By Hannah Anstee
Note: Spoilers are included in the review below!
After a two year gap, Killing Eve has returned with their final season, and there have already been a lot of changes and developments in the premiere alone.
We wonÔÇÖt do an in-depth recap, but to summarise; Villanelle tried and failed to reform herself via Christianity, and has had some sort of psychotic break in the process. Eve has been working for private security, but she and her partner have been doing private investigation into The Twelve on the side. This has been largely focused on gathering information from Helene, VillanelleÔÇÖs very temporary handler and a high ranking member of The Twelve from season 3.
Similarly, Carolyn is desperately trying to gain information on whoever killed Kenny, and the members of The Twelve in general – so far, she has not made an awful lot of progress. However, you can tell sheÔÇÖs understandably furious under her polite facade, and I have high expectations that sheÔÇÖll end up blowing someone to pieces before the end of the season.┬á
This isnÔÇÖt relevant to the plot at all, but I need to point out how gorgeous some of the costume design has been so far. Eve has really been embracing her role in private security with disguises galore, and sheÔÇÖs got a boatload of new confidence to go with it. She dons a very attractive motorcyclist get-up right out the gate in episode 1, and proceeds to shoot Konstantin in the hand without hesitation – which was scarily hot. Her dress when sheÔÇÖs spying on Helene also shows her embracing this new confidence, proudly displaying her bullet wound from Villanelle.
And of course, I canÔÇÖt talk about costume without mentioning Villanelle – or VillanelleÔÇÖs hallucination, anyway – iconically dressed as Jesus in drag. Most of her outfits in the first two episodes have veered towards modest Christian and camping gear, a departure from her designer wardrobe from previous seasons, but thatÔÇÖs sure to change for the better later on.
At the end of episode 2, Villanelle commits homicide and leaves the campsite, seemingly as obsessed with Eve as ever. Meanwhile, Eve is having an oddly charged scene with Helene in her kitchen, who she is trying to impress for information. I felt weirdly like I was watching her cheat on Villanelle with a new assassin girlfriend – with injury and threats included – and she even made Helene the infamous shepherdÔÇÖs pie! IÔÇÖm definitely interested in seeing whether this thread to Helene ends in tragedy, and all I will say is itÔÇÖs lucky Villanelle is so out of the loop at the moment.
Honestly, the only major issue I have with the episodes is how the relationship between Villanelle and Eve has started off. That emotional scene on the bridge at the end of season 3, all the build-up over 3 seasons, boiled down to nothing? ItÔÇÖs like theyÔÇÖre right back at the beginning of season 1, playing cat and mouse, only interacting for tiny, precious moments – and Eve is acting completely emotionally closed off, even more so than in any of the seasons prior. Seeing as this is the final season, I was really hoping to see a more genuine relationship start developing between Eve and Villanelle from the start (and their passion being almost burnt out so far has been heartbreaking).
To conclude, as a whole I loved these first two episodes. They still have that funny, dramatic flair that the prior seasons delivered and are enjoyable to watch. They have also definitely made me curious about what will happen next; will we see more of Konstantin, get that resolution about KennyÔÇÖs murder, and the big question – how is everything going to pan out in the end? There is definitely still time for there to be major changes, so letÔÇÖs hope for the best going forward!
Killing Eve Season 4 is available to watch on BBC iPlayer, with a new episode out every Monday.
