iZombie Versus Veronica Mars: Has Rob Thomas Struck Cult Fandom Again?

One of the results of these sudden life changes that both the characters experience are losing their romantic relationships. However, they happen in entirely opposite ways. Liv breaks off her engagement to Major (Robert Buckley), a guy who frankly seems like her perfect match, after becoming a zombie. She didn’t end things out of a sudden loss of desire for him, but instead, as a way to protect him from a) finding out what she had become, and b) becoming a zombie himself. In the not too distant episode future, viewers will discover that intimate contact seems to be a way to pass the zombie virus (err, plague) on. Even though it’s apparent that this is something she struggles with, she takes one for the team, so to speak, and tries to keep her distance, at least in the beginning.

Veronica’s world is turned upside down when her long-time beau, Duncan (Teddy Dunn), brother of her recently deceased bestie, brushes her off with nothing more than the cold shoulder. The effect is an immediate plunge into the world social outcastdom and only furthers her downward spiral among her judgmental peers. Similar to iZombie, it becomes clear that there’s more than meets the eye when Duncan repeatedly makes subtle gestures that contradicts his previous actions. Although Veronica ends up dating and falling in love with his best friend, Logan (Jason Dohring), both shows put an emphasis on the leads finding a balance in the romantic realm, which is a grey area in the beginning of both series.

Another major feature that the characters have in common are the utilization of the best friend as a defining characteristic of their personal development. Liv’s initial defeatist attitude following her zombie transformation demands the immediate attention of her roommate and best friend, Peyton (Aly Michalka). Veronica, completely fallen from social grace, befriends the new kid at school. The difference in dynamic between Liv and Peyton, and Veronica and her new best friend, Wallace (Percy Daggs III), is another separating feature between the main characters.

Liv and Peyton are eqauls. They are both successful on their own merit long before we meet them in the pilot and somehow their type-A personalities manage to co-exist. Wallace is at a clear disadvantage from the start. Veronica is the leader, and Wallace is her sidekick. As the series progresses, the power difference begins to level out, but in iZombie it’s a non-issue.