Killing Eve Season 2 Episode 8 Review: You're Mine
Carissa Pavlica
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There wasn't a grand scheme in place to manipulate Eve into becoming a parter with Villanelle, but on Killing Eve Season 2 Episode 8 it was revealed that Carolyn didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
The good news is a sadistic killer is off the streets.
The bad news is a sadistic killer is on the streets, and her crush on Eve took a devastating turn.
To be clear, I do not fully understand what the hell happened during the Killing Eve Season 2 finale.
So let's talk it out to see if it makes a little more sense in hindsight.
Villanelle would make a terrific spy if she wanted to give up her sadistic side.
She's incredibly curious and takes in everything around her. Her lack of fear gives her an advantage others don't have because she's willing to look when somebody else might hold back in fear of their safety.
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That's how she not only found the room in Aaron's house he dedicated to watching his prey but dug even deeper by opening files to discover his most demented behavior.
You might think it strange that Aaron didn't have any protection on his setup, but his arrogance allowed him to think he was the smartest person in any room.
Nobody would ever find him out because he's just so damned clever.
Even when Villanelle discovered his dark secrets, he used them to his advantage trying to lure her deeper into his world.
But while Villanelle is his equal in many ways, being with him gave her a sense of superiority. She enjoyed knowing there was someone more depraved than she, and when she got the opportunity, she turned the table on him.
She also invited Eve to join her so her moment would have a more significant impact.
Villanelle's discovery coincided with a strange even at Eve's hotel, and this is the cause for my confusion.
Who were the thugs who broke into Hugo's room and shot him?
They didn't break into Eve's room because we learned on Killing Eve Season 2 Episode 7 that they had separate rooms when Hugo asked her why they were setting up surveillance in his room, and she noted she didn't want that shit in her room.
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The odds of two random thugs causing a ruckus at the exact moment Villanelle used her safe word was very strange.
I don't think they were The Twelve because we also know that Raymond, who was representing the group, had been asked not to kill Villanelle until Aaron Peel was dead.
Since the plan was still in motion, it doesn't make sense for them to send someone after Eve and Hugo who were essential to the plan.
My only thought is they could be the undead "family" Konstantin mentioned when he subtly let slip not all of Villanelle's family were as dead as she thought.
Eve: Oh my god, you're alive.
Hugo: I played dead. It's a hero's technique.
Eve: Villanelle used the safe word!
Hugo: It's a bit late for that.
Anyhoodle. That sequence of events has to mean more than showing how cold Eve could be in the name of Villanelle.
It also forced Eve to use a little more ingenuity to get to Aaron's house undiscovered, but any strength she had flew right out the window when she entered the door there to find Villanelle laughing over breakfast with Aaron.
Aaron: Eve Polastri.
Eve: Yes.
Aaron: Does the secret service really pay that badly? I would have found you something a bit more exciting than cleaning my house if I had known. Is that my letter opener? What are you going to do? Whittle me to death?
At least Aaron got to use his dry sense of humor a bit before seeing his way out of this dimension.
Eve was less angry than she was hurt that Villanelle called her to the villa. It forced a reckoning within Eve to better study the person before her and the one she had become.
She left Hugo bleeding out on the floor in her quest to keep Villanelle, a well-trained assassin, safe from Aaron.
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It's hard to imagine just how well Carolyn and Konstantin knew their subjects, but it's also difficult not to believe they knew exactly how everything would go down.
From the moment they gave Villanelle a safe word, they knew she would use it somehow implicating Eve in Aaron's assured death to get them off the hook.
Eve was buying into the idea Villanelle might team up with Aaron, proving she's a terrible match for Villanelle. Eve works with her heart, and that lack of confidence can be deadly.
Then again, Aaron's arrogance put him in much different position with Villanelle because he thought she was so similar to him that he could trust her.
Villanelle: You want me to kill Eve? [Aaron nods, trancelike] Do you think I would kill you, Eve?
Eve: Yes.
Villanelle: [to Aaron] Do you want to watch?
That should have been a reminder to Eve who she was dealing with when it came to Villanelle, but she was too far gone to grasp much.
That's partly why she allowed Villanelle to take the reins and control the situation going forward. Well, that and getting blindsided by Carolyn's manipulation.
Carolyn: Unfortunately, Aaron Peel isn't the first megalomaniac to think about weaponizing and selling data, but now, thanks to you and Villanelle, he can't.
Eve: You wanted him dead! You sent us here to kill him.
Carolyn: On the contrary. I told you strenuously and repeatedly NOT to kill him. But, it's hardly our fault if an assassin for The Twelve murdered Aaron Peel. In fact, I think people will be rather relieved.
Eve: Villanelle wasn't working for The Twelve.
Carolyn: Wasn't she? Whose really to know who she was working for?
