Connor Macgregor Reviews...Killing Eve

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So I'm going to review a new series and Killing Eve seemed to be one of the major flavours right now. I initially stated to myself to only do completed shows, but I'm breaking my own rule here. The reason here is because I ended up watching this with one of my parents and subsequently began reviewing this as I watched episode by episode.

Killing Eve is very different to what's being aired right now. A female centred spy thriller with espionage, murder and sexuality thrown in. I have my opinions, and have watched all of Series 1 through to the end, and needless to say these reviews will provide some interesting take on what I feel about these series. Just like what I'm doing with Buffy/Angel and miniseries.

Episode one will be up soon.

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1x01 - Nice Face

INTRO: Killing Eve kicks off with an episode that left me a bit underwhelmed overall. With a protagonist very messy and unorganised, and a slightly creepy villain, it was clearly attempting a new type of female lead. But will it register?

SUMMARY: Psychopathic Villanelle—a young and prolific assassin—leaves a trail of high profile murders across several countries including Italy. MI5 officer Eve Polastri connects a new assassination in Vienna to a series of such killings which she has been researching on her own time. Though her theory that the assassin is a woman is dismissed by her superiors, Eve's unauthorised interview with the only witness confirms it. The witness is murdered while in a hospital in London, along with a nurse and two guards, causing MI5 to fire Eve and her associate, Bill. Impressed by Eve, Carolyn Martens, head of the Russia Section of MI6, recruits her for an off-the-books assignment to track the killer.

THOUGHTS: The opening scene is a fun introduction to a fascinating character. Jodie Comer is terrific in this episode, and very much establishes Villanelle as a character not to be messed with. She has this alien-like vibe around her in which she can blend in everywhere effortlessly. The Italian assassin is incredibly chilling and very much establishes the viciousness of what's to come. The downside is a few other parts of the episode. I found the dialogue a bit eccentric for my taste, as well as the slightly baffling conversations that they have in the offices.

RATING: 74% - B+





1x02 - I'll Deal With Him Later

INTRO: Episode two of Killing Eve continues on with the story. It begins the hunt, builds character, yet still has some frustrating aspects to it.

SUMMARY: Following her assignment in Bulgaria, Villanelle's handler Konstantin is concerned about her increasing recklessness. He informs her that a covert MI6 task force, led by Eve, is investigating her string of assassinations. Eve realises that a nurse she saw at the hospital before the murders may be the killer, and she recruits Elena and Bill as her assistants. Villanelle forms a relationship with her neighbour Sebastien and carries out another murder, of a successful parfumier, at a dinner party in Paris.

THOUGHTS: I'm still loving Jodie Comer in this series. Really flamboyant but fun killer to watch, in which you're unsure whether to root or loathe. I find the unrealistic use of English very unbearable and over the top and somewhat baffling considering the international scope of the series. I also found the ending a bit sudden and uneventful, considering how brief the run is and how much the motivation should be picking up at this point.

RATING: 72% - B+



I really like this programme. Am currently watching at UK weekly pace, so episode 2 of season 2 was last night. I have to admit that, while I really like it, I don't think it's the greatest programme much of its hype would have you believe. Nor do I see it as a particularly refreshing take on the spy/thriller, though maybe it's almost exclusively female that is it? (As usual, I have a theory as to why this has hit so hard with so many but I'll save that for now.)

It is, however, enjoyable and, while some of the dialogue does sometimes sound a little goofy, I don't think it's a bad thing because it's not written without skill. It's a choice. Whether you like that or not is another thing all together.

I do remember having some issues with the first season, especially early on but I can't remember if it changed or I accepted it more? For all the praise and awards which Sandra Oh received, it's Comer and the character Villanelle which this programme lives or dies with.

I will say that as the relationship builds, so does the drama and intrigue and I look forward to reading how you progress with it.
__________________
5-time MoFo Award winner.





1x03 - Don't I Know You

INTRO: Going to try and kick these reviews off again due to Season three being not far away now. There are a lot of episodes to get through, so... *deep breath*

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Plot" spoilers below
Villanelle lures Eve to Berlin by using Eve's name while committing another murder, and trails Eve as she investigates it. Bill spots Villanelle and follows her to a nightclub. Before Eve can get to him, Villanelle stabs Bill repeatedly, killing him.


