Killing Eve has a problem. For all that it’s more than the sum of its parts, it’s also always had a sort of gimmick at its center: sociopathic assassin and troubled government agent circle each other like predator and prey. The tension and action has always depended on the maintenance of that relationship. Season one had the advantage of newness; season two offered a hint of what would happen if they were actually around each other. And in season three, the first two episodes seem to be geared around the concept of recreating season one.
It’s too early to say if the show will continue down the path it’s on. But everything that’s happened around Villanelle in the first two episodes has a vague air of “did you like this version of the show better?” Did you like seeing Villanelle wander around beautiful Paris? Now she’s in a different glamorous European city, with a different luxury apartment, committing ornate murders. She’s wearing all the fashionable clothes you love to see her in. And as of this episode, she’s even sparring with Konstantin again. There are hints of change there—she’s got a new handler, Dasha, and she’s theoretically working on a promotion—but even when this inevitably blows up, it’ll be hard to see it as anything other than a repeat of what happened in Paris. It’s like the show is trying as hard as it can to hit a reset button on what’s going on with her. Villanelle is a tough character to move forward. On some level, she can’t evolve altogether too much, because she’s always going to be a murderous sociopath. Jodie Comer’s performance has always carried a lot of the weight of suggesting that Villanelle is capable of change instead of just being changeable. And there’s some progress suggested here by her greater ambitions, but it’s snuffed out quickly when she immediately assassinates her protégé and Konstantin makes very clear that the Twelve aren’t actually offering her anything real.
And the path Eve is on bears a faint whiff of the familiar, too. Sure, the dirt digging journalism outfit would have been a new way for her to investigate something, if she hadn’t immediately gone back to Carolyn, the person she had soundly rejected earlier in the episode. She and Villanelle both keep making wounded references to “what happened in Rome,” but the show fundamentally does not want to seem to want the events of the last season to play any kind of role here. Is Eve going to go back to working for Carolyn off the books?
The show also needs to do a little work on its tendency to separate people into two camps: sneaky spies and gullible dunces. How is it possible that Carolyn’s daughter wouldn’t be more suspicious? The person who raised Kenny would not have a daughter who’s that baselessly trusting of strangers, nor would Carolyn herself accept tacky tourist gifts displayed anywhere in the home. And how in the world did Konstantin know that Geraldine would accept the magnet decoy? It’s one thing to collect that type of thing as a goofy souvenir, but Konstantin’s whole plan here is that Geraldine, an adult woman who barely knows him, will accept a children’s souvenir of a place she already lives as an item of comfort. And look at that! She used to collect them! She would love another one, and Carolyn does not notice or care that a weird item has appeared in her spotless modernist home. It is totally plausible that Carolyn and her daughter would be very different people, and that Geraldine would have chosen to live her life very differently from her stern and aloof mother. But it seems like the show could have communicated that in a different way than having her be oblivious to the dangers that her proximity to her mother would expose her to.
So now Eve and Carolyn have united to try and solve Kenny’s murder, which is so patently obvious that it’s a little hard to believe the government isn’t more invested in solving it. Here’s hoping they make a little more progress on the Twelve than the show has previously.
Stray observations
- I know there is a type of person that has their own picture as their phone lockscreen, but Kenny did not seem to be that type of person.
- Is this show introducing another dull man for Eve to have a romance with before he’s inevitably shunted aside for Villanelle? It’s literally the episode after her husband bounced.
- It is more than a little frustrating to see Carolyn so completely sidelined at work. Season 1’s Carolyn was a legend. The bad guys would never have dared to target her son. And now she’s a middle manager hiding in her car?
- While the notion that Kenny had started wearing deodorant for the new girlfriend is funny, he also hooked up with Elena in Season 1. He’s not a total social deviant.
