She’s bad. She’s back. She’s Villanelle.
Bursting back onto our screens on Saturday evening, Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer have reprised their roles to deliver us another stellar series of BBC America’s Killing Eve.
It’s been two years since we last saw psychopathic assassin, Villanelle (Jodie Comer), take British intelligence detective, Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) on an international manhunt, after the clumsy-yet-controlled investigator is tasked with managing her capture. Obsessed with the idea of completing her mission and coming face-to-face with the criminal wreaking deadly havoc across the world, Eve finally met her match during a stand-off at Villanelle’s Parisian flat. One stab wound later, Eve is in shock and MI6’s most wanted woman is nowhere to be seen.
“Sometimes when you love someone you do crazy things” – Villanelle
Having binged the second series in a matter of hours and to make sure no spoilers are present in this article, I’ll simply say this – if you liked series one, you’ll LOVE series two.
It’s full to the brim of dark humour, devilish charm and chilling events that cement Villanelle’s wicked tendencies and monstrous psychopathic traits. New and exciting characters are thrown into the mix that upset the equilibrium and place Eve in an array of dangerous situations, lending themselves to present fresh storylines for the likes of Russian sector investigator (and Eve’s manager), Carolyn (Fiona Shaw), Konstantin, Villanelle’s handler (Kim Bodnia) and Niko, Eve’s long-suffering husband (Owen McDonnell).
“You should never tell a psychopath they are a psychopath. It upsets them” – Villanelle
Detailing the aftermath of Villanelle’s unfortunate escape, series two picks up exactly where viewers were left, wondering whether Eve had indeed killed Villanelle; a mere thirty seconds after having stabbed her in a frantic attack. Now, the skillfully clever and charmingly dark assassin has disappeared out of sight and it’s up to Eve and her co-workers to bring her back to the UK: Villanelle has got some work to do.
The rest of the series is nothing short of brilliant and the action is incredibly well thought out. Every character has a motive, their actions and behaviour mapping complex pathways that provide a springboard for future catastrophic events. The episodes are different from the first series, the dynamic has altered. Villanelle’s own life and deadly antics almost take a back-seat as fresh storylines and characters come forward, her cold demeanour and chameleon-esque personality shifting in each episode, making them compelling to watch and under-pinning the captivating relationship between herself and Eve.
“I can’t stand breakfast. It’s just constant eggs. I mean, why? Who decided?“ – Carolyn
It’s difficult to write an article like this and not give away any details. If I must say anything, it’s to encourage you to watch this series (and the last if you haven’t already). It’s fresh, exciting, sexy and sophisticated. It’s humorous and dark, witty and evil – superbly portrayed and very, very good.
Full of twists and turns, catastrophe and heartache, not to mention Villanelle’s killer wardrobe choices, Killing Eve has proved yet again that it’s a series capable of presenting unique storylines, dangerous characters and delivering gruesome content.
The second series of Killing Eve is available in full on BBC iPlayer, and additionally airs weekly, Saturdays at 9:15pm on BBC1.
Words by Paige Bradshaw