Killing Eve is a Fantastic Female Spy Thriller [Review]

Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh)

I missed out on Killing Eve when it premiered on BBC America, and that’s a shame because the show is absolutely one of the best I’ve seen in a while (we just do not appreciate the gift that BBC America is). Not to mention that the show is packed full of amazing, mostly female, talent both in front of the camera and behind.

Showrunner Phoebe Waller-Bridge described the show as “a meditation on murder, on loneliness and the potential for a world without conscience.” The show takes the well-worn tropes of the psychopathic assassin and the tired detective-type and makes original characters that are both flawed and lovely. Eve (Sandra Oh) is an MI5 security officer investigating matters that are far more interesting than her actual job. Her insights and curiosity lead her into a new realm of intrigue as she investigates the assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer), but at what risk does she escape her mundane life. Villanelle is fragile and frightening and vulnerable and terrifying. She’s also a true psychopath. Comer’s Villanelle was so amazing that I don’t see how anyone watching wouldn’t be as intrigued as Eve. I’ve rarely seen such a complex and fascinating villain(antihero? – I’m still not sure where I stand). As the two women first circle and then seek each other out, we see a delicate dance of pursuit and reticence. It’s quite feminine and powerfully thrilling to

Villanelle (Jodie Comer)

watch.

The supporting cast are equally as delightful and well-played. Villanelle’s handler, Konstantine (Kim Bodnia), is charming, terrible, and adoring all at once. Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) is the stone cold badass head of the MI6 Russia desk, yet manages to be warm and endearing. I didn’t even realize at first that she was Aunt Petunia, and quickly forgot. I’m in love with Bill (David Haig) and his gentle cynicism. He is perhaps one of the most typical of all the characters and yet manages not to be typical at all really. There is no member of the cast that wasn’t spectacular.

The show is dark and tender as Eve follows Villanelle’s brutal activities, until eventually Villanelle istracking Eve in return. Over and over Killing Eve takes tired tropes and makes them compelling again. The show defies expectations, both in being better than anticipated and in being absolutely original and engrossing. Go. Binge it now. Trust me.

Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw)

Season 2 is already being written and set to begin production later this year. I cannot wait.

Killing Eve season 1 is available to stream on BBC American for a short time and will be available to stream on Hulu before the end of the year.

WOMEN BEHIND THE SCENES SPOTLIGHT: PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE