The Killing Eve Finale Should've Been Called 'Goodbye, Losers'

Let's start with this, I was hopeful. The fourth season of Killing Eve was weak and that's putting it politely. There was a handful of new character introductions and a distinct lack of the witty interactions that have made the show so popular in the first place. We found ourselves hurtling towards the finale and with every episode I began to question how they intended to wrap up the story sufficiently as the clock continued to wind down. Nevertheless, I kept the faith as I went into the finale. And boy oh boy, am I pissed off.

At this point, I should probably say spoilers ahead.

It's fascinating to me how a show that has presented us two complex and interesting characters like Villanelle and Eve, as well as a series of extremely well-written episodes, could decide in it's closing minutes to completely abandon the very essence of itself in favour of a hideously overused and downright homophobic trope. The "Bury Your Gays" trope, contrary to what some people believe, is not that queer people should never be killed in fiction. It's that they're much more likely to be viewed as expendable, killed for shock value and/or seen as essential pieces of a straight characters story, until they're just not needed anymore. And after four seasons of an entire fanbase waiting for a satisfying climax to a show that has lauded inclusivity and queer pride, to be betrayed in the last 2 minutes of the finale is utterly outrageous.

ESPECIALLY, when this is combined with the other elements that make it even more problematic. In season 4, Villanelle developed an obsession with Christianity which is something that has never been eluded to before. In her final moments, her blood resembled angel wings as she sank down into the Thames sludge. Showrunner, Laura Neal, then thought it would be a good idea to say some things. It wasn't. The full interview is here but I've very lovingly pulled out the shittiest and most offensive parts for you:

"It felt really important to us, that moment, because it signals Eve's rebirth, and we really wanted a sense of her washing off everything that had happened in the past four seasons and being able to begin again" - on Eve's reaction to Villanelle's death

Erm, okay? Why would Eve want to wash off everything that's happened? Eve has chosen her path. She hasn't just been stagnant for four whole seasons with things happening to her and waiting for Villanelle to die or disappear so she could could cry "freedom at last!" She's gone through a load of her own character development that's led her to where she is and she's never seemed more sure of what she wanted.

"I was desperate to have a nod to the Villanelle of episodes 1 and 2" - on the angel wings

I'll tell you this, no one cared about that storyline even when it was happening. It was a low point in the entire series and made absolutely no sense to anybody. Now it does though, because we've joined up the religious dots and come to the same conclusion that Laura did when writing it. LESBIANS NEED JESUS.

"That's actually one of my favourite moments in the episode, that cutting between Eve and Villanelle...Eve has rediscovered life in that moment, and she's amongst human beings, people like her, and she's remembering what the world has to offer, what the normal world has to offer" - on the dancing vs murdering montage

It's pretty evident that the finale to Killing Eve was written for Eve to stay in her "normal" lane amongst "human beings" (???) and for Villanelle to suddenly attempt to find God, actually find love and then perish in a cruel, unceremonious way. What Laura seems to be forgetting is that Eve was never "normal". The first time we meet her she's cutting her own leg open and watching the blood pour out. She tells her boyfriend how she would kill him and dispose of his body. Christ almighty, two minutes into the finale she is gauging another character's eyes out. On what planet are we expected to believe that Eve will pull herself out of the Thames, have a bit of a sob, find a (presumed) boyfriend and be at peace with her "rebirth"?

"We kept calling it the "piss kiss" because they just had their piss on the side of the road...It felt true to the nature of the show to have it in this entirely unromantic way" - on Eve and Villanelle's kiss

Eve and Villanelle weren't unromantic and that kiss wasn't unromantic. It was actually pretty damn beautiful. The undeniable chemistry between them was gorgeous and it will go down as the episodes only redeeming feature. But sure, play it down as being worthless.

Listen, I expected a death. I wasn't sure which lead character, maybe both, but I sure as shit expected some kind of logical, reasonable writing leading up to it. Who was in the 12? What's happening with Irina? What are Carolyn's motives? What was the point in Pam? Did anyone care about Helene? Why were none of the 12 armed on the boat? Who actually killed Villanelle? Oh, I could go on and on.

Laura Neal has said she's is braced for criticism, saying "I think with a show like this that generates so much discussion and that generates so much debate, you're never going to be able to please everybody." I would agree with her on that final bit to be fair. The problem is though, she's pleased absolutely nobody.

NOTE: Big up Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw and all in the show for making that horrible ending work as best you could. We love you forever.