#killing eve S3E7

[savetheworldlosethegirl]

Luke Jennings, Killing Eve: No Tomorrow // Killing Eve S3E7 “Beautiful Monster”

[imy2]

again w notes

3-6 ok ngl s3 so far has been mid.. i think i'm paying attention less.. high10k was funny•

3-7 murphy looks cool this ep.. •

"it's weird." "how?" "well - everybody likes him." ..... "that's f'd up." •

hector looks cute this ep, so does kaskae ... also kaya :-) •

"fear no more" on van w 'fear' repeating on speaker n 'fear' on back was a cool bit .. •

i meant to note it then(2-6) but didnt so will now bc theyre going to her.. when murphy left lucy, just no one questioned it.. they rly thought he killed her ? interesting. . •

the man watching murphy eat this brain rn feels sexual .. lmfaoo then he puts a gun to him •

operation bite-mark need a spark, did u carry on need to hear ur call we've been gone - you've been gone too long c-z wannabe, that's me i need to see murphy talk to me - please don't freeze on my knees beggin hear my plea whoo! • ready? i'm kaya on the wire can't get by ya, why ya try it ain't a liar, mama mercy is my business and my business is on fire still alive at the northern lights we had a fright but we alright we ok, we hold tight every day, day by day x5 day by day • kaya in the sky-a B)

lol the man leaving his hand w his middle finger up for murphy•

3-8 sketchy n skeezy r baack .. tbh they r worse than i rmbr .•

"lost causes are worth dying for! yeaahh, wooo!" my lovr (inmydreamsofc)•

"fear turns us into monsters; no less violent than the enders and no more alive than the z's." •

"who won the election anyway?" "everyone wrote in the same thing.. 'that weed doctor'" •

3-9 i forgot abt vasquez... ahh damn... well hi n bye vasquez :/ .... i feel like if roberta warren n teresa mendoza could team up, in either of their worlds.. pheww ... o hi lucy .. wth's happenin w hector •

3-10 murphy -_- 10k :(.. here we go w lucy.. doc looked cute this ep•

3-11 doc at the table ... •

oh hell no..

•

3-12 perhaps murphys best look.. damn he changes sm.. lets see 1. s1e1-4, skin - white, hair - br/shaggy . 3/5 2. s1e5-12, skin - white, hair - bald 2/5 3. s1e12-s2e12, skin - blue, hair - br/buzzed 2/5 4. flashback s2ep14, skin - white, hair - br/fancy? 3/5 5. s2e13 - s3e6, skin - blue, hair - bl/shaggy 3.5/5 6. s3e7-s3e11, skin - blue+white, hair - bl/shaggy 4/5 7. s3e12-?, skin - lavender?+blue, hair - wh/fancy 5/5•

ahhhh murphy n warren purpleroom scene... the tension, the looks! ooo when warren pulls out the brain n looks at him like :/ •

lol 10k n red r cute but sun mei bein completely over them is funnier •

"you dont understand." "if i did, i'd kill myself." ooof. .... "you know what they'll do to us." "i know." "we need you. - help me, warren." n warrens facee :') •

•^i need to rewatch killing eve.... n mayb the 100 but idk abt that.. but gahh enemies to/and(lol) lovers •

3-13 lucy ep, fun.. doc n addy at end were cute•

3-14 man ending the season w not 1 but 4 ppl jumpin off a cliff + 2 ppl shot. incredible •

• overall .... 2.5 .. not my fav apparently •

4-1 "2 yrs later, things have gotten worse" then showing warrens helldream, so funny •

intro - bulletbulletbigbullet.. •

aww warren n murphy this ep r so cute •

4-2 addy n 10k bullet moment, cool ... hi sarge •

4-3 "no one said anything about frickin canada!" "you got a problem with canada?" "yeah i do it's far" murphyagain •

4-4 "well if you're going im going. idk what's going on in that head of urs but i'm gonna throw a little faith ur way." murphy n warren 🤝•

4-5 warren n this elevator is reminding me of beef.. man that still is one of the most surprising n disturbing scenes ever .. i think beef was the best show i seen in 2023.. outta 66 •

10k "i love dog food! puppy chow's my stuff, man!" sarge waking up - "we saved u some puppy chow" "oh! *eats it quick* *notices bird w her* bird? bird. bird! i found a bird! *shoves fist w bird in air* it was alive when i got it." doc n murphy n warren "hey, let me see that." .... "murphy?" "hmm?" "did you eat the bird?" "*coughs feathers* no." "never mind that." lmaoo one of the funniest scenes •

"well now what are we gonna do?" "i don't know abt u but i'm just gonna curl up and die." doc lmao •

