As the third season of Killing Eve winds towards its close,
there’s an unshakeable sense that the chickens are coming home to roost. Or as
Carolyn puts it in a rare unguarded moment with her daughter, the walls are
closing in. For her, it’s the realization that even as she gets closer to
solving the mystery of her son’s death, the forces allied against her are more powerful, and less
worried about consequences, than she thought they would be. For Konstantin,
it’s the speedy shriveling away of any possibility that he’ll get away from the
world that he’s built with his own life spared. And for Villanelle, it’s the
sinking awareness that her days of usefulness to the Twelve are numbered, which
is made eminently clear in her meeting with Hélène, who’s quite explicit that
all she wants out of Villanelle is her beautiful monster side, and is very open
about having a replacement waiting in the wings.
In fact, the only person who doesn’t seem completely
overwhelmed by what’s going on around her is Eve, who continues on with her
meandering investigation into Kenny’s death. It’s also a sign of how much she’s
been sidelined in recent episodes, as the world collapses around her various
colleagues and nemeses. When she nearly murders Dasha, it seems like it’s
supposed to be a sign of her tripping down the road towards sociopathy that the
show has teased before, but we’ve spent so little time in her perspective this
season that the action doesn’t feel earned. A lot of that can be pegged
to the show’s indecision around her relationship with Niko—what does she
actually feel about the assault on him? Does she actually want
him back? Does she experience regret about the relationship? Sandra Oh has always
been able to do a lot with a little, but there’s not a lot to work with here.
It’s hard to tell if Eve even has a formalized position with Bitter Pill—was
she drawing a paycheck with them? Who pays for all her various tickets abroad?
That’s not to say that it isn’t good TV viewing to go in
deep on what’s going on with Carolyn, Konstantin, and Villanelle. But it’s
starting to feel like the show is leaving Michael Jordan on the bench, so to
speak. Three seasons in, it makes sense that the universe of the show has
gotten broader and the secondary characters have grown and evolved and become
more three dimensional with time. What does it take to turn into a Carolyn or a
Konstantin, and what toll does it take on them? These are fascinating questions, and the show’s interest in examining them is certainly fertile territory. But
it’s increasingly at the expense of the star of the show, who
even on an off day is a fascinating, prickly creation.
For those of you who didn’t tune into the SNL at home episodes
recently, there was a funny spoofed Phoebe Waller-Bridge Masterclass, which
involved her talking about keeping a separate journal just for her thoughts of
and/or about violent female rage. Sure, it’s a satire, but it was hard not to
remember the Eve of the Waller-Bridge crafted pilot, who was introduced
screaming into a pillow simply because her arms had fallen asleep. It makes
sense that that version of Eve is gone, but it’s getting harder to figure out
who the new version of her is supposed to be. She and Villanelle have been at
such a distance both literally and plot-wise this season that it’s confusing to
see the intensity of Eve’s commitment to tracking down Villanelle pop up again.
Minus the creepy birthday cake, there just hasn’t been enough cat and mouse this
season between them to maintain the connection.
And of course at this point, if Eve were to find her, she
might be surprised by who she found—a woman who seems to be losing the ability
to kill, even when confronted with a target as obnoxious as the American golfer. Villanelle has gone through a profound transformation over the season,
although in recent episodes, it’s starting to feel like that’s been telegraphed
more by her crying easily than any obvious series of events. But it’s also just
starting to seem plausible that our core four have more to offer each other
than they ever have previously when it comes to facing down an enemy that has
increasing interest in seeing them all dead.
Stray observations
- Is there any worse job than being a young man working for
Carolyn: no. - “Go on, tell me. How would you do it?” “I don’t know yet,
but it would definitely involve the tiny chair.” The highlight of every interaction Villanelle has with her bosses is her making fun of the ridiculous surroundings. - “Jokes are for people who do their jobs correctly.” This particular withering Carolyn retort really got me, as a person with a lifelong habit of making nervous jokes when people are upset.
