Whenever I go to write a Killing Eve recap, it always feels like too much has happened in an episode to explain it cohesively. It’s not too convoluted while watching, the series plays all the plot points like a symphony, but there is always so much to comprehend. So much to think about. Episode five is no different.
Firstly, let’s start with the obvious: Villanelle is dead. Well, we think so. Who could survive an arrow through the chest? I know, I know, Villanelle could. But we’ve seen her vulnerable side in the last few episodes, we know she was a troubled orphan who was groomed and, if her father-daughter relationship with Konstantin is anything to go by, she still trusts those who exploited her. She’s not indestructible.
We also know that she is, probably, actually, dead because the trailer for the next episode shows Eve–who was by Villanelle’s side right after she died–drowning her sorrows in a bottle of vodka.
The only hope we have is the fact Lars, who was paddled to “death” by Carolyn and Konstantin back in the ‘70s, survived it. We saw Lars in the last episode and were made to wonder what the connection between him and Carolyn is. This episode shows how, like Villanelle, he was blindsided by lust.
Lars and Villanelle have a lot of similarities. Firstly, even though Carolyn tried to kill Lars, he still attempts to call her when they run into each other 40+ years later. Villanelle can’t see the bad in Eve, even when she alerts the authorities to her whereabouts and puts her in prison. Just before Hélène has Villanelle killed, she tells Eve they’re waiting for Lars. Out walks Villanelle. Coincidence? No. It’s either hope or a red herring.
But if Villanelle is truly like Lars, does that mean that, even if Villanelle survives, Eve doesn’t love her? When Carolyn calls Konstantin in this episode, she implies they could have had a relationship and lived normal lives if they didn’t try to kill Lars. In saying that, when Hélène makes Eve watch Villanelle’s death, it’s because Eve does love her. Eve’s reaction is a testament to that.
The most shocking revelation in this episode is finding out that Carolyn infiltrated a socialist group in the 70s; a group with the noble intention of making society more equal. She called them The Twelve and tempted them with luxury goods. Yep, The Twelve is a story of Champagne Socialism.
Now its current leader, Hélène, lives in a mansion and lures Eve to watch the death of her beloved. It’s an argument against cancelling an individual rather than changing the societal problems that make them behave that way: a good movement was bastardised, they became assassins and now Konstantin – the original hitman for The Twelve – has to live with his monster.
It’s too real. Whether we apply it to liberal feminism’s bastardisation of radical feminism’s meaningful aims, by coaxing women to “reclaim the system,” rather than overthrow it, or regressive changes in academia over the last fifty years, it checks out in many instances. We live in a society too addicted to heteropatriarchal capitalism’s kool-aid to have radical ideas, let alone fight for a way to accomplish them.
The use of mythology in episode five is exquisite. Hélène represents the Hellenic World. Villanelle looks at a statue of Jesus, in front of what represents the Great Mirror of Babylon, before being assassinated by Hélène, like Alexander the Great was. Villanelle is punctured in the chest by Cupid’s arrow, right after telling Konstantin that she seeks revenge on those who pimped out her assassin services. She targets Hélène first.
Upon rewatch, it’s not clear whether Villanelle looked into the mirror or at Jesus. We are the watcher, the camera focuses on the mirror, but we aren’t seeing from Villanelle’s perspective. If she miraculously survives, then we know she looked at Jesus.
Hélène kills Villanelle because Eve steals her daughter as revenge for releasing Villanelle from prison. While Eve’s quick to see the evil in others, she pokes the devil when she kidnaps a kid. The moral of this episode could be that acting in low vibration, focusing on revenge rather than moving forward with your life – looking in the rearview mirror! – leads to nightmares becoming a reality. Don’t dance with the devil.
Konstantin might have led Villanelle to Hélène, or vice versa, so she is killed. Their last embrace was like the kiss of death, after all. Konstantin knows that if Villanelle starts seeking revenge, as she admitted to him she would be, he would eventually be hunted for his role in Villanelle’s misery. He benefits from her oblivious trust in him. The road she travels might be honest, but it’s dangerous.
If Villanelle regains consciousness, will she blame Eve for the attempted murder? Will Eve finally admit how she feels about Villanelle, now she’s witnessed her supposed death? Will they band together to destroy The Twelve and its detectives?
Either way, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Jodie Comer’s acting this season. Even if she’s dead, Villanelle will haunt Eve and the pair will get up to some supernatural mischief. I just know it.
