'Killing Eve' Recap: 'Don't I Know You?'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​While Killing Eve has turned out to be quite the breath of fresh air when it comes to the spy genre as a whole, I think deep down we all knew that eventually, this series would have to provide the audience with some traditional tropes and storylines simply because, such matters are inescapable for this genre. After all, there’s really no way to re-invent good old-fashioned detective work or the hunt for a bloodthirsty assassin for that matter and it just so happens, that this week’s episode of the show, ‘Don’t I Know You?’, harkened back to the basics of this genre after a solid lead when it comes to Villanelle finally dropped into Eve’s lap.
 
Which meant that in this particular tale, Eve and Bill headed off to Berlin to investigate the death of a Chinese Colonel, and while it was cool to see some of the traditional spy story structure appear on this series, I have to give the show some serious credit, for finding a way to spice up tradition by putting its own spin on things. Because while the hunt in and of itself was by the numbers, how the characters handled their respective roles in this tale is what made it so damn enjoyable. Take for example Eve and Bill who were in essence, like kids in a candy store who found wonder and joy in heading to Berlin to finally work on a case in the field and well, while that was fun to watch, I have to admit that I was a touch concerned that the two of them being this giddy over the case might be a bad idea and well, it’s a worry that turned out to be valid.
 
Because in essence, all of this was a trap, since Villanelle drew her newfound nemesis to Berlin by using Eve’s name as an alias at the murder site, and from the moment Eve and Bill arrived in the city, they were under Villanelle’s watchful eye as she hovered about at a safe distance and this segment of the story was downright fascinating, since Villanelle was more or less obsessed with Eve, and understandably so. After all, she’s been hiding in the shadows for ages now, and no one has been able to put the pieces together. So, to discover that someone is working to bring her down and has focused upon her seemed to light up Villanelle’s life and in order to better understand her foe and satisfy her growing obsession, she more or less created her own version of Eve by way of stealing her clothes and through a little roleplay with a woman she met in Berlin and to top it off, she straight up wore Eve’s clothes, giving her a strange sense of ownership and well, this little development was downright brilliant.
 
If anything, these behaviors signaled both respect and fear for Eve and almost pride that Villanelle could finally consider someone as her equal. But alas, all of this had to take a backburner for the most chilling moment of the night, wherein Bill had the opportunity to tail Villanelle. In fact, this was perhaps the first time this series truly resembled a traditional spy story because this kind of chase is paramount to the genre and it was handled in masterful fashion here since it was tense and terrifying when Bill came to realize that his target was toying with him all along and this is where my worry about treating this whole case in joyous fashion came to fruition because this killer doesn’t mess around, and she was happy to trap Bill in a club so that she could easily come up to him, and end his life in brutal and violent fashion.
 
So, just like that, Bill is gone, and Eve now understands how dangerous spy work can be and my goodness, what an incredible episode this turned out to be. Every single second of this tale was utterly compelling, thanks in large part to Villanelle’s obsession with Eve and of course, as this show is wont to do, this story was filled to the brim with quirky black humor. Because the opening sequence at the clinic was wonderfully off the wall, and the representative of the Chinese Government that Eve met with, led to some hilariously awkward moments as well. But more importantly, there are some serious questions left hanging in the air after this one, in that…can Eve recover from Bill’s death and finish the mission or will his passing rattle her in ways she never imagined. And also, just how far is Villanelle going to take her obsession with Eve? And will it protect Eve from harm? Either way, the stakes were raised in this episode, and I cannot wait to learn the answers to these all-important questions as the season rolls on. Until next time. 

---