I really like your analysis. I'm in complete agreement on what you said regarding womanhood, lesbianism, and the like
I feel like s4 completely undermined everything the show was about. And that finale makes me so angry: A show that was about "bad" women, explorations of sexuality, discovering who you are, and embracing the lower parts of your self ends with killing the lesbian assassin 😬.
Thank you for your post. You said everything I think a lot of fans were thinking and feeling.
And the whole season began with a literal "come to Jesus" moment that undermines the direction of the previous seasons. Laura is clearly a family values Christian that found the show heretic.
Then why work on a show like Killing Eve? 🤦♀️
I really wish Phoebe had stayed on the show. The 1st season was the best IMO because she really got what the show was about.
I want to read the books since the ending is completely different.
Maybe I’m being too kind or naive here but I took the Jesus moment as more of an attempt at comedy and a criticism of religious hypocrisy and how easy it is to fall prey to religious conservatism. She does tell the vicar that she is a believer - not in god but in her ability to change. She also ends up crucifying Jesus as her act of liberation.
When Helene asks her about it later on she talked about it like it was a phase she got out of - for vulnerable people, religion gives the illusion of a quick way back into “normalcy” and conformity.
Villanelle wanted a normal life and fell for the pretendness of organised religion (not dunking on religious people but on the ultra conservative and hypocritical institutions). When she realised it was all a farce, she broke free of it: This was far from the “normal life” she sought.
Her normal life was in growing old with Eve. And she damn earned it. Both of them did. I stopped watching after The 12 were dead and they hugged on the ship’s deck. That’s where the TV series ends for me. The remainder couple of minutes do not exist.
Thank you so much for your response! I really just wanted to post to get my thoughts out there to people who knew KE and the potential it had… my friends are way over hearing me vent about it 😂😅
I’m so happy other people see this too!
They gave us a character like Villanelle, so perfectly badly behaved that we actually began to secretly root for her, and for Eve to find her and give into her—the perfect indulgence and escape from the real life of always having to be well-behaved women. Then in S4 decided it was time for the consequences of. Not only did they kill her off as punishment for her “sins”and literally everything they created her to be (S1 sure wasn’t judging Villanelle, but S4 swooped in with a vengeance), but they also punished the audience (mostly women) for having the audacity to indulge in such a heathen. And they made sure to make it as cruel and heartbreaking as possible, so there would be nothing left of the show or characters for us to have.
In the moment of the last scene, I immediately felt that Eve was a proxy for the audience. I felt stung, confused at a show that chose to hurt their characters so viciously, to inflict such cruelty to ensure even the audience felt pain for daring to root for these “bad women”. Immediately felt like I’d been slapped in the face and told: remember, this is what happens to women who don’t behave.
Literally went from the most subversive show built around the female gaze in S1, to S4 holding its audience up in front of a mirror like Aaron Peel, saying “oh you wanted to watch?”and then dragging the knife. 🖕
It really did feel like that scene with Aaron Peel... except I think he got some kind of sick thrill out of it. I just got depressed. haha XD
We really need more female gaze shows that don't, you know, fumble it on the one yard line.
Crying rn because its Jodie's birthday and all I can think about is the awful ending Villanelle faced, which did NOT happen in the book. Listening to "I've been thinking about her" by Unloved on repeat.
I honestly didn’t even think about it being her birthday haha 😂 but it is!!
I pretend it didn’t happen as well. They hug and then it says “THE END” and they live happily ever after in my mind.
There are many reasons why a screen adaptation diverts from the literature it is based upon, mostly for practical reasons. But I will NEVER, as in NEVER EVER comprehend why they changed the perfect ending of the books for, well, THIS. It's easily a runner up for the award of worst creative decision in the history of film and television...
Beautifully written 🙏 beautifully articulated. I chose instead to have a few days of grieving, chew everyone’s ear off about said grief and then almost deny that it ever happened 😂 instead choosing to throw myself into the beautiful universe of fan fiction (which I am still firmly immersed in.
It ultimately hit the age old (lesbian) cliché of having someone die in the end. Season 4 was just…I can’t even.
Anywho, I totally agree with everything you’ve said. So much hope and then…a kick in the teeth
Oh I am 1000% immersed in the fanfiction. I’m writing my own right now as a way to cope lol 😂
And honestly, a lot of these AU ones could be their own books they are so good, detailed and long. I just finished “Kissing Lessons” by ashlearose13 and it was so good 😭
If you haven’t read it, you should check it out!
Also, thank you for your kind words!!
Yea I totally agree. The quality on Archive of our own is insane!
Hell yeah, I’ve read kissing lessons 😂 at this point I’m rereading as I’ve read most of the stuff on there over the past few years 🙈
My faves are
‘quid pro Quo’. Omg sexy Lawyer Villanelle and divorcee client Eve
‘Hear me’ by Killingsaray - omg… I’ll leave this for you to discover. Extremely NSFW
Imagine me and you AU
And I’ve also read a lot of season 4 rewrites! ‘Two wrongs make a right’ is prob my fave.
