Last we saw of “Killing Eve,” our joint protagonists had a long conversation about how in order to change, they must leave each other in the past. They walk away from each other, but turn around at the last minute, leaving open the possibility that they could still be in each other’s lives.
This season picks up an unspecified amount of time since then, and it seems like neither Villanelle (Jodie Comer) nor the titular Eve (Sandra Oh) has changed. Eve is still hunting down ominous and scarily powerful The Twelve, and Villanelle is still a manipulative and murderous psychopath (even if disguising herself as a Christian).
The first two episodes, released on AMC+, appear to be a sort of prologue for the rest of the season that lay the groundwork for our main characters’ plotlines this season. Eve has found a new partner, the handsome Yusuf (Robert Gilbert), to help her track down members of The Twelve in a seemingly endless and futile mission to destroy them. She’s living out of a hotel room and doesn’t seem to have any source of income. She opens the season by shooting newly elected mayor Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) in the hand, asking for information about Helene (Camille Cottin), an upper-level member of The Twelve. He directs her to assassin Rhian, whom Villanelle killed in season three. Yusuf points her in the direction of a funeral home that Rhian was sent to, and Eve tracks down the shady mortician, who is spotted getting into a car with Helene. When Eve tracks down Helene by placing a tracker tampon in her purse, Helene tortures her just a bit by pinning her hand to a stovetop. Eve says she wants to end The Twelve, and Helene agrees with her. The scene is defined by a bizarre sort of sexual tension that brings back memories of the iconic dinner between Eve and Villanelle in the first season, so hopefully a Helene/Eve team-up is coming.
Villanelle has started living in a cloister and devoting herself to Jesus Christ. Though she’s befriended the vicar’s daughter May (Zindzi Hudson), the vicar (Steve Oram) himself is suspicious of her. He sees through her performative Christianity and is skeptical of his daughter’s relationship with her. When May tries to kiss her, Villanelle almost drowns her in the baptismal font but resuscitates her at the last second. She starts “seeing” Jesus, who is a version of herself in drag and encourages her to make things right with May. Villanelle, being Villanelle, creates drama at the parish camping trip and ends up killing both May and the vicar in rather dramatic fashion. She then pins Jesus on the floor of her tent, kisses and then apparently crucifies herself as Jesus, and leaves the retreat. She’s clearly wrestling with morality, and though her newfound faith was performative and superficial, there does seem to be some attempt on her part to be a better person Of course, she does violently kill two people at the end of the second episode. I guess time will tell how this whole “I’m different now” thing goes.
At the same time, Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) is also working voluntarily to find The Twelve. Apparently their operatives have been being graphically murdered, and Carolyn is intent on finding whoever is doing it. To do so, she enlists the help of her former lover and season one character Vlad (Laurence Possa). It seems that Carolyn, Eve, and Helene all potentially want the same thing, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out and how Villanelle and former Twelve member Konstantin fit into that.
The best moments in the show, as usual, are the sparse moments in which Villanelle and Eve interact. In episode one, the two stare at each other through a fish tank, in a fun homage to the iconic scene in the 1996 Romeo and Juliet film adaptation. Villanelle forgives Eve for not attending her baptism and then suddenly kneels before her, praying for her. Their banter is a playful reminder of Oh and Comer’s now famous electrifying chemistry. As always, they’re still teetering on the edge of killing each other and kissing each other, and Eve ends the scene by slapping Villanelle in the face. Now that it seems Villanelle has exited her Christian era, it seems likely that she’ll be helping Eve and Helene destroy The Twelve.
While the writing was successful in bringing wittiness to its spy thriller script, the plot for these first two episodes flirted with boring and was only saved by the work of Oh and Comer. However, I’m optimistic for the rest of the season now that the characters’ arcs have been clearly mapped out.
Before we let you go, we have officially launched our merch store! Check out all of our amazing apparel when you click here and type in GVN15 at checkout for a 15% discount!
Make sure to check out our podcasts each week including Geek Vibes Live, Top 10 with Tia, Wrestling Geeks Alliance and more! For major deals and money off on Amazon, make sure to use our affiliate link!
Emmy is a big fan of all things TV and movies. Among her current favorites are The Matrix, Midsommar, Titane, and Fleabag. Catch her on Letterboxd @ewenstrup !
