5 questions we have after the ‘Killing Eve’ season 4 finale

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Killing Eve Season 4.

The entire world is discussing the action-packed, gut-wrenching finale of Killing Eve’s fourth and final season, which premiered on BBC America and AMC this past Sunday night. Since its monumental premiere in 2016 — penned by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge — the enticing spy thriller has revolved around the obsession and eventual relationship between Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer), with the two-part series finale seeing the fan-favorite characters reunite to take down The Twelve for good.

In a shocking turn of events, the finale episode titled “Hello, Losers” resulted in the death of Villanelle after being shot multiple times at the hands of former MI6 spymaster Carolyn Martens. While the finale itself has garnered a less-than-favorable reaction by viewers and critics alike, here are 5 burning questions that were left unanswered after the season four finale.

Why did Carolyn have Villanelle killed?

Right out of the gate, this is one of the most burning questions in the aftermath of the chaotic series finale. In one of the most upsetting endings in modern television, fan-favorite character Villanelle receives a tragic demise that has left the entire fanbase in shambles — and rightfully so. In an earlier episode in the season, Carolyn and Villanelle ended up bonding together, after also having several pleasant experiences together in seasons prior. So, the question still begs, why did Carolyn have Villanelle killed?

As we saw throughout season four, Carolyn had been fired by MI6 and lost the respect and trust of her former bosses. As such, Carolyn embarked on her own journey of attempting to take down The Twelve by trying to recruit Eve once again, and by confronting Hélène, another member of The Twelve. When all of that failed to work, Carolyn resolved to kill Villanelle, which she hoped would help her get back into the good graces of MI6.

Carolyn stepped aside and allowed Villanelle to kill members of The Twelve on the Dixie Queen, and when that was finished, she killed Villanelle to make it look like she was able to destroy The Twelve and a former assassin that worked for them. It was a win-win situation for Carolyn, which saw her as a powerful playmaker that took down many other powerful people.

Who actually killed Kenny?

This is arguably the most discussed question when it comes to the later seasons of the engaging spy drama. Kenny Stowton — who was the only son of Carolyn Martens — was killed in the season three premiere after an unknown perpetrator threw him from the top of a building. Eve Polastri was the one who witnessed his death and found his body, and she later spends the rest of season three trying to discover who murdered him. Konstantin reveals near the end of season three that Kenny was killed because he was investigating The Twelve and when he got too close to real answers, he was killed.

Even at the end of season four, viewers are still not entirely sure who killed Kenny. It was revealed that Konstantin was the last person to be with him (as he was on top of the building with Kenny), but he claimed that Kenny stumbled backward and fell. Many folks are confident that it was actually Konstantin that killed him, seeing as he also killed Carolyn’s father years ago.

Kenny’s death is never exactly answered, though fingers remain pointed at Konstantin as the culprit. Others have speculated that Carolyn herself ordered the death of her son, simply because he might have learned information about her that would have ended disastrous for her. Talk about a potential plot twist.

Was Konstantin actually Kenny’s father?

During an encounter between Carolyn and Konstantin in season three, Konstantin revealed that Kenny was hounding him about who his actual father is — prompting Kenny to ask Konstantin outright if he was his biological father. Konstantin then apparently told Kenny that he wasn’t sure, with Kenny soon dying afterward. 

During flashbacks in season four, viewers discover that Konstantin and Carolyn were early founding members of The Twelve, with many fans speculating that the two had a relationship and conceived Kenny. While it is never outright revealed that Konstantin is Kenny’s actual father, it certainly would fit the timeline of events, considering the closeness between Konstantin and Carolyn during early years together.

Who are the members of The Twelve?

Since the spy thriller’s engaging first season, fans have been congregating on the possibilities as to who the members of The Twelve are. For some background information, The Twelve are a powerful organization that seek out chaos by eliminating various other powerful figures. The Twelve recruited Villanelle when she was just a teenager and turned her into one of the group’s deadliest assassins.

During the season four finale, Villanelle and Eve board the Dixie Queen in London, where they encounter the members of The Twelve, with Villanelle seemingly murdering them all. We never learn who the members are firsthand and we are never given any actual names, which is one of the most frustrating aspects of the entire series, seeing as the plot was based around the powerful organization from the very beginning. While we’ll never be fully sure who the members are, we do know that Villanelle managed to kill many, if not all, of the remaining members.

Is Eve alive?

The final moments in the series finale of Killing Eve felt like a slap in the face to an extremely devoted fanbase that entrusted the writers with the relationship between Eve and Villanelle. After Villanelle’s on-screen death, many fans were heartbroken to see such a beloved queer character receive such a violent, disturbing fate after finally finding happiness and love with the very woman she has been connected with from the very first season. After Villanelle is wounded, she jumps into the River Thames with Eve while trying to protect her from being hurt.

While it’s evident that Villanelle is dead, many folks are speculating that Eve would have died right alongside her. Villanelle represented a complete rebirth in Eve’s life, after having lost everything to form a relationship with Villanelle. With Villanelle gone, and Eve struggling to stay afloat in the River Thames with no one else around, it’s not hard to understand why Eve very well would have let herself drown — simply to reunite with Villanelle once more.

On the other hand, viewers cease to actually witness Eve die on-screen, which helps fuel the argument that perhaps she did go on without Villanelle, though it would be an extremely difficult path to take seeing as Villanelle was undoubtedly the love of her life.