Killing Eve “Still Got It”

I saw how this one ended, and quite frankly, it seemed like something that was a long time coming for this show.

Yes, it looks like Niko, if he isn’t dead, may soon wish he was.  Like a lot of shows of this nature, Niko as the outsider spouse didn’t seem to have much to do with the overall narrative, and that wasn’t helped by the fact that the series seems to be setting up Villanelle and Eve as lovers for some reason.  I know the show has explained Eve’s general fascination with Villanelle–though why it would be romantic and/or sexual I have no idea–but at the same time, I am still somewhat mystified by what Villanelle sees in Eve.

Regardless, it does mean that Niko was always going to be something of an obstacle to Villanelle.  Up until now, the show has basically suggested the only reason Villanelle hasn’t killed Niko was because Niko was important to Eve.  That said, it was always a possibility someone else could have killed Niko, and framing Villanelle for it would probably be a good thing for somebody.

Yes, in an episode that had a clever structure, showing each of the characters by turn living their lives as Carolyn adjusts to life without her son and maybe can get back to her office (even though she has no idea where exactly her office even is), Konstantin offers VIllanelle a key to the young killer’s past if she would be so kind as to eliminate an annoying grieving widow who knows too much (making her one of the few victims of Villanelle the series has presented that comes across as sympathetic even to her killer up to a point), Eve gets a birthday cake she doesn’t trust and a text from Niko asking her to come to Poland (even though he didn’t send it), Villanelle gets to go home to find her family in Russia (even though it could have all been a plot to simply get her out of town at a key moment), and Dasha puts a pitchfork through Niko’s neck (even though…you know what?  I got nothin’ on this one).

So, what did Niko’s death accomplish?  Besides the fact it may be the rare reverse of the “women in refrigerators” trope since Niko is most decidedly not a woman, I can’t say I am all that upset about this.  Not because Niko deserved to die.  Far from it.  He wanted to get as far away from his socially awkward and very weird wife as he could.  He knew she was involved in some killing and witnessed another one right in front of him by a psychotic woman who had been inside his house.

The problem with a character like Niko is he didn’t really add anything to the story after a certain point.  The series is very much invested in the pursuit and relationship between clumsy Eve and chaos agent Villanelle.  Other characters, like Konstantin and Carolyn, are there to support one character or the other at various points.  But Niko?  He didn’t really add anything to the narrative like so many other spouses of spy characters.  It’s by the same logic that Eve’s assistants for each series of this show are a different batch of people every series.

Huh.  Maybe that’s why Jack Ryan’s future wife disappeared after season one of that show.

So, the only thing to really do is kill the character off in a way that will create tension between Eve and Villanelle, and somehow, I suspect that doing this to make Villanelle behave in a more consistent manner is going to fail miserably.

That said…Dasha has a boss in the Twelve.  How interesting…