WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Killing Eve Season 4, Episode 2, “Don’t Get Eaten,” now available on BBC America and AMC+.
In Season 4 of Killing Eve, Fiona Shaw’s Carolyn has been struggling to keep it together. She’s still reeling from the death of her son, Kenny, and how she alienated her daughter, Geraldine, wondering if her career with British Intelligence was worth it.
Unfortunately, after Eve and Villanelle’s shenanigans, Carolyn got fired and ended up in the hospitality industry in Spain, hoping to secretly continue pursuing the Twelve. That mission just took a major hit, though, when the series revived a sinister figure from Carolyn’s past, who could ultimately end up destroying her.
This is none other than Vlad, the Russian agent who worked with Carolyn when she headed the Russia desk in MI-6 in past seasons. Whenever their interests aligned, Carolyn provided intel to the Kremlin, while Vlad slipped her info for the Crown, but no matter what, they never trusted each other. In fact, they made it abundantly clear that they’d sell each other out to save their own skin, like when she framed him in a plot involving a plutonium sale.
They worked together after that in an uneasy alliance, and now Carolyn had no choice but to reconnect because she was desperate to bring down the Twelve. She needed to find Kenny’s killer, but her resources were limited. She did have money to pay a new, improved Eve to investigate for her, but still, Carolyn needed manpower and an institution like what existed with Vlad and Moscow backing her. It’s why she offered her services to Vlad, although he was reluctant about bringing in a defector.
He tested her, using Carolyn to identify some targets for Russia before eventually putting her up in a safe house. Unfortunately, she found a dead rat there — an intimidation tactic. She wasn’t sure if it was Vlad or the Twelve, but a panicked Carolyn demanded protection. Unfortunately, Vlad indicated she’d just be an outsourced contractor, but one he’d highly regard. After all, the people she helped them finger turned up dead, so she had value. In other words, Carolyn seemingly helped Vlad assassinate people Russia considered enemies.
Whether they were innocent or not didn’t matter — this was Vlad checkmating and reminding her he would be the puppet master, no matter their arrangement. It left Carolyn scared because she’s usually the one in control, not the pawn. She is now worried she’s lost her edge, not to mention it has damaged her ego, leaving her more vulnerable than ever.
With the Twelve being picked off, she could become a target of reprisal from assassins if they know she’s tracking them down. To make it worse, she doesn’t even know if Vlad’s been compromised by the Twelve. As such, in her most basic, fragile state, Carolyn has no choice but to rely on Eve. Still, with Eve working with an agent of the Twelve in Hélène to backstab the terrorist groups, and Hugo and MI-6 threatening her, it’s a bunch of unpredictable wildcards colliding. Villanelle has quit her Christian redemption, so she could always become Carolyn’s spy too, but for now, she’s better off sticking to folks she can trust if she’s to guarantee her survival, as well as that of her daughter.
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.
About The Author
