This was another thoroughly enjoyable ride and if possible, even better than the opening episode.
The episode opens with Villanelle once again hard at work this time in Bulgaria. A bus is driving past an office building where a man is furiously banging on the window of one of the top floors, pleading for his life. For a moment we're led to believe the woman on the bus is seeing this & going to raise the alarm, especially when Villanelle comes into view, but instead she's soon on the phone to her mother.
The man pointlessly begs for his life, playing every card he can think of but Villanelle doesn't care and murders him. Judging from the way she stares at the man's body on the floor as all the life drains from him, one could ask a question; is it the thrill of the chase or knowing she has the power to end lives that Villanelle enjoys the most? Judging by what's to come, that's something that'll be left up to viewer interpretation but backstory will be provided to aid us in our search for answers.
Where most murderers would be in a hurry to flee the scene of the crime after the job is done, Villanelle doesn't. Instead she simply sits in an office chair, and looks out into space. It's almost as though she's bored now that the fun's over.
She returns to Paris where Konstantin isn't at all happy with her actions in London. She was meant to make it look like a suicide but instead Villanell left behind one heck of a mess, which has Eve firmly on her trail. Such is her belief in herself that Villanelle refuses to take any of Konstantin's concerns seriously, and it's a wonderful bit of dialogue going back and forth between them.
London was meant to look like suicide
It didn't?
So she slit her own throat?
It happens
And killed four other people?
Slip of the hand?
"Only ____ could do this" is a saying that is used quite often in regards to TV shows. We might be living in an era with over 500 shows on offer, but what makes them unique is the way in which they're written and how they make things comes across. In the same way
Legends of Tomorrow is the only show that could pull off Beebo defeating Mallus, and
Legion is the only show that can mess with our heads in such an enjoyable way,
Killing Eve is the only show that can pull off this type of dialogue without it sounding cringey.
Konstantin pulls Villanelle off active duty until she's been assessed. She goes through the assessment and is passing it with flying colours until Konstantin hands an envelope over to the psychiatrist of sorts regarding Anna. Immediately Villanelle changes from cocky to vulnerable, struggling to hide her true emotions. She tries to play it off and crack jokes, but Konstantin and the psychiatrist see through it and refuse to sign her off.
Villanelle is well and truly pissed and it's such subtle acting from Jodie Comer which may define the phrase 'if looks could kill'. Afterwards Villanelle is still insistent that she's fine and pleading with Konstantin to let her do the job. She tries to play the faux concerned act, but Konstantin isn't buying it at all and orders her to go home.
There Villanelle bumps into one of her neighbours and the two of them are soon hitting it off in more than one way. Despite Konstantin ordering her to take some time off, Villanelle just can't pass up a target. So she gets to work on an extremely deadly perfume, digs out her catering uniform and is soon hitting the event where her target is at.
Once they're alone in the bathroom, Villanelle playing the role of someone desperate to impress asks the woman to try her perfume. She does and Villanelle once again watches on gleeful as the woman struggles for life and then subsequently dies. Approaching the woman's dead body, Villanelle takes hold of her dead hand and waves bye-bye. She then calmly walks away from the scene of the crime without a second thought, because none of these kills mean anything at all to her. It's just an opportunity to play dress-up, put on a different act and experiment with elaborate ways to kill.
One person isn't impressed at all is Konstantin. Just as she's made her way back home, he storms into the apartment and for the first time Villanelle is actually scared. She knows she's gone against orders, she knows Konstantin is pissed, she tries to back away but it doesn't stop him pinning her against a wall and choking her. Konstantin isn't happy she's disboeyed him, Villanelle isn't happy he's lied to her as he claimed the job was impossible and she's proven it wasn't.
They're interrupted by Villanelle's neighbour who has brought over some food. He pleasantly introduces himself but there's really not much point in remembering his name as he's soon dead. He takes her deadly perfume out of her bag and decides to give it a spray and Villanelle and Konstantin soon find his dead body.
Villanelle isn't happy she was lied to about the kill and Konstantin tries to claim she has to trust him, and she reacts by holding a knife to his throat which he returns. The two again go back and forth, Konstantin eventually reveals that Eve in London is leading a department just to find Villanelle, and that's why they need her to be careful. Villanelle is touched that someone would be going to all that effort to find her, and assures Konstantin she is capable of being subtle.
Speaking of London, and Eve is meeting up with Carolyn Martens to show the evidence on the assassin that she's collected. At first Carolyn isn't sure whether to be impressed that Eve has collected so much information herself or worried. Eve explains that she used to study criminal psychology and it's another crumb of character development just casually inserted into a conversation.
