Warning: SPOILERS for Killing Eve Season 3, Episode 7 - "Beautiful Monster"
The last few episodes of Killing Eve season 3 have contained three fakeout deaths of major characters, which is hurting the series' edge and making the series' Russian assassins Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Dasha Durzan (Harriet Walter) seem inexplicably incompetent. The sexy international spy thriller is closing in on the finale of season 3, and its multiple storylines have finally converged. But Killing Eve, which has never been shy about offing primary characters, teased the deaths of three leads, all of which, frustratingly, turned out to be fakeouts.
Killing Eve centers on Villanelle, the finest assassin employed by The Twelve, and her mutual fatal attraction to former MI6 agent Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh). In terms of killing off major characters, Killing Eve made its bones early in season 1 when Villanelle murdered Bill Pargrave (David Haig), Eve's mentor and closest friend, in Berlin. Since then, Killing Eve has amassed a shocking body count of major characters throughout seasons 1 and 2, mostly via Villanelle's unmatched skills at murder. Her targets include corrupt MI5 chief Frank Haleton (Darren Boyd) and billionaire Aaron Peel (Henry Lloyd-Hughes). Killing Eve season 3 kicked off with one of the series' most painful murders: Kenny Stowton (Sean Delaney), the son of Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), was killed by a still-unrevealed assailant. Indeed, part of the fun of Killing Eve is the feeling of dread that creeps in since no character ever feels truly safe or untouchable (except for Villanelle and Eve), but season 3 is starting to rob itself of its own conviction.
Killing Eve season 3, episode 4, "Still Got It," ended with Dasha luring Eve to Poland so she could witness the murder of her husband Niko (Owen McDonnell), which Dasha framed Villanelle for. This was a stunning cliffhanger that went unresolved for two weeks since, in the interim, Villanelle traveled home to Russia to visit - and ultimately kill - her own mother Tatiana (Evgenia Dodina) as well as many members of Tatiana's new family. But when Killing Eve followed up with Niko in episode 6, "End of Game," it turns out Niko is still alive, and he miraculously survived being pitchforked through the neck. Worse, Killing Eve offered no explanation for how or why Niko didn't die, which, in turn, makes Dasha, who is Villanelle's mentor, look totally incompetent. Niko is a core character, and his death would have been, arguably, the most significant in the series, but Killing Eve immediately walked it back.
While this one cheat regarding Niko could be overlooked, Killing Eve season 3 followed it up with two more fakeouts in episode 7, "Beautiful Monster." When Villanelle and Dasha went undercover in Aberdeen, Scotland, Villanelle chose not to kill her target, a wealthy American tourist. Instead, she "accidentally" smashed Dasha in the head with a golf club. When Eve found Dasha not long after, Dasha wasn't dead yet, and Eve tried to finish the job, but she stopped herself from caving Dasha's chest in with her boot. Still, it seemed like Dasha was a goner - except she awoke, alive and laughing, in a hospital at the end of the episode.
Immediately after Dasha's non-death, Villanelle tried to escape with Konstantin (Kim Bodnia), whom Killing Eve had been teasing is suffering from a heart condition he's been keeping secret. Konstantin collapsed on the train platform, and he also appeared to be dying, but Eve arrived (to briefly lock eyes with Villanelle as she escaped aboard a train) and called for an ambulance. But Konstantin's death was also a fakeout as he soon woke up, seemingly recovered. Conveniently, Konstantin was even in the same hospital room as Dasha. Granted, someone did die in "Beautiful Monster": Carolyn's assistant Mo Jafari (Raj Bajaj) was murdered by a new Twelve assassin, Rhian (Alexandra Roach). But walking back Dasha and Konstantin's deaths in the same episode feels like a massive cheat, and added to Niko's survival, Killing Eve season 3 now feels gutless and manipulative.
Killing Eve's ruthlessness is, weirdly, part of the series' charm, but it may be on the verge of change just as Villanelle's season 3 identity crisis is forcing her to reevaluate her life. After Villanelle's disappointment with The Twelve promoting her to Keeper in name only, compounded with her unresolved trauma over killing her mother and an assassination she botched where she got injured on the job for the first time, Villanelle seems to no longer want to kill. Indeed, not killing Dasha in "Beautiful Monster" was the first time Villanelle didn't murder someone in a Killing Eve episode. A major shift in Villanelle's character, if it sticks, is an intriguing prospect, but it's a shame Killing Eve season 3 has been building to it by inexplicably teasing the deaths of three main characters, which were all fakeouts.
Killing Eve airs Sundays @ 9pm on BBC America.
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