37 Comments
I loved Villanelle’s handler describing management: watching someone do your job worse than you. That was definitely good foreshadowing of Villanelle’s first supervisory job. Also I enjoyed the obvious duality of the handler telling Villanelle how to supervise someone incompetent: just inflate their ego. You can do it, I believe in you! And then her laughing at the obvious insincerity of it
I honestly have no beef with this episode. Much better than the premiere. Nice flow and it seems like The Twelve storyline is finally going somewhere. I liked how ambiguous Konstantin magnet for his daughter was. lol The way the show always danced around Konstantin and Carolyn feelings for each other, it can be still true and he was buying it for his daughter – Geraldine.
They do seem to be moving back into old patterns fast but I was right about Eve working with The Bitter Pill people, which is good because they seem interesting enough.Poor Carolyn though, can’t do her job, can’t investigate Kenny’s death, stuck with that shitty boss, and now stuck dealing with her unfavorite child. It took me a bit to recognize that said child was the former Yara Greyjoy. Took different routes to get there but she ended up with a dead brother.I think the problem is that Villanelle does need to progress as a person in order to move the show forward because you can only go so far with Murder Child.
“Murder Child” Ha! That’s exactly right. I think I said this last season, but when Villanelle suggested they run away to Alaska, I would have been fine with a coda that shows her making their money by have VERY thorough YouTube tutorials on how to slaughter moose with Eve drifting in and out of frame, looking increasingly concerned . . . it would have been character progress, at least.
plus if the ran away to Alaska, they could meet up with Dexter.
Oh the fun they could have
Am I the only one who thought the Uber driver contact was Carolyn’s daughter? The fridge magnet bug plot is a stretch unless she, as a way to spy on her mother, placed it there. Alternately, if Constantine killed Kenny, who I suspect is his own son, then he knew he would meet Carolyn’s daughter at the funeral and because he knew her as a child he would know about here childhood collection. But he seemed to be buying the magnet before getting the hit info on one of his 3 phones. I hope the writing on the show isn’t slipping, they do seem to be embracing style over substance.
“Why don’t you go and do your thing where you close your eyes and breathe?”“Do you mean sleep?”
A cast like this with brilliant acting performances need better storylines!
Eve and Villanelle having almost visceral reaction to one another (one actually puked, the other one almost had a panic attack) was a nice touch. There something wild and animalistic about their feelings for each other. But at the same time, there is this odd sentimentally in it. Because those are clearly feeelings, at least on Villanlle’s part, even if the outside world is telling her she doesn’t have one. The fact that Villanelle hasn’t killed anyone for six months is an interesting tidbit. I think it’s safe to assume that killing is mostly a job, and she can function without it. It’s also clear that Rome changed not only Eve, but also Villanelle, even if both live in denial about this. I’m guessing that in the nextweek’s episode they will abruptly wake up from this denial.
Yeah I’ve started thinking about, how do you end this story? Do you let Villanelle go on killing people forever? Do you kill her character? There has to be growth either way. It seems like what you picked up on is where they are actually going with the story — “you can’t feel that” is what the characters (esp. Eve and Konstantin) believe, but not the show.
This is what happens when you have 3 showrunners over 3 seasons. Rather than a progression there’s almost a reboot each season, as the new creator puts their own spin on things. It’s not terrible ,but I’m not as invested as last season, yet.
Mad Men turned to self-reference about 2/3 through with one show runner. I’m just surprised it happened so quickly with Killing Eve.
I hate when shows introduce new characters to suck away our time and move the plot forward (I watched the new season of Ozark out of the corner of my eye and was baffled that man bun propelled so much of it) but I didn’t think Yara was so bad. It makes sense she would be at her brother’s funeral. It’s funny Konstantin would not remember her, then decide to exploit her sudden draw to better times, and need to feel parented — for all we know, Carolyn has 20 children. Her mussed-up shirt foreshadows the magnet; she’s off her game, in a new house, lost in grief. I’d argue it was a clever set up, even if the results were obvious.I also liked Jamie. I think he’s a more fun potential romantic interest than Hugo, who was a brat. Can Eve enjoy getting in trouble with somebody on the “right” side of things? Or is there something else going on with Villanelle? We know the answer, but Eve doesn’t, and it’s a new angle to explore.But, as excited as I am about the potential of the season, the pacing has been a bit slow. Grief (Kenny, Eve, Carolyn) doesn’t mean you have to put everything at half-speed. I thought the electric lights in the background were meant to signal something in Eve is working; but once is enough.Justin Bieber assassin was OK; Dasha’s pep talk and the genre prepared me for a quick seduction, so his queerness was surprising. It felt like S2 really decided V’s character was gay in a way S1 didn’t; I like that decision, but it didn’t feel entirely final. S1 portrayed her fixation on Eve as a kink and a riddle; S2 made it feel more core to her identity. Given that in the genre spies are always fucking someone because Reasons, it’s one of the intriguing parts of the show.But, a little disappointed with the “Eve is alive” reveal; didn’t quite pack the punch. Her kill with Felix Bieber (RIP) was great, though. Still getting that right.
