"Killing Eve," Year Three

Spoilers for the first episode.

Perhaps inevitably, "Killing Eve" is on a serious decline. Phoebe Waller Bridge long ago took a backseat creatively, now only remaining as executive producer. We have yet another new showrunner, Suzanne Heathcote, and a bunch of new characters to tangle with this year. After the second season finale killed off Eve, which we all knew wasn't going to stick, the premiere killed off Kenny instead, setting up the season's big mystery and a reason for all the big players to get back to work. Eve and Villanelle don't really address anything that happened last year, instead pursuing their own goals separately, despite multiple instigating events that seem designed to pit them against each other again. They don't get a decent scene together until near the end of the season.

Instead, the big theme this year is family. Carolyn loses her son, but immediately has an exasperating daughter Geraldine (Gemma Whelan) come home, who insists on reconnecting with her mum in the wake of the tragedy. Konstantin is putting together an exit plan to get himself and his daughter Irina (Yuli Lagodinsky) away from the Twelve, which is complicated by Villanelle learning about the plot and being a very bad influence on Irina. As for Villanelle, she's having an annoying existential crisis herself, while also trying to move on from assassin work and advance in the Twelve organization. She's put back in contact with her old trainer Dasha (Harriet Walker) and spends some time digging up parts of her past. Oh yes, we also get to meet Villanelle's family this year, because why not?

Notably, the one person who doesn't get to do much soul searching or reconnecting with any family is Eve, aside from a few brief check-ins with Niko. This is because "Killing Eve" is no longer about Eve, but the Villanelle show, with supporting appearances by Konstantin, who keeps escaping every attempt on his life for increasingly implausible reasons. And as the Villanelle show, there are some good episodes here and there, and some good kills. I really enjoy Carolyn's subplot this year, and just about everything to do with Dasha. Even Villanelle's weirdo family reunion is a decent watch as an individual episode. The trouble is that none of it adds up to a good season of television, and put in the context of the older episodes, it looks even worse. At this point the entire premise of the cat-and-mouse crime show has run its course, and the writers don't seem much interested in exploring Eve and Villanelle's twisted romantic relationship anymore, aside from a few very tame encounters. What remains feels mostly like filler.

I still like all the characters and the performances enough to keep watching, but "Killing Eve" desperately needs some course correction. It's already starting to repeat certain plot points, and Constantin has betrayed everyone at least twice by now. Several of the other regulars are forced into uncharacteristic behavior on very flimsy pretexts. Carolyn trying to tolerate the dramatics of her overly empathetic daughter starts out as funny, but quickly becomes tedious with repetition. Villanelle's dissatisfaction manifests in the usual destructive ways, but nothing really gets resolved. The new additions have some promise, but the show doesn't seem interested in developing any of them, instead relying on our fondness for the core cast. The production values are still strong, with Villanelle still appearing in all manner of fabulous outfits, and visiting the most picturesque parts of Europe, but the eye candy can only compensate for so much. And it infuriates me that Sandra Oh is given so little to do.

In short, "Killing Eve" is spinning its wheels and running out of reasons to continue being a series. I'll happily watch for another year or two if the show continues in the same vein, but more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. I really did love the first year of "Killing Eve" and was happily onboard for the second. Hopefully year three is just a temporary dip in quality instead of a permanent one.
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