THOUGHTS: I must say for episode three, this should be the point where I'm a bit more into the story. Alas no. The only thing holding this up is Jodie Comer's performance which is proving it's worth right now. Everything else right now is just flat out naff. I really hate the scatty best friend of Eve who just does everything marvelously to wind me up. You had an ending that felt rushed, awkward and slightly unrealistic. I'm also still not over this idea of Russian characters, speaking English, in Berlin. It's just off right now for me. At least throw in a little bit of Russian there and then.

RATING: 55% - B-





1x04 - Sorry Baby

INTRO: Moving on further through to Episode four of Season One, can this show get any better at all and motivate my interest moving on?

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
Konstantin punishes Villanelle for her recent unpredictable behaviour by making her work with two other operatives: Nadia and Diego. The three are to assassinate Frank Haleton, Eve's former MI5 boss, who Eve has discovered is a mole. Eve and Elena rush to Frank's rescue, while Villanelle manipulates Nadia into killing Diego, and runs over Nadia with her car.


THOUGHTS: I will admit, this episode is a lot more action packed than previous editions. It takes place more outside in the rural areas of Britain, and thus spices the story up a litte bit more. I liked the three assassins in the car, and added a bit more light humour to the episode. As a result, the duration of the episode flew by considerably. That being said, the dialogue is still quite corny for me and I'm still annoyed by the Russian characters speaking so good English, even though in real life it's not so common.

RATING: 84% - A-





1x05 - I Have A Thing About Bathrooms

INTRO: After Episode Four, you now finally get a sense that the pace of the story is picking up. Can Episode Five keep that momentum up?

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
Eve and Carolyn get Frank to a safe house, and he tells them that he is being paid by a shadow organization "The Twelve" that uses Villanelle for purposeful destabilization. There are hints that Elena and Kenny may have a romantic relationship. Villanelle breaks into Eve's home to talk to her, and takes her phone, which Villanelle uses to track down Frank at the safe house and kill him. Konstantin tells Villanelle that Nadia is alive and has to be killed before she can be questioned.


THOUGHTS: This is a better episode overall. Feels stronger, more thrilling and intriguing now that significant developments have been made. The beginning is intense and fun to watch, which then sets the tone for the rest of the episode. I like the material with Eve & Oksana, as well as the material with Eve & Frank too. There was also less annoying office talk this time around which was really nice for me.

RATING: 86% - A-





1x06 - Take Me To The Hole

INTRO: Let's keep the momentum going with Killing Eve with Episode Six in its first season.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
Eve and Carolyn track down Nadia to a Moscow prison, and are allowed to speak to her due to Carolyn's camaraderie with two Russian Intelligence officers, one of whom is Konstantin. Eve and Carolyn offer Nadia a deal, but before she can accept, she is killed by Villanelle, whom Konstantin had transferred to the prison for that purpose.


THOUGHTS: So this isn't as exciting, but still a lot of fun in many ways. Jodie Comer just gets better and better in this role. I love the scenes in the prison and how there are twists and turns with this little subplot. The stories are getting more serious and exciting, and you do get a sense that this story is building up to something. I also really enjoy the actor who plays Konstantin, Kim Bodnia. Brilliant actor who is slowly making the character unique within this story.

RATING: 83% - A-





1x07 - I Don't Want To Be Free

INTRO: We reach the second to last episode of Season One and whilst a sluggish start, the show has picked up noticeably.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
Eve investigates Anna, Villanelle's former teacher, with whom she had a deep relationship before Villanelle killed her husband. Villanelle is broken out from prison, meets her new handler and is given her next target: Konstantin. Villanelle breaks into Konstantin's home but he escapes. Eve discovers that Carolyn secretly met Villanelle at the prison earlier that day, before she escaped.


THOUGHTS: As much as I enjoyed it in the previous episode, the prison aspect of the story gets a bit tiring here, lingering on and slowing the episode down. That being said, the twist at the end of the episode is very good, with a very exciting climax that makes the build for the finale very good indeed.

