Just over two years after the show came to a close, Jodie Comer looks back on the end of Killing Eve, reflecting on the divisive impact of Villanelle’s fate. Based on Luke Jenning’s novel series, the BBC thriller followed the complex game of cat and mouse between Comer’s eccentric assassin and Sandra Oh’s MI5 operative Eve Polastri. Spanning four seasons, Killing Eve saw the pair grapple between being bitter enemies to complex allies, uncovering secret organizations that involve many faces from throughout their lives.

With over two years passing since Killing Eve came to a conclusion, Comer opened up to The Playlist’s The Discourse podcast about her thoughts on where the series left Villanelle. While the star accepted there had been viewers left upset by Villanelle’s death, Comer celebrated the work of those involved and explained how she felt the storyline remained faithful to the character’s trajectory, but thanked fans for their support. Check out Comer’s explanation below:

I know there were a lot of upset fans. And look, everyone who was on that show worked on that show for four years and put so much into it. I think [Villanelle] was like a cat with nine lives. And it felt like it was always gonna catch her in the end. And I’m very moved and touched that the fans have connected so much to it that the response to her dying was very visceral and not what they wanted.

Villanelle’s Death Is Killing Eve‘s Biggest Missed Opportunity

Despite coming from two vastly different worlds, Villanelle and Eve’s dynamic was a key draw for many viewers, keeping them engaged across 32 episodes and guessing whether the pair could enter a healthier relationship, or whether their dynamic would end in blood and tears. Each character offered one another something they desired in life, be it an escape from the boredom Villanelle found herself trapped in, while Eve is given the opportunity to be more outgoing and vocal. While the freedoms they offered one another weren’t always executed healthily, Killing Eve season 4’s controversial ending provided a sudden, somewhat jarring conclusion.

While Killing Eve‘s final episode, “Hello, Losers”, would see the couple find long-awaited common ground and bring the Twelve to their end, Villanelle is struck down by sniper fire and Eve is left traumatized. With both women finding happiness only to lose it by the show’s end, the season’s creators quickly were accused of perpetuating the “Bury Your Gays” trope. Though Comer and Oh defend the ending as an inevitability and season showrunner Laura Neal likened it to Eve’s rebirth, the sudden ending doesn’t allow the show to fully unpack the ramifications and unpack just whether this journey left the desired effect on Eve.

Though two years have passed since Killing Eve‘s final episode aired, discussions about its conclusion remain heated. As more shows have been released since that focus on equally dysfunctional queer relationships, Villanelle and Eve’s end continues to further stand out as a wasted opportunity. While Comer stands firm with her reading of Villanelle’s fate, it is clear the star understands why viewers may have been left dissatisfied and are nevertheless grateful for their passionate embrace of her eccentric assassin.