When iZombie returns on February 26, 2018, zombies are now known to exist and Seattle has become a walled-in zombie-filled city. Season four will find all of the key characters, played by Rose McIver, Aly Michalka, David Anders, Robert Buckley, Rahul Kohli, and Malcolm Goodwin, dealing with escalating zombies versus humans problems.
During the San Diego Comic Con, Aly Michalka talked about Peyton’s place in this bizarre new world. She also discussed how Peyton will be caught between sympathizing with the zombies (including Liv and Major) and keeping humans safe.
Aly Michalka Interview:
How does this whole new world affect Peyton?
Aly Michalka: “I mean, it greatly affects all of our characters because now we’re living in a different society than it was three or four months ago. The secret is totally out. It’s now a known thing that zombies are among us. And, now I think it very much is zombies versus humans. There are going to be some humans who sympathize with the zombie movement, but I think most of them are going to be against it just because of the fear of being eaten alive.
You know, you’re going to have good zombies that are like Liv that are out there and eating brains ethically. And then you are going to have a large group that are just out there for themselves and they’re just causing chaos in the city.”
How does it affect Peyton’s job?
Aly Michalka: “So many people have now fled the city at this point that there’s really no one there to prosecute some of these criminals. So, she gets thrown into the mix as a prosecutor. Obviously, she’s now skipped some steps. She was just an assistant district attorney. Obviously, she took the job working for Baracus and she will still be juggling that but also at the same time dealing with these cases that are zombie versus human crimes.
I think that’s going to really weigh on her because she, I think, can sympathize with both. She’ll sympathize with the human world because she is, of course, a human. But she can sympathize with her friends like Major and Liv – possibly Ravi – who are now having to deal with being this freak of nature, this monster out in society. I think she’s going to have to figure out really who she’s going to stand up for, whose side is she going to be for. And I don’t know where the writers are necessarily going to go with this season for Peyton, but I hope that she continues to defend her friends.”
Is there something you like to see happen with Peyton this season?
Aly Michalka: “I would love to see her in her workplace more, just dealing with the week-to-week cases and also getting roped into some with Liv. I know that they were saying that Ravi and I are going to be involved in a little bit more of the brains that she’s eating than normal, so you’ll see us out on rendezvous with her which should be really interesting because you don’t really see Peyton out with Liv that much when Liv is trying to investigate a crime and solve a murder. You’ve seen her in the stripper episode which I thought was really funny and fantastic, but it’s still a little bit new for Peyton to be fully brought into the fold on, ‘Okay, this is what I’m dealing with this week. This is the brain.’ Only really season three did we start to really delve into that. And now I think in season four you’re going to see that more in depth.”
Do you think there’s anything that could happen that would make her not want to support Liv at this point?
Aly Michalka: “I think that Chase Graves beliefs that he is pushing is the only negative factor in the scenario. And that’s because he’s so enthusiastic about protecting the zombie race that it might not be for the right reasons. There’s a downside to his enthusiasm, to his crazy, insane beliefs. I think that’s the only thing that makes Peyton kind of go, ‘Wait a minute. This guy might be using this for the wrong reasons – this zombie power.'”
Does Peyton worry about Liv losing herself when she changes into these different personalities?
Aly Michalka: “I think she’s now so used to seeing the change. It’s almost like a hormonal moment. It happens every time she eats a new brain. It’s like, ‘Well, okay. Wonder what this is going to be.’ But she’s kind of braced herself for those moments.
I think the first initial impact of, ‘Okay, my friend’s a zombie. I’ve got to wrap my head around this,’ I think that that was the hardest blow for her to take. I think now she knows what she’s up against. She’s like, ‘Okay, this is who my friend is now.’ At the end of the day, her heart is never going to change. Maybe her personality changes, but I still know her heart.”
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