"what is our fate?" .. "i'm not sure. i just feel it. it's like i felt the first time i laid eyes on you, murphy. i didn't know the how, why, or any of the what was coming next. the second i saw you i knew my job in life was to get you wherever the hell you were going." "..when you put it that way." warren n murphyyy •

4-6 sarge is so pretty ugh, warren ofc is gorgeous .. aww lucy :( ughh murphy n warren </333 "goodbye july, hate to see u go - so fast that i got a bloody nose" •

4-7 warren n murphy getting pissed for each other.. warren when theyre zapping murphy 2x, murphy "you son of a bitch, i'm gonna beat you til the clown meat shows" •

4-8 awww kaya n jz :') nana tooo.. •

warren n murphy being in mindscape together but her seeing dreamhell n him seein a nice field , til he burns "i felt it - what she's feeling. it's excruciating." n them lookin at each other ....... •

"you think this will be over? i call that faith." "nah, that's just basic survival. you gotta believe this will end, right? if you don't - hug a zombie." pftt •

4-9 awww kaya n cz n jz :') •

[angelsuncontrollablefantasy]

chaotic Eve is what I LIVE FOR

[youaremylittlesunshine]

[mokonui]

is it healthy to want sandra oh to step on me after that episode?

[weirdo-and-proud]

So what I've learned from killing eve, is that if I want to kill someone, driving over them with a car ISN'T the way to do it.. noted

[anevolutionarynecessity]

How did Laura Neal ever get to be showrunner for Season 4?

Since Killing Eve’s horrible finale aired on April 10, 2022, and was followed up with Laura Neal’s homophobic and deranged interviews explaining its rationale, we’ve all been asking ourselves a burning question:

How did Laura Neal ever get to be showrunner for Season 4?

Our fandom knows that changing showrunners every season presented a problem for Killing Eve’s overall quality, specifically continuity, characterization, and Villaneve. This is why it was more important than ever for the showrunner for the final season to have an excellent grasp of key plot points, a deep understanding of the key characters, and an ability to finally realize Villaneve in the end.

In other words, we were all hoping that Laura Neal would do a good job.

But more than being hopeful, we had reason to expect that Laura Neal would do a good job. This is because Laura Neal wrote Villaneve’s bus kiss for S3E3, as well as writing for S3E7 with it’s dark humour, Hélène’s commanding presence, and Villaneve’s breathtaking almost-reunion.

I (bitterly) recall that our fandom was pretty excited that Laura Neal was going to be showrunner. Now after Season 4, we’re left feeling betrayed, shocked, devastated, and angry.

As showrunner, she messed things up to the point of being single-handedly responsible for Killing Eve’s lowest rated episode ever (along with being one of the worst finales in television history), wiping out Killing Eve’s legacy and re-watch value, and directly contributing to mainstream media harming LGBTQ well being and representation. 

So...what happened? How was someone like Laura Neal, with her homophobia and catastrophic misunderstanding of Eve and Villanelle, allowed to have so much power?

The answer has everything to do with how the entertainment industry works, specifically in the UK.

We all know that the entertainment industry isn’t exactly built around merit. So what “qualifies” someone for their position in the entertainment industry? Generally, the criteria can include both the quantity and quality of projects, awards won, and a good reputation that’s endorsed by industry executives.

Scouring the public record for information on Laura Neal revealed just how scarce her C.V. and other professional details are. Nevertheless, the information I have been able to find should raise some eyebrows.

The first point to note here is that Laura Neal was announced as showrunner for Season 4 in February 2020–two full months before Season 3 even aired.

Take a moment to let that sink in.

Before even gauging critic and audience reactions to Season 3, before any viewership statistics and profit calculations came pouring in, Laura Neal was given this position.

The only way this is ever possible is if an industry executive, such as an executive producer, simply makes it happen thanks to the power of their position.

At the time of this announcement, we were offered two crucial pieces of information:

Laura Neal was selected as showrunner for Season 4 simply because Killing Eve wanted to continue its tradition of having female showrunners. Although her (few) writing credits were noted, such as for the high profile show Sex Education, this was not the primary reason she became showrunner.

Killing Eve’s executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle endorsed Laura Neal: “Laura is frighteningly bright, takes no prisoners and can laugh at anything. She's wicked and wild, emotional and provocative. The stories we are already creating for season four promise a pitch-black riot."

That’s it.

Neither of these reasons have anything to do with merit. Not even past experience or industry recognition.

Speaking of which, examining Laura Neal’s qualifications shows a troubling pattern of nepotism and elitism.

Again, this is unsurprising for the entertainment industry. But it does reveal the answer to how Laura Neal got to be showrunner for Season 4.