Have to think Jodie and Harriet have a laugh as two Brits pretending to be Russian on a sofa in Barcelona …
Some nice observations. I wouldn’t have killed the new kid so quickly, but I agree about the pacing, and had hoped Kenny’s death would kick-start the momentum. But by framing it as a possible suicide, it keeps the characters at half-speed, questioning if they should go full speed ahead, and I don’t love that choice. I also admit I preferred the kink/riddle aspect to Villanelle’s obsession with Eve- it colored her character in a different way, and, gave them more freedom.
Likewise!I guess in the writers’ defense, I don’t know how many ways there are to play “obsessed with women with big hair” after the Anna reveal. I think even PWB would have a hard time picking up some of these threads in additional seasons, at least in terms of excitement; novelty was on her side, plus an ability to execute entirely with the spy thriller genre. Once Villanelle staggered out into the street in S2 I think you had to embrace more traditional romance/drama. TBH I can’t really think of any parallel to the series; usually someone actually dies.Yeah, I would’ve kept the baby assassin, too; he was cute. Maybe she can coach up Irina someday.
Hugo was never a “love interest” he was just a fling or one time sexual partner. Eve had no romantici in Hugo she made that clear when she was using him as a dildo. And honestly I don’t see Jamie being not different. I think they most they will he is friends like her and Bill. Everyone Eve make friends with either leaves or gets killed by next season. There will be nothing between her and Jamie. If that was the case she would just go back to her husband if she wanted someone normal. I was also underwelmed with the whole “Eve is alive” reveal. They made it seem like that scene was going to be at beginning of episode when it really was at the very end. Which was highly disappointing because that means the whole episode wasn’t really a Eve and Villinelle story progression. We ended the episode right were we started. Honestly, this whole episode was a waste of time. Also Eve killing the young assassin was also a disappointment and the whole scene was w waste of time. We kept seeing photos from that scene and really all photos pretty much showed the entire scene. Nothing really happened after it. I also don’t understand why Konstantine is spying on Carolyn. And I don’t understand introducing the daughter that no one knew carol had. I though Kenny was an only child which would explain why he was such a momma’s boy and Carolyn was baby him and being overly protective. Now it doesn’t make much sense. This shows keep introducing tones of new characters only for the new writters just to get ride of them by next season. Pointless character development. I was expecting Hugo to be back this season.
i’m not digging thisit USED to be TIGHT and there were no wasted scenesthis season is like FAN SERVICE i don’t care about the mundane parts of their livesi want to see some MEAT cool songs, pithy dialogue, subtle actinginstead we get loose ends, who cares dialogue and Villanelle is Black WidowHOW ORIGINAL!!!
Besides the relentless onslaught of commercials that are stopping the flow of the show dead in its tracks, I enjoyed this episode a bit more than the overstuffed premiere which spent entirely too much time in reintroducing old characters and introducing new ones. I don’t like Dasha at all. Her “legendary” kills are nothing special and thus far its rubbed off on Villanelle. A “dissident” spice shop owner and some middle aged dude at a child’s birthday party? As V would say, “boring!”
Sandra Oh’s Eve and Fiona Shaw as Carolyn are carrying the show right now as they struggle to find their footing in the new abnormal, while Jodie Comer has been put in a reactive mode where she has to continually jump through Dasha’s hoops. Why would The Twelve promote their talented, but flaky master assassin to a position above Dasha or Konstantin? Obviously Villanelle has no business even being considered for a promotion, and if I can see that, these evil masterminds should be able to as well.
