There’s a lot riding on season four of Killing Eve. The show overturned accusations of queerbaiting by highlighting Villanelle’s bisexuality, exploring her past and present relationships with women as well as men. But there’s still a burning question. Will Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve (Sandra Oh) end up together? Or were the show’s creators messing with us?
Killing Eve found a loyal Sapphic audience by playing up the relationship between Eve and Villanelle. Promotional posters for every season show its two leading ladies in an assortment of intimate poses. Including Oh and Comer clasping hands. And Oh dipping Comer like they’re doing the tango; a dance synonymous with sexual passion. Despite Oh’s controversial interview denying the possibility of romance between these characters, there is quite literally no heterosexual explanation for this content.
In the climax of season two, Eve asks Villanelle to run away with her. In the third season they lock eyes with one another across a dancefloor before swaying together. There’s even a kiss. There’s just one problem.
At the start of season four, both Eve and Villanelle have other people in their lives. Eve’s hooking up with her colleague, Yusaf, in spite of him tricking her into eating a vegan burger. And Villanelle is all about the main man, JC.
But Villanelle’s flirtation with Christianity is more about convincing Eve she’s a good person than true faith. At first glance, Eve’s fixation with ending the Twelve looks like she’s managed to move on from her obsession with Villanelle. But really it’s rooted in a desire to avenge Oksana, the person Villanelle could have been without this shadowy organisation exploiting her emotional damage to create a stone cold killer.
Both women claim to have changed. Yet Eve and Villanelle still have that unstoppable pull between them. In the first episode of this new season, there’s a moment when they are drawn towards one another from opposite sides of the room while the soundtrack sweeps to a crescendo. It’s a slap that could just as easily have been a kiss.
That element of Will They/Won’t They defined the first three seasons. It was there when Eve tracked Villanelle across Europe. It was there when Villanelle sent Eve perfume and a beautiful dress – intimate gifts that one might choose for a lover – to show the obsession was mutual.
The first season ended with Eve and Villanelle in bed together, only for Eve to stab Villanelle. The second season ended with them talking about running away and eating pasta for dinner, only for Villanelle to shoot Eve when she backed out. The third ended with Eve admitting her dark side rose to meet Villanelle’s, and Villanelle choosing not to manipulate Eve into staying with her. That might sound like a low bar, but it was the most caring thing our Sapphic serial killer has done in 24 full episodes.
In this fourth season Villanelle has moved further towards the light, and Eve the darkness. A switch that’s reflected in their wardrobes. For her baptism, Villanelle wears flowing white robes that make her look angelic. And Eve, clad head to toe in black leather, tracks down Konstantin to avenge poor Kenny. She rides into town on a motorcycle, pointing a gun at any man who stands in her way – an entrance worthy of Villanelle in her assassin days.
In fact, with her helmet on, Eve could easily have been taken for Villanelle. Their roles have almost reversed. I say almost because Eve shot Konstantin in the hand, rather than the head, and tells him to get over it. She has Villanelle’s burning fury and ice-cold banter, but not the murderous intentions.
As series four unfolds, it will be interesting to see how far Eve and Villanelle walk down one another’s paths. And whether this growth will bring them closer together. Killing Eve isn’t the type of show where characters hold hands and walk off into the sunset; it’s often kill or be killed. That being said, if it ends before Eve and Villanelle explore the full romantic potential of their relationship, it will be a betrayal of the trust that has kept so many of us watching this long.
Killing Eve is now streaming on BBC iPlayer