- It’s requiring more than the usual suspension of disbelief to roll with the notion that Konstantin would leave a key with a neighbor.
- So Villanelle’s bum arm is bad enough that she needs help on
her latest assassination, but she can still swing a golf club? - I was all set to get annoyed at Geraldine for showing up at
Konstantin’s house to be oblivious again, but then she finally got the upper
hand on someone. Is she supposed to be unaware that her mother hooked up with
him back in the day, though? - The Twelve may be a super evil conglomerate, but at least
the power structure has women at the top. You hate to see yet another evil
business controlled by the patriarchy. - I think we can all agree that the show’s deployment of Kim Bodnia’s great laugh has been delightful. I’m glad Konstantin isn’t dead (yet).
80 Comments
Eve’s getting closer and closer to intentionally killing someone. I thought that this episode had quite a body count to it but it ended up only being Mo, and considering that it looks like that we’re finally going to get some Dasha and Konstantin interaction that’s a good thing.
Poor New Kenny. Killed by Villanelle’s less glamorous replacement, just when he was moving up in the organization! Slightly
Nah he wasn’t New Kenny, he was New Hugo (But, you know, likable). Bear is the New Kenny.
You’re the poor man’s Kenny, you get the poor man’s Villanelle.
That makes it weirdly more tragic!
It makes sense considering that Eve’s life is pretty much destroyed and ruined as her friends keep getting killed or almost killed, while she’s being targeted by The 12 and their assassins, their best and most craziest one obessively stalks her. She’s being driven over the edge to that point.
Villanelle’s golf outfit is worth at least a half letter grade. That’s not even counting Konstantin’s laughing and screaming.
The tartan represented her family’s clan!
That’s actually a different one, but almost as goodThis is the golf outfit:Mrs Lizardo called it Oscar the Grouch cosplay.
Mrs Lizardo got it right.
Good lord she is fabulous
Those are amazing! she is amazing.
I thought it was great, and then I realised it had pants and not a skirt, and then it was fantastic.
I felt like her wardrobe was lacking a little this season, but this made up for it!
I do think this season has blurred the lines somewhat successfully between the two main characters, with Villanelle showing more empathy and less bloodlust, and Eve increasingly aggressive and oblivious to the body count of her investigation, for the most part. Villanelle and Eve’s tentative waves at each other through the train windows were a nice touch. As the movie The Half of It recently discussed, it takes both a true friend and an idiot to run after someone’s train to say goodbye to them through the window.
I feel like that’s been generally the point of this season. Showing that Villanelle isn’t just some raging socio/psychopathic killing machine. That she actually has emotions and a personality, that she wants to move on to different things, and she wants a normal life. While on Eve’s end, now with no marriage, no job, her friends getting killed, turning into someone more angrier and aggressive.
To the show’s credit, Villanelle’s desires have been always clear since s.1, even if she wasn’t able to understand them, because she doesn’t fully comprehend the feelings and how to communicate them: “fun job, nice flat, someone’s to watch movies with.” To me it was always interesting to see if the show follows a journey where these two characters: Eve and Villanelle meet somewhere in the middle? Neither good or bad, hero or villain. Just in the middle, where only two of them can truly understand and accept each other.We will see.
Sure, but up until now there really much growth or depth to Villanelle. Just lots of her killing people in the most exotic and eccentric ways with some snark, but now we’re starting to see why. V wants to be more and better than just an assassin You’re definately right about those two meeting in the middle. This season has been about closing the gaps between V and Eve, bringing them closer together emotionally while separating them physically.
Agreed. And I’m definitely in the camp of people who think they are handling V’s development very well.She was a lot of fun in this ep, but she is also emotionally on another planet at the moment. I think they are balancing this act very well.
