The lead writer for Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) comes to an end.
The long-awaited season premiere marked a stark change in the series' leads, showing Villanelle on a path to redemption and Eve on a mission for revenge. While the former eventually abandons these efforts and returns to killing once more, Eve wants nothing to do with Villanelle and is fully absorbed in her mission to bring down The Twelve. After being repeatedly rejected in her attempts to reconnect, Villanelle breaks into Eve's hotel room (and also her tablet) to arrange a meeting with Eve's psychiatrist friend, Martin. Holding him hostage and forcing him to provide therapy, this leads only to his death and in a shocking move by Eve, Villanelle's arrest.
Speaking with Eve asserting power over Villanelle in a way that she hadn't been capable of before, and for Villanelle, unexpectedly losing the power she's wielded firmly over Eve for so long. See Neal's full statement about the episode below:
“It feels like a really pivotal moment for me and it was in the writers room, and we were discussing that because of what it does emotionally to both of them. For Eve, I think this is something — [and] she says it in the show — something that she should have done back in Season 1, and she chose not to for whatever reason, and then she finally does it here. And I think for her, that’s about asserting power over Villanelle in a way that perhaps she has not been able to quite before. And that, for me, feels like a really exciting change in their dynamic. It’s also about Eve, once she’s done it, it’s like Eve has to come to with what is her life like without Villanelle in it, and actually, is that something that she wants? Or has she done something in some ways quite self-destructive by putting Villanelle away? For Villanelle, I think it does something interesting in the power dynamic as well because I think Villanelle is somebody who enjoys the power that she wields over Eve, and I think that’s the pull of that relationship for Villanelle – knowing that she has a hold over Eve, so when Eve does that to her, I think Villanelle, A – is not expecting it, and, B – she’s shaken by it because in Villanelle’s head she’s thinking ‘Am I losing my grip over this woman? And what does that mean for me going forward?'"
As Neal mentions, both characters will have to come to with what this means for them and their relationship moving forward. Eve will soon discover whether the decision to have Villanelle gone from her life is something she truly wants. The obsessive, toxic and, at times, romantic bond between the two characters is the pivotal focus of the show, and to shift it so drastically this late in the game feels both risky and fulfilling. Unfortunately, Neal did not give any further details into how the new power dynamic will play out in subsequent episodes, but shared in a separate interview that Killing Eve's finale will be both emotional and satisfying.
The show's success is wildly due to the chemistry between Oh and Comer, and the female-driven series has provided them with career-defining, award-winning roles. Eve and Villanelle have had many significant moments on screen together, full of several twisting turns over the course of four years. Hopefully, Killing Eve will have a fitting end to their unique connection and individual stories, successfully commemorating the wonderful collaboration that went into creating this evocative series.
Source: The Wrap