WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Killing Eve Season 4, Episode 1, “Just Dunk Me,” now available on BBC America and AMC+.
One of the things that’s made Killing Eve‘s title character Eve Polastri not that intimidating as a British Intelligence agent is that she hasn’t been that formidable in battle. While she may have been a great strategist in the office, she was never imposing at all in the field; she almost died on a few missions for MI5 before Carolyn ultimately fired her.
That lack of fighting skill made her easy prey if Villanelle had really wanted to kill her. The Season 4 premiere finally upgraded her capability to defend herself — but it came with an abundance of confidence (and even arrogance) that could continue to make her easy pickings for the Twelve during the show’s final season.
Eve’s new attitude was displayed in Russia, where she arrived on a motorcycle and beat up a guard before she revealed herself to Konstantin, who had become an elected official. He couldn’t believe Eve’s disposition — but while he started off laughing, he ended up scared for his life. She shot him in the hand almost immediately, telling him that the bullet was for her former colleague Kenny — who’d died due to his own investigations (but still wasn’t the show’s most tragic character) — before forcing valuable information about the Twelve out of him.
This was an Eve that Killing Eve viewers had never seen before. She was now with a private surveillance firm, and Niko had understandably become her ex-husband while she’d moved on to a personal and business relationship with her colleague Yusuf. Yusuf had been training Eve in mixed martial arts, which the show put on display when she submitted him during a training session in the park. The added skills and the turning off the page had clearly given Eve more self-assurance.
Unfortunately, this bravado resulted in Eve taking on a mission from Carolyn without being fully prepared (something the season’s trailer had teased). Eve was tracking the dead assassin Rhian and ended up at a funeral home, where she was beaten up in an alley by the coroner Pam, proving she still had a lot to learn. But by recovering quickly, Eve saw Pam and Hélène driving off, confirming Eve’s suspicions that both were linked to Rhian.
Killing Eve made it clear that Eve will keep following breadcrumbs to Hélène, but she might be walking into a deathtrap. She’s resilient, determined and ambitious with better fighting talents than she’s ever had before, but if Pam took her out so easily, chances are Hélène’s other assassins will be able to as well (even if they’re no competition for Villanelle).
Her storyline doesn’t bode well for Yusuf either, because he may be targeted to make Eve pay in an ongoing struggle that he never asked to be part of. Past seasons have already shown how those close to Eve become collateral damage. She’s in way over her head but too confident in herself to stop what she’s doing. The show is likely to have a tragic ending, and that could be the series living up to its name.
Killing Eve Season 4 is now airing on BBC America, with episodes streaming next-day on AMC+. Seasons 1-3 are currently available to stream on Hulu.
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