If there is one central question at the heart of BBC America’s Killing Eve, it’s whether Will Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve (Sandra Oh) ever give in to their obsession?
This is a question that viewers asked for 4 seasons as the two primary characters batted each other around in a game of cat and mouse. Eve first becomes hip to Villanelle’s existence in her capacity as an MI6 employee. Convinced that a female serial killer is making the rounds in Europe, she crosses the line from mere interest to career-killing compulsiveness. Even when the government agency tells her to back down on investigating these crimes, she is convinced that several murders are connected.
This trait is shared with her adversary. Villanelle is equally obsessed when she comes to find Eve on her trail. And so begins the fascinating relationship between the two that introduces Eve to the darkest parts of herself. Her infatuation with Villanelle becomes so toxic that it kills people around her and destroys her marriage. But does this mean that the two will ever come together in an honest relationship? The show certainly teases as much. There is no doubt that the two share a sexual curiosity which drives the show. But when the series approached its end, all fans wanted to see was the slowest of burns come to fruition.
How does Killing Eve end?
There was really only one way that Killing Eve could end. In the 21st century, you can’t have 2 women flirt with each other for multiple seasons, destroying everything in their lives because of their love for each other and not get together. Fans had to wait until the series finale, but they finally got what they wished for.
Eve and Villanelle spend the final episode teaming up to take down the crime syndicate, The Twelve, and finally kiss. Killing Eve executive producer, Sally Woodward Gentle told The Hollywood Reporter that this was what the entirety of the series had been about.
“I think that it is an espionage piece. It is about assassins, but ultimately, it’s a love story, and it’s a story about discovering who you really are.”
But while Killing Eve is not the result of queer-baiting, it is subjected to a different disturbing trope. After allowing the two characters to experience happiness, the series lets the other shoe drop. The show ends when a bullet hits Villanelle and she dies in Eve’s arms. In this year of our lord 2019, somehow, Bury Your Gays is still going on. The series now joins the ranks of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in one of the most reprehensible displays of violence. It will be a long time before we forget that Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) was also shot immediately after she and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) reconcile. What is it about queer women finding happiness that television series feel the need to stamp it out?
Many fans had such a question as well. In Killing Eve, it feels even more egregious. Not only is it a modern series about a queer relationship between two women, but that is the whole conceit of the series. What does this show amount to when it ends up destroying the best part about it? Women can be cruel, complicated, and conniving. They can also love brutally and fully. Killing Eve celebrates these complexities and the darkness of love. Or at least, it was supposed to.
Fans were baffled by this ending and demanded an explanation, but the showrunner didn’t deliver. Many were abjectly horrified at the dismissiveness of this ending as Eve moves on following the death of arguably the most important person in her life. Showrunner Laura Neal spoke about those final moments to Decider after the episode aired.
“It felt really important to us, that moment, because it signals Eve’s rebirth, and we really wanted a sense of her washing off everything that had happened in the past four seasons and being able to begin again, but take everything that she has learnt and everything that Villanelle has given her into a new life.”
It is hard not to feel disrespected by this take. Simply amounting Villanelle to just a phase in Eve’s life dismisses the fanbase and — in a way — the show itself. Villanelle gets a brief moment of happiness but it doesn’t really matter.
This ending was so controversial that even the writer of the books, Luke Jennings, felt compelled to bring her back to life (via The Guardian). The good news is that as with many provocative adaptations, fans can always visit the original author’s interpretation. But for those who want to invite heartbreak into their lives, they can see Eve and Villanelle consummate their relationship before having it all ripped away.
All 4 seasons of Killing Eve are currently streaming on Netflix.
