Bloodshed, high drama, humour, incredible fashion and undertones of sexual tension have been key components to the Killing Eve formula since season one. From Villanelle and Eve’s fight on the top floor of a London bus in season three, to their heated kitchen conversations pressed up against fridges and counters in season one and two, there has always been a prolonged note of desire playing in the background of the show.
So, fans were elated to see that, when the fourth and final season of the show began this week, it was its tensest yet: (SPOILERS AHEAD!) Divided by a fish tank in Eve’s hotel, the lead characters look into each other’s eyes without speaking before Villanelle breaks and tells Eve: ‘I forgive you’. After a heated conversation there’s a pause so long you think they might kiss, before Eve forcefully slaps Villanelle across the face.
‘Sometimes I forget about the stuff with The Twelve. I’m just watching for Eve and Villanelle drama tbh,’ wrote one fan on Twitter. ‘Not a plot in sight just women loving women,’ added another. ‘The sexiest scenes always take place in the kitchen,’ wrote a third on Twitter, before another noted that the main storyline was essentially just Eve and Villanelle’s heavy breathing. Overall, everyone seemed elated that the horniness of Killing Eve was back.
The push and pull of the power dynamic between the show’s two central characters has always been the dynamite that’s powered the show. And yes, there have been some complaints from critics that the fourth season doesn’t have enough teeth to its plot. But the development of Eve and Villanelle’s power dynamic has always been more fascinating than twelve mysterious assassins ever were.
As Sandra Oh speeds through streets on a motorcycle in head-to-toe leather before beating up a security guard and pulling out a loaded gun, it’s clear we’re not dealing with the same MI5 analyst we met in season one. ‘What are you now? An assassin?’ Konstantin asks Eve before she responds by shooting him straight in the hand. The scene had 007 energy, endless style— and is also a total role reversal.
Villanelle has become (as she tells herself in the mirror) ‘so holy’ and spends most of her time quoting the bible and preparing for her baptism to start a new life – between the occasional accidental strangling of her fellow Christians, of course.
In front of Eve, she gets on her knees and prays for her in a scene that immediately resurfaces memories of Fleabag’s sexy priest telling Phoebe Waller-Bridge to ‘kneel’ for confession. It's filled with lengthy pauses, long gazes, and a warped and evolving connection that's essential for all great stories.
Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh’s performances have kept us watching for three seasons. The cat and mouse chase has twisted and turned to a level of almost exhaustion but the excitement over the will they won’t they plot only makes it obvious that viewers are still captivated by the unresolved tension.
And if you don’t like the show’s final season? Viewers don’t seem to care anyway. As one fan wrote on Twitter: 'Just put Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer in scenes together doing literally anything. It’s all we’re here for.'
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