It’s interesting that Villanelle started with none of the usual stabilising factors most people have: no family, no romantic interest, no social circle apart from Konstantin, her handler. And no problems killing people. Now she’s at least had experiences with those things, even if they haven’t exactly been satisfying: she met her family, she’s fallen into some kind of romantic attraction to Eve, and formed more connections, even if it’s just with other people in the Twelve. Meanwhile, she becomes reluctant to be the killer she’s always been.Eve, on the other hand, started with Niko and a circle of friends and colleagues, and has slowly lost all of it, until all she has left is Carolyn, who’s Konstantin to her Villanelle. And without those anchors, she’s coming closer to being able to kill without remorse.
If I were Eve I would have killed somebody by now. No way to go through everything she’s been through and still have as much presence of mind and restraint she is showing. At some point things come to a boil.
She killed the handler at the end of season two (I forget his name though)
I’m surprised Konstantin couldn’t (or didn’t) keep his daughter out of lock-up.
i was surprised they made his daughter a sociopath
I’m surprised that Konstanine apparently didn’t intend to keep his promise to see his daughter in two days
Why did they need to go to Russia at all?
I don’t think that was an extra trip. It’s where the daughter is living and going to school? Could be wrong. The speed and frequency of travel on this show can be confusing—and unrealistic within a given time frame.
You’re right. I’m pretty sure that Irina lives and goes to school in Russia, so when she ran over her mother’s new partner, it would have been in Russia and it would be Russian authorities that would deal with her. This episode also reminded me that if any character’s offspring were to be dropped off of a rooftop, it would have been better if it were Irina instead of Kenny.
You mean the way Konstantin can go from London to Moscow and to Barcelona and back to London within 42 minutes? Yeah, he must know Chekov on the Enterprise.
Probably his daddy too.
To say nothing of border complications. The UK has never been in the passportless Schengen Zone, neither is Russia. You could easily fly from Spain to Poland or whatever without major need for ID, but no way you can bounce between the UK, Schengen, and Russia with such ease, to say nothing of the time involved. (Flying from London to Moscow is almost as far as NYC to LA.)
Back in season one I thought maybe Carolyn had recruited Eve to become an assassin. But since Kenny, the show doesn’t seem to be going that way. Just simply collecting monsters as she explains over the cold omelette.
how much screen time has eve had this year?i feel like a re-edit is required to get rid of the odd pacingthe first three episodes were full of stuff that never went anywhere the girl from the office, the maybe hook up with the magazine editornot to mention niko, who was AWOL then stabbed through the neck then…nothingbut then add the sociopath daughter at the end?weird
Seriously, though, who killed Kenny? That’s not the sort of plot point I want unresolved going into a break. Let’s just get it answered and move on.As for Eve being left on the bench quite a bit this season, I can live with that if I consider this season as just a chapter in the series as a whole. This season has really dug in with Villanelle, which has worked out surprising well, and it has taken time to round out Konstantin and Caroline. All good stuff. I don’t need as much from the handlers in future seasons, but I’ve liked the extra time with them.My hope is that Villaneve will be back at the center of things come next season. Jodie Comer has been a revelation as Villanelle and has more than held up her end of things, especially lately. But Sandra Oh is our once and future queen, so I’m ready to get back to Eve’s personal and psychological journey.
I’m going to hazard a guess and say the girl that killed Carolyn’s new assistant also killed Kenny.
“You bastard!”
Do any of these people confirm their kills?
Yeah, Villanelle is seriously slipping. Old Villanelle would have given Dasha an extra whack or two in the head to make sure.
I’m think maiming Dasha was probably intentional. The fact that she has a son is too convenient of a setup to not have any pay off… I’m thinking either Eve or Villanelle are going to kill her son and leave her alive to suffer.
Apparently not, but ever since Villanelle said, “I’m kind of a big deal in this business” she hasn’t been.
Eve would have finished what Villanelle had started had the sirens not interrupted her. Sad!
Why did Konstantin need to make a stop in Russia before going to Cuba? O thought that was the whole point of having his daughter ready to flee in the middle of the night.
Also: If they have time to show those deleted scenes during the commercials did they really need to delete them in the first place?
He was in Russia because that’s where the daughter.
