If you’re a Blaine fan like me, you were most likely disappointed with the direction the writers took in late season 2. David Anders is well known for playing the lovable bad guy as Julian Sark in Alias and Dr. Whale/Victor Frankenstein in Once Upon a Time. For me, my introduction to Anders was from iZombie and Blaine quickly became my favorite character in the show.
When we first met Blaine, we knew we couldn’t trust him. Despite it looking like he might be sincere when he told Liv he’d turn over a new leaf, I’m glad he didn’t. He made zombies just to have a base to sell brains to. He killed homeless people and teenagers to have said brains to sell. All bad. But, his wit and sarcasm got me early on. As I’m sure it did with many others.
Blaine would go on to not being the overly sadistic bad guy in season two. He was still suspicious and of course, delving in illegal activity once he began selling Utopium. At least he wasn’t killing anyone, right? Well, at least not for brains. I didn’t mind human Blaine and I certainly didn’t mind Blaine turning back into a zombie.
At first, I didn’t even mind the amnesia bit. Season 2 brought a lot of Blaine’s past to the surface and it was all heartbreaking. I was even more saddened when he first lost his memories after taking the cure. Sure, this guy killed by far my favorite of Liv’s boyfriends (RIP Lowell), but I couldn’t help but love him. Blaine brought a certain something to the show. While everyone was a certain level of good, Blaine brought a certain edge to the show.
Season 2 didn’t conclude the amnesia Blaine story. No, we had to wait until season 3 for that. And the first half of the third season was nauseating. Not the whole thing, just the Blaine bits. Who was this guy? Suddenly, Blaine was playing piano at lounge bars and cooking breakfast with Peyton. I know I’m not the only one who disliked the Peyton/Blaine story and seeing Ravi so utterly jealous of Blaine was unbearable. Ravi, you can do better.
With Blaine seemingly in a permanent stage of amnesia, I felt the show was missing something. Of course, I adored the return of Robert Knepper as Blaine’s father, but was disappointed to not initially receive any confrontation due to Blaine not having his memories. Also, Don E pairing up with Angus was cringeworthy and I knew nothing good would come from it.
Just as I was getting ready to accept that we’d never get the real Blaine back, the iZombie writers surprised me. Since it had started in season 2, the characters were skeptical if Blaine’s amnesia was real. Even viewers had a year to contemplate whether or not Blaine was telling the truth. And they ran with it well into the third season. But, looks like we were right and wrong. Blaine had forgotten his memories for a few days, but since he had gotten them back a short time after losing them, he was faking for the rest of the time.
Of course, Blaine tried to salvage what he could of his relationship with Peyton, which didn’t work. And Don E had taken his business at one point. Wow, I thought, has Blaine changed to someone pathetic? Oh, but no. The writers were so good to us. And not only did we get Blaine back, but not season 2 Blaine. Not just a sneaky, snake of a person. No, we got season 1 Blaine. A badass who was willing to even become a zombie again just to exact revenge on his father.
This was what iZombie was missing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the show. The direction they’re going in is great, but even though Blaine isn’t the main villain and in fact working with Team Z (much to their chagrin), we needed a powerhouse again. I was so happy when Blaine popped out of that box and got shot in the neck, barely flinching, which indicated to us he was a zombie again. Everything with Blaine has made his scenes stellar.
What I appreciate with the show, though; is despite Blaine regaining his alpha personality, he’s still at least trying to toe the line of good. When Don E was recently captured by zombie-hating rednecks, he enlisted the help of Liv to rescue him. It doesn’t seem like he’s wanting to get back into the drug business. The only thing I’m worried about is this new relationship with Mr. Boss, although with Blaine now as a zombie again, I’m highly doubtful Mr. Boss will attempt anything. Well, anything else.
This upcoming Tuesday will begin the second to last episode of season 3. I can’t believe it’s gone by so fast. Not only have we not had enough Blaine, but we’ve not had enough of everyone. Season 2 having 19 episodes seems like a tease and even though iZombie got renewed for a fourth season, we may have to wait a year again like last time. I hope CW has learned their lesson and at least brings the show back in January. With more episodes!
TC Stark's Reviews 