Killing Eve Showrunner Explains Why That Death Had to Happen

Killing Eve is back, and deadlier than ever.

The beloved BBC America/AMC drama made a splashy return to the air Sunday night, and not everyone survived the season premiere.

We're heading into spoiler territory, so please only scroll down if you've watched Killing Eve Season 3 Episode 1.

Kenny Stowton (Sean Delaney) was brutally killed off by a mystery assassin as he continued his investigation of The Twelve.

Eve (Sandra Oh) arrived to meet her friend at his place of work, and instead of finding him, she found his phone.

A body flew past the window from above, and Eve rushed down to investigate. Unfortunately, Kenny was dead, leaving Eve to question who carried out the killing.

Killing Eve Season 3 showrunner Suzanne Heathcote opened up to Entertainment Weekly about the controversial decision, explaining that it was essential to the overall plot of Season 3.

"We had to think long and hard about it... Those decisions are never easy."

"But with this story, given everything that had happened to Eve the past two seasons, we really felt we had to honour where she was at.

"And nothing was going to bring her back into investigating the Twelve for a professional reason. It was just too much water under the bridge for her, emotionally," she continued.

"So we knew there had to be something really personal happen to bring her back in. And the more beloved the character, the more it means when they go."

Naturally, fans were unimpressed with the development, taking to Twitter following the telecast of the episode to voice their frustration.

"WHO ON EARTH WOULD WANT TO KILL POOR INNOCENT KENNY?? HE WAS BEING A GOOD FRIEND TO EVE AND FINALLY STOOF UP TO HIS MOM AND FOR WHATT," said one fan.

Another couldn't help but compare the development to South Park.

"I went full on South Park last night...OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED KENNY. THOSE B*****DS."