✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper


Sign up by Email or Facebook.

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we sent newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Turning tips into memories

Get started Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Kids
  • Benefits
  • Membership
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Benefits
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
TV

Killing Eve season 3 finale, spoiler-free review, BBC ★★★★★

01 Jun 20 – 01 Jun 21, ON BBC iPLAYER

In the season finale, Villanelle (Jodie Comer) considers different career options and Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) gets closer to her enemy

By Euan Franklin on 28/5/2020

6 CW readers are interested
Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer
Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer
Killing Eve season 3 finale, spoiler-free review, BBC 3 Killing Eve season 3 finale, spoiler-free review, BBC Euan Franklin
Endings are hard, and the Killing Eve season three finale makes that clear. We can’t talk about the vitals of the episode, out of respect for spoiler guidelines. It’s reasonable: no one wants anything ruined. Unfortunately, this ending is ruined already. If you were disappointed by season two’s symmetrical cliffhanger, this'll only serve to irritate you more.


Given the quality of the episodes wedged between start and finish, this critic feels betrayed by their ultimate destination. Writer/show-runner Suzanne Heathcote pursued deeper character examinations, creating more layers to the stylish archetypes established and perfected by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.


Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) has been given extra shading, growing into a more enjoyable and heart-wrenching presence; Villanelle (Jodie Comer) received a veiled but intriguing backstory, travelling back to her family in Mother Russia.



But despite vivid and commendable performances from Shaw and Comer, salvaging the qualities that have remained in their characters, the finale confirms that these examinations contributed very little. The overarching plot, searching for the answer to who killed Kenny, kept stopping and starting. It's like Heathcote and the other screenwriters grew bored of it immediately. The answer, if it is an answer, isn’t worth all the faff taken to reach it – and its reveal is just as frustrating.


Some characters new to this season also feel short-changed, as if Heathcote initially had bigger plans for them. There’s some appeal in Carolyn’s MI6 boss Paul, and the question of whether he’s corrupt and working for the Russians or not, but that drained away quickly. Steve Pemberton, a master of dark comedy (Inside No. 9, The League of Gentlemen), wastes his talents in the role but offers a notable presence to a forgettable character.


Villanelle continues with the ambition to retire from killing, choosing a very different avenue. Although this provides a new direction for her, does anyone really want Villanelle to stop killing? If she's not killing, then what’s the point of her character? Much of her unpredictable violence has dissolved, chilling her remaining tension. Her fire has turned into water.


Thankfully, wherever the writers take her, she still maintains an undeniable level of style and coolness, even in the most mundane of settings.



And then there’s Eve… what happened there? She barely achieved anything this season (aside from seeing her ex punctured in the neck), only making a small dent in the plot. This is especially disappointing for a supposed protagonist, whose name is in the title. It makes you wonder how far Killing Eve will go after this, even in spite of its loyal fanbase.


There’s some hope that Laura Neal will pull the series out of the hole dug by Heathcote, because of the former’s hilarious debut in episode three. But her recent credits, including this finale, have been underwhelming in comparison. Is that all we can look forward to – another season that can’t scratch the surface of its former glory?


Killing Eve season 3 concludes on Monday 1 June at 6am on BBC iPlayer




What Killing Eve season 3 finale, spoiler-free review, BBC
When 01 Jun 20 – 01 Jun 21, ON BBC iPLAYER
Price £n/a
Website



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 16 - 18 April. © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021 Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Courtesy Gagosian
Things to do in London this weekend: 16 - 18 April
Kelly Macdonald in Line of Duty season 6, BBC One (Photo: BBC)
Line of Duty, season 6 episode 4, BBC One review
Kelly Macdonald in Line of Duty season 6, BBC One (Photo: BBC)
Line of Duty season 6 episode 5, BBC One review

Editor's Picks

Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman, Sky Cinema (Photo: Sky/Focus Features)
What to watch on TV this week
Normal People, BBC episode 9 & 10 review
Normal People, BBC episodes 9 & 10 review
BalletBoyz presents Deluxe (Bradley 4.18) credit George Piper
BalletBoyz, Deluxe review
Gwyneth Paltrow in The Politician season 2, Netflix
New to Netflix UK: June 2020
Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant in The Undoing, Sky Atlantic (Photo: Sky)
The Undoing, Sky Atlantic review
Laura Haddock in White Line, Netflix
White Lines, Netflix review
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
6

Killing Eve

BBC

May

Jodie Comer

Sandra Oh

Villanelle

TV

Spring

2020

You might like

  • Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer

    Killing Eve season 3 episode 7, BBC review ★★★★★

  • Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer

    Killing Eve season 3 episode 6, BBC review ★★★★★

  • Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer

    Killing Eve season 3 episode 5, BBC review ★★★★★

  • Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer

    Killing Eve season 3 episode 4, BBC review ★★★★★

  • Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer

    Killing Eve season 3 episode 3, BBC review ★★★★★

  • Jodie Comer in Killing Eve season 3, BBC iPlayer

    Killing Eve season 3 episode 2, BBC review ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • What is Culture Whisper membership
  • Corporate membership
  • Give a gift membership
  • Retrieve a gift membership
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×