Killing Eve: I'll Deal With Him Later
April 15, 2018 7:01 PM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe
In the aftermath of her recent assignment, Villanelle is ordered to take a break. Meanwhile, Eve is given a dream opportunity to join a secret MI6 unit tracking Villanelle.
This show could go completely off the rails now it doesn't matter I will forever defend it as great television based solely on Fiona Shaw's little aside about the rat.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 4:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by everybody had matching towels at 4:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
This show is delightful. I really can't summarize my feelings more than that. I just love it so much.
posted by darksong at 9:02 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by darksong at 9:02 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I don’t really have anything I want/need to say about the episode aside from “I enjoyed this thing”, but I will keep posting threads just so we have somewhere to say it, since it’s only an 8-episode season (though already renewed for S2).
posted by oh yeah! at 10:43 AM on April 17, 2018
posted by oh yeah! at 10:43 AM on April 17, 2018
this is the sydney-bristow-with-brains chases anna-espinosa-with-screen-time spinoff I always wanted. I could wish the dialogue tried less hard but I don't really mind too much.
and I love that the traditional stern daddy/infantilized girl-woman TV dynamic of an assassin and her handler is, while maintained here, clearly spelled out for what it is: more emotionally significant to him than to her, and more likely to use him up until he needs replacing than her. and I especially like that she's driven by the pure pleasure of the act, by the need to do a job well, by the desire to entertain herself, and by the love of showing off. but not by the need to please whatshisname or get his approval. at all.
I don't expect any serious psychological depth from any show that likes to talk about psychopaths so I won't be disappointed if there isn't much realistic development of Sestina, she is a delight regardless. but her complicated malice regarding children is FASCINATING. what she did to the boy was so much worse than what she did to the girl from the first ep, but I don't think she meant it that way, I think she'd have loved someone do to for her what she did for him, if she were the child with that horrible grandfather. when she watched the bullying it wasn't just noticing an access point to the target. but it's very scary because although she uses her adulthood at the children just like she uses her femininity at her targets, it's just as much for show. in her head they're on the same level. kids are protected from most strange adults, even violent dangerous ones, by being invisible to them as people and unseen as peers. but not with sonnet, she thinks she's one of them. because the protective instinct is what forces mental distance and incomprehension between adults and children, and she doesn't have any of it.
"childlike" in women is usually shorthand for innocent, creepily sexualized, and passive. but an adult who is genuinely childlike is none of those things and is pretty scary.
posted by queenofbithynia at 5:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
and I love that the traditional stern daddy/infantilized girl-woman TV dynamic of an assassin and her handler is, while maintained here, clearly spelled out for what it is: more emotionally significant to him than to her, and more likely to use him up until he needs replacing than her. and I especially like that she's driven by the pure pleasure of the act, by the need to do a job well, by the desire to entertain herself, and by the love of showing off. but not by the need to please whatshisname or get his approval. at all.
I don't expect any serious psychological depth from any show that likes to talk about psychopaths so I won't be disappointed if there isn't much realistic development of Sestina, she is a delight regardless. but her complicated malice regarding children is FASCINATING. what she did to the boy was so much worse than what she did to the girl from the first ep, but I don't think she meant it that way, I think she'd have loved someone do to for her what she did for him, if she were the child with that horrible grandfather. when she watched the bullying it wasn't just noticing an access point to the target. but it's very scary because although she uses her adulthood at the children just like she uses her femininity at her targets, it's just as much for show. in her head they're on the same level. kids are protected from most strange adults, even violent dangerous ones, by being invisible to them as people and unseen as peers. but not with sonnet, she thinks she's one of them. because the protective instinct is what forces mental distance and incomprehension between adults and children, and she doesn't have any of it.
"childlike" in women is usually shorthand for innocent, creepily sexualized, and passive. but an adult who is genuinely childlike is none of those things and is pretty scary.
posted by queenofbithynia at 5:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
Chiming in with the "this show is so amazing" thing.
I'm beginning to feel like Phoebe Waller-Bridge can do no wrong.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 7:04 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm beginning to feel like Phoebe Waller-Bridge can do no wrong.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 7:04 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, hey, I had a dvr conflict and won’t get to see last night’s episode 3 until sometime tonight, if anyone wants to post the thread before then, feel free.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:10 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by oh yeah! at 7:10 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Love love love this! I long to be swept away by Fiona Shaw to a shabby secret lair cos I’m so clever and appreciated but on the down-low like. Yes, I would like to go to the shops please.
I want to have more sensible thoughts like the excellent ones voiced above but I’m obviously not capable.
posted by Iteki at 1:08 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I want to have more sensible thoughts like the excellent ones voiced above but I’m obviously not capable.
posted by Iteki at 1:08 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Fiona Shaw absolutely kills as Carolyn. This role really reminds me of one of my favourite mentors - confident, competent, accomplished, and somewhat socially withdrawn mature woman in a traditionally male dominated field. Secret sense of humour.
I remember really liking her role as Marnie Stonebrook in 'True Blood,' too.
