Killing Eve Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Wide Awake
Carissa Pavlica
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How bad do you have to be feeling to confront your deepest feelings to a psychopath?
Well, Eve fell just shy of doing that on Killing Eve Season 2 Episode 7 when she scoured Villanelle's brain to find any similarity to what she's been feeling.
It's unlikely very many people have experienced anything similar to what is happening with Eve.
It takes Eve by surprise when Carolyn compares her to Villanelle by asking if there is increased agitation or restlessness in Villanelle and turning the tables onto Eve.
Eve is in way over her head, but at least she has someone looking out for her, as much as it helped the situation.
Kenny: Eve! You forgot your charger.
Eve: Oh, that's not mine.
Kenny: Don't go to Rome. Just don't.
Eve: What?
Kenny: Trust me. Get out of it. The operation I've been switched to is...
Carolyn: Kenny! Do you want chunky peanut butter or smoothe?
Kenny: Chunky.
Carolyn: Nice to see you, Eve. Oh, don't forget your charger.
That's the first clue that things are going sideways with Eve and Carolyn's working relationship. Kenny knows something, but Eve has been lax in heeding his warnings before, so it's no surprise she did the same here.
Still, she was concerned enough to make her way to psychopath-expert Martin's office where she not only realized attracting and being attracted to psychopaths may be her fatal flaw but that she's possibly more aware of what's happening to her than she cares to admit.
Martin: You know, when people come to see me to talk about someone else, they almost always want to talk about themselves. So.
Eve: I'm here for work.
Martin: Of course! How much of the day do you spend thinking about her?
Eve: Most of it.
Martin: Are you two in a relationship?
Eve: Define relationship.
Martin: Are you having sex?
Eve: No.
Martin: How are things at home?
Eve: My husband left me.
Martin: Are you behaving differently doing things that you normally wouldn't?
Eve: Yes.
Martin: Do you feel unsafe?
Eve: [whispers] Yes.
Martin: How else do you feel right now?
Eve: I feel wide awake.
Eve is not only vulnerable but she's allowed someone she loves just as vulnerable, and that's a sign in itself.
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Because while Eve was getting schooled by Martin and ignoring his advice that she step back from Villanelle just as Carolyn ignored his advice to pull her from the case for her safety (RED FLAG! RED FLAG!), Villanelle was messing with the man I still think Eve loves.
Jodie Comer is always irresistible when she's playing the whimsical side of Villanelle, and she expressed her need to please Eve to perfection.
Niko: What do you want?
Villanelle: I want the recipe to your shepherd's pie.
Niko: What?
Villanelle: The thing with the potatoes and the gray meat.
Niko: I know what shepherd's pie is.
Villanelle: Eve likes it. So? Come on!
Niko: Um. Uh. Onions. Carrots. Peas. Mince. Uh, tomato puree, stock, and some Worchester sauce.
Villanelle: Worchester sauce! OK. Worchester sauce. See? That wasn't so hard, was it?
Niko: Are you going to leave us alone now?
Villanelle: Of course not. Why don't you sit down?
It's at this time you have to remember how fantastical is Killing Eve because of the notion that Niko, even when separated from Eve, is out roaming around without protection.
Just as it makes little sense Villanelle would get used as a freakin' MI6 operative, leaving Niko to his own devices when there is a needy psychopath on the loose who also happens to have an explosive crush on his wife.
In that regard, Niko is public enemy number one.
So close. I was so close to letting both of you go. You should have chosen Gemma.
Villanelle
Eve is so mixed up she's acting out of concern for Villanelle taking care of herself. From her teenage-style phone message to Villanelle when she first met with Aaron, Eve has gotten her wires crossed.
It all must stem from Villanelle's call to Eve during Killing Eve Season 2 Episode 2. But what Eve has forgotten is that she had just tried to kill Villanelle.
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A physically healthy Villanelle is a Villanelle who doesn't need backup.
Eve mistakes Villanelle's playing along with Aaron as an indication she needs protection. From where I stand, Villanelle is playing only because she finds Aaron's similarity to herself intriguing and wants to get to know what makes him tick.
As their evening progresses, Aaron opens up to Villanelle offering her a look inside of herself.
Villanelle: You don't want to talk to them, touch them, sleep with them?
Aaron: God no. Do you?
Villanelle: Yeah. I do. All the time.
Villanelle and Eve are on similar journies.
Eve is discovering new parts to herself as a result of her interactions with Villanelle, but Villanelle is also on a path of discovery as a result of stepping into Eve's world.
First, she opened up to the Alcoholics Anonymous group getting insight into her void of pleasure by anything and the continual need to push envelopes only to feel something, anything.
But Villanelle knows Aaron is getting called a psychopath the same as she is, so seeing herself differently in comparison to him gives her hope. It got revealed in the smug smile she had with his admission.
If they're both voids but she has desires, surely that sets her apart from the more basic, brutal psychopath that is someone like Aaron.
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Villanelle is an oddity in that she's so controlled in who she kills and why.
For example, she's a terrific assassin, but to take any pleasure out of her work, she needs to make the most artistic choices. She gets dolled up in costumed and thrills her targets before murdering them.
We don't know what went down in the storage locker, but the combination of Gemma's utter annoyance at saying "Niko" surely played as much of a role in her death as Villanelle's desire to please Eve by taking out Gemma and Villanelle's own desire to see Niko pay for turning on the woman they love.
She's a crazy bitch made crazier by Eve's decision to play along with her.
Will the same thing happen with Aaron by Villanelle's playing along with him? Will she inadvertently up his psycho factor?
Because the more Eve moves with Villanelle's pulled strings, the scarier things are getting for her. She just can't see it.
We knew that Eve was going to fall into bed with Hugo at some point.
He's incredibly sexual at a time Eve is experiencing a thirst she's never had before. Losing Niko put her into dire straights sexually, and Villanelle took full advantage of her prey's vulnerability.
You should let yourself go once in a while. I can help you.
Villanelle
Villanelle doesn't know Aaron is peering into her every thought while she's encamped with him, so hopefully he wasn't watching while she played with Eve. While she played with herself.
Then again, if Aaron was watching Villanelle talking to and pleasuring herself, he might see it as another day in void land. He doesn't know she's on the hook with MI6, so he might think she's discovered his cameras and is playing straight into them.
Nonetheless, Eve's arousal was piqued and having Hugo at her disposal made a helluva threesome.
When his guard is down, Hugo seems like a great guy, and it was hard not to wince when he wanted to talk about the night before and Eve shut that door.
But he's always been keyed into Eve's fetish for Villanelle, so even if he didn't know Villanelle was an active participant in his night with Eve, he knew she was the passive player.
It's hard to imagine what will Eve will be thinking when she learns about Niko's run-in with Villanelle and plays it through with their tête-à-tête in mind.
With everything in mind, what do you imagine is coming in the (gasp) finale?
How will their worlds collide given everything we learned?
What does Kenny know? Why did Carolyn ignore the warning from Martin? Why does Villanelle need a safe word?
Do you have any thoughts on what lies ahead?
Dig into the episode below.
Let's get this conversation started!
And, as always, you can watch Killing Eve online right here via TV Fanatic if you need more information before we launch into the final episode of Killing Eve Season 2.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