I can’t quite put my finger on why these first few episodes have been so ragged, but they definitely have been in a way that makes the much-derided second season look smooth and focused (it wasn’t). I’ve tried to defend Killing Eve from the charge that Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s egalitarian spirit was well-meaning in her intention to empower women by passing the showrunner reigns to Emerald Fennell, Suzanne Heathcote and next season yet another, it has made the show lurch in one direction and then jerk back to another.
And all those damn, touchy-feely “we’re all in this together” commercials to go buy a Toyota and stop at the McDonald’s drive-thru that are pumping cash into AMC’s coffers aren’t helping.
Carolyn: “Couldn’t we be sad and listen to good music?”
This is actually a very good point!
Also, Villanelle checking out the water pressure in the bathroom made me laughed so hard, because yes, it is important! Thank you.
ok one last thing, that Villanelle/Felix convo had very simple but effective humour. However it mostly work because Felix actor was actually really lovely and because Jodie Comer can surprise you with out-of-the-blue delivery of basic line, like the one when he says he has five older brothers, and Villanelle’s mocking response was just freaking hilarious: “Five big brothers!?” Honestly, watch that scene if you can, her delivery is everything.
I am hoping that Carolyn’s seemingly dopey daughter (played by an excellent Game of Thrones actress) is the mastermind behind all of this & one of “The 12.” There has to be some big reveal coming about who “The 12″ actually are right? Which as far as I am aware there has been really no hint of
I’m in agreement with the review. And you’d think reverting back to S1 would be a good thing, but that season had a momentum this season is lacking so far. (I’ll always have a problem with slow starts to shows that already have a short episode count as it is).Kenny’s death was a big ending last week because I was eager to see how Eve and Carolyn would react/respond. As the show would have it, there wouldn’t be much of that. There’s a general sadness, sure, but Carolyn, no doubt internalizing her grief, is still characteristically as cool as ever, and Eve has already been broody for a while, so Kenny’s death doesn’t really move the needle with her much either. And and this to me is a troubling highlight of what this season may offer, creatively. It feels like a lot of the choices are the least interesting story decisions. Villanelle is posing as clown at a kid’s birthday party? Awesome! I wonder what’s gonna- she yells at some kids The End. Well how about the new assassin in training? Just shoot him, and be done with it. Even with the Kenny phone business, it ended up being very basically resolved; There’s something flat to the proceedings in S3 so far, and they are missing some great opportunities, imo.
I’m on a week to week basis with KE. Season 1 was great, season 2 was mediocre and so far it’s pretty disappointing. With the Last Dance having 8 more episodes, I definitely won’t be watching this as it happens and unless the scripts get better, will just delete from the record queue.I know others enjoy this, so not trying to crap all over it, but it seems like they are just flogging a show that probably should have ended in Season 2.
Me feel like this show have same problems as every other will-they-or-won’t-they show have, except replace “sleep together” with “murder each other.” It seems like show have choice between Moonlighting, where they put things off for so long people stop caring when it finally does happen, or Office, where they do finally kill each other, and then become most boring people on show. (Dead, married, same diff, ammeright?
You’re close. The question is more like “Will they kill each other OR sleep together?” But it has the same problem, in that you can only string the audience along for so long. Especially since it seems like the answer is always “They’ll kiss and then try to kill each other in the season finale, and then start all over again next season.”
Okay I guess I’m the odd man out. I’m along for the ride, so far I’m enjoying this season. I wasn’t crazy about season 2, it was not well done and Emerald was clearly more interested in writing for Villanelle than Eve.
I love watching these actors, the production quality is still good and even though the spy plot is really not making any fucking sense at this point, right now, I don’t care. I hope they can tighten it up and give us some great plot to chew on.Having said that, if they can’t begin to weave it all together in the next couple of episodes, I will bail. Season 2 was a waste of time, I only have so much patience.
