REVIEW: Killing Eve, S1 Ep6 – Take Me to the Hole

Eve and Villanelle take a trip to Moscow to find Nadia while the plot grows thicker as surprising connections make it difficult to know who can be trusted on Killing Eve.

But this is a spy thriller, so it’s safe to assume at this point that no one can be trusted.

After last week’s fantastically tense dinner scene, this episode of Killing Eve feels like a breather only because neither Eve nor Villanelle interact directly with one another this time. But that doesn’t mean the stakes are not high.

Someone has tipped Eve’s team about Nadia’s existence as the third assassin in the botched attempt at Frank’s life. Using Carolyn’s extensive connections, the two head off to Moscow to interrogate Nadia. Konstantin and Villanelle are on the same trail as the latter is forced to go undercover as a prisoner in the same place where she had been incarcerated years before. Of course, Villanelle’s mission is to get rid of Nadia for good and Konstantin promises to be there to pick her up once the deed is done.

Eve gets into a heated argument with her husband before she leaves for Russia which again points to the uncertain state of their marriage despite his generally being supportive and his legitimate concern for her safety after Frank’s death. He does have a point in that Eve is growing obsessed with catching Villanelle and this is no longer some vendetta for Bill’s death. She refuses to see this and their argument ends in blows.

It seems like every time Eve takes a trip abroad with a colleague, the latter’s wild side is released. Just as Bill’s sexually adventurous history is revealed when the pair went to Berlin, the trip to Russia brings out the fun and flirty side of Carolyn Martens, who still remains a mystery to us. She suddenly adopts a girlish and openly charming persona, a stark contrast with her reserve and direct-to-the-point personality back in the UK. This change disorients Eve but it is entertaining to watch.

One must also keep in mind that Carolyn is a master spy and more adept at hiding secrets than Eve so this might just be part of her disguise kit. She is close to their Russian contact Vladimir and, big surprise, Konstantin appears to be working with Russian intelligence as well. This ties in to what Villanelle told Eve during their dinner, that if they looked deep enough, they might both be working for the same people.

The interrogation with Nadia goes smoothly until Konstantin arrives. He gives her a warning look and instead of revealing his name to Eve and Carolyn, she mentions Anna, whose husband Villanelle murdered. This crime got the master assassin into the prison all those years ago and we’ve already seen how she reacts at the mention of this person’s name.

Eve doesn’t trust Konstantin or Carolyn, at this point, so she enlists Kenny’s help to dig some dirt on his mother. I’m not sure why she thought Kenny was the best person to ask, conflicting loyalties and all that, but he did find some suspicious enough correspondence to make Eve betray Carolyn to get information from Vladimir. Given that Eve does not know all the facts yet, stabbing her boss in the back might not have been the right play and will surely have heavy consequences later on.

No episode of Killing Eve would be complete without Villanelle murdering someone and, in this case, she stabbed a couple of prison guards before eventually catching up and doing away with Nadia (who manages to slip a note to Eve before her death). Triumphant and smug, Villanelle goes into the solitary cell known as “the hole” and awaits extraction. But it looks like Konstantin has betrayed her. I’m not sure how long Villanelle can be kept in any prison, but the moment she gets out of there, Konstantin better watch out because his protégé is not the forgiving type.