Martin Carr reviews the third episode of Killing Eve season 3…
After a leftfield flashback laced with musically inspired murder and the darkest method of babysitting committed to television, Killing Eve finally kick starts its central plot. Something is rotten in the assassination business as Villanelle goes pedestrian, dons an accent or two and prepares for battle at a perfumery. Tonally we remain in familiar territory as acts of inhuman slaughter are always undercut by comedic impropriety, slanderous sass and unexpected concern. A balancing act which carries on unabated.
On the opposing team Konstantin, Dasha and Villanelle are operating on independent agendas, blatantly lying to each other and in bed with everyone. Kim Bodnia, Harriet Walter and Jodie Comer mine a vein of pitch black humour in between the bickering, body count and feinted concern, making every scene refreshingly unpredictable. They have the enviable role of being underhanded whilst providing essential dramatic impetuous. Their indeterminate allegiances, personal prejudices and unique peccadillos mean Killing Eve never feels predictable.
Elsewhere new recruits including Raj Bajaj’s Mo prove a perfect foil for Fiona Shaw in a role which affords her absolute freedom. With each passing episode Carolyn’s flaws become more apparent, her stubbornness more prevalent and that cast iron will without equal. Losing Kenny might represent an Achilles heel but it only manages to reveal a hint of humanity beneath the authoritarian demeanour. Her Eastern bloc contacts might consist solely of sexual conquests, but this bohemian approach not only gives us moments of comic relief but softens those harder edges.
On the flip side Eve is a hot mess of contradictions mourning Kenny’s death, an imminent separation from Niko and conflicting emotions concerning a certain assassin. Sandra Oh spares no quarter depicting Eve at odds with establishment bureaucracy, who is fascinated and fearful of the woman who hunts her. Their dynamic in previous encounters has been violent, physical and charged with an energy which intrigues them both. That is why audiences have been happy to wait almost two hours before the arrival of a substantial plot point.
These characters and how they interact is more interesting than the most outlandish dramatic premise showrunners could conjure. Perfect casting, snappy editing and dialogue delivery you don’t learn in drama school, makes Killing Eve the televisual equivalent of a dopamine injection. At this point three episodes in the left field choices being made, character arcs being altered and sense of originality being exhibited only go to enhance a show in its prime.
Martin Carr
