Killing Eve Season Two Retrospective
INTRO: After the long slug, It’s time to do the full season retrospective of Killing Eve. And sadly, it’s going to be a bit of a downer as this season was in many ways a mighty struggle to get through.
VILLANELLE & EVE: I think one of the positives of Season two was further developing the relationship between Villanelle & Eve. Both are more obsessed with each other equally, and therefore the series really zeroes in on their mental state and how are each trying to one up another. Eve is focused on catching Villanelle, whereas Villanelle is developing somewhat of a romantic fondness for Eve. However, the story of the season then takes a twist I was not happy with, which was having the two of them teaming up to take down another killer figure – Aaron Peel. This in turn leads to the cliff-hanger ending of Villanelle shooting Eve. A good ending, yet I felt the partners in crime turn in the middle of the series a bit jarring and odd to watch. I never understood why this was the choice to go with, when Series one was so focused on Eve trying to track down and capture this assassin.
OTHER MAIN CHARACTERS: I’ll start with Niko, who I find extremely annoying despite having little to no evidence as to why. I think its his facial look, which is very 70s and very cheesy to look at. Something of a sleazy 70s porn star, a look I can’t imagine ever scoring with young people or anyone today. I never really sympathised with him at all, nor with Eve’s eagerness to keep the marriage going.
A surprise to me was to see Konstantin return, when it was assumed that he died at the end of season one. He as always was an entertaining and mysterious character, playing both sides of the coin as he does. Kenny also returns to the second series as he continues to assist Eve in her pursuit for Villanelle. Carolyn also continues on, with Fiona Shaw giving great performances as she goes. The new characters to the series unfortunately don’t make near the same impact as the existing ones and therefore become pretty boring overall. The slightly exception maybe Henry Lloyd-Hughes’s performance as Aaron Peel, which is quite creepy and intimidating at times.
STORY: It’s a duller plot than Season one, with a lacking sense of suspense and more self-indulgent than before. The slight bright spark is the subplot with Aaron Peel, and his creepy performance as noted earlier. However the series pacing and overall excitement fades quickly and Season two becomes a real chore to watch. Never the less, the finale is entertaining and leaves you intrigued for the next season.
LOCATIONS: Much like the last season, Killing Eve loves to utilize both British & International locations to further the story. Whether it’s the streets of Paris, or the high-end restaurants of Rome, it showcases the best of Europe very well. The finale in particular uses Rome to great effect, making the finale more exciting and special in the process.
CONCLUSION: Killing Eve Season Two sadly lacks the unique special charm that the first season brought to screen, with flat new characters and story turns that failed to strengthen the story in any way.
RATING - 76% - B+