‘Killing Eve’ Recap: ‘Desperate Times’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Sometimes in a particular story, it seems as though something inevitable is headed your way. You can simply feel the hero and the villain on a collision course, or the danger surrounding a particular character continues to grow, and you know there’s no way they’re going to survive what’s coming. It’s a list that simply goes on and on. But when it comes to BBC America’s Killing Eve, I think we can all agree that the first option I made mention of a moment ago is what hangs heavy over this series, and we’ve all been counting down the days until Villanelle and Eve are once again face to face with one another, and who knows exactly how that second confrontation is going to go down.
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Which is why last night’s episode of the series was so surprising in its own right. Because ‘Desperate Times’ once again found a way to change up our expectations in fascinating fashion. For the hunt for Villanelle basically came to a crawl in this tale, to the point where it seems that a second confrontation is no longer a certainty and that’s thanks in large part to Carolyn’s work in this tale. For when an opportunity arose (more on that in a moment) to investigate Villanelle’s handiwork, she sent one of Eve’s teammates to check things out instead. Simply because, Carolyn has started to recognize that the obsession her star agent has for this assassin is becoming downright unhealthy, and also because, she saw a grand opportunity to truly put Eve’s skill set to the test, and her little gambit brought forth some spectacular results.

Because without Villanelle to distract her, Eve was able to go full bore into the hunt for The Ghost and this allowed for us to see Eve in a whole new light. For her nerves basically melted away as the case rolled on, and confidence filled the void and it was just amazing to see her this focused and determined and it was equally as incredible to see her exude an air of leadership and she even took the time to admit how much she enjoys the rush of this job during a moment of weakness with Hugo, and for her efforts, she was able to finally put two and two together when it comes to the Ghost’s modus operandi, and use the evidence to zero in on the right suspect. And if that wasn’t awesome enough, she even took the time to personally bring the Ghost in and when all is said and done, this was Eve’s finest hour to date and I’m quite anxious in the right kind of way to see how the interrogation of this assassin is going to go.

However, we cannot forget about Villanelle, and I made mention of an opportunity to investigate the other assassin in this story and well, being considered as ‘number two’ is what allowed for that opportunity to arise. Because Konstantin did a fine job of prodding Villanelle to take her love of the theatrics to the next level, in order to prove her prowess as an assassin and draw Eve to Amsterdam to investigate their latest gig, and well, she went all out when it comes to that by taking down a dude who loved infidelity and paying for sex (and he also had a proclivity for farm animals) in front of an audience. But alas, Carolyn’s sly move to keep Eve in London, seemingly broke Villanelle’s heart since she was destitute and angry following this kill, to the point where she almost killed an annoying bystander just to feel something after being abandoned by her obsession, and while it seems as though paths are now diverging, I have a funny feeling it won’t be too long before Eve and Villanelle are once again ready to collide.

Because, let’s be honest, there’s no way Eve will be good with letting Villanelle just fade into memory now that the Ghost is in custody, and the idea of Villanelle just walking away is about as silly as they come and well…I have to admit that I have some concerns about how all of this went down, since their ‘separation’ seems orchestrated. Especially when one considers that Carolyn told her boss that everything is going to plan, and she had plenty of time to chat with Konstantin during her off hours and I cannot help but wonder if these old friends (or lovers, or whatever the heck they are) worked together to split these two up for reasons yet unknown to us because that’s the kind of sneaky crap both of them would pull. But for now, we are onto learning more about The Ghost and who she works for, and whatever Konstantin is up to with Villanelle because he always has an agenda and once again, I’m back to playing the waiting game when it comes to this magnificent series. Until next time. 

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