Killing Eve is now the story of two exes who can’t move on
But that's okay, because we don't want Eve (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) to move on.
TV Reviews killing eve
Four seasons into chasing each other around Europe, Eve and Villanelle have journeyed to some intense emotional extremes—they’ve hated each other, gotten used to each other, helped each other, and of course, nearly killed each other repeatedly. It’s a lot for any two people to endure, and the show doesn’t try to suggest that the relative peace of their final conversation on the bridge in Season 3 would have resolved any of their conflicts. Instead, where they begin Season 4 has them behaving sort of like exes who can’t quite seem to let each other go.
Of the two, Eve has made more progress. She’s energized, having a fun romance, and as hot on the trail of the Twelve as ever. She’s also learned absolutely nothing about risk taking, as demonstrated by her unarmed, solo stalking of someone she thinks is being recruited to be an assassin, and as such is lucky that she ends the scene bruised but not dead.
That would-be assassin may not achieve her dreams, though, considering she both fails to stop Eve and immediately reveals that she’s meeting with Hélène, the French-looking power player among the Twelve that Eve has been pursuing.
It’s a sharp contrast from Villanelle, who is still in the trying-to-get-your-ex-back stage of their breakup. She’s hanging out morosely at a church, bonding with yet another pretty young woman, and completely failing to convince the priest that she’s in earnest in her efforts to get baptized. It’s an exercise in contrasts between the two of them—Villanelle may be seeking goodness, but she can never quite fool everyone that she’s a normal person. While Eve, for all of her attraction to the darker side of humanity, is perfectly capable of blending in with the normal world, forming new relationships, and experiencing the joys and frustrations of an ambitious career. The parallel stories serve as an important reminder that no matter how much Eve may be tempted by the dark side, or have some unsavory passions in common with Villanelle, she’s still capable of being human beneath it all, whereas Villanelle has always had something profoundly wrong with her.
The episode goes a little too heavily on this angle about Villanelle. She spends a significant number of her scenes in this episode framed by angel wings, and while on some level it’s part of her staging of her own redemption arc, it’s so heavy-handed as to get tedious as the episode goes on. Likewise, the random cat murder in the episode seems like shock for shock value, rather than a sign of her darker nature coming through, as her assault of May seems to be later. There is a certain humor to her disappointed hopes when Eve doesn’t show up for her absolute sham of a baptism, though: One thing Eve has never been on this show is an attentive or devoted partner, particularly when she’s on the hunt of some new obsession. It’s one of her most consistent characteristics.
Meanwhile, Carolyn remains just as determined as Eve to get to the bottom of what’s going on, but her consistent withholding of information from Eve means that the two of them aren’t actually working together. Rather, they seem to be on occasionally intersecting paths towards the same destination, albeit one Carolyn is going to get to via spy shenanigans, versus getting punched below an underpass like Eve.
This show has always worked best as an exploration of the dynamic between Eve and Villanelle, but as the seasons have gone on, that relationship has often taken a backseat to other, more ambitious storytelling. It looks, for now, like the big focus of the final season is going to be on taking down the Twelve, which is somewhat unfortunate—faceless power brokers simply don’t have the visceral appeal of those two trying constantly to get the better of each other. After a pandemic-lengthened absence, let’s hope they still get in a few good battles before the show signs off for good.
Stray observations
- It’s a little weird to come back to this show after so long away! It both feels like itself, and like an imitation of itself. A line like “You shot me in my hand!” followed by “Oh, get over it” is both profoundly this show and a little bit like someone trying to mimic this show.
- Similarly on the nose is a lizard crawling up the wall next to a campaign poster of Konstantin, but I still got a kick out of it. Subtlety has never been Killing Eve’s thing.
- Is there anyone on TV with a better laugh than Kim Bodnia?
- That opening scene definitely wants you to suspect that the mystery figure isn’t really Villanelle, and everything from the height to the physicality is off. She doesn’t move like Villanelle, and it’s a testament to Sandra Oh’s skill as an actor that when the big reveal happens, the way the motorcyclist has been moving is instantly recognizable as Eve. I don’t know how Oh walks in real life, but that was some distinctly Eve stomping.
- Is it just me, or does this show sometimes make Eve aggressively heterosexual? The scenes where she’s intimate with men stand out since she’s been in this prolonged psychosexual but physically unrealized relationship with a woman.
- I was worried that first scene would be our only Pam moment, but I’m glad she seems to be sticking around. She’s played by Anjana Vasan, who stars in the truly wonderful Peacock show We Are Lady Parts.
- Since this is the first episode of the final season, should we make any guesses as to whether the title comes true? Konstantin’s parting words to Eve about whether or not she’ll make it out of this alive are a threat in the moment, but it was hard not to think of the title of the show when he said it.
25 Comments
the christian fans are upset about this. they enjoy the countless cold murders but they draw the line at imaginary female jesus okay.
