes crashing down in the Season 2 episode “Pour Some Sugar, Zombie” when Ravi (Rahul Kohli), his roommate and Liv’s co-worker, confronts Major after finding the notebook he uses to track his zombie targets. As always,it’s a powerhouse performance by Kohli, whose stark anger and sheer confusion over the how and why pushes the dramatic tension ofiZombieto its limit.Ravi’s intervention-like confrontation with Majorshows a realistic portrayal of drug abuse,deep depression, and self-inflicted trauma in a show that alreadyhas plenty of darkness.
A 180-Degree Moral Turn Nearly Breaks Major
Major dives into his many philanthropic endeavors due to Liv suddenly calling off their relationshipat the start of Season 1. While he eventually learnsabout her new undead status, she initially does not explain her sudden change in appearance and personality. At every turn, he feels shut-out and punished for doing the right thing, all while doing it in the most reckless way possible. He takes a job as a personal trainer to get his life back on track – only to be blackmailed into being a killer. Even afterMajor reconciles with Liv, he spends a lot of time lying to herand everyone else. His behavior is once again aligned with a kind of addiction. His decisions are erratic and dishonest, and he believesall his actions are completely justified.
Major Lilywhite often does the right things for the wrong reasons, and brushes off bad behavior to pursuehis skewed view of justice. In Season 2, he and Ravi are on a quest to find a cure for Liv and the other infected residents of Seattle. Ravi understands Major’s moral compass and even roots for him and Liv to reunite. When Ravi wants to take Utopium (the drug that thezombie virusis based on), he does it for science. However,Major can’t handle the temptation and becomes addicted. Liv’s ex-fiancé’s slow descent toward rock bottom is aboutas much of a moral U-turn as it gets. The zombie hit listhe’s forced to undertake in Season 2is the final straw in a long downward spiral.
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Not a Minor Problem
Even while checking names off his zombie hit list,Major believes that his redemption of Liv will be his salvation. Not only for his recent transgressions, but also for the guilt he feels about everything he has done that has nothing to do with her. He feels responsible for the youth center’s missing teens who were turned into zombies. After his and Liv’s breakup, he tries to move on with Rita Du Clark (Lee Anne Lapp), but it again pushes up against his moral center. He is forced to kill the zombie thugs who worked for Blaine (David Anders), but only because he rashly attacked their base of operations with a shotgun. Even thoughMajor doesn’t necessarily have total controlof some of these events, they still weigh on him. The mental strain of being placed in this situation likely triggers cognitive dissidence, the effect oftaking actions against one’s core beliefs.
When one of Major’s targets begs for his life to no avail, he asks Major to spare his dog instead;the canine becoming very much a metaphor for Major’s humanity.Major renames the pup Minor, using the dog as a desperate attempt to hang onto the good person he was pre-zombie. The ease with which he lies to Ravi about how he got Minor is troubling, and is likely a response to the secret that Liv kept from him. Major’s care for Minor is short-lived,again tying back to his erratic, addict-like actions– Minor is just one of his many “good intentions” thatresults in a broken promise.Major’s symbolic gestures around Minor are all for nothing, as he ultimately abandons him on a bus. Major’s moral grandstanding is not a grand pursuit of doing the right thing – it’s a justification ofsomeone spiraling into depression.
Ravi’s Discovery Raises Questions About Humanity
Ravi’s chilling discovery ofMajor’s notebook in the Season 2 episode"Pour Some Sugar, Zombie" not only exposes Major’s trail of lies, but also implies the god complex that he has developed, whether he has realized it or not. Most of the show’s zombie victims were not given the choice to become undead, including Major, which fuels Ravi’s anger over the zombie hit list, on top of the fact that Liv is obviously one. Major takes it upon himself to save her, but is Liv really in actual mortal danger? Why is her life suddenly worth the deaths of at least 300 others?It’s a dark and shocking character turn in Major, whose defining trait was always taking the moral high ground.
Major’s affection for Liv is used against him.Realizing that the woman he loves is a zombie is hard enough, butMajor’s actions prove that Liv was correct in hiding her secret from him. Major’s heart starts in the right place by helping Ravi find a zombie cure. But when he gets in over his head, Major makes no attempt to ask Ravi for help to save Liv. Instead, he feels ashamed that he was manipulated so easily. Unfortunately, he loses his moralsin the worst possible way, makingfundamental changes to his character that he and Livmay never recover from. The tragedy of it all is that, even given the revelation and intervention by Ravi in Season 2,Major’s character still faltersin future seasons ofiZombie.
iZombieis available to stream on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
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