Grades for this season never ceases to amaze me, lol. But I guess we just have a different taste when it comes to KE. I just appraciated the fact that after few really dark episodes I got an episode that was just…fun? idk, it felt like a good old KE with few stamps that this season brought.
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”I don’t think you’re giving Eve’s plot enough credit because this is literally what’s happening to her. The surprising of this episode wasn’t that Eve was about to kill Dasha. It was HOW she was trying to kill her. Foot on chest slowly pressing down. She was trying to give Dasha a slow painful death. So, I disagree that everyone is under pressure except Eve. Eve is under pressure to not lose who she is as she hunts Villanelle. And right now, it’s a fight Eve is losing.
I got the impression she really wanted to watch the life leave Dasha.
Dasha did stab a pitchfork thru her husband’s neck so this moment really tracked for me. Not sure why it felt unearned for some?
I think the coincidence of Eve happening upon all this at just the right time kind of felt sloppy, cramming two important character moments both Eve and Villanelle had with Dasha into one scene.
I can definitely see that, and feel like that’s a side effect of Eve being sidelined the second half of the season. That’s not so much a complaint as much as an observation because I loved giving some of the B players major development and storylines
Fight? What fight? Let’s recap about what’s been going down with Eve Polastri.
Almost stabs her girl-crush to death and even tops her to make sure it goes in nice and neat.
Almost pushes a dude in front of a subway train for the crime of being a rude asshole.
Chops a Ginger into mystery meat for choking out her bae.
Slowly, slowly crushes ribsies by stepping on an old lady while catching a big “O” in the process.
I’m going to speculate wildly here that Eve is done fighting her homicidal side. That fight is over and Murder/Death/Killing Eve has come for the championship belt.
You know what they say; “almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”.
Murder/Death/Killing Eve
Wait, did the “Killing” in “Killing Eve” just turn from *scrambles to Wikipedia’s entry on gerunds* nominative to genitive?
Where was Villanelle at the beginning? I don’t believe that room was a set because no studio would have THAT many suits of armor on call.
They were at Armourers’ Hall in London.
“Thank you for the inappropriate touching. It is really nice.”
The way Villnaelle is starved for affection! and only Eve will give her that in the season finale. Am I right?
I thought this was a great episode. I’m invested enough in the other characters to not need Eve features prominently. As of now, her storyline is the least interesting to me anyways. Can’t wait for the season finale.
That fluffy green golfing outfit is right up there for top Villanelle costume! Stunningly weird and wacky!
I do agree that there is a problem with Eve, but imo that happened mostly in ep 6 – it should do a lot of groundwork for Eve’s line of thinking, that she exhibits right now (after what happened in 3×4), and it didn’t do that. I don’t blame ep 5 for that, because imo it was one of the season’s best and when you want to make a change with a character like V. you need a proper, emotional bomb.But here is the thing with Eve, I really liked how that character was written in ep 1-4. I understood her. It was Eve that was messy, but oddly in control. It’s not that she is not obsessed with Villanelle, but on both sides that obession grew into something more mature. That meeting in ep 3 was a climax of that old dynamic. Now, on their own they sort of were able to see their lives without each other. That phone call to Eve at the end of this episode was really great because it was such a normal and calm situation. It’s like they are both just…tired.Obsession fades away, right? And I think it faded away here too, but what’s left might lead to even stronger bond, because it will be based on much more honest feelings.So, growth? I think so. Done clumsily in some parts, agree, but I definitely see it and I think that was the plan.
I like to imagine Carolyn’s calendar has a note: 9-9:45 AM: Offer and then rescind offer of omelette to series of increasingly incompetent annoyances(Camera cuts to line of progressively more vacuous faces. One towards the end of the line has a llama on a leash. He will never even be offered a chair, let alone an omelette.)
Konstantin’s heart attack was an assassination attempt, right? Remember as he walked onto the train platform some guy brushed/bumped him? I think they’ll find a small pin prick on his person somewhere next episode. Maybe it wasn’t enough poison to kill him and his strong heart; maybe the pin didn’t go deep enough? He’s on the chopping block.