In the UK, up-and-coming writers for the screen and stage often go through writer’s programs. More than honing their skills with a mentor, these function more like sponsorships for writers that bring them lots of exposure and coveted endorsements from industry executives. In other words, it’s a matter of prestige.

So let’s have a look at some of Laura Neal’s notable qualifications on both her official agent’s website and her IMDb page:

Laura Neal studied drama at Bristol University and has been writing since she was 18 years old.

She has more experience writing for theater than for television.

She won the the Hull Truck Prize in 2007 and then the 2012 Broadcast Hot Shot prize.

In 2007, she was selected for not one, but two prestigious writer’s programs: the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and the Paines Plough Future Perfect scheme-despite having no credited work in 2007.

Because of these programs, she was commissioned to write only one episode in 2011 for Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

She wrote only one episode for My Mad Fat Diary in 2014, notable because it was one of Jodie Comer’s early successful projects.

She was a member of the Advanced Writing for Television Drama Programme 2017-2018, which she only got because she was “nominated by a senior industry professional.”

There is no record anywhere of who has ever endorsed and nominated her, other than Sally Woodward Gentle.

Laura Neal wrote only one episode for Sex Education in 2019.

In a bit of a discrepancy, IMDb claims that Laura Neal wrote three of Killing Eve’s episodes in Season 3 (2020): episode 3,7, and the finale. However, her official C.V. and agent only list episodes 3 and 7. Keep in mind that traditionally in the UK, a showrunner (read: head writer) writes the finale all by themselves, so it’s more likely Suzanne Heathcoate wrote the Season 3 finale all by herself. In any case, at this point Laura Neal only wrote 2-3 episodes for Killing Eve before suddenly becoming showrunner for Season 4.

Laura Neal has 7 writing credits throughout her entire career.

Other than two prizes during her university years, and being selected for the writer’s programs, Laura Neal has not won any industry awards.

Laura Neal has only one co-producer credit for the 2019 Netflix show Turn Up Charlie, which was cancelled after just one season. 

Laura Neal’s only executive producer credit is for 8 episodes in her entire career, all for Season 4 of Killing Eve.

In addition, Laura Neal herself gives us some insight into her background as a writer:

She originally wanted to be a criminal investigator and almost gave up on writing altogether.

She studied drama at Bristol University, writing for university societies and for theater companies back in London.

While rehearsing in London for one of the first plays she’d written, some completely unnamed TV producers just happened to be watching the play. Shortly after, they commissioned Laura to write one episode for Secret Diary of a Call Girl. According to Laura, this was enough to secure her an agent and further projects.

Laura Neal’s focus for Season 3 and high-point for Killing Eve was to write lines for Fiona Shaw, who she’s “a huge fan of” (coincidentally, Fiona Shaw’s character Carolyn was the primary focus for Season 4)

All this serves to demonstrate that Laura Neal actually didn’t have the qualifications for a position as important as showrunner for Killing Eve’s final season.

Certainly, we can all feel that Laura Neal didn’t deserve to be showrunner after the mess we got. But I think it’s objectively clear now that we can back this sentiment up with facts. Laura Neal literally had no business being showrunner.

And now the logical counterpart to wondering how Laura Neal ever got to be showrunner for Season 4 is asking the following crucial question:

Why wasn’t Kayleigh Llewellyn showrunner for Season 4?

Kayleigh Llewellyn is Laura Neal’s direct contemporary colleague. They even got started around the same time, meaning their careers parallel each other. But the divergent results clearly speak for themselves, to the point where I think Kayleigh Llewellyn should have been showrunner for Season 4 of Killing Eve.

In no uncertain terms, Kayleigh is the most qualified woman for this position, especially by entertainment industry standards.

I mean, let’s just consider some of Kayleigh Llewellyn’s many notable qualifications on both her agent’s website (along with her C.V.) and her IMDb page:

Laura and Kayleigh both won something in 2012...except Kayleigh’s award was an industry recognized award called a BAFTA, specifically for New Comedy Writing. Kayleigh literally kickstarted her career with the UK entertainment industry’s highest honour.

In addition to being a writer, Kayleigh is also an actress. IMDb notes four acting credits in total, the most notable being for her 2015 short film Oh Be Joyful. It won 13 awards, including Best Short Film and Best Female Director. It was championed as excellent LGBTQ representation at international film festivals in London, Milan, Hamburg, and Toronto among others.

Kayleigh was one of six specifically LGBTQ filmmakers selected for the BFI Flare Mentorship Programme in 2016. Not only is Kayleigh a lesbian herself, but her entire career champions LGBTQ representation through the lens of underdog characters, exploring such themes as class division, internal conflicts with home life and sexuality, and challenging the stigma around mental illness.