RATING: 72% - B+





1x08 - God, I'm Tired

INTRO: We've reached the end of the line with Season One, and there is hope that the finale will cap off a very up and down first season.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
Konstantin goes to Carolyn and Eve for help, confessing that Villanelle is after him. Eve and Konstantin have a confrontation with Villanelle in a cafe; Villanelle shoots Konstantin and escapes. Carolyn fires Eve from MI6, but Eve independently tracks down Villanelle to her Paris apartment. The pair confess their obsession with each other. Eve stabs Villanelle and Villanelle flees.


THOUGHTS: This is a very good finale. One that makes the series worth investing with a great action sequence in the cafe, which pits characters against characters and really amps up the stakes. Eve & Villanelle's scenes are good to watch, especially when at the flat in the climax of the episode. What follows is a very well acted duologue between Jodie & Sandra, which some can consider is awards worthy. The cliffhanger of Season One is good, and really sets up Season Two especially well.

RATING: 87% - A-



I didn't like the couple of minutes of the last episode. It felt like they wanted to have their cake and eat it. I didn't feel there was a need for another series either. I'll be interested to hear what you think of the second series.



I'll do a retrospective review of Season One before moving on to Two.

Then of course will be Three, whenever that comes to the UK. Don't know the exact date yet.





KILLING EVE - SEASON ONE RETROSPECTIVE

GOOD: There is plenty of good to take from this series. For one the MVP easily is Jodie Comer. Portraying a role that perhaps frees her more so than any other role she’s done so far. It’s colourful, funny, sinister and complex. The accent range is a fun challenge that Comer conquers with little effort, and the fun of killing innocent people with a scary smile just adds brutal danger to her role. The variety of foreign cities and locations is also great. The mixture of cityscapes just makes this series feel international in nature. That these characters can go anywhere within the rules of this story. And the acting quality across the landscape is great. Sandra Oh and Fiona Shaw, in particular, are strong, giving performances that make their characters real and relatable people with uncut brutal opinions and ideas that go against what you may usually see in a TV series.

MIDDLING: The overall pacing of the story could be better. Some episodes are stronger than others, but it feels lacking of sorts of any true juice. It would’ve worked better as a film, given that the conclusion was changed perhaps to be more final. The work environments while realistic got irritating. There were one or two characters that just felt unattractive in the roles that they were in, and just made things a little so leisureable in settings like MI6 which we are meant to believe are very serious and focused places of work. Instead they are portrayed as the opposite.

BAD: There is a lot of unrealistic use of language. One of which is the Russian characters using English in places not UK based. I find it hard to believe that Russian assassins would use the English tongue so loosely when the Russian language seems to be more secretive and easier to disguise their true intentions. Then there is the use of scatty characteristics. As much as I love Sandra Oh’s performance, the scatty element of her character annoyed me a lot, especially in this first season ( I get a bit more used to it later on). I also found the music style unnessacary and distracting. Indie music for the sake of it, not really adding any significance of the story, and just taking me out altogether.

OVERALL: Killing Eve I is a good but not great start to the show. Elements obviously make this show stand out but at the same time flawed and problematic to those who aren’t as enthused or bothered by the show’s marketing of a duo female series which while a nice twist on an established sub-genre, isn’t as clever or innovative as the media has made it out to be.

RATING - 77% - B+





2x01 - Do You Know How To Dispose A Body

INTRO: Season two of Killing Eve begins where Season One ended, and continues the developing story of Eve & Villanelle's cat and mouse game across Europe.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Summary" spoilers below
Continuing directly from the end of the first series, Eve searches for the wounded Villanelle. Without finding her, Eve is called back to London to investigate a murder case believed to have been ordered by the "Twelve." Villanelle has a rough time as she makes her way from a Paris hospital to London.


THOUGHTS: The performances by Sandra & Jodie are both very good here in this episode, playing up from where the story ended in Series One. Jodie is great, playing an injured and vengeful Villanelle desperate for resources and help. It helps create a very thrilling feel for the entire episode making for a good start to the season. The downside is still the insistence for foreign characters to routinely speak English, even when there are moments when it's not nessacary.

