Killing Eve
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Beautiful Monster, written by Laura Neal and directed by Damon Thomas, is an exceedingly fun episode.
Characters deal with the repercussions of chasing their desires.
There are heart attacks and deaths, yearning gazes and near misses.
Would Eve kill on her own if given the opportunity?
What motivates Eve in the face of all of the sorrow and destruction shes grappled with?
How is Villanelle wounded in ways beyond the gash in her arm?
She has Rhian (Alexandra Roach), another assassin, watching on.
Villanelle looks around the weaponry of the room and openly admits shes working out how to kill Helene.
Helenes approach to threats is more elegant.
As Villanelle sits, Helene grazes a hand over her wound before enveloping the assassin in a tight embrace.
Do you know why I love you, Villanelle?
Because youre an agent of chaos and I love chaos.
It rips apart and starts again.
Its like a forest fire.
It burns, it clears.
Its monstrous but its beautiful.
She fondles Villanelles hair, Youre a beautiful monster, Villanelle.
Helene tries to get Villanelle to talk about whatever has happened recently.
It seems for a moment Villanelle will open up as she mentions her mother, teary-eyed.
They do come to an agreement on Villanelles next job: to kill Dasha.
Beautiful Monster gives its characters a lot to navigate.
Mo is tasked with finding a link between Paul and the Twelve.
Eve remains hyper-focused on Villanelle, believing that shes the best way to get to the Twelve.
But Carolyn reminds her, Eve, youd do well to remember heroes only get the girl in Hollywood.
Konstantin has a rough path this week.
After coming back to London, he finds someone else waiting in his home unannounced.
This time its Geraldine, dressed up with wine by her side and offering filet mignon for dinner.
(Isnt she vegetarian?)
Geraldine is bumbling and a touch pathetic.
She scrambles to leave in the face of Konstantins anger and annoyance.
She offhandedly mentions that Carolyn is closing in on something big, then Konstantin softens.
She screams and grows indignant.
What kind of person does that?
A shit, Konstantin replies.
He admits to using Geraldine to spy on her mother.
I hope you die, Geraldine pointedly replies.
And she almost gets her wish toward the end of the episode.
But before we get there, lets get back to Villanelle.
Its a cover, of course.
Dasha doesnt realize she is the target.
The relationship between her and Villanelle remains barbed.
Dasha pushes at Villanelles wound.
They snipe at each other.
A slippery and cruel argument bubbles up between them in tight, alternating closeups.
Villanelle notes she will return to an indifferent, highly changed Russia.
You are going to die alone.
Villanelle has more pressing concerns than dying alone.
(Although who doesnt worry about that in the dark of night?)
Villanelle watches her target on a golf course: a boisterous American.
Villanelle tells Dasha she can do the kill, as a retirement present.
But Dasha worries that Villanelle has lost it and cant kill with the ease she used to.
Villanelle lures the American to a desolate part of the course to help her look for her ball.
But Villanelle is already picked up by Konstantin.
What Eve finds instead is a brutalized Dasha.
She stands on Dashas chest until it cracks and cracks again.
Her face is ecstatic.
She only stops when she hears police sirens nearby.
But what if she didnt?
Would she have killed Dasha out of vengeance for Niko and her own inner darkness?
At the train station, Villanelle and Konstantin are snapping at each other.
Shes annoyed that he didnt stick to his desire to not talk about it.
Maybe I should just let them kill me, he wonders aloud.
I can run as far as I want, they will still come.
I dont want to die, he says.
I dont want you to die either.
But you actually might, Villanelle says, before getting the information about where the $6 million is.
She hops on the train just as Eve finds her way to the crumbled form of Konstantin.
(Dont worry, he survives.)
Eve leaves him, catching sight of Villanelle, whose face lights up as she waves.
Eve waves back, futilely.
She gets a call from Villanelle when she returns to London.
Villanelles silken voice, We have to stop running into each other like that.
Its not good for both of us.
Eve doesnt look perturbed or afraid, but emboldened by the call.
How will she use this energy going forward?
His assignment to find a link between Paul and the Twelve puts him in their crosshairs.
He calls Carolyn with good news, saying he found the link.
Unfortunately, he doesnt realize hes been watched and followed by the assassin, Rhian.
Before the end of the episode hes dead in the water.
I loved the final scene between Carolyn and Geraldine.
I may find Geraldine annoying, but her relationship with her mother is both fascinating and a bit heartbreaking.
Carolyn comes home wanting to celebrate after getting Mos call.
But she gets the news that Mo has been killed, ruining her evening.
I fear the walls may be closing in on me.
Its starting to feel personal, Carolyn admits.
Geraldine grows angry with her mother, How can you be so bloody calm?
You are an emotional iceberg.
Is that the kind of thing you were after?
she asks Geraldine afterwards.
Im so worried about Villanelle not killing her!