Both that and Villanelle’s understudy’s umbrella were presumably nods to the Georgi Markov murder in 1978 by the Bulgarian secret service with their ricin pellet injecting brollies.
He was having heart problems throughout the season and show.
I don’t recall that, but I may have not picked up on that.
Yeah there was a running joke through the whole season of him nearly having a heart attack by walking into his apartment. I actually think it would be funnier after all the people who probably do want Konstantin dead, it was a random stranger who tipped him over the edge.
He thought so. He put the dots together as he was experiencing the attack.
I’m coming in very late to the party with this show. I’ve spent the last week binging episodes since Season 1 and am now caught up, my only regret being there aren’t more episodes to watch.B- seems like a low grade to me. This was an especially well-written chapter, and very funny. The scene where Eve runs into V’s target on the golf course, gets him in her car, gets an ID confirmation, then throws him back out with no regard for his safety? Hilarious, and very telling of Eve’s current mental state.I have to ask, knowing nothing about hight fashion…is V’s golf attire the cutting edge of haute coutre or just….rediculous? (Either way, she looked fantastic as always!)
I laughed so fucking hard when Konstantin collapsed and Villaneve screamed “get up”. Also I think we just found the best setting for Konstantin’s laugh. Derision.
I like that Carolyn took Mo’s omelette away from him, but not in order to eat it herself. As she has made clear in the past (in the greatest line of television dialogue ever), “I can’t stand breakfast. It’s just endless eggs. Why? Who decided?”
I figured Konstantin would have driven off with Irina in a panic. Sure, the police might be looking for them, but wouldn’t they be traveling under different names?Otherwise, the episode was pretty good and clicked along fairy well. I feel like we get too much detail on the people V is killing these days. You don’t need a song and dance to prove this golfer is an asshole; having worked briefly at a golf course concession stand, I can tell you there’s a thousand little ways they can demonstrate their misogyny, entitlement, etc. And the victims don’t have to be assholes, either; the shock comes from her amorality.Why is the focus so weird this season? I’m sick of the vaseline frames.
I’m starting to get that sinking feeling I had around this point of Dexter – I’m really enjoying the ride but I’m concerned that the train was never really on the tracks and we’ll only meander from here
Another entertaining episode, but there is more punting going on now than a Bengals-Lions game. I think the show is better than ever for its entertainment value, but they kind of messed up the plot driver of Villanelle and Eve meeting. 1) Because they’ve already done it, 2) As you see Eve chase the train you realize had she gotten on board and caught Villanelle – so what? She can’t arrest her. The story demands the characters can’t kill each other (yet anyway). It has become a bit anti-climactic. There’s not much payoff for this until the finale. Could be why they’ve boosted The Twelve in importance. They’ve fleshed out the rest of the ensemble so well that I think it is overall a better show even if the plot is suffering. It’s a little heavy on the dying-not-dying subterfuge. It’s impractical and not really explained. Nico should be so dead. Dasha too. Just don’t know where you go that’s worthwhile with either of them, but maybe there will be a payoff somewhere.They’ve gotten loose with travel to the point of plot confusion. They previously treated locale changes with a little more weight to drive the story. Now, whatever- they just are places. All over. In minutes. Really conveniently, to the point of blowing that desired suspension of belief. Konstantin travels back and forth to Russia like it’s nothing to the point many viewers didn’t understand that fact. BTW, his daughter is in custody for murder, but her mother is nowhere to be found? And he leaves a key with a neighbor? And who called the cops to scare Eve away from Dasha? The American was alone on the road. Dasha was hidden in the brush. How would Konstantin have any idea where to get Villanelle in the middle of a golf game assassination? Th
They are at least covering for some story instability by writing great scenes, dialogue, and character development. And I think Sandra Oh is now at her strongest in all of the seasons. I was not all that compelled by the neurotic Eve carrying the show as I am by the energized vengeful Eve sitting a bit behind the other characters.And I think sis killed Kenny out of jealousy and her employment in the Twelve. Carolyn will be forced to dispatch her or die herself, but she’s too great a character to kill off anytime soon. Buh-bye daughter.Great show overall.
