Killing Eve season 4 episode 3 review: Writing takes a promising turn to bring the series back on track

3.5/5

Story:

After her attempts at trying to be a better person end in disaster, Villanelle (Jodie Comer) decides to pay Eve (Sandra Oh) a surprise visit, and the latter is less than pleased. Shrugging off her exasperation, Eve continues working on her case, having found out a crucial piece of information about Hélène’s (Camille Cottin) endgame. Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) also tries to work on the investigation with the resources at her disposal. Meanwhile, after being dismissed by Eve, Villanelle’s quest for help leads her to another familiar face.

Review:

After a less than stellar start, Killing Eve seems to have course-corrected with its latest episode. Although it starts off on a slow note like the first two episodes, the way the story progresses makes it all worthwhile in the end.

The episode sees Villanelle’s existential crisis continue, but she decides to take concrete steps to pull herself out of it. After being admonished by Eve, Villanelle decides to seek help from a familiar face, Martin(Adeel Akhtar), the psychology expert specialising in psychopaths, who served as a consultant with MI5. With Martin’s arrival, Villanelle’s story seems to be out of the choppy waters it had been in the first 2 episodes, which saw her character's journey enter into some uninteresting, yet bizarre territory.

Eve too hits the ground running when it comes to her investigation into the Twelve, choosing to hone in on Hélène, after she made a startling discovery about the latter’s new motivations in the last episode. Her delightful ‘people’ skills come into full display yet again this time, after she gets an unassuming lead that helps her unravel a huge part of the puzzle she’s working on.

Pam (Anjana Vasan) also finally comes into her own, as we get a closer look into the character, an assassin in the making, albeit an unstable one. And who better to ‘handle’ erratic killing machines than Konstantin (Kim Bodnia), who is rudely ripped from his easy going new life to handle a familiar responsibility. And if the Russian operative’s return to his old ways wasn’t enough proof of the series’ turn for the better, then the turn in Eve and Villanelle’s story definitely is.

The highlight of the episode is ushered in through Martin and Villanelle’s interactions, although the former needed more than a little gentle prodding from the latter to help her. The psychologist’s thoughtful approach to the psychopath, even at the risk of the danger to his life, is intriguing to watch as he tries to unravel the mystery behind Villanelle’s troubles. He also asks a question that viewers would definitely be wondering themselves: about Villanelle’s ill-fated fascination with Eve. And the latter’s poignant answer is sure to delight anyone who chooses to ‘ship’ the obviously toxic relationship.

Eve’s discovery of Villanelle’s decision to hold Martin hostage leads to a turning point in their relationship, one which speaks to Eve’s growth and pragmatism, although it remains to be seen how long that lasts.

And with the explosive way the second half of the episode unfolds, the series does a better than expected job of turning things around and stoking viewers’ anticipation for what’s to come. The writers do a fantastic job of taking the familiar things viewers loved about the show and actually getting the story to progress using them as tools, making an attempt to fix the damage caused by the new leaps the first two episodes took. Although the third episode did start off on a slow, yet steady pace, the second half’s narrative makes viewers forgive the sluggishness. And perhaps the first half’s pace was a conscious decision, to make what followed all the more impactful. Whatever it may be, viewers can also hope that the series bulbs off of his momentum and does not falter in the coming episodes.

Verdict:

The third episode of Killing Eve makes right some of the things that went wrong in the first two episodes, with a strong story that shows promise for an intriguing progression for the rest of the series.