RATING: 77% - B+





2x02 - Nice and Neat

INTRO: The story continues straight from episode one as Eve & Villanelle are desperate to track each other down following their confrontation at the end of Season One.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
Carolyn introduces Eve to her new team before Eve briefs them on the Villanelle case. Villanelle, needing to lie low while she recovers, finds a Good Samaritan to take her in. However, she should know better than anyone that appearances are not always what they seem. Eve finds out a secret that Carolyn has been hiding from her.


THOUGHTS: There's a lot to like about this episode. The first is the character of Julian who you believe at first is going to be another one of Villanelle's pawns to play with. But as the episode continues to unwind, you realise that this man's personality is far from innocent and you soon see Villanelle in quite a different situation that she is used to being in. I enjoyed it and the ending of that little arc is great fun. There is also an excellent twist that is carried from Season One, and one that sets up the rest of the season to come. We're also introduced to new sets of characters that spice up the show a little bit more, and have Eve new people to interact with.

RATING: 90% - A-





2x03 - The Hungry Caterpillar

INTRO: Is it silly or immoral of me to say I don't remember much of this episode? No...well, I don't.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
Villanelle is ordered by Raymond to perform a clean assassination like the Ghost. She kills her target in a lift and delivers lipstick to Eve with the name "Love in an Elevator" to ensure that Eve knows who performed the assassination. Eve is struggling with balancing her job and her strained relationship with Niko.


THOUGHTS: Honestly, there isn't much to note about and that is a massive problem. The kill I guess was fun to watch, with Villanelle using the tie and the wig was clever. But other than that, everything else seemed like a drag. I didn't care at all about the stuff with Eve & Niko, and begin to find Niko much more irritating and a drag throughout the story, where as Eve is a character that has multiple things juggling at once.

RATING: 71% - B+



I don't remember the episode greatly (it's about a year since I saw it) but I do remember quite liking this one. However, there may well be two good reasons for that. Firstly, Villanelle's new handler is Adrian Scarborough and I love that guy. Secondly, Emma Pierson who I've been mad about for nearly 20 years now. In fact, Nico's interactions with Eve become a lot less realistic to me once I knew she was an alternative. Eve would've never seen me again.



I liked Villanelle posing as the teacher. Should've mentioned it in the review. But the rest of it is so forgettable and honestly, a little dull going forward.





2x04 - Desperate Times

INTRO: Episode four continues the epic mind games between Eve & Villanelle, as well as introducing new cases and situations as the battle between MI6 & The Twelve continues...

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
The Ghost's body count is much larger than expected and appears to be based around Aaron Peel. Villanelle tries to get Eve's attention with an assassination in Amsterdam, but is angered when Eve does not show up to investigate.


THOUGHTS: So really you have a bunch of characters in different areas in this episode. Villanelle is based in Amsterdam, trying to entice Eve over by doing a kill. But when things don't go her way, it annoys her and makes her look like an idiot. Eve on the other hand is investigating Aaron Peel, and leads to some interesting scenes which make the character of Aaron a somewhat odd and unsettling character. Definitely a good build to what is to come for the rest of Season two.

RATING: 71% - B+





2x05 - Smell Ya Later

INTRO: I find this episode a fair bit better than 2x04. One that takes the story in a new direction, and adds depth to the Eve/Villanelle dynamic.

SUMMARY:
WARNING: "Spoiler" spoilers below
In a desperate attempt to get closer to Villanelle, Eve puts out a hit on herself, hiring Villanelle to do the job. Instead, Eve and Caroline hire Villanelle to work with MI6. The Ghost is coerced by Villanelle into giving up information about who ordered the murder contract. Villanelle meets Niko and tells him about her and Eve in Paris.


THOUGHTS: So the story takes a turn here. Eve attempts a risky move, in a bid to lure Villanelle out. Which succeeds, and then her and Caroline plant this insane idea which I didn't know what to believe. I liked all the stuff in the woods, which I felt was quite intense and exciting to watch. That being said, I didn't feel that Villanelle came off that intimidating or scary in this episode, and so it sort of lost the momentum as the episode went on.

RATING: 73% - B+