Right before being a writer for Killing Eve, Kayleigh’s best known and most loved project is the 2018-2021 TV series In My Skin. The pilot alone won 2 BAFTA awards. The series went on to be nominated for 4 more BAFTA awards: Best TV Drama, Actress, Writer and Director: Fiction. This project won two of those nominations, for Writer and Director (2020).

In contrast to Laura Neal’s two university prizes, Kayleigh Llewellyn has won 5 BAFTA awards in total.

Kayleigh was executive producer for all 9 episodes of In My Skin, compared to Laura Neal’s singular co-producer credit and her executive producer credit for 8 episodes in Season 4 of Killing Eve.

Kayleigh was also consulting producer for all 8 episodes of Season 4 of Killing Eve, which means she still contributed input for Villaneve throughout.

Among Kayleigh’s 13 writing credits across her career, she contributed some of the best material for Villaneve in Season 4, writing episodes 3, 4, and 6.

Given all this, Kayleigh Llewellyn’s industry experience, her passion and work for LGBTQ representation, and her demonstrable understanding of Villaneve made her the perfect fit to be showrunner for Season 4 of Killing Eve.

To put this another way, the show In My Skin that she was directly executive producer for and actively writing for won four BAFTA awards the same year (2020) that Killing Eve’s executives were in the process of finding a showrunner for Season 4.

Kayleigh Llewellyn clearly should have been considered for the position.

And yet.

Laura Neal was announced as showrunner for Season 4 just because Sally Woodward Gentle said so.

To make this injustice worse, we know that Kayleigh Llewellyn was muzzled and literally kept from doing her job as a writer in Killing Eve, noting that she felt like “a cog in a machine.”

I cannot help but mourn the loss of what Killing Eve’s final season could have been if Kayleigh Llewellyn was showrunner. The amount of potential that was unfulfilled is maddening. Worse yet, we live with the disastrous results of the finale and Laura Neal’s legacy of homophobia while knowing that Kayleigh is a champion of LGBTQ representation.

So in light of all this, are we just supposed to be disheartened by yet more evidence of how unjust, corrupt, and bemusing the entertainment industry can be?

That’s definitely one takeaway.

Another much more important take away is that now we know how Laura Neal, the head person responsible for Season 4′s homophobia and atrocious quality, got to be where she is.

Now we know what we can hold her accountable for. Now we know some of the entry points in the entertainment industry that allow such people to slip through. Now we know what to look for when we examine who crafts our media. Now we know that there are always other options, just how Kayleigh Llewellyn is an inspiring direct contrast to Laura Neal.

It’s too late to change how Season 4 of Killing Eve turned out. And we will only spiral if we ruminate on how things could have been better if only the right person was in charge.

Instead, I hope that this post was informative and sparked a desire to experience media more thoughtfully. To peer beneath the surface of entertainment and consider who is making it, especially with what intent. To follow the trail and connect the dots to see the bigger picture.

And most of all, to know that if we truly want to make a difference in the industry of our choosing, we can best do that leading by example and looking to women like Kayleigh Llewellyn as examples of what we can create with our hearts in the right place.

[bimbonaparte]

So as mentioned elsewhere, I recently fell DEEP down the rabbit hole with Tom McNair, beloved lethal cinnamon roll -- and particularly his relationship with his dad, which I find utterly fascinating. So here are a few seasons’ worth of quotes from McNair and Tom talking about each other that have sent me into an absolute spiral:

S3E4: The Pack

Nina: Have you heard of other pregnant werewolves?

Tom: Of course. Mum and Dad.

Nina: So you were born a werewolf?

McNair: He was.

Tom: And I'm all right, aren't I?

McNair: You're perfect.

-----

George: Who were you, before all this?

McNair: Before Tom, I was nothing. I was wild. I was a danger to myself as much as anyone else. Tom... saved me.

-----

McNair, after Tom’s been kidnapped by vampires on Mitchell’s say-so: He was my world, and you took him from me.

Mitchell: What are you talking about?

McNair: And now I've lost him. And you're going to pay.

S3E7: Though the Heavens Fall

George: I mean, you're what, 19? 20? You shouldn't be killing vampires from a shitty campervan. You... You should have chlamydia. And a 24-hour hangover. Because, trust me, Tom, you will look back, and these will be the best years of your life.

Tom: We don't have a choice.

George: Yeah, you do. You could stay here.

Tom: McNair would never agree to that.

George: Please screw bloody McNair!

Tom: You people really do swear a lot, don't you? It's just an observation. McNair says it suggests a limited vocabulary.

