Editor's Note: The following contains Season 3 finale spoilers.Even though we don’t want to admit it, Killing Eve is coming to an end. Based on a series of novellas by Luke Jennings and created for the screen by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this psycho-drama and occasional dark comedy series follows government analyst Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) who becomes consumed with tracking down the enigmatic and stylish assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). As the series unfolds, so does the two women’s mounting obsession with each other. We’ve spent two painfully long years away from our favorite assassin, so now it’s time to look back at what deadly mischief she, Eve, and the Twelve got mixed up in last season. The overarching theme throughout Season 3 was Villanelle’s identity crisis. She desperately wanted to shed her bloody past and assimilate into the real world. Try as she might, a normal job and life doesn’t seem to be in the cards for her, and her (potentially) reckoning with that reality is one agonizing journey.
In the Season 2 finale, Villanelle wanted to run away with Eve, but Eve couldn’t bring herself to accept the bold plan. As a result, Villanelle shot Eve and walked away, thinking Eve was dead. Season 3 starts in 1974 Moscow, where a young gymnast is practicing. She’s berated by her coach and fends off unwelcome sexual advances from another man. She kills him and pours a pile of chalk into his agape mouth.
Then, we’re thrust into the present day, which is 6 months after the Rome disaster, at a place you wouldn’t expect: a wedding. More specifically, Villanelle’s wedding. During a forced and inauthentic wedding toast, Villanelle tells her new wife’s family that not only is she so over her recent breakup (with Eve), she’s just happy that her ex is dead. While Villanelle might’ve been physically present at her wedding, she was mentally elsewhere.
A mysterious older woman named Dasha (Harriet Walter) lurks in the back of the party, which prompts Villanelle to release an intense guttural yell and lunge toward her. It turns out Dasha is an older version of the Russian gymnast we were introduced to moments prior. She groomed Villanelle from a young age to become the weapon she is today. Villanelle, however, doesn’t want her back in her life. Dasha tries to coax Villanelle out of her new cushy life and back to her killer roots because if she comes back to help the Twelve, then Dasha can return to Russia. The two whine and bicker like sisters, and despite their long history, still don’t trust each other. Villanelle will only return if she’s made a Keeper, a position apparently higher than both Konstantin and Dasha.
Back at the MI6 headquarters is a less-than-thrilled Carolyn (Fiona Shaw), who is under strict supervision by her new boss Paul (Steve Pemberton) due to her plethora of unauthorized activities that have landed M16 in a big ‘ol pot of hot water. Meanwhile, Konstantin’s (Kim Bodnia) living the bachelor life in London. (Basically, he’s sitting home alone eating take-out.) Kenny’s (Sean Delaney) now a journalist for Bitter Pill, and while he and Eve are relieved to be disassociated with MI6, they are worried about what the Twelve has brewing. Given the fact that MI6 also seems to have moved on from tracking the group, the Twelve is practically like an unsupervised kid in a candy store: things are about to get crazy and people are going to get hurt.
And if you really thought that Villanelle was done killing, you’re in for a spicy treat. She goes undercover and kills an unsuspecting spice shop owner, and tops her off with a mound of paprika, paralleling Dasha’s kill in the beginning of the episode. She leaves with a pep in her step and a swagger in her shoulders. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, she missed killing dearly. Eve heads to Bitter Pill to meet Kenny, but ends up in a bloody detour. She hears a “thud” and finds Kenny’s bloody body sprawled in the parking lot. Did Kenny really just jump to his death?
Eve gets drunk at Kenny’s funeral, and has a hostile interaction with Jamie (Danny Sapani), the founder of Bitter Pill. Carolyn’s daughter Geraldine (Gemma Whelan) returns home to comfort her mother. Everyone thinks Kenny’s death was a suicide, though Eve and Carolyn are suspicious. Villanelle is busy basking in the glory of her new suped-up Barcelona mansion courtesy of Dasha. Her elation is quickly dampened by the news that in order to gain back the trust of the Twelve, she has to train a new recruit. Konstantin’s work is making him stay in London to “keep an eye on things.” He and Geraldine have a playful run-in on the street, and he gives her a London fridge magnet. Well, it’s actually a recording device. Villanelle is stuck training Felix at the site of the kill, a children’s birthday party, and dressed as a literal sad clown, swoops in when Felix botches the mission. Fed up with this “trainee” burden, she kills both Felix and the target.
