KILLING EVE (S3E7) “Beautiful Monster”: Cheating Death

There’s a lot of stuff that happens in this week’s penultimate episode of Killing Eve. From Eve (Sandra Oh) finally embracing her inner dark side to Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) showing big emotions for the first time, everyone seems to scramble to get out of the mess that they put themselves into. But sadly, not all of it works. The mystery surrounding Kenny’s (Sean Delaney) death that has taken so much space since the second episode still hasn’t seen any progress. The characters’ action throughout the episode don’t seem to make any sense at all. And to make things worse, death is not a big problem anymore. As long as it makes the fans happy, everyone in the show is allowed to cheat death over and over again.

Eve & Villanelle

Written by Laura Neal and directed by Damon Thomas, “Beautiful Monster” sees the four major characters in chaotic circumstances. Villanelle has to face the consequences of the disastrous event that happened in Romania as she meets Hélène (Camille Cottin) and another assassin named Rhian (Alexandra Roach) to talk about business. But the consequences that Hélène gives to Villanelle isn’t a punishment. It’s another job, mostly to prove that Villanelle’s still got it or else Rhian will replace her position with The Twelve.

What’s strange about this moment is the fact Villanelle takes the job after last week she’s made it clear that she wants out. If she’s really done with The Twelve, then why does she say yes on doing this assignment? Is Villanelle still confused about what she actually wants? That doesn’t seem like Villanelle at all. Throughout three seasons, Villanelle is the only character in the show who always knows what she desires. So to have her suddenly being this confused is just, well, confusing.

Of course, her killing her mother in episode five could justify this. But since the show refuses to let us know what is it exactly that drives Villanelle into wanting to escape from The Twelve with Konstantin (Kim Bodnia), except that one time we saw her crying in a train, her decision doesn’t feel earned at all. And to make matters even more confusing, Villanelle, in the end, decides to go with her escape plan after hitting Dasha (Harriet Walter) on the head using golf stick instead of killing the real target.

The same things can be said about Eve. She spends most of the episode trying to track down Villanelle. But there’s no real explanation behind the logic of her action. Even when she tries to justify it to Carolyn by telling her that finding Villanelle could be beneficial for the investigation, most of what Eve’s doing during the episode seems like it’s just a product of the writers’ cluelessness on how to narrate Eve’s story this season. It’s honestly a testament to Oh’s consistent performance that Eve remains interesting despite some uninspired arc.

Given how both Eve and Villanelle’s arcs conclude this episode, it’s fair to bet that the writers want to swap their positions moving forward. With Eve being the new agent of chaos after nearly killing Dasha, and Villanelle being a woman who desperately wants to find a sense of normalcy again after not having it for a very long time. Honestly, that’s not a bad scenario, especially considering how throughout the show, we’ve been teased about Eve’s internal darkness. But with only one episode left, and still a lot of ground to cover, it’s impossible to see this scenario ending up satisfying.

Carolyn & Konstantin

Carolyn’s arc this episode is not that engaging either. In an attempt to prove her suspicion about Paul (Steve Pemberton), Carolyn sends Mo (Raj Bajaj), who’s been MIA for a few episodes, to investigate him. But so far, the results are not what Carolyn expected. Not only does Paul show no sign of having a connection to The Twelve, but Mo is also killed in the process, leaving Carolyn alone with no one to help her any longer.

The killing happens off-screen, but the episode makes it clear that it’s The Twelve new assassin Rhian who murders Mo. What’s unclear is the reason. It could be because Paul is indeed a member of The Twelve and knows that Carolyn suspects it, so he sends her a warning by killing Mo. But if that’s the case, then why doesn’t he kill Carolyn or someone close to her instead of Mo? We’ll never know for sure, and given how reluctant the season has been when it comes to The Twelve, it’s much safer to expect nothing at all. Still, the whole episode is worth tuning in alone for Shaw’s magnificent performance, especially in a scene where the irritating Geraldine (Gemma Whelan), once again, asks her to express her grief.

Much like Carolyn, Konstantin’s day is not exactly good either. But at least, it’s the funniest and most interesting arc of the episode compared to the other three characters. He begins this episode in Detention Center where his daughter Irina (Yuli Lagodinsky) is captured after killing her mom’s boyfriend last week. A doctor informs Konstantin that there might be something wrong with Irina, and that he needs to give her some help. “She’s also manipulative, totally lacking in empathy, and very disturbed,” the doctor says right after telling Konstantin that Irina is a smart kid. But instead of taking it seriously, Konstantin chooses to bribe the doctor, which, of course, doesn’t end up well.

Assuming that Irina will possibly be safe from The Twelve in the Detention Center, Konstantin decides to put his escape plan in action without her. He brings Villanelle along, first to retrieve the six million dollars that he stole from The Twelve a few episodes ago. But things are not as smooth as he expected when suddenly he has a heart attack at a train station in Scotland. At that moment, it looks like it will be the end of him. But of course, just like how strangely Niko and Dasha survive, Konstantin does too. And weirdly, out of any hospital, he ends up in the same one where Dasha is treated.

We don’t know how these two characters’ journey will end up next week. But it looks like the show is heading toward Villanelle having to choose which one of these two parental figures is worth saving. If that’s really what’s gonna happen, at least Killing Eve finally gives us Bodnia and Walter’s in a scene together before one of them gets killed off.

Final Thought

“Beautiful Monster” fails to carry the momentum that the last few episodes have established. It ends with more questions than answers. There is no progress in the investigation revolving around Kenny’s death, and most of the characters end up in not so different places than the last time we saw them. With the season finale around the corner, but still with so many loose ends, the third season of Killing Eve could unsurprisingly conclude as disastrously as the ending of season two, though I’m certainly hoping that that won’t be the case.

What do you think will happen to Eve? Let us know in the comments below!

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