George: Oh, does he? Well, actually, I can speak six different languages, so McNair can just... piss off.

-----

McNair’s final letter:

Tom,

If you are reading this, then I am dead. Somewhere in this house is a vampire. He is the one I've always been searching for. He was there when I became this creature, and tonight, I tried to kill him. If I had, I would have been able to stop. But I wasn't doing this for me, or the man I killed two months ago, or even your parents. This was for you... my Tom.

This must be the final act. Tom, I want you to live a different life now -- one that's decent. You see, we've lost everything that was harmless and mundane.

When I sat down to write this, I realized I'd forgotten how to hold a pen. It's been so long since I did something so ordinary. I was selfish. I turned you into a weapon for my own war. The things I've asked you to do, they make me ashamed.

Let it end. I want you to be human now. Stop this chaotic, violent life. Make this the end of that story. I die tonight, but don't avenge me. It's getting dark. I have to go. Always know that I love you, Tom. I wish I really had been your father. 

__________

S4E1: Eve of the War

Tom, about George’s infant daughter: Oh, God, George, she's beautiful. Have you given her a name yet?

George: I've been kind of busy.

Tom: Even McNair gave me a name, and he ate my parents.

-----

Tom: I thought we could do this together, like me and McNair back in the day. George: Tom, I am not your fucking father! Tom: You ain't nobody's father.

[I find this one fascinating because Tom defers to George on basically everything outside of killing vampires (his one area of expertise). In his view, George is the more clever & worldly one, and George knows better. But here, he’s confident in calling George out because he knows what a father is, and he also knows that George is falling short. Couldn’t help but include it.]

S4E4: A Spectre Calls

Tom: Are birthdays a big deal for everyone?

Kirby: Did you never get a card, or a present or anything?

Tom: I'd get a cupcake and a four-inch skinning knife, or a stake and a sparkler. Or... a crucifix and a banana muffin.

S4E7: Making History

Cutler: Places like this, they like you to wear a tie.

Tom: Oh, right. Sorry.

Cutler: You know how to tie a tie?

Tom: Never worn one. Me dad said vampires could use them to choke or garrotte us in a fight.

S4E8: The War Child

Tom, after revealing that the random junk he’s been gathering all season is actually for a bomb: You didn't really think I was building a swimming pool in the back garden, did you?

Hal: How long have you been planning this?!

Tom: Not really been planning anything, just picked it up off McNair. ‘Always be kind and polite and have the materials to build a bomb.’

__________

S5E1: The Trinity

Alex: Just treat me like a bloke.

Tom: But you're a lady, and me dad taught me how to treat ladies. Always be polite and courteous; if a lady came in the room, you stood up and took off any hats; and if it was a vampire, you staked them.

Alex: And I'm sure that growing up in the paramilitary wing of the Amish had many pluses, but I find it patronizing.

-----

Tom: I'm sorry if the way I speak to you is annoying. It's just what my dad would expect me to do. And that keeps him alive in my mind... makes me feel safe.

Alex: You're an excellent person, Thomas. I just need to remember that.

Tom: No opening doors though, eh?

Alex: Well, I mean, if I'm carrying something then...

S5E3: Pie & Prejudice

Tom: He were amazing though, me dad. We were hardly ever out of each other's sight. He protected me from the world. A bit too much, maybe. I don't know, I just want to make him proud.

-----

Larry, trying to convince Tom to smash the windscreen of a car: Sometimes you have to do regrettable things to get to the top. And when you do, your old dad will be looking down and smiling.

Tom: Not if I do this he won't.

S5E5: No Care, All Responsibility

Natasha: Was [McNair] your brother?

Tom: Me dad. Well, sort of.

Natasha: Was he a good dad?

Tom: The best.

Natasha: Explains why you're so nice, then.

[please-return-to-villanelle]

Cold Turkey

S3E8 recap

What do you want Villanelle?

I’m looking for a new challenge.

Villanelle tries to retroactively accept Carolyn’s job offer to work for MI6, but with a slight twist. She no longer wants to kill. She is looking to start over. Carolyn isn’t convinced that Villanelle has any useful skills outside of assassinating and turns her offer down. By seeking out Carolyn, Villanelle was taking a real step of her own accord to actively remove herself from the Twelve rather than simply runaway.

I can change.

You’ve infected her with your disgusting lack of ambition.

