"All's Well That Ends Well" is the series finale of the American science fiction television series iZombie. It was released on The CW on August 1, 2019. The series revolves around medical examiner Olivia Moore, who was turned into a zombie and must eat brains to sustain herself and solve crimes. The episode was written by Rob Thomas and directed by Jason Bloom.
| "All's Well That Ends Well" | |
|---|---|
| iZombie episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 13 |
| Directed by | Jason Bloom |
| Written by | Rob Thomas |
| Production code | T27.13863 |
| Original air date | August 1, 2019 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
Plot
editClive, Ravi, and Liv fly back to Seattle with the assistance of a police officer whose sister Liv had saved. Clive arrives at the hospital just in time for the birth of his daughter. Peyton helps the kids to escape Blaine, but is hit by bullets. Blaine turns her into a zombie to save her; he and Don E. feed her the brain of one of Blaine's men whom she had just killed. Blaine then leaves the pair and goes to the well that his father used to be trapped in. After eating the brain, Peyton has a vision and tells Don E. that Blaine killed Darcy, his fiance. This angers Don E., who goes to push Blaine into the well. Liv arrives and pushes Don E. into the well. Peyton approaches Liv and the pair reunite. Back at the morgue, Ravi starts to produce the cure.
Ravi and Major then visit a Seattle news station to convince Johnny Frost to take the cure. He refuses, but makes an announcement that the cure is in production before being kicked off the air by Filmore-Graves leader Enzo, who calls the cure a hoax. Major injects himself with a cure syringe on camera and tells Enzo to shoot him anywhere but the head to prove that the cure works, and he is human again. Enzo does and Ravi attacks him, giving him the cure. Now human and vulnerable, Enzo is killed by Graham, who is then killed by an unnamed soldier. It is then revealed that Major is still a zombie since his syringe contained only an energy drink. Dolly then kills her zombie son who had joined Filmore-Graves. Back at the police station Michelle goes to comfort Liv, then a suicide bomber enters the morgue and detonates the bombs, killing Michelle.
Ten years later, Clive, Ravi, and Peyton appear on a virtual talk show. Clive and Dale have adopted Michelle's son and live in San Francisco. Ravi leads the CDC, while Peyton is an attorney in Atlanta. The trio reveal that the fates of Liv and Major are unknown to the public. After the show ends, Liv and Major appear as well. They are still zombies and live with their children on an island. Liv and Major offer their pseudo-immortality to their friends so they can be together again.[1]
Production
editThe episode was written by showrunner and series creator Rob Thomas, and directed by Jason Bloom.[2] Jennifer Irwin and Daran Norris guest star as Dolly Durkins and Johnny Frost respectively.[3][4] According to Thomas, the series was always meant to have a happy ending.[5][3] In an interview with TVLine, Thomas stated that the person who would push Blaine into the well was thoroughly debated in the writer's room.[5]
The episode features various nods to a different show by Thomas, Veronica Mars.[6][7] In the episode's opening scene, Liv is confused for Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell.[6] Bell had previously made a voice-only cameo in the episode "Fifty Shades of Grey Matter" as herself reading an erotica audiobook.[8] Chris Lowell makes a cameo appearance in the epilogue as a podcast host named Byron Deceasey. Lowell previously played Stosh Piznarski on Veronica Mars. Rob Thomas initially wanted Dax Shepard to cameo instead;[7] despite this, Thomas had been trying to get Lowell a part on iZombie as early as the first season, going as far to name a character after him.[5]
Release
edit"All's Well That Ends Well" was first broadcast on The CW on August 1, 2019.[9] During its initial broadcast, it was watched by 750,000 viewers;[10] it was the third-highest viewed episode of the season. Before the episode's release, Thomas confirmed that the episode would not end the series on a cliffhanger and all major story lines would be resolved.[11][12] The first teaser for the episode was released in late July 2019.[13]
Reception
edit"All's Well That Ends Well" was met with mixed reception from critics,[14][15] many of which compared the episode to Veronica Mars.[14][16] The performance of Jennifer Irwin as Dolly Durkins in the episode was praised by critics.[4][5] Writing for Paste, Leila Jordan described the episode as "messy". Jordan felt that the episode rushed the conclusion of the various story threads of the series. She worried that the ending might taint perception of the series similarly to how did the ending of Game of Thrones.[16]
Writing for Den of Geek, Kayti Burt praised the episode on its silliness and ending moments, rating it a 3/5. Burt felt that the while the episode was not one best finales, it was still a "fun watch". However, she felt that the episode had solid flaws, including multiple fake-out deaths, poor supporting characters, and very few personal moments between characters.[17]
Writing for The A.V. Club, LaToya Ferguson rated the episode a C-, criticizing the many death fake outs, the handling of Michelle – who she described as "more of a plot device then a character" – and how the episode did a poor job paying off Enzo's plans. Ferguson praised the scene of Blaine's death, claiming that his death at the hands of Don E. was "something poetic" given the poor treatment Blaine had given him. She then noted how the happy ending of the episode was not as emotional as it intended to be.[14]
References
edit- ^ Anderson, Jenna (August 1, 2019). "iZombie Series Finale Recap With Spoilers: "All's Well That Ends Well"". ComicBook.com. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ Flook, Ray (July 30, 2017). ""iZombie" Season 5 Episode 13 "All's Well That Ends Well" [PREVIEW]". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Bucksbaum, Sydney (August 1, 2019). "Rob Thomas breaks down that 'iZombie' happy ending, and why it's so different from 'Veronica Mars'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ a b Flook, Ray (August 3, 2019). ""iZombie" Finale "All's Well That Ends Well": Happy Liv-es [Spoiler Review]". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Gelman, Vlada (August 2, 2019). "iZombie EP Talks Series Finale Time Jump, Blaine's [Spoiler] and More". TV Line. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Bucksbaum, Sydney (July 30, 2019). "Exclusive 'iZombie' series finale sneak peek reveals hilarious 'The Good Place' Easter egg". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Bucksbaum, Sydney (August 1, 2019). "Rob Thomas reveals who almost appeared in that 'iZombie' finale cameo instead". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (January 22, 2016). "How Kristen Bell's 'iZombie' Role Turned Dax Shepard Into Veronica Mars". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ Stone, Sam (July 26, 2019). "iZombie Releases First Series Finale Teaser". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ Rejent, Joseph (August 2, 2019). "NFL Football adjusts up: Thursday final ratings". Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ Jacobs, Meredith (May 16, 2019). "'iZombie' Boss Promises Resolution to Clive and Dale's Latest Complication". TV Insider. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ Yeoman, Kevin (April 30, 2019). "iZombie Won't Have a Cliffhanger Ending". ScreenRant. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ Stone, Sam (July 26, 2019). "iZombie Releases First Series Finale Teaser". CBR. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c Ferguson, LaToya (August 2, 2019). "For iZombie, "All's Well That Ends Well," except for its final season". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (August 2, 2019). "'iZombie' Series Finale: A Virtually Happy Ending To The Zombie Apocalypse". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Jordan, Leila. "It Still Stings: How iZombie's Messy Finale Cursed the Show to Stay Buried". Paste Magazine. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ Burt, Kayti (August 2, 2019). "iZombie Season 5 Episode 13 Review: All's Well That Ends Well". Den of Geek. Retrieved February 11, 2024.