LOL Eve completely ignoring Carolyn's advice from the episode before.
Jodie Comer's portrayal of Villanelle is very intruiging. Interested in how much her persona is an affectation/ guise, or is an accurate reflection of her inner mind.
Really liking the office dynamic - they've obviously worked together for years and have shared wins and losses and actually like and respect each other. 'New Guy' should be interesting.
Awesome that the Eve characters falls so gracefully upward into the lead role (? they were all essentially equal rank under Dickswab?). Heh, Dickswab deserves the assignation. Love how the teamis can actually feel happy (sometimes) after getting out from under his thumb (despite a paycut? Carolyn mentioned something about a budget).
The killer perfume concoction scene was too blurry/ bottles turned, but DMSO is a transcutaneous carrier (can bring 'stuff' across the skin, where the skin would normally be a barrier, and into the bloodstream). In Canada, it can be bought over the counter from "wellness" shops expressly for the purpose of getting plant extracts into one's bloodstream.
As to what the actual poison was, there are a large number of substances that would cause similar reactions. That fast acting from a couple of sprays from an atomizer with a DMSO formulation narrows that list down, but they're all difficult to get in N. America (but she's on the Continent).
posted by porpoise at 6:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I remember really liking her role as Marnie Stonebrook in 'True Blood,' too.
LOL Eve completely ignoring Carolyn's advice from the episode before.
Jodie Comer's portrayal of Villanelle is very intruiging. Interested in how much her persona is an affectation/ guise, or is an accurate reflection of her inner mind.
Really liking the office dynamic - they've obviously worked together for years and have shared wins and losses and actually like and respect each other. 'New Guy' should be interesting.
Awesome that the Eve characters falls so gracefully upward into the lead role (? they were all essentially equal rank under Dickswab?). Heh, Dickswab deserves the assignation. Love how the team
The killer perfume concoction scene was too blurry/ bottles turned, but DMSO is a transcutaneous carrier (can bring 'stuff' across the skin, where the skin would normally be a barrier, and into the bloodstream). In Canada, it can be bought over the counter from "wellness" shops expressly for the purpose of getting plant extracts into one's bloodstream.
As to what the actual poison was, there are a large number of substances that would cause similar reactions. That fast acting from a couple of sprays from an atomizer with a DMSO formulation narrows that list down, but they're all difficult to get in N. America (but she's on the Continent).
posted by porpoise at 6:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just watching this now. I love how everyone on this show is actually good at their jobs (instead of us being told they are good at their jobs, we actually get to see it). One favorite - her old boss going for a chocolate bar and in the process goading her into being clear about her reasoning. He has immense respect for her mind, but he's got experience that she needs to take advantage of.
Also loved her new boss ordering two gin and tonics when the waiter had just said no to a drinks order...and he just says "Yes, Madame" and goes to get them. SO many great little throwaways on this show!
posted by Mogur at 5:39 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Also loved her new boss ordering two gin and tonics when the waiter had just said no to a drinks order...and he just says "Yes, Madame" and goes to get them. SO many great little throwaways on this show!
posted by Mogur at 5:39 PM on August 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I love this show so far! It's got such a weirdly charming, funny tone for what could easily have been a pretty standard spy thriller - I'm having trouble thinking of anything comparable right now.
I also need to state for the record that I currently suspect the fuck out of Carolyn. The moment Villanelle's boss told her that Eve was heading the team looking for her, I wondered why he'd name her rather than Carolyn - and then I realized that Carolyn may very well be working for The Nebulous Bad Guys, which would mean she recruited Eve in order to keep tabs on her and contain her investigation, all while playing into her obvious spy fantasy.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:51 PM on October 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
I also need to state for the record that I currently suspect the fuck out of Carolyn. The moment Villanelle's boss told her that Eve was heading the team looking for her, I wondered why he'd name her rather than Carolyn - and then I realized that Carolyn may very well be working for The Nebulous Bad Guys, which would mean she recruited Eve in order to keep tabs on her and contain her investigation, all while playing into her obvious spy fantasy.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:51 PM on October 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
"This show could go completely off the rails now it doesn't matter I will forever defend it as great television based solely on Fiona Shaw's little aside about the rat."
Just before watching this episode I was listening to The Guilty Feminist podcast where Deborah Frances-White has Phoebe Waller-Bridge on the show. At one point Phoebe is explaining to Deborah what a rat king is, which she does in this very animated way that only she can.
When I got to that part in the episode I knew that little vignette came directly from Phoebe's mind.
posted by iamkimiam at 2:47 PM on May 1, 2020
Just before watching this episode I was listening to The Guilty Feminist podcast where Deborah Frances-White has Phoebe Waller-Bridge on the show. At one point Phoebe is explaining to Deborah what a rat king is, which she does in this very animated way that only she can.
When I got to that part in the episode I knew that little vignette came directly from Phoebe's mind.
posted by iamkimiam at 2:47 PM on May 1, 2020
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by drfu at 8:43 PM on April 15, 2018 [3 favorites]