Villanelle, high on life and her soon-to-be promotion, becomes enraged when Konstanin sneaks up on her in her house. When she finishes pelting him with various objects, she receives an emotional gut-punch when he reveals that Eve is alive. Hearing this news causes Villanelle to tear up, unlocking a softer, more human side of her that we have yet to see. Dasha warns her to reign herself in before she gets too sloppy on the job. Villanelle laughs these threats off, but sobers up once she learns she’ll have to go back to London. Eve decodes an account and figures out that it belongs to Fat Panda, the Chinese intelligence officer that was killed in Berlin who was tracking Frank, an MI5 officer who was also murdered. Konstantin meets with Charles Kruger, a Cold War soldier who “disappeared” from Russia in 1989 who’s now posing as an accountant in London. He tells Konstantin the account is active and operating out of Geneva.
Villanelle enters a toy store and decides it definitely wouldn’t be creepy to record her voice inside a teddy bear for Eve. After working through some potential rage-filled options, she admits that she can't stop thinking about her. Oh yeah, Niko discharged himself and is starting over in Poland. In an unexpected turn of events, Villanelle boards Eve’s bus, and saunters over to her like it’s no big deal. The two fight and come face to face, and then, to both the surprise of viewers and Villanelle, Eve kisses Villanelle. (And then head-butts her.) Villanelle tracks down and murders Kruger, and after nearly giving Konstantin a heart attack by hiding in his bed, admits that she wants to meet her family. The episode ends on a chilling (and sort of romantic?) note, when Eve finds the teddy bear in her bed from Villanelle. Initially horrified, Eve warms up to the idea that Villanelle left her a gift. She plays the bear’s recording over and over: “Admit it, Eve. You wish I was here.”
If you thought the bear was creepy, Villanelle sends Eve a bus shaped cake for her birthday directly to Bitter Pill. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how it tasted, because Eve hurled it off the roof. Eve slowly connects the dots between Dasha’s kill from the 70s and Villanelle’s similarly-styled paprika kill. Konstantin tells Villanelle that he’ll give her more information on her family if she kills Kruger’s widow. Dasha’s reputation is on thin ice and the Twelve leader Hélène (Camille Cottin) tells her that she must “drive a wedge” between Eve and Villanelle. Right as Eve arrives in Poland, Dasha skewers Niko (Owen McDonnell) with a pitchfork. She leaves a note that says “still got it,” further framing Villanelle for the attack. Now that’s quite the wedge, ain’t it?
Ironically, it’s when Villanelle ventures home to visit family that she feels the most out of place. She reunites with her brother Pyotr (Rob Feldman), and meets her younger half-brother Bor’ka (Temirlan Blaev), who’s perhaps the biggest Elton John fan in existence. Her mother Tatiana (Evgenia Dodina) claims she heard that Villanelle died in the orphanage fire that she also apparently started. Meanwhile, Villanelle thought her family died in a car crash. But why did Tatiana keep Pyotr, and leave Villanelle at the orphanage to begin with?
Just when Villanelle settles into her new life, her mother tells her to get out and never come back because she doesn’t want her to corrupt her step-family the way she did her marriage. Villanelle is adamant that it was her mother’s behavior that was the reason her father left. Naturally, Villanelle sets the house on fire while they sleep. She does, however, spare Pyotr and Bor’ka, even leaving behind money, so they could see Elton John’s Farewell Tour. In one of the most emotionally charged scenes of the season, Villanelle sits on a bus with tears in her eyes, bopping her head to her music and processing all that she’s done.
Somehow Niko survives, but tells Eve to “piss off.” In a champagne fueled meeting, Villanelle and Hélène meet in person, and Hélène tells Villanelle she earned Keeper status. As Keeper, she was told she’d be the one giving orders, not receiving them, but Hélène gives her an assignment to kill a Romanian politician, which puts Villanelle at an emotional and mental crossroads. While all signs point to Villanelle pitchforking Niko, Eve knows that she couldn’t have done it. Carolyn tells Eve that Dasha, who did the chalk kill, was actually the top assassin for the KGB until she was kicked out for killing a peer. Eve is certain Villanelle killed Kruger’s widow, and thus couldn’t have been in Poland stabbing Niko. Fed up with her new situation, Villanelle tells Konstantin that she’s going to join him on his escape to Cuba, though he refuses.