The Villanelle that Dasha and Konstantin are discussing is the Villanelle of the past. The one whose life was not altered by Eve Polastri. In this conversation, Konstantin chastised Dasha for almost killing Villanelle with her brutal training tactics focused on discipline while Dasha jabs back by blaming Konstantin for giving her no structure. In other words, Villanelle almost died because of Dasha’s method of strict rule while Konstantin made her lazy due to his method of no rules. Neither handler gave Villanelle what she needed and BOTH of them imposed what they wanted upon her. She seems like a disappointment to them now that she is breaking free of her chains and becoming her own person, which is something neither Dasha nor Konstantin is capable of doing.

As I mentioned in my S3E7 recap (post), I think the portrayal of Dasha was meant to depict what Villanelle’s life may have been if she continued working for the Twelve for the rest of her life. This would have been a life of isolation (Winners win alone) with the illusion of freedom to do as she pleases, so long as her bosses are happy.

I wish my son was here.

The death of Dasha is Villanelle’s worst fear, and ironically, the end Dasha predicted for Villanelle; one in which she dies alone and without someone who loves her.

FINALLY, we arrive to the long-anticipated Villanelle and Eve reunion where they both “Wear it down” (post).

What I love most about this whole scene is both Villanelle and Eve have their walls of emotional armor down the entire time. Neither of them entered the ballroom with their masks on. The cheeky and overly confident façade of Villanelle is not there and the delusional MI6 agent façade for Eve is gone.

They came just as they are: Eve and Oksana.

This entire scene looks and feels like the past: the ballroom dancing, the clothing of the dancers and Villanelle’s 60s outfit, the lighting, the music, and the decorum. It’s almost as if this is a fantasy moment where time stands still; and in this moment, Oksana and Eve share a moment of honesty about the past and future.

Do you ever think about the past?

All of the time.

Eve can tell immediately that something is deeply bothering Villanelle and so her offer to dance serves as a temporary distraction but also as an opportunity to find real peace.

I want to feel carefree.

Well dancing will do that.

The freedom they are discussing here is emotional freedom. Both Villanelle and Eve have their own internal demons they are battling and neither have been able to find peace on their own.

Dancing is not my thing.

Mine either, but it’s good to try new things.

The origin of the word dance came from the Latin word saltare which means to “leap with emotion”. What Eve is offering Villanelle is emotional support by “letting it win” in order to quit their self-destructive habits of repressing their feelings around each other. In other words, they are actively giving into their emotions to feel and deal with it together rather than keep it all buried inside.

They both fumble at first, this is something new after all, but then they begin to talk openly with each other as they sway in sync. While staring at a happy elderly couple, Villanelle asks Eve is she wants to be like them. What she is really asking here is: Would a long, normal and carefree life make you happy?

Eve honestly replies no. Why?

We’d never make it that long. We’d consume each other before we hit old age.

Eve’s reply is significant because she envisions her life with Villanelle in it and associates her with happiness. In her brain, she re-framed the question from “Would I be happy” to “Would we be happy?” For Eve, to be happy means to have Villanelle but she recognizes that this situation of teatime dancing in the fantasy ballroom is not sustainable for them. Eve understands that happiness means becoming fully consumed mind, body, and soul by Villanelle which may not allow them to live a long life with the danger and chaos they always find themselves involved in.

I’ve killed a lot of people

Villanelle said these exact words to her mother. In this instance she was rejected, told she had a darkness, and instructed to leave.

With Eve, she was immediately accepted without hesitation and held in a loving embrace.

I know.

When she dances with Eve, she is Oksana. No pretense, no cheeky jokes, no lies. She is just a girl dancing with her wife, because this scene proves they are married, but when Eve leaves and she turns to talk to Rhian, Villanelle the mask is back on. Now she is cheeky, the pretense is back, and the game of lies is on.

Rhian leads Villanelle away to take her to see Helene in order to, once again, play by another handler’s set of rules.

Come a long little sheep.

Villanelle is determined to maintain her autonomy and have the happy life that Eve envisioned for the two of them. Killing Rhian to have her dream life takes its toll since murdering is no longer something she can disassociate from.

I’m sorry.

Villanelle now feels things when she kills. This was the cost of learning what love means and opening herself up emotionally. She is now capable of feeling love and happiness, but this means she can also feel pain and loss. This kill was a milestone for her because we see this balance of Villanelle the assassin and Oksana the woman.

Interestingly, Eve (aka Tallulah Shark) has a similar experience at the betting parlor and with her exchange with Konstantin. She osculates from not a nice lady to innocent and caring throughout both of these scenes.

I think this was significant in depicting how both Eve and Villanelle are capable of attaining balance between their darkness and light. More importantly, they are most at center when they together both emotionally and physically.

Now I know many of you are wondering: What was the point of Geraldine?

I think her point was literally to annoy the emotions out of Carolyn. She was annoying to us because that’s how Carolyn felt also.

