For the last four years, viewers have been devouring the various forms of tension that coarse through the veins of Killing Eve, the critically-acclaimed BBC America drama series adapted for the screen by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer. The genre-bending thriller follows Eve Polastri (Oh), a MI5 agent who takes a particular interest in a case involving an unidentified assassin. Up until Eve’s involvement, the other agents were pretty stumped on what type of person would be carrying out these elaborate and creative kills and even considered moving the mystery to the side and tackling the next headache on their stacked pile.

After taking a break from her croissant, however, the somewhat scatterbrained Eve piped up with her out-of-the-box idea that would suck the air right out of the room: What if the assassin in question was a woman? After some obsessive searching after-hours, much to Eve’s husband Niko’s frustration, Eve discovers that her instincts were indeed correct. The assassin they are searching for is none other than Villanelle (Comer), a stylish, charming, and cunning young woman who was equally obsessed with tracking down Eve–if not more so–than Eve was with finding her. Eve wouldn’t be ready to let Villanelle out of her sight anytime soon, and as we near the series finale, it doesn’t seem like she will ever want to.

When you think of a spy thriller, or any drama with a government agent tracking down an assassin, the odds are that you would not be rooting for the two foes to end up together and have a happily ever after. But subverting expectations is one of the many things that Killing Eve does best. While it was clear from the beginning that Eve and Villanelle shared a mutual interest in learning about the other, Seasons 1 and 2 do an excellent job of establishing that Villanelle would be the one creeping into stalker territory, whether it be breaking into Eve’s home and attempting to have an intimate dinner, sending her flowers that spell out “Eve,” or taunting her husband at work. Despite all of these red flags, Eve couldn’t resist the strange connection she shared with one of the world’s most dangerous and elusive assassins.

 

The more the characters evolve and even work together over the course of the series, the clearer it becomes that Eve can’t–and more importantly, doesn’t want to–imagine a life in which she and Villanelle aren’t involved in some way. As fans of Killing Eve know all too well, Villanelle and Eve are always this close to being together, both literally in the same room and romantically. Eve has a predictable habit of going through a particularly traumatic bonding moment with Villanelle and then shoving any attraction or possible feelings for her as far down as possible. In Season 2, she went as far as murdering a man to save Villanelle, only to spend the beginning of Season 3 being adamant that the days of her obsessing over Villanelle’s every move were over. Ironically, that season would feature some of their most intimate moments yet: the out-of-left-field bus kiss that Eve initiates, the slow dance, and their poetic moment on the bridge in the Season 3 finale.

While Eve’s exact feelings for Villanelle are still somewhat veiled, Villanelle routinely lays her cards out on the table. She wants Eve all to herself and even told her that to her face when she suggested they run away together to Alaska, but Eve refused. Villanelle’s persistence, however, should not overshadow the fact that she has greatly evolved emotionally and personally since breaking into Eve’s home in Season 1. Villanelle tried her own version of “moving on” twice in Season 3. In the premiere, months after shooting Eve for turning her down in Rome, Villanelle got married to another woman. Though that lasted all of three seconds (thank you, Dasha), the thought of Villanelle trying to start a life without Eve was a massive surprise. Villanelle would retreat back into her more invasive attempts to win Eve over, however, such as sending her a custom birthday cake at Eve’s work in the shape of a bus (where they had their first kiss) and recording her voice inside a teddy bear saying “Admit it, Eve, you wish I was here,” and sticking it in Eve’s bed.

Eve loved every second of Villanelle’s romantic gestures, but instead of admitting it, she’d habitually overcompensate by portraying Villanelle as some sort of lunatic, which further cemented the idea to everyone else that this relationship was a one-way street. The bigger and bolder attempt at moving on would come from Villanelle in the Season 3 finale, when she told Eve, who had just told her that she can’t imagine a future without her, that for both of their well-being, they should walk in opposite directions and never speak to each other again. (Could you possibly imagine Season 1 Villanelle ever doing that?) The end of Season 3 was a glimmer of what we would be able to expect from Villanelle in Season 4: real change.

Season 4 starts with Eve following the same formula we’ve come to expect. After going through a particularly traumatic bonding moment with Villanelle (watching Carolyn shoot Paul, and almost Konstantin, in the head), Eve makes it crystal clear that she wants nothing to do with Villanelle and is instead forging forward on her own mission to tackle The Twelve. Villanelle, meanwhile, is doubling down on her mission for change and is planning her baptism. Gone are the days (for now) when Villanelle used killing as a form of self-expression. Now, our favorite assassin was asking, “What would Jesus do?” Of course, she couldn’t help herself and invited Eve to her baptism. Eve was sticking to her guns for the time being and ignored the invite. Villanelle being Villanelle, however, wouldn’t let that slide.

Despite encouraging the two of them to never see each other again, Villanelle shows up at Eve’s hotel to calmly confront her about missing her special ceremony, but also to tell her that she’s changed. After all the progress Villanelle made with keeping her word and not seeing Eve, this impromptu hotel visit seemed like a major step back. Eve, on the other hand, meant business (or at least wanted Villanelle to think that she did), and slapped her across the face. The sexual tension was still there but unfortunately for Villanelle, the same power dynamic was still in place and would remain so for the bulk of the final season. Eve’s moved on and Villanelle clearly has not.

Image via BBC America

After falling back on her killer instincts and murdering two people, a broken and vulnerable Villanelle turned back up at Eve’s doorstep looking for help. Eve was especially callous and squeezed Villanelle of any dignity she had left. She even lingered in the uncomfortable moment and wielded her power by changing in front of Villanelle and then casually leaving like it was no big deal. Not long after, Eve showed up at her therapist’s house during his session with Villanelle, only to have her arrested. Based on what we know about how these two operate, it’s safe to conclude that a night in prison wouldn’t be enough to keep Villanelle away from Eve. But after the tense events in Episodes 5 and 6, Killing Eve would deliver the twist we needed.

Eve was reduced to a puddle at the end of Episode 5 when she watched Villanelle get struck by an arrow and collapse. This near-death experience for Villanelle forced Eve to acknowledge the very real possibility that Villanelle might not be part of her messy life, which Eve very much did not like. After Villanelle nearly died, Eve became more attentive and started showing her the attention she’s been craving all this time. She was holding her weak hand while Pam removed the arrow, helped her get dressed, and followed after her on the pier. All sweet gestures that Villanelle uncharacteristically balks at. Rather than pull Eve closer and seize the opportunity for intimacy, Villanelle pushes her away. And after she overhears Hélène say that she and Eve kissed and shared a bath, well, enough was enough. After finally killing Hélène, Villanelle uttered an inconceivable line to Eve: “I’m done with you.”

Image via BBC America

While this was indeed a surprising rejection, it reminds viewers how complicated Villanelle is and that while Eve may be a big focus for her, she’s now no longer the only thing on the assassin’s mind. And as for Eve, who has gotten used to (and enjoyed) knowing Villanelle was always pining for her attention, this dismissal was a long-overdue reality check. It appears that instead of Villanelle quickly bouncing back and forgiving Eve’s harsh mixed signals, she’s ready to give her the cold (and sore) shoulder. Perhaps people have underestimated Villanelle’s emotional growth and are unable to fathom the notion that at this point, she would actually be better at handling life without Eve than the other way around.

With only two episodes left to spare in the Emmy-nominated series, there are still plenty of questions in desperate need of answers. The biggest and most important question mark, of course, is around Villanelle and Eve’s future in general, but more specifically, as a couple. Will these two be able to accept the fact that they are far more similar than they are different and finally give in to a happily ever after? Let’s certainly hope so.