On an epic day off that puts Ferris Bueller’s to shame, Villanelle encourages Konstantin’s daughter Irina (Yuli Lagodinsky) to act on her distaste for her mother’s boyfriend. Konstantin admits that Kenny called him before he died asking if he was his father. Paul of all people scares Konstantin at his home and says they need to find out who ordered a hit on Kruger’s widow. So wait, Paul’s been giving orders to Konstantin this entire time? Eve interrupts Dasha’s solo bowling tournament and confronts her about working for the Twelve. She knows that Dasha framed Villanelle for Niko’s attack and wants to know if she was tied to Kenny’s death. Villanelle reluctantly goes through with the Romanian kill, but gets stabbed in the process. Bloody and at the end of her rope, a fragile Villanelle tells Dasha through tears that she doesn’t want to do this anymore. Konstantin, on the other hand, is horrified when he witnesses Irina run over her step-dad with a car.
In another tense meeting, Hélène tells Villanelle that she knows something must’ve happened to cause her to get lazy on her latest kill. Villanelle keeps her recent visit to her family a secret, and then asks Hélène for another job, so she can prove herself, suggesting she kill Dasha. Carolyn is frustrated that there are no signs that Paul is working for the Twelve, but Eve is more concerned with proving Villanelle didn’t attack Niko. Konstantin’s plan to escape with Irina is ruined because she’s forced to stay in a detention facility for her premeditated kill. Eve finds the box of her birthday cake, and after tracking phone and credit card records from the bakery, discovers that Villanelle and Dasha are in Aberdeen, Scotland to kill a businessman on a golf trip. The two verbally spar in the elevator: Dasha tells Villanelle that she’s ruined her chance at a normal life and Villanelle tells her that she will be forgotten.
On the golf course, Villanelle knocks out Dasha with a golf club and lets the target escape. She’s picked up by Konstantin, who’s sick of the fact that everyone wants to kill him, but wonders if going to Cuba with Villanelle is even worth it. Eve finds a semi-alive Dasha, who confirms that she was the one to do the attack. Eve then stands on her chest and cracks her ribs. Konstantin collapses in the middle of the train station and tells a panicked Villanelle how to get the stash of money for the trip. Right as Villanelle boards the train, Eve enters the station and tends to Konstantin. As the train leaves, Eve and Villanelle make eye contact. Villanelle calls Eve and tells her that they “have to stop meeting like this.” Villanelle meets Carolyn and accepts the job offer that she initially turned down when she was in prison. She’s interested in being a spy, not an assassin, though Carolyn doesn’t see how she’ll be useful to her. Once again, Villanelle is left feeling like an outcast. Dasha dies in the hospital next to Konstantin, who discharges himself and flees.
In a retrospective-type moment, Villanelle invites Eve to the ballroom where she did her first kill, and they slow dance with as much grace as two awkward teenagers. Seeing all the other old, happy couples, they wonder if that could be them one day. Carolyn, for what she claims is in her daughter’s best interests, kicks Geraldine out of the house. She then heads to Bitter Pill for an apparent breakthrough in the case. An employee at Bitter Pill had set up a camera to see who was stealing from their candy stash, and upon reviewing footage from the day Kenny died, finds out that Konstantin visited Kenny at work. Paul’s being held at gunpoint by Carolyn, and Konstantin, Eve, and Villanelle meet them at Paul’s house. Konstantin explains that Kenny was getting too close to the Twelve, and warned him that if he didn’t join, they’d likely kill him. Kenny got scared and backed away, eventually falling to his death. Though she holds Konstantin at gunpoint for what feels like an eternity, Carolyn ultimately kills Paul and frames it as a suicide. Konstantin heads to Cuba, but Villanelle stays behind with Eve.
Villanelle meets Eve on the London Bridge, and they bond over contributing to Dasha’s demise. They also agree that they bring out the worst in each other and that their lives will continue to be messy so long as they’re together. In a devastating, yet mature approach to solving this predicament, Villanelle tells Eve they should stand back-to-back and both walk forward in opposite directions without looking back. They get only so far on their separate paths until they both turn around and look at each other one last time.
What happened after that tender moment on the bridge? All our questions will be answered when the fourth and final season of Killing Eve premieres Sunday, February 27th. All episodes are available to stream on Hulu and AMC+.