The problem with all cat and mouse stories is that once the two seemingly incompatible foes have met, the story loses that key element of tension that pulled it along. Now, with Killing Eve, we’re leagues past that initial meeting, but the series is still trying to chase that same high as we, the audience, wait to see how the next encounter between psychopath assassin and her increasingly attractive and attracted prey will play out. Well, we didn’t have to wait long this season. Although it was a bit of a disappointment.
On the narrative side of things, the meeting between Eve and Villanelle provided Eve with a crucial bit of information that allowed her to warn Carolyn (albeit a hair too late – always answer your phone, Carolyn) about Villanelle’s impending hit on the accountant. But it also indulged a bit too much in the electric chemistry between the duo, something I wish writer Laura Neal and director Miranda Bowen had pulled back on. Listen, I am all for a fun girl fight, and yes, while I don’t particularly ship the pair (I’d still like to see Eve kill Villanelle in the end rather than get fully sucked into her thrall, and I think the story would be all the better for that ending), I’m not about to say no to a strangely placed kiss between the duo, but that entire scene took some of the oomph out of Eve finding the bear in her bed at the end of the episode. That bear gets Villanelle’s point across to Eve far better than the bus scene did – the combination of forcing Eve to acknowledge the pull our favorite psycho has on her while also reminding Eve that she is never really out of Villanelle’s reach is a far more effective beat for this relationship than a sloppy fight in a bus (which is very much out of Villanelle’s MO, although perhaps we’re meant to see it as her starting to slip whilst Eve is around).
But the theme of the episode seemed to be people overestimating their own abilities, as every character made crucial missteps thanks to their own hubris. Villanelle’s manic side is back and in full view as she basks in the knowledge that her ultimate target is alive and well – and seemingly without that pesky husband. Eve, back in the game and clearly happy that she’s the one with the knowledge and power when dealing with her new journalist team, completely misses the signs that Niko was all out of their relationship. Konstantin has probably started putting two and two together after Villanelle’s slip of the tongue in their conversation and figured out that something fishy is happening with the The Twelve – namely that someone is stealing money from their accounts and then killing those who discover it*. And Carolyn has, presumably, realized that she’s not quite as invincible as she thought. That was a hell of a close call and I cannot wait to see the cracks begin to form in the character (not that they haven’t already started – Fiona Shaw is giving a heck of a nuanced performance here, and I’m thrilled the series is letting her get more involved this time around).
*While all the pieces of the puzzle are still getting assembled with the season arc – and while I think I’ve got a bit more figured out than what the show wants us to know at this point – the main thrust of the spy story seems to be that once dormant Twelve accounts are now activating and money is going missing. Just who is siphoning off the money is likely going to be the big mystery this season, along with just who Villanelle is really killing for – at this point, it’s not clear if she’s really taking her orders from The Twelve or if her new mentor Dasha is working for someone else. Or is it Konstantin who is actually the one taking orders from someone else? Either way, more people are going to die, and Villanelle is going to have a hell of a time killing them.
While I’m intrigued with the strong character work the series is offering this season (getting deeper into both Carolyn and Konstantin as characters is crucial to keeping the series interesting, as it can’t keep relying to heavily on the Eve-Villanelle relationship alone), I’m far less intrigued with the prospect of diving into Villanelle’s past. The thing with psychopaths is that there’s only so much mileage you can get out of their backstories before you risk altering the character too much. What makes a psychopath a psychopath is their lack of emotional engagement. We don’t need to sit through an explanation of what turned them this way – nature, nurture, or some combination of the two. That’s not what makes them interesting in this moment.
What the series Hannibal did so well was refusing to spend a great deal of time trying to explain its titular character. He was who he was, and his sad past doesn’t change that. Who Villanelle is now is far more interesting than who she was. Giving her a sad backstory (or even giving her a joyous backstory to contrast with her current self) doesn’t add or change who she is. Once you try to explain a psychopath, you begin trying to manipulate the audience into thinking they can change on some level. And that cheapens the character and the story you are telling. Let Villanelle be Villanelle. She’s never going to be good. She’s never going to be compassionate. And that’s the crux of her entire relationship with Eve. We want to see if Eve is going to willingly abandon her own morality and join Villanelle. That’s the central question of Killing Eve. Diving into Villanelle’s past won’t change it or change her.
Final Thoughts:
— You don’t hire Gemma Whelan, who’s currently on a professional roll with a series of high profile gigs, and then just keep her puttering around the house hugging her mother awkwardly (even if that scene was both funny and moving). Just saying, I think Geraldine will be getting off the bench soon in a big way, so watch out for that.
— Wouldn’t it be amazing if Kenny’s death did turn out to be some sort of accident and not a murder? I don’t think it will, but that would be one hell of a twist.
— I’m intrigued at how easily everyone seems to be trusting the journalists. Like, there’s been no vetting that we can tell, and they’re just one big happy investigative team. Also – what’s going on with the oversight assignment at MI6? It’s obviously going to come back up and bite them all in the ass at some point, but it’s strange that it was such a big deal and now it’s not even mentioned.
— Next week’s episode marks the halfway point in the season (I know, eight episode seasons are far too short for my tastes as well).
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