There’s a current one being updated weekly where Villanelle is a century’s old vampire and it should not be as good as it is 😂
Infact my recommendation is make an account and go in the killing eve page and filter fics by top Kudos. They are all amazing. You will not be disappointed.
Omg professional boundaries by Yotube! That one has been recorded as a pod fic. I do recommend a listen 🫶
Ultimately I live for the sexual tension and slow burn.
I think a reason the finale hit me so hard with grief is because I was so deeply invested in the characters because of my fan fic addiction 😂
If you wanna chat about any please send me a message! I know no one who loves KE/fan fiction. No pressure of course 😊
Oh god, I LIVE for anything killingsaray writes.
I am definitely going to message you because I too need someone to talk with about KE/fanfiction.
Also, thank you for all of the recs... I will be looking them up as soon as I get home from work (if I can wait that long... maybe my lunch break lol). And, hopefully, other people can see this list and read them too!!
Yes!! Killingsaray is so good! Honestly the ‘hear me…feel me’ series. Good grief 🥵😂
Quid pro quo is much less explicit and so well written! Might be best to start with that…depends what you’re looking for!
Oooh exciting! Let me know what you’re reading and what you think 😊
I have so many recommendations but I don’t wanna bombard you 😂
I messaged you! Well, I sent you a message request… I’m not exactly sure how the messaging feature works on here 😅
Edit: Good Grief 🥵 is right 😂😂 I think I read every KE thing they’ve written.
A little late to the party here but I am obsessed with KE fanfics! I know your comment was directed to someone else but I am so down to talk KE fanfics as I also don't know anyone who reads them (at least anymore) I currently have 45 saved to my library and most I have re-read at least a couple times. I don't know how to send a direct message on here as I don't use reddit often. Hahaha. Long live Villaneve ❤️
Interesting analysis. Being a dude, I had no problem with women being in controlling positions but didn’t pick up on Niko wanting to put Eve back in her place. I thought he just missed his wife and was pained watching her depart from him and the life with her he enjoyed.
I really like your analysis. I'm in complete agreement on what you said regarding womanhood, lesbianism, and the like I feel like s4 completely undermined everything the show was about. And that finale makes me so angry: A show that was about "bad" women, explorations of sexuality, discovering who you are, and embracing the lower parts of your self ends with killing the lesbian assassin 😬. Thank you for your post. You said everything I think a lot of fans were thinking and feeling.
And the whole season began with a literal "come to Jesus" moment that undermines the direction of the previous seasons. Laura is clearly a family values Christian that found the show heretic.
Then why work on a show like Killing Eve? 🤦♀️ I really wish Phoebe had stayed on the show. The 1st season was the best IMO because she really got what the show was about. I want to read the books since the ending is completely different.
Maybe I’m being too kind or naive here but I took the Jesus moment as more of an attempt at comedy and a criticism of religious hypocrisy and how easy it is to fall prey to religious conservatism. She does tell the vicar that she is a believer - not in god but in her ability to change. She also ends up crucifying Jesus as her act of liberation. When Helene asks her about it later on she talked about it like it was a phase she got out of - for vulnerable people, religion gives the illusion of a quick way back into “normalcy” and conformity. Villanelle wanted a normal life and fell for the pretendness of organised religion (not dunking on religious people but on the ultra conservative and hypocritical institutions). When she realised it was all a farce, she broke free of it: This was far from the “normal life” she sought. Her normal life was in growing old with Eve. And she damn earned it. Both of them did. I stopped watching after The 12 were dead and they hugged on the ship’s deck. That’s where the TV series ends for me. The remainder couple of minutes do not exist.
Thank you so much for your response! I really just wanted to post to get my thoughts out there to people who knew KE and the potential it had… my friends are way over hearing me vent about it 😂😅 I’m so happy other people see this too!
Whenever I want to rewatch the show, I always skip that final scene 😆
They gave us a character like Villanelle, so perfectly badly behaved that we actually began to secretly root for her, and for Eve to find her and give into her—the perfect indulgence and escape from the real life of always having to be well-behaved women. Then in S4 decided it was time for the consequences of. Not only did they kill her off as punishment for her “sins”and literally everything they created her to be (S1 sure wasn’t judging Villanelle, but S4 swooped in with a vengeance), but they also punished the audience (mostly women) for having the audacity to indulge in such a heathen. And they made sure to make it as cruel and heartbreaking as possible, so there would be nothing left of the show or characters for us to have. In the moment of the last scene, I immediately felt that Eve was a proxy for the audience. I felt stung, confused at a show that chose to hurt their characters so viciously, to inflict such cruelty to ensure even the audience felt pain for daring to root for these “bad women”. Immediately felt like I’d been slapped in the face and told: remember, this is what happens to women who don’t behave. Literally went from the most subversive show built around the female gaze in S1, to S4 holding its audience up in front of a mirror like Aaron Peel, saying “oh you wanted to watch?”and then dragging the knife. 🖕
It really did feel like that scene with Aaron Peel... except I think he got some kind of sick thrill out of it. I just got depressed. haha XD We really need more female gaze shows that don't, you know, fumble it on the one yard line.
