When the 3rd season is over, we’ll have a summary episode where we talk about the six core questions and release our foolscap.
Reminder: Please watch the TV-Series Killing Eve Season 3 Episode 8 before you listen to the following episode. We not only give away spoilers, but we talk about the global story, and it’s just more valuable for you if you know what we are talking about because we reference a lot.
Initial Observations
Mel - Seems like the biggest crisis, and the highest stakes were neither for Villanelle nor Eve, but for Konstantin in this final episode, while Eve and Villanelle were only bystanders. If I wouldn’t love the character of Konstantin that much, the episode would have been lots more disappointing.
Parul - 50% thriller, 30% love, 20% morality
Randy - Finally.
Recap: What happened in the previous episodes:
- Villanelle attacked Dasha, her former mentor, with a golf club.
- Eve finds Dasha and steps on her ribs.
- Eve sees Villanelle leaving on a train.
- Konstantin has a heart attack and finds himself in the same hospital as Dasha.
- Another female assassin has killed Mo
5 commandments for Eve
- Inciting Incident: Villanelle gives Eve instructions
- Turning Point: Carolyn turns the gun on Konstantin
- Crisis: Does she stop Carolyn from shooting Konstantin - and be a hero?
- Climax: She stops when Villanelle puts her arm on hers
- Resolution: She confesses her feelings for Villanelle yet walks away on Villanelle’s instructions, yet turns around
5 commandments for Villanelle:
- Inciting Incident: Carolyn rejects Villanelle’s job application.
- Turning Point: Villanelle doesn’t try to save Konstantin.
- Crisis: Does she escape with Konstantin as per the original plan?
- Climax: She doesn’t save him and decides to stay with Eve. Konstantin is not family anymore.
- Resolution: She later tries to away from Eve, but can she?
5 Commandments of Konstantin
- Inciting Incident: Eve has the key to the money
- Turning Point: Paul calls Konstantin, tells him he knows he stole the money.
- Crisis: Does he go or not.
- Climax: He decides to confront Paul (why not run away instead?)
- Resolution: Carolyn kills Paul and lets Konstantin live.
Thriller
Finally, a speech in praise of the Villain!
Carolyne is about to give up: “One cannot destroy the 12.”
Randall: The lack of a real villain and a real Hero at the Mercy of the Villain scene made this episode anti-climatic.
I never felt Eve was in any danger, and Villanelle was in a little danger when she killed the other assassin, but I didn’t feel it either. The only person who was in danger was Konstantin. Eve doesn’t use her gift. There is no wow moment in the end.
Thoughts about the Global Story
Randy: I think the Global story was mostly a failure this season. The characters of Eve and Villanelle are great, they definitely are the reason that viewers keep coming back, and the scenes in this episode with Eve and Villanelle are great, I admit. Their banter is perfect and well written. And, yes, they probably wouldn’t have been as great if we had seen more of the two of them together, still - I feel like we should have seen more of them together in this season, their chemistry makes the show. I leave the rest of the comments to Mel. She has some good points.
Mel: I think when we do our summary episode about the third season, we should especially focus on Konstantin. I feel like the closest we got to a thriller in this season was through what was going on in Konstantin’s life.
He is at the immediate threat of the 12 because he wants to get out. And there’s so much at stake for him, and we see him struggle all season long for trying to break free. It doesn’t even cost him the sanity of his daughter, but also leads to his heart failures and hospital stay.
There were so many things going on with the 12 and the stolen money that Konstantin played the most important role in this season.
And maybe, because we were used to watching the great cat and mouse tension between Villanelle and Eve, we were disappointed because they didn’t deliver on the thriller. They were still in the spotlight, but they didn’t keep the promise of the genre as much as Konstantin and Carolyne’s character did. Supporting characters became the main ones.
And even though their stories were great - if our expectations are different because of what we were used to, even their great battles can’t make the show great anymore.
This season missed a lot of potential because of the lack of plot and keeping true to the main genre of the thriller for Villanelle and Eve.