Eve: I do! She was working for us!
Carolyn: Oh, I see. This is uncomfortable.
Eve: This is not uncomfortable. This is a setup.
It's hard to tell if the duo is getting manipulated even further by Carolyn and Konstantin. Knowing the two women as well as they did paid off so well they might also believe Villanelle will kill Eve to clear up any loose ends when it comes to Eve knowing how they operate.
There were so many hints during the season including Eve's lack of participation in all normal functions of MI6. They've carefully orchestrated so much of what's played out it's hard to know where it will stop.
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They surely knew Villanelle and Eve would choose each other over any other kind of assistance.
With how quickly Raymond appeared at Eve's hotel, signs point to even more involvement. Even Raymond knew the place to find Villanelle was with Eve, and he was there just moments after Carolyn left.
Even after watching how easily Aaron fell into the trap with Villanelle, Eve was so distressed that she couldn't recognize Villanelle doing the same thing to her when the fight erupted with Raymond.
Even if she hadn't had a gun, Raymond was no match for Villanelle. When he had two hands on her strangling her, she could have very easily gotten the drop on him. She's too cunning to be overcome like that.
But Eve fell for it.
Killing Raymond isn't all that big of a deal in light of all the other things Eve had done to that point, but that Villanelle so easily manipulated her was almost frightening.
That look of satisfaction on Villanelle's face said it all.
She got to have fun with another kill, and Raymond's death had all of the flourishes Villanelle so greatly enjoys. Hell, Eve was even wearing a uniform!
Eve utterly collapsed after that, allowing Villanelle to lead her anywhere she wanted to go.
She was in shock and reeling with the enormity of everything that happened during her day. From sleeping with Hugo to the thugs shooting him to leaving him alone to the safe word and all of it's consequences to killing Raymond, it was one hell of a day.
If Villanelle hadn't let birds frighten her to the point she pulled a gun, their happily ever after would have lasted a bit longer.
Having a little time and using some of her pent up emotions trying to break out of the tunnels restored some sense to Eve. Getting set up not once but twice in a day had to sting.
Eve: Why didn't you shoot Raymond?!
Villanelle: You had it under control.
Eve: Not I didn't. I... You wanted me to do it.
Villanelle: I wanted you to know how it feels. How did it feel?
Eve: Wet.
Villanelle: [laughs] I'm proud of you.
Eve: Proud?
Villanelle: Yes, we're safe now.
She snapped, suddenly forgetting who was dealing with in Villanelle.
It wasn't too long ago that Villanelle told her she liked Eve but not that much that she wouldn't hurt her. We can only chalk up her whiplash from believing Eve might kill her at Aaron's to standing in Villanelle's face and insulting her on trauma.
Villanelle: You're ruining the moment.
Eve: What do you think is happening here?
Villanelle: What? I think we...
Eve: You think we'd be what? Become Bonnie and Clyde? Just go on a killing spree, cut a few throats?
Villanelle: Stop it.
Eve: You want me to be a mess. You want me to be scared! But I'm like you now. Not afraid of anything. This is what you wanted.
Villanelle: This is what YOU wanted! This is what you wanted. [Eve backs away] No, Eve. Why are you being like this? You love me.
In other circumstances, Villanelle's declaration of love for Eve would have sparked something else entirely, but on that day with those previous events, Eve didn't care who she was dealing with.
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Like any lovers' spat, Eve and Villanelle were too hurt to be thinking clearly. But Eve wasn't dealing with any old lover. She was playing with the emotions of an assassin.
Villanelle: I love you.
Eve: You don't understand what that is.
Villanelle: Yes, I do. You're mine.
Eve: No.
Villanelle: Yes, you are! YOU'RE MINE! Eve?? I thought you were special.
Eve: Sorry to disappoint.
How defeated do you have to feel to turn your back on an emotionally volatile assassin?
Spurned, Villanelle did what she does best. She eliminated the object of her desire.
But in turning and walking away from Eve without checking to see if she's dead, she utterly failed at her job.
After all, we already got wind of the hero's technique that Eve was playing on the ground. Hugo had used it earlier.
Villanelle's weapon of choice isn't a gun. That's part of the reason she didn't use it on Raymond. She doesn't enjoy it. Because she uses them so infrequently, her aim was probably not very good.
What on earth can come from Killing Eve Season 3? Once Eve gets wind of the events in the storage locker with Niko, she'll have even more ill-will toward Villanelle.
They've turned on their handlers which could mean they're out int he streets hunting each other down like wild animals while MI6 and The Twelve hunt them.
The possibilities are endless, but the flirtation portion of the entertainment probably won't flare again.
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To see the whole season in its entirety, you can watch Killing Eve online. That's all you can do until we find out when another season is coming our way.
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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.