Loved the article and love this show but the cat and mouse game between the two isn’t going to work for a third season. Are we really supposed to sit through them trying to get together again? It’s almost as if the creators are afraid of this lesbian affair. It’s 2020 how long do I need to see Eve struggle with her attraction to this woman? It’s like I’m watching “Kissing Jessica Stein” all over again (that movie did not age well by the way). I get that they can’t really be together (Villanelle being a sociopath and all) but they are already together and clearly having an emotional affair- I mean let’s not forget Eve had sex with a man while Villanelle whispered sweet nothings in her ear. But post gay marriage all that forbidden desire seems a bit tedious when carried on too long. Anyway here’s hoping for the best. I thought the same thing about Kenny and the image of himself on his phone. It’s a special kind of person that makes that move.
are the opening credits new for just this episode or were there some last week too? cause i don’t remember them, just a title card, but i like them!this might be bad but i can’t wait to see an unhinged carolyn this season
The credits seemed new. I liked them in an “Orphan Black” kind of way. But I wonder if it will be a one-of, or a fixture from here on.
not sure! may be a fixture (i wouldn’t mind them!) possibly with color changes as the title cards do sometimes?
New opening credits. Unnecessary, really.I remember White Collar, which had several, completely different opening credits, none of which was good.
The problem with trying to go back to season one is that Phoebe Waller-Bridge didn’t come back to write it again.
Poor Kenny. We are now supposed to believe that he was, both, a narcissist and a slob. Even his mother commented on how she missed his BO.
I liked the conversation between V and Konstantin. Eve is able to get the most out of her but Konstantin also brings out a certain type of emotion in her.
Geraldine’s naivete rang false to me as well. Even if, as it seems suggested, Geraldine actively chose a different path than her mother and brother, she’s still Carolyn’s daughter. “Hmm, an old work associate of my mum, the spy, has just randomly bumped into me and offered me a souvenir from a town in which I’m currently living; I’ll just pop this on the fridge in my mom’s pristine kitchen” and no one notices? The ONLY explanation I’ll accept from this is that Geraldine is a secret badass and she and Carolyn are trying to play Constantin. Otherwise this is the cheapest thing this show has written (and it’s not without its share of cheap plots that don’t hold up to scrutiny, bless it). Even taking into account Carolyn’s grief . . . she still could never be sad enough to want a cheap magnet on her fridge. (All this said, Gemma Whelan is always a delight; I adore her and her current turn as a cute, peppy little lesser sibling, both here and in Gentleman Jack.)I like Jaime well enough so I hope that the Bitter Pill guys come back into the investigative fold. Villanelle’s plot is boring right now (boring! How can Villanelle be boring?!). What would have been a fun twist is if she actually were really good at managing that young fella. But it was easy to see he was a goner as soon as he showed up. Nice apartment, though.
I did like Villanelle’s response to the protege she was supposed to manage. The essence of a psychopath is they do not grow and do not learn from experience. Those who expect her to develop are wanting the character to be something she is not. Trading her impulsivity for management skills would not be realistic.
*Interesting symmetry: In their first encounter in this episode, Eve is drunk and Carolyn is in control. Later, Carolyn is drunk and Eve is in control. Also, both Eve and Villanelle react with visceral intensity on hearing that the other is active and alive.*Carolyn’s daughter seems a bit to naive to have a mother with such a job. I think there may be an unexpected twist later.*I appreciated Konstantin watching Fawlty Towers. Especially since so much of this episode (and maybe season) is set in Barcelona.*If the journalists are Eve’s new investigative crew, I don’t see Bear surviving long. But who knows, he might have hidden skills beyond comic relief.*Villanelle really has a thing for women with impressive, dark hair. And Kenny, from the little we saw, seemed to have a thing for Afro-British women. *Kenny seemed much too modest to have a photo of himself on his phone’s home screen.*It’s true, an inherent difficulty of this show—but also an interesting point—is that Villanelle is incapable of change or development. She wants to get married, but can’t make it past the wedding without wrecking it. She wants to move up into “management,” but kills her first trainee. Or is the show making a bigger statement about human nature?