‘Killing Eve’ Recap: ‘Are You From Pinner?’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The last time we settled in to discuss the wondrous series that is Killing Eve, we briefly talked about a fascinating storytelling decision involving Konstantin and Villanelle. Because for the first time ever, we saw their human side, since we saw Konstantin work to have a normal relationship with his daughter, while Eve worked a little overtime in order to finally discover where her family was currently living. Which are a pair of plot threads that quite frankly change the dynamic for the audience when it comes to these two characters. Because suddenly, there is newfound depth to both of them, and we are instantly curious to learn more about their past and their present and their overall relationship with their families.
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Because being able to learn those elements, allows for us to better understand a pair of human beings that have in fact, each made a decision to go down quite a dark road. For then we would understand why they turned their back on societal norms and whether or not they are redeemable, and it would seem that introducing those gentle and surprising moments into last week’s tale was all part of a master plan. For the next episode of this fantastic show took the time to follow up with Villanelle and her voyage home, and that made ‘Are You From Pinner?’ one of the finest stories that this series has ever offered up. Simply because it dug into some powerful concepts and added a new level of depth to Oksana. Which is no easy feat, since she is a complex and dynamic character as is.

But this particular tale managed to strip away the mystique surrounding Oksana like never before. Because her voyage home was grounded in goals that we can all relate to. For when we return home after avoiding it for years on end, we’re doing so because we are in need of closure or answers or escape and Villanelle was trying to accomplish all those things and that oddly led to some outright beautiful moments in a season that has been mired in death and tragedy. Something that was accomplished by the fact that Oksana wanted to fit in and feel normal for a change, and that motivated her to make nice with her brother and have fun for a change and enjoy a taste of the simple lifestyle of the farm town her family was living in, and it really was magical to see her try and shed the darkness she surrounds herself with.

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Yet while it was amazing to enjoy a few laughs with Oksana and her family (because who didn’t love watching her ‘dance’ and sing along to Elton John’s ‘Crocodile Rock’), there are other goals that we discussed and she did make a point to address every last one of those. Because Oksana wanted to know why her mother abandoned her at the orphanage all those years ago, all in the hopes of finding closure to a painful and defining moment in her life, so that she could finally move on from it and perhaps enjoy a healthy relationship with her mom. But despite her best efforts to make that happen, her mother rebuffed her at every turn, despite the fact that Oksana tried to be a good daughter and that led to one hell of a confrontation.
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Because one way or another, she was going to have her closure and unfortunately for Villanelle, her push to get some answers, ended in disaster. For while her mother was quick to offer honest answers as to why she abandoned her daughter, she was also quick to make it clear that there would be no reconciliation or relationship going forward. Because she wanted nothing to do with a daughter that she believed was evil from the start and also robbed her of admiration from her late husband. And learning that jealousy and bitterness motivated dear old mom to toss her daughter aside, allowed for Villanelle to realize that she and her mother were quite alike and that perhaps she could find closure after all by killing the woman that haunted her, and she did just that before disappearing into the night.

If anything, every single moment in this tale was stunning to say the least, since in many ways it appeared that Villanelle was hoping to find redemption and peace in this idyllic town. But as the closing moments of this story revealed, she found no peace, just more pain and demons swirling around her soul and that may mean that more ugly moments await us down the line as Villanelle’s refueled fury is unleashed upon the world. But in the here and the now, this simply was one incredible episode, one that featured plenty of laughs and heartfelt moments and Jodie Comer’s finest performance to date on the series since she was able to bring every emotion imaginable to life. But what matters more, is that this was a bold and unique venture storytelling wise, since this kind of stuff is so rarely explored in the spy genre and it should be interesting to see what other kind of brave storytelling decisions this incredible series is going to make in the weeks to come. Until next time.

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