I was worried that first scene would be our only Pam moment, but I’m
glad she seems to be sticking around. She’s played by Anjana Vasan, who
stars in the truly wonderful Peacock show We Are Lady Parts.same! i hope she’s a tougher assassin (or whatever opponent she is) than the ghost so that there’s a lot more of her. i hope we get a second season of we are lady parts this season. i tell everyone who i think would enjoy it to watch it but no one has given it a go. i have my suspicions why and one of them suck.
the christian fans are upset about this. they enjoy the countless cold murders but they draw the line at imaginary female jesus okay.
Maybe it follows double-negative rules. So a fictional imaginary female jesus makes a real one?
I think it would’ve worked much better if she saw Eve as Jesus. This hallucination felt like it was trying too hard to be zany & shocking.
It did feel a little too wacky sitcom to me. Buuut it kinda fits with Vill’s somewhat narcissistic nature to envision herself as Jesus.
Most people believe in a god with surprisingly similar worldview as themselves.How many times do you hear “Well, the God that I believe in wouldn’t think that.”
I’m a Christian fan and I was good with this.
I was so glad to see [redacted] show back up goofily busting into Carolyn’s office. Interested to see how he’ll play into this season with the whole promotion and all. Might be in the minority but I think he’s such a blast to have around
I was glad that Eve shot Konstantin just for his obnoxious laugh. Also Villanelle shot Konstantin once so that is yet another linkage of the two of them. Villanelle is such a psycho. Definitely see why May would have been smitten by her even if she hilariously & dangerously misunderstood her. Carolyn is such a great character. Even though her former subordinate is holding all the cards, I was scared for him when he threatened her. The only thing that saves him might be that she doesn’t take him seriously enough to bother obliterating him.They really have to resolve the storyline with The Twelve. It is way too annoying that they have been central to the show’s premise since the beginning & we still know basically nothing about them.
I was good after season 1, nobody else can touch Waller-Bridge’s dialogue punch-ups.
I admit to being ‘eh’ to Emerald Fennell’s S2 run, but am definitely interested in more of her work considering she wrote & directed “Promising Young Woman”.I absolutely *loved* every aspect of that movie (even the thought she put into the costuming was sublime) . So I’ll be a permanent fan if Fennell’s next movie is as amazing.
I have a worrying suspicion that this show isn’t going to have a satisfying conclusion. Mostly because this show has gone so far off the rails from where it started that I don’t know what an ending looks like for this show.
I also don’t know how this show can possibly end in a satisfying way, but who knows, the whole thing is a glorious mess, maybe they can pull it off. I certainly am on board for the attempt
Makes me think of…
Since this is the first episode of the final season, should we make any guesses as to whether the title comes true? Gramatically speaking, the Eve in the title can either be object or subject, as in “Someone will be killing Eve this season” or “I liked her more before she became a killing Eve this season.” And it can also be less literal, as in “This quest is killing Eve.” Take your pick.
Are we not going to discuss how, after an entire season of trying to keep his head down and avoid being killed by either Carolyn or the Twelve, Konstantin is suddenly a politician? Or how Villanelle has now finally gone completely insane and is hallucinating herself as Jesus? (I don’t mind us not talking about that wanker Hugo being back, twice as terrible as before.)
What’s up with May now. It looks like Villanelle is still in her house.Are May and her Dad still alive? Did May just forgive her like it’s no big deal?When Villanelle had May’s head in her lap after she came to, I was afraid Villanelle might just snap her neck anyway, like she did that kid in the hospital.
I definitely agree that the Villanelle half of the storyline could have used some work. It seemed to drag a little.What was that shirt-dress thing Carolyn was wearing? It looked like she took a bedsheet and put buttons on it. I have a sheet set that looks just like that.
I actually thought it looked quite good on her. Certainly an odd clothing choice. But she weirdly pulled it off.
While I hate dresses – and never wear them – I thought Carolyn looked great in that blue shirt dress, so much so that I rewound to take another look.
I appreciate Eve being more active since the title character was almost an afterthought last season.
“Is it just me, or does this show sometimes make Eve aggressively heterosexual?”100% not just you.
The last season ended with Eve and Villanelle standing on a bridge not being able to turn away from each other. Did I miss a between-seasons short or something that explains why Eve is now aggressively hetero-ing it out and ignoring Villanelle and they’re several countries away from each other?
Is it weird I’m kind of… into Bearded Jesus Villanelle? Especially in the second episode. Which… I’m guessing won’t be covered until next week?Anyway, I hope we get more Konstantin than what was basically a cameo this week. That man is a delight.
Normally the BBC would be pushing this hard. However when it came to it, there has barely been a whisper about its release. It seems now is not a great time to broadcast shows about lovable Russian psychopaths.
I guess it was just me who saw (or perceived) a call-out to the Romeo and Juliet scene with the aquarium… at first I thought, hmm, little too on the nose with the ill-fated star-crossed lovers thing, but then, there were so many other nose-bopping moments that I honestly think it might have been an intentional homage.