Killing Eve: 5 questions we have after that shocking season 2 finale

BBC America’s Killing Eve wrapped up its second season with an explosive finale that left us with a lot of questions. Let’s talk about some of them.

BBC America’s Killing Eve wrapped up its second season with an explosive finale that left one of its leads for dead, the other back on the run, and its audience with a whole lot of questions.

After a season that pulled Eve and Villanelle closer to one another than ever before, their relationship status is currently largely unknown. Basically because one just tried to kill the other. (Again.) Tension, right?

But season 2 brought so many changes — Eve killed a man! Villanelle confessed her love! Carolyn lied to everybody! Konstantin betrayed his charge! — that it’s hard to guess where season 3 might take us, or what these characters will do once we get there.

But, we have a few questions to ponder in the meantime.

Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, Jodie Comer as Villanelle. Killing Eve – Season 2, Episode 8. Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/BBCAmerica

Is Eve alive?

Of course Eve’s alive. We all know this. Not only is “You’re Mine” almost a complete inversion of the first season’s finale, “God I’m Tired,” there’s not much of a show without her. And she and Villanelle have unfinished business together.

The real question here isn’t whether Eve’s dead. It’s what kind of person Eve will become in the aftermath of all this.

She’s killed someone for the first time – something that’s likely to rock a person like her to her core. And the event has bonded her to Villanelle in a whole new way – and that was before her partner/love interest shot her and left her for dead. Eve also now knows how little Carolyn and MI-6 value and trust her – leaving her completely out of the loop on the true goal of the Peel mission, and letting her believe that Villanelle is somehow truly part of the team, despite her murderous history.

“I’m like you now. I’m not afraid of anything,” Eve tells Villanelle after she hacks Raymond to death. But what does that mean, exactly? And who is Eve now? She got almost everything she wanted here: The chance to lead a dangerous mission, the opportunity to play the hero, and Villanelle herself. But now that she has, she also sees how hollow it all was from the start.

Will she set off after Villanelle again, seeking both personal and professional revenge? Or will she track her down to make their Bonnie and Clyde dreams a reality?  And is anyone going to tell Eve that Villanelle straight up murdered her husband’s new girlfriend?

Jodie Comer as Villanelle. Killing Eve _ Season 2, Episode 8. Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/BBCAmerica

What’s next for Villanelle?

The fact that Villanelle shot Eve isn’t that big of a shock. It feels like where this story was always was going. One of them will probably forever be trying to shoot or stab the other, on some level.

But Eve’s decision to reject the life Villanelle offered her – one free of consequences and expectations, safe in an adorable house in Alaska – has perhaps shocked the assassin into realizing that her idea of Eve is as false as her crush’s perception of her. On some level, they’ve both been chasing women who don’t exist, and see each other clearly for the first time at the end of this season.

So, what does that mean for Villanelle? Is shooting Eve a point of no return for her? Or are her feelings for the other woman still there? Will she be bent on revenge or punishment in season 3?

On the other hand, shooting someone isn’t really that big a deal for Villanelle. She thought she killed Konstantin last season and accepted him back with open arms once she found out that wasn’t true. It’s not like she felt bad about it, or even expected the event to alter their relationship in a significant way. For her, putting a bullet in Eve’s back may be the same as a spat over whose turn it is to unload the dishwasher.

Perhaps she’ll become the devil on Eve’s shoulder, urging her to give into the darker instincts she so obviously possesses and indulge them with her.

Fiona Shaw as Carolyn Martens. Killing Eve -Season 2, Episode 7. Photo Credit: Nick Briggs/BBCAmerica

How do we still not know what’s up with Carolyn?

Seriously, it’s been two seasons, and we still have no idea why Carolyn is so shady all the time.

In the finale, we see that she’s clearly willing to manipulate even her (formerly) most trusted allies to get what she wants. We already know she has shady connections to the mysteriously evil collective The Twelve, and a largely undefined past with Konstantin. (She never explained about how he ended up not dead, either.) She’s ruthless, and loves to keep secrets, and Killing Eve seems determined not to tell us anything about why she acts the way she does.

It’s kind of getting irritating, to be honest, no matter how great Fiona Shaw is at delivering one liners. It’s time for us to learn more.

Edward Bluemel as Hugo – Killing Eve – Season 2, Episode 7. Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/BBCAmerica

Is Hugo dead?

One of the most surprising moments of the season 2 finale was when Eve discovered Hugo bleeding to death from a gunshot wound in the hallway. But although she manages to call for an ambulance (good), Eve ultimately decides to abandon her mission partner – who, let’s not forget, she’d just slept with the night before – leaving him to maybe die alone  on a foreign carpet in order to chase after Villanelle. (Distinctly not good!)

By the time Eve makes it back to the hotel again, all the blood and mess has been cleaned up, and we don’t even know if Hugo is alive. He might be dead, or not, but either way, Eve seems largely unperturbed about it. That… feels problematic, at the very least. (Even if Hugo was kind of terrible.)

Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, Jodie Comer as Villanelle. Killing Eve – Season 2, Episode 8. Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/BBCAmerica

How far can things really go in season 3?

While the season 2 ending was certainly shocking in many ways — Eve killed someone! Villanelle shot her! They almost ran away together! — it also begs the question: Where else can this story go?

We’re headed into the show’s third season, and both its leads have already been left for dead. But, since the bulk of Killing Eve is predicated on their relationship back-and-forth, we all know that they’re fine. What’s the endgame here? Do they just chase after one another forever? What are the stakes?

Don’t get me wrong, the relationship between Villanelle and Eve is fascinating. And Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh can work wonders together as actresses. But, season 3 needs a clearer goal than just “sexual tension”, particularly if that tension isn’t ever really going to reach a real payoff.

Watching these women dance around one another is brilliant television. But the dance can’t go on forever.

Killing Eve will return for season 3 in 2020.