‘iZombie’ Season 3 Finale: Robert Buckley on Major’s Big Choice

[Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers for “Looking for Mr. Goodbrain, Part 2,” the June 27 Season 3 finale of iZombie.]

The undead secret is out on iZombie: In the aftermath of Fillmore Graves infecting a portion of the Seattle population with the zombie virus, the world is now aware that the walking dead are among them.

While some of the humans are freaking out (or fleeing the city), Major (Robert Buckley) took a different approach—prior to the wider spread outbreak, he opted to become a zombie again, in order to rejoin Fillmore Graves.

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We spoke with Buckley about Major’s big decision, how he might react if Ravi (Rahul Kohli) becomes a zombie and more.

What was Major’s mindset when he decided to become a zombie again?
Robert Buckley: One thing we know about Major is he has a breaking point. He is a good guy until a certain point. At the end of Season 1, we saw him be completely terrorized at that point, and he completely lost it. At the end of this year, there was another Greek tragedy unfolding in his life: Natalie’s killed, his buddies are killed; most of the happiness he has in his life is taken out in one fell swoop. I think he sees it as ‘I’ve lost everything I had, so I’m going to dedicate myself to righting this wrong.’

While making this decision, what consideration does he take for what Liv (Rose McIver) and Ravi might think?
I don’t think he takes anyone else’s feelings or reactions into consideration. I think it’s one of those things where it’s so devastating, you have tunnel vision. He didn’t have the opportunity to really sit and think about the implications of his actions. I think he saw something terrible happen, and he wants to do something to take care of the people who did it.

What are his feelings toward Chase Graves (Jason Dohring), who is now leading Fillmore Graves?
I don’t know if Major has completely made up his mind. I think he’s seen enough to trust him and to be on his side. I think it becomes pretty clear that there is a line in the sand with zombies and not zombies, and it’s getting quite hostile. He wants to be with the zombies. Whether he loves Chase or not, Chase is the gatekeeper for being back on that team.

We only saw a nanosecond of his reaction to the news that Chase and Liv slept together in the last episode. Does Major have feelings about that at this point? Or are the other circumstances of the world making it less of a priority?
I don’t think that one impacted him. At the end of the day, Liv and Major love each other, and it’s a situation where they just want to see the other person happy. Which we saw with Justin [this season]—Major was no longer a zombie, and there wasn’t a chance for he and Liv to be together. He wanted her to be happy, so he bowed out and gave his blessings to that happening. I think the Chase Graves thing didn’t really faze him.

Major was told he would have to take out humans, and at the end of the finale, we saw his first bit of that. What do you think this may do to him now that he’s actually in that position?
I don’t know! That’s one of the things I’m excited about. When I read the season finale, I remember thinking, ‘Where are we going to go from here?’ There are so many possibilities. There is so much opportunity in this new world they’ve created. I still don’t really know where Major’s headed and where his head is at. I’m in the same boat as you and the rest of the viewers. I’m excited to see where [co-creator] Rob [Thomas] and the writers go with it.

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Ravi took the potential zombie vaccine he created and had Liv scratch him to test its effectiveness. What do you think Major’s reaction will be when he finds out?
Just because he’s his buddy, he’d be rooting for him to not be a zombie. But on the same token, it would make the food situation at the house easier [if he turned]. So, I really think there is an argument to be made on both sides.

The way the season ended, Major could be off on his own for a bit next season. Given how close you all are offscreen, what conversations will you have with the writers about that potential detour?
I don’t really have a lot of input with them. The good thing about our writers’ room is that Rob, [co-creator] Diane [Ruggiero-Wright] and the whole room—they’re such a talented bunch. It’s never a concern about what they have planned or what they have happening; it’s exciting to get each script as they come. But I’ve never worried, ‘Where are they going with this?’ Even if there’s an episode or two where I don’t know where it’s going, I’m never concerned about this. I can’t wait to see what the payoff is.

iZombie has been renewed for Season 4 and will return in Midseason on The CW.