In this episode of Killing Eve, Eve realizes just how much she’s sacrificed for her obsession with Villanelle and The Twelve. She used to have friends and a husband–who bored her at the time–but she can’t find any joy in life since Villanelle has cut her off. Licking her wounds about Villanelle, assuming it might be over for them, Eve is faced with what she’s given up. It’s not a coincidence that Eve only–seriously–questions whether it was all worth it when Villanelle’s living on a remote Scottish island with another woman.
The other woman is Gunn, a member of The Twelve who was assigned to Villanelle’s death but chose to spare her life. We learn a bit about Gunn’s backstory in “Making Dead Things Look Nice”: Gunn reveals that her entire village was poisoned with cyanide. She met Hélène when she escaped to Paris. Hélène secured an entire Scottish island for Gunn, in exchange for working for The Twelve.
It’s implied that Villanelle and Gunn sleep together in this episode. Villanelle wakes up to realise how incompatible they are and how scary Gunn is. It’s clear Villanelle only boated to the island because she was hurt by Eve. Gunn spared her life, rather than endangering it (like Eve has), and she misunderstood that for care. When Villanelle wakes up, post-sex, to Gunn having destroyed her boat and unpacked all of her things, organising it in the cabin they now apparently share, she understandably freaks out. She gets the ick.
While Villanelle was trying to move on with Gunn, Yusuf tried to help Eve move on by taking her to Karaoke. It reminds her of her old life. Eve admits she can’t move on. It’s unclear whether she’s talking about moving on from The Twelve, old relationships, or Villanelle. But the evidence she can’t move on from Villanelle is located in her psychology session. The psychologist tells her to go be with those who understand her. By the end of the episode, she’s chasing down Villanelle.
Besides Villanelle’s connection with Eve, and Gunn’s scary vibe, Villanelle and Gunn are also incompatible because they’re at odds about The Twelve. Showing she still has ethics and values, Villanelle has waged a war against The Twelve for their grooming, manipulation and control over her and others. Gunn refuses to attack The Twelve because she values her solitary life on the island above all else. She’s indebted to The Twelve and won’t risk her bit of land. Villanelle and Eve, on the other hand, are both passionate about taking down The Twelve.
Why didn’t Gunn kill Villanelle when it was an order by The Twelve, if she’s so obsessed with doing her job to keep her island? It was less about lust or love and more about possession. We know that because VillanEve have never seriously tried to kill each other, despite betraying one another more deeply than anyone else can, due to their connection. On the other hand, Gunn hunts Villanelle down with a machete for saying she’s leaving the island. Gunn is a psychopath. Villanelle isn’t.
By the time Gunn is chasing Villanelle through the woods, Eve is also on the island. She was convinced by Konstantin, just before he was killed by Pam–an order from Hélène before she died–to not go after The Twelve alone. To go and find Villanelle. Eve is licking her own wounds at the moment, whining that Villanelle doesn’t want to see her, but she puts her ego aside and boats to the island. Gunn spots Eve in the woods and hunts her down first.
The episode ends with Gunn embracing Eve’s face with the machete. Will Eve die? I’m going to take a wild stab and say no because of next episode’s teaser. I’m guessing Villanelle kills Gunn while she looms over Eve, proving how much she cares for her. Eve can stop being miserable about the icy ghosting, realize she’s cared for, and focus on The Twelve. Villanelle and Eve joining forces to take down The Twelve will prove just how meaningful their connection is. Killing with reason, rather than assassin’s orders, is going to make Villanelle an even bigger force to be reckoned with. And with Eve by her side? Chef’s kiss.