Carolyn has been a spy for decades and has learned to separate her work life from her personal life. The death of Kenny was what forever merged these two aspects of her life; but the death of her son alone was not enough of a trauma for Carolyn to willingly “let it win” by succumbing to her guilt in order to feel this great loss. She needed someone to pry these feelings out of her unwillingly.

That’s what you say it’s about, but what’s this really about?

So, in a way, Geraldine is the therapist Carolyn never asked for but desperately needed in order to find peace with the death of Kenny which she achieves in her final scene with provocation from someone else she cares about: Konstantin.

Konstantin has betrayed literally everyone in his life including his own family. What’s interesting about this scene is that Villanelle is watching this whole exchange without any knowledge of Eve and Carolyn’s investigation into Kenny’s death. In fact, she seemed to have no knowledge of Carolyn and Konstantin’s past.

Villanelle is witnessing this relationship for the first time unfold and she realizes that Konstantin, someone she considered a friend/ family, is using Carolyn’s love for him against her. It’s truly a fascinating detail.

I feel like the series has drawn many parallels between Carolyn and Konstantin’s relationship to Eve and Villanelle’s. Both couples are literal enemies to lovers. Much like Dasha, this is a glimpse into what Villanelle and Eve’s future relationship might look like if they continue their current career paths. Their relationship will dissolve into nothing more than transactions and lies all centered around work.

What Villanelle doesn’t know, is that Konstantin has used Carolyn’s feelings against her to save himself before. Let us recall the car driving scene from the previous episode. He flat out lied about what he was discussing with Kenny in order to save himself from Carolyn’s inquisition and reckless driving. Konstantin has no rules set and no set of morals. He just wants to stay alive.

Winners win alone.

Once again, Konstantin shamelessly chooses himself above all others. He plays his last hand by telling Carolyn he loves her to influence her decision making by tugging at her feelings.

In this moment it clicks for Villanelle. This is the type of behavior her mother showed her and her siblings. She manipulated the feelings of those that loved her and used them to manipulate them into doing her bidding or boasting her ego.  With this realization, Villanelle saw that her mother was not her family, and neither is Konstantin.

He only called out to her when he was desperate and blatantly ignored her own calls of desperation throughout their entire relationship. She also witnesses Carolyn spare Konstantin. Instead of killing him out of anger and she let him go out of what little love she still holds for him. I believe this was a parallel to Villanelle shooting Eve in Rome out of anger. I think Villanelle recognized the difficult choice Carolyn made and why it’s so important for her and Eve to walk away from all of this if they want their happy life together.

Cold turkey.

Eve is not fully prepared to let all of this go. To her, fixating on the Twelve means fixating on Villanelle. So in this moment, I think she panicked and fled because she can’t comprehend how to live that life without Villanelle and the Twelve consuming her. She craves the excitement, the darkness, and chaos that comes with Villanelle.

You’re so many things.

Eve comes to a place of acceptance and finally admits to Villanelle that they are the same and that she wanted Villanelle in her life all along. The cost was blowing up her own life; but Eve never truly wanted that life. She only became passionate and fully alive after Villanelle came crashing into her life.

Wear it down.

Since that 30 second meeting in the bathroom, Villanelle and Eve were forever changed. They briefly saw the monsters in each other. Neither recoiled. They continued to pursue each other and are finally at a point where they can fully see one another for exactly who they are. They were both seeking the relationship they now have. It’s not a normal relationship like the couple in the fantasy ballroom, but it’s the real connection they have both been yearning for.

Help me make it stop.

At the end Villanelle offers Eve a solution to stopping all the pain, chaos, and darkness that comes with their unique relationship.

She is suggesting that Eve has to quit her cold turkey.

Villanelle is presenting them both with the opportunity to cut ties with their consuming relationship and attain their individual freedom that they have both been trying to attain throughout this season.

Ultimately, neither one is prepared to quit cold turkey. In the end, they choose to remain tethered by the red string of fate that binds them. They choose to view each other as equals and mutually consume each other to attain their version of love and happiness.

It’s new challenge they willingly face together.

[yourmajorkey]

I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from Killing Eve s3e7

[mothmansbees]

Okay, but, the parallels between Irina's behavior at the correctional facility and Villanelle's everyday behavior towards Konstantin

[dirigibleplumbing]

writing update, Will/Hannibal edition

“I didn’t know you wrote Will/Hannibal, Naomi!” you might say. but that’s just because I haven’t finished any yet.

these lists are for myself and self-accountability though obviously anyone who is interested is welcome to read. questions / thoughts are also welcome!

