REVIEW: Killing Eve, S2 Ep6 – I Hope You Like Missionary!

Killing Eve goes into full spy-thriller mode as Eve and Villanelle’s unorthodox partnership continues in order to investigate the elusive Aaron Peel.

After Villanelle extracted the information from the Ghost last week, Carolyn orders Eve to get close to the suspect because they are playing the long game. The rest of the season will probably be devoted to how this case unfolds and how Eve and Villanelle will work together to solve it. The major conflict of Killing Eve season one was the cat and mouse game between Eve and Villanelle but with the shift in their dynamics, it will be interesting to see if they can remain as fascinating as they were when they were apart. While this was an unexpected development, we have yet to see if it will pay off in the long run even as the interactions between the two can still be quite amusing. Despite their closeness, there is still an element of danger to their relationship, especially when Eve becomes too controlling and the exasperated assassin warns her that she does not like her that much.

Eve and Niko’s marriage is pretty much over by now, after what he discovered about his wife last week. They have some pretty kinky sex at the beginning of the episode which Eve mistakes for a reconciliation. But then, Niko runs off into the arms of his all-too-eager co-teacher, Gemma, who got her wish even without following Villanelle’s advice. Eve visits Niko at Gemma’s house and briefly reveals her more sinister side, something that will be released as she spends more time with Villanelle. Too bad Eve doesn’t really care too much about Niko anymore now that her job has become so thrilling. Doesn’t rule out a revenge plot against the hapless teacher though.

Carolyn proves to be more enigmatic than ever as well as even more dangerous and calculating. Villanelle sensed her authority immediately even as Eve is only beginning to scratch the surface. While the two leads of Killing Eve do not behave normally, by any standards, it would be unfair to say that only Villanelle and Eve are the only ones breaking the mold. Even supporting characters such as Carolyn and Konstantin act  with sociopathic or even potentially pschopathic tendencies with their flexibility when it comes to romantic entanglements (that awkward breakfast scene at Carolyn’s house between “old friends”) and their nonchalance when it comes to murder. With Konstantin and Villanelle, that’s expected and we’ve seen even Eve not look away from murder scenes. But she did get quite a shock to see Villanelle in action and she seemed even more surprised at Carolyn’s dismissive reaction. All this makes for extremely entertaining television but I doubt that you would want to be manipulated by such people in real life.

Villanelle’s job was to go undercover as an alcoholic American socialite in order to make a connection with Amber Peel. Having played different characters often, she seems to think this will be a piece of cake. But what was great about this episode was how everyone in the AA meeting called her out on her bullshit and she actually had to tell the truth to sell her story. While she taunted Eve by revealing moments of their history during the first meeting, her admission to not knowing what the truth was and to feeling numb all the time was surprisingly sincere and masterfully performed by Jodie Comer.

But Killing Eve isn’t complete without a murder and this time, Eve got to see her favorite assassin in action. While not the most flamboyant of Villanelle’s kills, this was still pretty effective, and perfectly timed. It also earns her a dinner invitation to the Peels where she and Aaron Peel circle each other like vultures. Villanelle continues to play the fool though I thought that her accent slipped a bit a times. Aaron Peel taunts and belittles her, prompting her to break his nose with a philosophy book (gotta love the creative violence of Killing Eve) but she is still frustrated. Knowing Villanelle well, Konstantin advises Eve to let her cool off.

Unfortunately, cooling off for Villanelle means stalking a couple of girls down a dark street. I have to admit that the hint that Villanelle was considering some kind of cannibalism bothered me less than the fact that she followed the girls in the dark. Being afraid to walk alone at night is a universal female experience, so much that the girls even offered to walk with her as a show of female solidarity. Knowing that she probably has something monstrous in store for them is horrifying because it only reinforces the idea that women can never be safe at night and that even in a female-focused show like Killing Eve, this continues to be a problem. It was great to see the horror movie trope subverted in episode two when Villanelle murdered her creepy captor but for her to become the predator in this case leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This was the most disturbing part of an episode which was mostly entertaining and I hope the rest of the season improves on this.