Parul: Let’s go back to the Master Villain. While we have additional information about the 12 - possibly red herrings (is Paul the 12? If he was, why would Carolyn shoot him?) we don’t have enough information to care! Where is the true Hero at the Mercy of the Villain scene? We no longer care about this master villain killing en masse. We now have Villanelle’s transgressions seem to have been forgotten in the final scene, which is a classic love scene.
Some thoughts on the Love Genre
This episode is heavily focused on the love genre. Lovers reunite in the ballroom. They are dancing together (Hey eve, did you forget that Villanelle shot you?).
The sacrifice of Lover is our final scene, where Eve tells Villanelle what I think she has wanted to hear ‘When I think of the future I see your face’, but alas, they both conclude that Villanell’s inner monster brings out Eve’s inner monster.
Villanelle allows Eve to walk away from her - and even though they both turn around, remember how much of a sacrifice this is for Villanelle - the last time Eve tried to leave her, she shot her.
Morality Genre
Maybe it’s best to compare the first and the last episode to talk about the morality genre.
Eve was entirely at her worst at the beginning of Season 3. Villanelle shot her, and Niko was in a mental health clinic. She was working as a cook, away from doing what she loves: investigating.
Now in the last episode, Eve is right back to want to be with Villanelle. But they have met only once at the bus for a kiss and a head bump, and now Eve’s still so much in love with her that she doesn’t let all her past troubles affect her anymore? Not even a bit? They talk about the future and dance together? I think especially Eve’s character showed inconsistencies in this season because of everything that has happened or maybe Killing Eve is mainly a very bizarre love story. And we got the primary genre wrong with the thriller. After all, the last scene was a love scene and no suspenseful thriller scene.
And I know I talked about the morality genre for Eve a lot during every last episode. Still, either Eve is slipping down further and loses more and more of knowing what’s right or wrong which Parul will talk about in a second, or the writers and the showrunner just thought they switch and put the moral troubles on Villanelle’s shoulders because it’s evident that Villanelle can’t deal with her past and what she has become anymore. So is this setting her up for a path of redemption?
I guess we’ll find out in Season 4.
Parul: Eve misses her one chance of redemption. Because she doesn’t stop Carolyne.
Spotlight on how to end a season with a cliffhanger?
Randy - You need to give the viewers a reason to come back to the plot. The only reason I’m coming back is I want to see what will happen now between Villanelle and Eve, so I guess in a sense that is a success. But when I think about that, it means this season was less of a thriller and more of a love story, like Mel said.
If they had ramped up the 12 at the end, they could have created a cliffhanger through the plot. Another assassin from the 12 could have wounded or taken a shot at the main characters after Paul got shot. Eve and Villanelle could have looked back at each other than one, or both could have been shot. Helene could have appeared and shown how badass she is.
Mel: Yes, I totally agree, Randy. All the time we’re waiting for the 12 to show their true power. But all we know is that Konstantin is frightened of them, and Villanelle is still their best assassin because the Ghost in Season 2, as well as this other female assassin, were so easily killed or scared. And we don’t know much about Helene either. So I wished there would have been a great new clue to the 12. One that gives us this aha-moment and makes us excited for the next season.
And a cliffhanger is per se nothing else than a great unexpected event - a turning point - that turns the tables around and the characters are pushed in a crisis. And what makes us so engaged in the story is knowing the stakes - knowing what they can win or lose, now that everything’s on the line. And an event like this would have made me curious to want to keep on watching. Like Villanelle shooting Eve - that was definitely a turning point for the global story.
Parul: The Cliffhanger comes after the Showdown (also known as the Core Event) of a season or a book is where all the genres meet. In this episode, we have a Showdown with Carolyn, Paul, Konstantin, Villanelle, and Eve meet for the Hero at the mercy of the Villain. We have an incomplete thriller storyline with a sprinkling of the love and morality genre. What we could have seen was the melting of all three genres (imagine how wonderful this might be?) into this one scene.
What can we expect in the next season?
Randy: A Villain? I hope.