Will/Hannibal fic I’m actually in the process of writing: 

yeah I’m writing a multi-chapter post-season-3 slow burn from Will’s POV. we can never have enough of those, right? (well, it’s medium burn tentative friends to best ever murder bros, slow burn tentative friends to murder bros to murder husbands)

um I’m also writing a kind of poetic / surreal / purple prose / YMMV multi-chapter post-season-3 story with Hannibal POV and excessive references to classic literature and art 

crossover with the Magicians TV show. a Marina is stuck in a universe where magic works a little differently than it does in hers. murder husbands meet her and -- once Will is sure he’s not hallucinating -- they help her get back to her own reality. (for those who don’t know the Magicians, Marina and Abigail are played by the same actress, and holy shit, if Hannibal could see his surrogate daughter like that he would be overjoyed.) 

Season 1 AU crack wherein no one has any idea Hannibal has been turned into a dog and Will adopts the dog and the dog leaves him increasingly large mangled and bloody animals and everything goes pretty much exactly as you think it would but hey, someone has to write it, right? 

Hannibal x Killing Eve crossover. Murder Husbands meet Murder Wives. I’ve written Will meeting Eve but am fiddling with what happens during  the double-date at an excessively extravagant 

similar concepts have been done and now I’m doing my take on it too: post-s3e13 Will finds he has travelled back in time to a year or so after s3e7, and decides he’s going to kick things off early and not throw them off a cliff this time. Hannibal, who does not have any knowledge of s3e8 thru s3-13, is intrigued and delighted by whatever Will is up to. Hannibal POV. 

Will/Hannibal fic ideas that are not far along but I want to make happen: 

crossover with the X-Files. Mulder is disappointed to discover that the unreasonably huge number of serial murders in the Baltimore area have nothing to do with ley lines, but becomes instead convinced that Will has latent psychic powers that could be developed much, much further. 

Scully is Bedelia’s second cousin and it is awkward 

biggest stumbling block so far is figuring out how Mulder survives taking such an active interest in cultivating Will’s skills

crossover with Bones where the main characters are all investigating the same case. there is a strange dinner party, wherein Brennan somehow gets on the topic of cannibalism and shares many fascinating anthropological facts about it! 

iZombie crossover. Will thinks Liv is like him. Liv thinks Will is like her. Hannibal thinks Liv smells... wrong. 

Archer crossover. Archer and the main characters don’t appear at all. instead, murder husbands in Cuba meet Rudy and Charles! 

crossover and sort of fusion crackfic with My Favorite Murder. Will is Karen and Georgia’s research assistant. He appears on an episode about the Chesapeake Ripper. Hannibal has a google alert, listens, and is immediately smitten with how Will talks about the Ripper’s kills. He appears on an episode as a special guest expert in serial killers and... well honestly I’ve never written anything remotely like RPF before and I feel weird about it because I was going to have Hannibal kill Steven, the podcast’s sound engineer, but that’s a real person whose voice I listen to and I don’t know I feel deeply weird about that?! I might need to change the RL characters into obvious stand-ins with different names. The main thing stopping me is I was going to title it “My Favorite Murderer” because c’mon, we all know who Will’s favorite is!

Other: 

I’m working on a fanmix. Because I am... me... it’s going to have 52 songs (13 for each season and 13 for a murder husbands season 4!) and possibly some bonus tracks. I actually have nearly all of the tracks picked out, but want to get links to them on multiple platforms, plus lyrics, and write and edit notes about why I picked them. There are some songs that are on everyone’s Will/Hannibal playlists and at least one that is one everyone’s playlist for any ship ever, but with that number of tracks I hope there will be something new for everyone. 

I also have a couple art pieces in progress, one character study of Hannibal and one of Will. There is a 98% chance I will post them here and on AO3, and a 2% chance I will decide to put them in my professional portfolio and brand them as “editorial” illustrations rather than fanart. If I did this I don’t know if I would also post them here... I do children’s book illustration, am mostly trying to get more work doing that, and would like to try to keep my fandom stuff separate from the professional, but idk. 

[angelsuncontrollablefantasy]

OH MY GODDDD THIS EPISODE WAS FUCKING AMAZING

I'm so glad I kept my expectations really low cz I was afraid I would be disappointed but nooo Laura Neal has all the rights she fucking owns my soul

It was so fucking good that I dont even care we didn't get a proper villaneve scene (and also cz I prepared myself for it being only a quick moment at the end of the episode)

AND THE FUCKING PREVIEW I was already screaming but that preview made me completely lose my shit how am I gonna survive this week OH MY GOD I'M SO EXCITED

FINALLY

[youaremylittlesunshine]

[youaremylittlesunshine]

[youaremylittlesunshine]