Flow of Madness

This is my analysis on Liv in Series 6. There are a couple of things I am leaving out due to me wanting to examine certain things in more detail later. Including her mysterious illness in her episode. So do not worry I did not forget! Here’s Liv in Series 6! 

In Series 6 Liv became more fleshed out and in many respects her vulnerability is exposed dramatically in this series along with her protectiveness. In Morocco, Liv finds out that Luke is bad news and tries to save Franky from Luke. She convinces Matty to chase after her and one thing led to another. Liv in pursuit to save one friend lost another. This is powerful. Matty after the crash ran away and left Liv to deal with an unconscious Grace. This is why Liv’s grief is different compared to the others, because she saw first hand how badly Grace was injured. She stared death in the face. Issues of mortality is huge for Liv especially once we get to her episode. 

In Rich’s episode we see that Liv is getting fed up with people keeping secrets and being standoffish. Her friend was injured and she needs support, but everyone seems to have abandoned her. Rich tries to cheer her up with biscuits and Liv appreciates this gesture. Liv being the queen she is reminds Rich that he is metal and he needs a plan. She in many ways is the voice of reason throughout the series even if she may not say it in the nicest of ways. 

Mini is being secretive and closed toward Liv after Grace passes away. Liv needs support and she needs someone to talk to. However no one seems to be there for her. Rich left town to deal with his own grief. Alo and Nick are not the people Liv want to turn to. Matty left. Things with Franky are complicated. Liv feels alone in her grief and feels alone in the world. Then this fun mysterious stranger by the name of Alex enters her world. She develops feelings for him and is disappointed to find out he is gay. Despite this disappointment she clings to him and they develop a fun friendship. Alex represented an escape from her withdrawn friends and the grief she feels over Grace. Alex also provided an outlet for her grief by throwing a funeral for his grandmother in order to fill the void of not being present at Grace’s. 

Most of her time after this episode is spent with Alex having fun and doing crazy things. Escapism at its best. Yet we still continue to get a glimpse into the disappointment and longing that lives inside Liv at this point and time. In Mini’s episode Liv tries to talk to Mini in the closet after Ryan left. She tries to talk to Mini, because she knows something is not right. Then Franky enters the room and Mini immediately begins to act strange again. Liv gets frustrated and walks out. This moment is the beginning of Liv’s resentment toward Franky. She knows Mini is keeping a secret and she suspects that Mini and Franky have been hanging out. She is becoming jealous and hurt, because Liv has always had Mini. In many ways Mini and Liv reverse roles. This was Mini in Series 5 fighting Franky, because she did not want the dynamics in her relationship to change. Liv does not want to lose Mini and on top of it Franky is connected to the loss of her other good friend. 

Liv’s episode is all about her grief and her fears about being alone. Alex who has been her constant and her escape goes away for the weekend. This forces Liv to confront her demons and her feelings. She has visions of Grace when she feels most alone and most lost. Grace helps guide Liv to figure things out and get to the bottom of how she feels. Tensions flare between Liv and Franky as Liv fears she is losing Mini. Liv confronts Franky about her involvement in the crash. Liv thinks that Franky was being selfish in Morocco and she thinks that Franky is being selfish now in how she is behaving especially with the Levan brothers. Not to mention the added complication that it was Frank who Liv wanted to save that lead to Grace’s death. That is something people need to keep in mind as she confronts Franky. From here she goes to Rich who is someone who though well-intentioned also left her in a way. He went away to handle his grief and came back only to hide behind books. Liv confronts Rich about his behavior and leaves before Rich can properly defend himself. Liv goes to confront Mini and ends up slapping her. This is what encourages Mini to finally tell Liv her secret. I want to draw attention to her behavior towards Matty before discussing Mini. Liv treats Matty with indifference and while she is fighting with Mini she screams at Matty that he left her and then she added that they all left her. Liv feels isolated and unsupported by her group of friends. Then when Mini told her secret Liv reacts physically due to heartbreak and disappointment. 

The only relationship that is genuine and unconditional for Liv is her relationship with Maude. Maude cares about Liv and gives Liv the support she needs. Maude is Liv’s pride and joy. In many respects Liv’s episode was about grief, mortality, and also about friendships. Throughout her entire episode Liv confronts everyone including Grace about why they left or why they are not acting in the way she suspects. At the end of the episode Doug takes Liv and Rich to Grace’s grave. After Liv spoke the truth she can never fix and the hurt that exists in her heart: Grace is gone. It allowed Liv to move on in a way. It allowed Liv to celebrate Grace. I also think that Liv and Rich reached an understanding between the two of them. Liv needed support and Rich is not in a looney bit because of Grace. Grace laughs and Grace lives. Together they celebrate the Grace they both loved with a bit of a dance. 

After Liv’s episode we see Liv trying to comfort Mini and trying to apologize for what happened. She also still harbors her resentment toward Franky as she confronts Franky about her treatment of the Levan boys. At the end of the finale she lost Alex to world travel, but the feelings they had for one another were real. While at the same time she ended up in the delivery room with Mini (like family) to help bring new life into this world. 

Liv is a wonderful character and I plan to flesh out many of these themes that were mentioned in both this analysis and the fifth series analysis. 

Liv in Series 6 is searching for support while she deals with abandonment and loss. She is vulnerable yet strong. She is queen Liv.