One of my favorite genres of TV is the spy-thriller. I also love a good cat-and-mouse detective series. The BBC’s Killing Eve is something of a cat-and-mouse spy thriller, and the first couple seasons are some of the most exciting, off-kilter, darkly comical series out there. All for seasons make their Netflix debut today, Monday April 15th.
The series is based on Luke Jennings’s novel Codename Villanelle and consists of four seasons.
Killing Eve stars Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, an MI5 analyst who finds herself thrust into a series of unfortunate events thanks to her obsession with a notorious assassin. Soon, she finds herself working for MI6—though her involvement is off the books.
Jodie Comer plays Villanelle, the assassin. She’s something of a psychopath, though an oddly endearing one even if she is a cold-blooded killer. Soon, both women are obsessed with one another. (There are some distinct similarities in this regard to the detective series Hannibal, though this is funnier and involves less foodie cannibalism.)
Other recurring actors/characters include Fiona Shaw’s Carlyn Martens, the head of the Russian branch of MI6 and Kim Bodnia as Villanelle’s handler, Vasiliev.
The first season of the show remains its best. Written and produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge—who created and starred in the fantastic limited series, Fleabag—it’s by far the most exciting, tense, and weirdly funny of the bunch. Season 2 remains mostly quite strong, but with Waller-Bridge no longer writing, you can start to see hints of its eventual decline.
I admit that by the third season (each has a new writer) things were clearly slipping, but it’s still entertaining enough—just not as magical—and the fourth season is a total, unrelenting disaster (the show drops from a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score in Season 1, down to 92% in Season 2, 80% in Season 3 and finally a devastating 53% in Season 4, with audience scores largely mirroring critical scores).
Still, even if you only watch the first season—or the first two seasons—Killing Eve is well worth your time. Personally, I had to stop watching at the end (which I sometimes do instead of wasting my time) but I certainly don’t regret watching the first couple seasons. Jodie Comer’s Villanelle steals every scene and remains one of the most intriguing assassins on TV. It’s a shame they didn’t stick the landing, but it seems so few shows do.
Further Recommendations From Your Humble Narrator
As always, if you want to see the masterclass in how to wrap up a TV series, watch Happy Valley. It’s the best show I’ve seen in years, period.
I also highly recommend Deadloch, a female-centered dark comedy mystery show that’s really charming and terrific.
And finally, if you’re into spy shows, Slow Horses remains must-see TV.
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