Two episodes in, and we’ve already got a clear explanation
for why Eve is going to be obsessed with Villanelle for however long this show
runs. “She is outsmarting the smartest of us,” says Eve, “and for that she
deserves to do or kill whoever the hell she wants.”
It comes only after some prodding from Carolyn Martens, her
new boss. Because it’s an awful thing to admit, isn’t it? And yet for Eve, this
is what justifies any behavior. If no one is smart enough to stop her,
Villanelle has earned her kills. It’s been clear that Eve admires her, and now
she’s just put into words exactly why that is. For someone like Eve, who has
been unfulfilled, who knows she’s smarter than what she’s done so far in life,
Villanelle represents someone living to the utmost of her abilities.
And they are prodigious. Did someone train her to do that
perfume trick? Killing Eve has been careful so far to show us exactly how disturbing
Villanelle’s habits are, while simultaneously giving us the same queasy
admiration for her that Eve has. She’s so glamorous, so clever, so funny. She
knows how a normal young woman should behave, and she doesn’t care. That
information is useful only insofar as it helps her get what she wants,
particularly from men. A hug for Konstantin is just a way to uncover her next
victim. She twice uses menstruation as a way to discourage men from questioning
her. And the entire interaction with Sebastian is nothing but another way for
her to peer into someone’s eyes at the exact moment of transformation (orgasm is
la petite mort, right?).
But for all her inhumanity, we’ve gotten the first hint of
the shape of her interest in Eve, quite literally. A woman’s face, with thick
wavy hair, but no features, not dissimilar from Sandra Oh’s face. That Eve is
on the path to find her only adds to the interest.
We also see, again, that no matter how much the two of them
might share, there’s an essential decency to Eve that Villanelle will never
manage. She can barely lie to her husband, who learns immediately about her new
spy job. The two women also spar with their older male confidants in this
episode. Eve negotiates her new position of authority over Bill, who’s being
sulky about reporting to her, by speaking to him briefly and explaining why he
should respect her theory. And Villanelle takes a knife to Konstantin’s throat
to remind him that her skill set is more important than his. Normal work
disagreement stuff, you see.
The combination of the writing for her and Fiona Shaw’s
weary, eerily still performance are already making Carolyn Martens a contender
for stealth coolest person on the show. A woman sitting alone in a restaurant
with her eyes closed should not be that riveting. And yet here we and Eve are,
wondering what in the world she was thinking about, what it all means, why she
knows Eve is deserving of this opportunity. To be deemed worthy by Carolyn
Martens is clearly something worth earning. And worth quitting your job over,
if you’re Elena. Partly this is the confidence that Shaw weaves into every move
Carolyn Martens makes. Eve is right for the job because she knows Eve is right
for the job. And the show pinpoints that feeling of fangirlish admiration it’s easy to have when you see another woman excelling in the field you’ve chosen.
So far, Eve is proving worthy of Carolyn’s confidence. She has quite a few puzzle pieces falling into place: a woman, showing signs of psychopathy, young, who probably killed before she was
paid to do so. Luckily, she can help Kenny narrow down his search by describing
exactly what Villanelle looks like. The cat and mouse portion of this adventure
has begun.
Stray observations
- The entrance to the spy building is often shot from far
away, as though someone is watching. It’s not apparent yet if someone is, but
the framing certainly adds to the clandestine feel of the whole thing. - “I once saw a rat drink from a can of Coke there. Both
hands. Extraordinary.” Carolyn Martens should always share what she finds
extraordinary. - “Letting yourself into my apartment and drinking from a tiny
cup doesn’t make you intimidating, by the way. It’s just rude.” It’s really, really hard to remember that Villanelle is the bad guy. - Ah yes, Eve is from Connecticut, hence no accent. The
writers have some explaining to do for making her say “Oi!”, the most British
exclamation in the world, however. If you are an American living in the U.K., how
long does it take before you start saying oi? Please weigh in, expats. - I liked this episode a lot, but it’s a bit of an exposition dump. At least we have our Scooby gang now.
- There’s a great, thoughtful interview with Sandra Oh in Vulture, if you’re curious, about getting the role, and the path of her career.