Killing Eve Season 1 Episode 8 Review: God, I'm Tired
Carissa Pavlica
at
.
This season was too short.
It wasn't too short because Killing Eve Season 1 Episode 8 didn't provide a smashing ending to a thrilling first season, but because the thought of waiting another year for more of this dynamic duo squeezes my heart and mutilates my mind.
The best thing about Killing Eve Season 1 coming to an end is knowing we can sit down and watch it from start to finish again without interruption to see all of the nuances we missed. With writing, performances, and direction this spectacular, there will be a lot that is new upon a second (or third) watch.
From start to finish, the finale delivered. It was not only very entertaining but left a lot of dangling stories to pick up during Killing Eve Season 2.
The relationship between Villanelle and Sausage Irina is one I hope will continue into Season 2. I know Carolyn pretended to receive a call confirming Konstantin's death, but I believe her as much as she and Kenny could put their faith into Eve that she received a call from Niko at the airport.
Lies had become the staple of Killing Eve as the season progressed.
Villanelle: Shut up or I'll blow your tiny head to pieces!
Irina: My dad is going to kill you in the face!
Villanelle: No, I am going to kill your dad in the face.
Irina: No, why?
Villanelle: Because you're dad is an arsehole.
Irina: You can't say shit about my dad!
Villanelle: I can!
Irina: You can't!
The girl who played Irina was a magnificent little actress, going toe-to-toe with Jodie Comer in their scenes together showing us without the need for Villanelle to ask which Konstantin loved better. While one was his blood, the other took blood for him. They are so alike it would be hard to choose.
Equally annoying and adorable, Konstantin probably wishes his daughter to grow up to be like Villanelle with just a bit less of the sociopath in her. And yet Irina saw in Villanelle what most of us have seen all season long.
Irina: I have decided you are a good person.
Villanelle: Oh really? Why is that?
Irina: Because you are sad, and sad people are usually good because they feel things more.
Villanelle: Oh God. You are one of those profound kids. I am not sad. I have a happy face.
It's impossible not to fall for Villanelle, and that's the crux of Killing Eve. Even Eve, who felt she had lost everything to this woman, can't help but be infatuated with her, making the entire situation all the more annoying.
Related: Killing Eve Season 1 Episode 7 Review: I Don't Want to Be Free
What do you do when you love someone and hate them at the same time? I guess you stab them and then hope like hell you can save their life.
Villanelle: Did you have a party or something?
Eve: I have lost two jobs, a husband, and a best friend because of you.
Villanelle: Yeah, but you got some really nice clothes out of it, so...
Eve was a wannabe spy at Killing Eve Season 1 began, and she learned the ropes very fast. At first, it was fun and games. She was a spy! She thought she could do it all and have the life she had always lived. It didn't turn out quite as she expected, and by the end, even Carolyn wanted to close down their little spy ring.
Eve has learned enough to keep more secrets than not and that if Carolyn wants to close it down, it's probably because she's hiding something she doesn't want Eve to know. After all, she claimed early on she couldn't put the pieces together. If Carolyn was so close all along, why shut Eve out when Villanelle is still free?
She admitted herself it was a nasty, but effective, move to share her personal letters with Vlad. Nobody was going to look into who broke Villanelle out of prison? Didn't that seem odd? It was even odder that nobody was going to try to put her back into prison if that's where they really wanted her.
But she was never meant to be there, so "breaking her out" shouldn't have been an issue in the first place, even if suddenly it became one. That all got a bit confusing.
Now, Eve is confident most of the time, even if she's still not apt with a gun. She couldn't care less about being on Konstantin's hit list if only he would tell her why he was on Villanelle's.
The more feelings Eve lost, the more Villanelle found. The latter has had tears in her eyes quite a few times as the season wound down, but when it came to Anna, she might have been verklempt at seeing her and feeling cared for again, but when Anna took her own life, it didn't bother Villanelle in the slightest.
She's moved on to Eve. And we had every indication that Eve was equally enamored with Villanelle.
Kenny: We need to ask why she wanted us back in London. We need to respect...
Eve: No! We need to ask her what the HELL she was getting out of my girlfriend.
The writing is so perfect in allowing Eve to call Villanelle "her girlfriend." I do that with ever infatuation I have as a straight girl. I used to use the terminology with all my boyfriends, too. "Don't look at my girlfriend like that." It is a thing.
But then she got the apartment and lost herself in wondering what was up with her feelings for Villanelle.
When she made it to the wardrobe, I would have given anything to see Sandra Oh pop into that pink dress. That would have been one of the highlights of my season. If Eve could have put on that dress before smashing all of the champagne and trashing the flat, all would have been right with the world.
Related: Killing Eve Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Take Me to the Hole!
Their talk went so well that I half expected Season 2 to focus on them going Thelma and Louise. Frankly, that would be an incredibly entertaining way for me to spend my Sundays.
Villanelle: So what now, Eve?
Eve: I'm going to tell you something. Sit down. I think about you all the time. I think about what you're wearing and what you're doing and who you're doing it with. I think about what friends you have. I think about what you eat before you work and what shampoo you use and what happened in your family. I think about your eyes and your mouth and what you feel when you kill someone, and I think about what you had for breakfast. I just wanna know everything.
Villanelle: I think about you, too. I mean, I masturbate about you a lot.
Eve: OK, that's...
Villanelle: Too much?
Eve: No... I just, I just wasn't expecting that.
The reality of it is Villanelle wants someone with whom she can be her kind of normal. She wants a Netflix and chill girl who likes good food and will support her in her cool job. Who can blame her? Isn't that what everyone wants?
Eve may one day be that girl. She's teetering on a very thin line between wanting to capture and torture Villanelle and wanting to live her life. She would have never imagined getting so close and almost killing her any more than she would have imagined thinking twice about it and trying to save her when this all began.
I don't expect Villanelle will be feeling as cordial toward Eve the next time they meet as she was during this social visit. She was considering going all in until Eve did the "rude" thing and then went so far as to disobey Villanelle's instructions by pulling out the knife.
The chase is on again, like two little girls on the schoolyard pulling each other's pigtails. In the end, they'll join forces as lovers, friends, or co-conspirators or they'll kill each other physically or metaphorically. There won't be a middle ground.
I cannot wait to see them again. What about you?
Loose Ends:
-
Who was on the phone when Carolyn said it was confirmation of Konstantin's death?
-
Is it The Twelve who has been watching over Villanelle's apartment building or another organization? Why didn't they trust Konstantin to tell them what she was doing?
- What was Kenny thinking after he saw the note Nadia slipped under the door for Villanelle at the prison?
Do it now: watch Killing Eve online and catch up with all the cool kids!
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.