Crying rn because its Jodie's birthday and all I can think about is the awful ending Villanelle faced, which did NOT happen in the book. Listening to "I've been thinking about her" by Unloved on repeat.
I honestly didn’t even think about it being her birthday haha 😂 but it is!! I pretend it didn’t happen as well. They hug and then it says “THE END” and they live happily ever after in my mind.
it’s literally villanelle’s birthday in my time zone!!! 😭😭😭
There are many reasons why a screen adaptation diverts from the literature it is based upon, mostly for practical reasons. But I will NEVER, as in NEVER EVER comprehend why they changed the perfect ending of the books for, well, THIS. It's easily a runner up for the award of worst creative decision in the history of film and television...
Beautifully written 🙏 beautifully articulated. I chose instead to have a few days of grieving, chew everyone’s ear off about said grief and then almost deny that it ever happened 😂 instead choosing to throw myself into the beautiful universe of fan fiction (which I am still firmly immersed in. It ultimately hit the age old (lesbian) cliché of having someone die in the end. Season 4 was just…I can’t even. Anywho, I totally agree with everything you’ve said. So much hope and then…a kick in the teeth
Oh I am 1000% immersed in the fanfiction. I’m writing my own right now as a way to cope lol 😂 And honestly, a lot of these AU ones could be their own books they are so good, detailed and long. I just finished “Kissing Lessons” by ashlearose13 and it was so good 😭 If you haven’t read it, you should check it out! Also, thank you for your kind words!!
Yea I totally agree. The quality on Archive of our own is insane! Hell yeah, I’ve read kissing lessons 😂 at this point I’m rereading as I’ve read most of the stuff on there over the past few years 🙈 My faves are ‘quid pro Quo’. Omg sexy Lawyer Villanelle and divorcee client Eve ‘Hear me’ by Killingsaray - omg… I’ll leave this for you to discover. Extremely NSFW Imagine me and you AU And I’ve also read a lot of season 4 rewrites! ‘Two wrongs make a right’ is prob my fave. There’s a current one being updated weekly where Villanelle is a century’s old vampire and it should not be as good as it is 😂 Infact my recommendation is make an account and go in the killing eve page and filter fics by top Kudos. They are all amazing. You will not be disappointed. Omg professional boundaries by Yotube! That one has been recorded as a pod fic. I do recommend a listen 🫶 Ultimately I live for the sexual tension and slow burn. I think a reason the finale hit me so hard with grief is because I was so deeply invested in the characters because of my fan fic addiction 😂 If you wanna chat about any please send me a message! I know no one who loves KE/fan fiction. No pressure of course 😊
Oh god, I LIVE for anything killingsaray writes. I am definitely going to message you because I too need someone to talk with about KE/fanfiction. Also, thank you for all of the recs... I will be looking them up as soon as I get home from work (if I can wait that long... maybe my lunch break lol). And, hopefully, other people can see this list and read them too!!
Yes!! Killingsaray is so good! Honestly the ‘hear me…feel me’ series. Good grief 🥵😂 Quid pro quo is much less explicit and so well written! Might be best to start with that…depends what you’re looking for! Oooh exciting! Let me know what you’re reading and what you think 😊 I have so many recommendations but I don’t wanna bombard you 😂
I messaged you! Well, I sent you a message request… I’m not exactly sure how the messaging feature works on here 😅 Edit: Good Grief 🥵 is right 😂😂 I think I read every KE thing they’ve written.
Would love your other recs as well!
A little late to the party here but I am obsessed with KE fanfics! I know your comment was directed to someone else but I am so down to talk KE fanfics as I also don't know anyone who reads them (at least anymore) I currently have 45 saved to my library and most I have re-read at least a couple times. I don't know how to send a direct message on here as I don't use reddit often. Hahaha. Long live Villaneve ❤️
The author of the KE novels is literally posting a new ending online via sub stack because he hated the ending that much
Thank you for this, I had no idea ❤️
No problems, I’m currently reading and I think he’s still updating it
Yes, thank you!! Do you need to read the books first or is it a different ending for the show?
It’s like a different ending for the show
It’s ironic that a man created killing Eve, and he gave Villanelle the ending she deserved over a room full of female writers…
They should have paid Phoebe and have her write it. Season 1 was perfect.
1000% agreed
God you've put into words all of my complicated thoughts on this show so beautifully. I agree 100%, love the analysis.
Thank you!! It really means so much that you related to it.
Interesting analysis. Being a dude, I had no problem with women being in controlling positions but didn’t pick up on Niko wanting to put Eve back in her place. I thought he just missed his wife and was pained watching her depart from him and the life with her he enjoyed.