It’s requiring more than the usual suspension of disbelief to roll with the notion that Konstantin would leave a key with a neighbor.Right? I like the running gag of people waiting for him in his apartment, but they did so with decreasing plausibility.
I’ve never seen Jodie Comer in anything but Killing Eve, so it was great to hear her natural accent for once! She is supremely talented.
Oh, that isn’t Comer’s natural accent. She’s full on Scouse in real life.
You are so right! Not sure why I thought she was Scottish. And now I know what Scouse means! Thank you!
check out dr. foster; i think it’s on netflix.
DRAMA!
I hated her character soooo much on Dr. Foster.
even tho it’s not her real accent either (i don’t think?) she’s great on my mad fat diary! it’s still on hulu i believe
They should RE-NAME this show: “KILLING TIME!” ‘Cos first? I think if shows are going to either choose to have, or mitigate around being FORCED to switch-tracks mid-journey! And have all these different showrunners/writers take over the helm! Then a really clear bible needs to be part of the whole deal. WHY? Because in any OTHER sphere of life – THAT would be the most LOGICAL recourse. I think we ALL know how Writers’ Rooms can very quickly morph into fawning, job-securing “Sycophantsville!” With EVERYONE being all faux-gung ho about every bogus bullcrap “idea” that the present showrunner barfs up on a Bad Day! With seemingly NO ONE having the GUTS to be TRUE to THAT part of their craven anatomy…and say VITALLY required stuff like: “This plot needs to STOP tossin’ in Child Psychos an’ Clowns an’ CRAP? And get BACK to “Making KE GREAT Again!” I mean..come on! WHERE else? But the current dispensation of KE! Would one expect to find – say: Builder No. 1 from “ACME Bridge Builders, Inc.” dutifully laying-out their bespoke bridge building blueprint! Only for Builder No. 2 …in TRUE “No. 2″ style? To come along along and cheerfully construct a Swing Set that SAILS over everyone’s heads! A “fresh, new, injection of Creativity”all fine and GOOD! When it is NOT mutually exclusive of Logical Cohesion! And PLEASE don’t get me started on that REALLY overdone captioning…my GOD? WHY, pray tell? The really weird “necessity” to BOLD-TITLE nearly every bloody SUB-LOCALE? “THE LOO!” “NO! BEHIND THE LOO!” I mean…come ON, now.! WHAT next can viewers expect from…”KILLING TIME?” The breathless “revelation” that Konstantin is somehow closely related to Caroline’s…RAT that guzzled that FLAT Coke with NOT just ONE? But TWO Little Hairy RAT-Hands? Geez! MY house-rats scarf-back “Please Go Away” pellets by the store-full…an’ NOT EVEN the Exterminator has come calling to make either ME…or THEM…a “STAR!” Alright, already!
This was the best episode of KE since S1. I mean, it had the perfect balance of drama, humour, darkness, and intrigue. Plus the dialogue and pacing was fantastic. I think the critics just don’t get this show anymore, which is nothing but reflective of a very shallow appetite for things that they cannot relate to (a queer love story draped in toxic but compelling psychology).
It’s a radical concept, but a show called Killing Eve should actually give a little love to the character its named after. Heresy I know, but that’s the hill I’m going to die on.
Did enjoy Eve giving Dasha a chest massage—with her foot and her expression—WHOA. Sandra Oh’s acting with her face is making up for the dialogue she isn’t being given to say.
The whole season could have used a lot more Dark Eve much sooner.
S3, turrible. S1, S2 solid and intriguing given Eve’s marriage dynamic. They killed all the relatable characters. Kim Bodnia was severely underused and (stereo)typecast, (watch ‘The Bridge’ and “Pusher” from ‘96. They could’ve skipped the Dasha character, with her bad Russian accent, S3 (IMO) was just repetitive and turgid and turrible.