Eve then goes on to raise the argument that Villanelle has outsmarted all of them, and frankly deserves to continue what she's doing because she's so good and as long as she isn't coming after Eve then she doesn't care. Carolyn takes Eve off to an office that she herself has comprised and offers Eve the opportunity to officially join her off the books team. Eve agrees so long as she can bring in her own people and soon our Scooby-Team is formed.
The rest of Eve's screentime this episode is made up of her filling the scooby-gang in on her thoughts & theories and trying to piece it altogether. Playing devil's advocate, Bill questions if Eve can think of a reason why one person would want to kill all of these people. Eve isn't happy at all with Bill shutting her ideas down. Bill however points out that Eve is so wrapped up in her theory and wanting to prove that it's true, that she's leaving the basic rule of policing behind; it's not about what we want to believe and theories, it's the evidence that matters. Eve isn't at all happy with Bill calling out and basically undermining her in front of the team, but it is completely justified.
From the moment we first laid eyes on Eve, it's been pretty clear she's bored with her life both at home and in the work environment and is looking for something to spice things up. The theory of a potential serial killer being at work is giving Eve the rush that she so desperately craves. She's getting to have top secret meetings, involved in convert operations and it's all putting a spring in her step. Whilst we the audience may know that her theory is completely correct, the rest of the characters don't just yet, and therefore all they're seeing is Eve obsess over this fantasy that she's created. Leaning so heavily into it to the point where she refuses to accept any other logical explanation is extremely dangerous especially when you're a Police Officer. If Villanelle was actually multiple people just committing random killings with no links whatsoever, then closing her mind off to that would possibly result in more innocent people dying. In shows like this it is also important to have that one character who grounds our hero. They may not like it, and Eve absolutely doesn't. but Bill's thinking is rational and sound and it's what Eve needs when she's surrounded by people who are unintentionally feeding her obsession.
Sitting in the toilet Eve has an epiphany of sorts. She remembers speaking to Villanelle in the hospital bathroom as she pretended to be a nurse, and soon has the team on the hunt for this mystery person. She thinks this nurse might be a potential witness, but come the end of the episode realizes that she's actually the killer.
Eve chases after Bill whose left in a strop. She realizes that Bill's being slightly stroppy because he's not the boss and whilst he admits this, he also points out Eve is still too wrapped up in her theories over the assassin to consider basic facts. Bill believes Villanelle is just a lacky and they need to instead be focussing their attentions on the person controlling her, and it is an extremely good point. Eve however is still focussing on Villanelle and questions what her motives are exactly for the killing; do they have something on her, are they controlling her or lavishing her? Judging by the conversations between Villanelle and Konstantin I'd say it's a question of all 3 but Bill once again brings them back to who they mystery they is.
Trying to reach a middle ground Eve points out there are no trails of the murder being left behind, and whoever the they is, their plan is going extremely well because of how well Villanell is carrying out the murders. She's the only lead the team has to these murders, and that's why the focus needs to stay with her because that will lead them to her boss.
Bill again counters with the fact they know absolutely nothing about her, since her DNA isn't on file and they have no image. Eve thinks she's young, smart, fit, speaks multiple languages and brings a flair to her kills. She's either been trained or found this way, but either way Eve thinks she's psychotic, and Bill thinks that's a good place for them to start.
Bill and Eve then meet up with Elena and a slightly drunk Frank at a pub. He realizes he's been tricked and is a bit upset that a nice drink he thought he was having with Elena in the aftermath of his wife dying is actually question time. Bill reveals he's spoken with the Vienna police who have informed him the CCTV Frank previously spoke of doesn't exist. Frank's then forced to admit he made the whole thing up to get rid of Eve. As far as he's concerned, it wasn't her investigation, she shouldn't have been involved, taking bets on killers is disrespectful, and Frank was just sick of Eve piping up with her theories anytime there was a sniff of conspiracy and insults her.
'I'll Deal With Him Later' was an extremely interesting episode. Things are still moving at a fast pace, the body count was added to, seeds have been sown regarding Frank and his attitude towards Eve, and thanks to the ending scene, Eve is back on Villanelle's trail. It's clear that the case to find Villanelle for Eve goes far beyond that of a police officer simply wanting to bring a criminal to justice. Even if she hasn't realized it yet, she is obsessed with Villanelle and judging by how excited Villanelle was that Eve had formed a team to find her, it appears that obsession is going to be reciprocated.
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