🚨 There are MASSIVE — and I mean MASSIVE — spoilers ahead for the Killing Eve series finale! 🚨
Whelp, after four seasons, Killing Eve officially came to an end this week.
Over the last four seasons, Killing Eve has found a devoted fanbase that has loved watching Villanelle and Eve's cat-and-mouse game, as well as Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh's undeniable chemistry.
The series finale began with Eve and Villanelle finally sharing some screen time — after being apart for most of the final season — as they attempted to hunt down The Twelve and put an end to the organization.
Their series finale road trip together resulted in Villanelle and Eve finally sharing a long-awaited and romantic kiss on the side of the road. Yes, they've kissed in the past, but this was different.
Y'all, look how HAPPY Villanelle is here and she realizes Eve is actually kissing her back. I'm a puddle.
Now, in my mind, I'd like to just live in this moment forever, because what happens next is...not great.
In the last two minutes of Killing Eve, Villanelle manages to vanquish The Twelve and she shares a celebratory hug with Eve...before she is shot and killed.
Villanelle's final moments involved her pushing Eve into the river in an attempt to save her, and then we come to find out Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) was behind the attack on Villanelle.
It's a tragic — and I'm gonna be honest, unnecessary — end for a character whose entire journey was about growth and trying to escape the ruthless, psychopathic killer she once was.
Also, Villanelle's death coming after she and Eve finally get their seemingly happy ending just plays into the horrible "Bury Your Gays" TV trope, which has been present for years. The trope usually shows a beloved LGBTQ+ character getting killed off for simply shock value and/or for furthering the story of a straight character. And, a lot of times, the LGBTQ+ character's death comes after a moment of happiness.
In 2016, a wave of "Bury Your Gays" storylines on shows like The 100, The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries, and more all occurred within weeks of each other, which sparked outcry from LGBTQ+ fans of the shows as they demanded better treatment of the queer characters they love.
LGBTQ+ representation on TV has gotten better in the last few years, with LGBTQ representation on TV reaching new record highs, according to GLAAD. I'd like to personally thank Wynonna Earp for literally putting a bulletproof vest on Nicole Haught.
However, Killing Eve couldn't escape the trope and played right into a very predictable ending for Villanelle.
Speaking about the ending, Killing Eve showrunner Laura Neal told BuzzFeed about the "hard" decision to kill Villanelle and that her death felt "true to her journey and the place she ends up at the end. It felt sort of the only way we could finish Villanelle's story, truthfully."
"We liked the idea that in death, Villanelle achieves what she wanted at the start of the season, which was change. We see her rush Eve into the water and that act saves Eve. I think that's a huge moment of triumph for Villanelle and not something that we would ever have thought the Villanelle of Season 1 would've been able to achieve."
Laura also said that she and the writers had conversations about whether or not the show should end with Villanelle and Eve living a happy life together, but the writers felt the tragic end worked better.
"We discussed all iterations of an ending and there was definitely an ending where we were like, 'Should we give them a happy ending? What would that look like if they ran off into the sunset together?' We talked about if we wanted to end it with us seeing domestic Villanelle and Eve, like eating pizza together on the sofa. I think we decided that that happy ending just wouldn't last very long," Laura explained.
Shortly after the Killing Eve series finale dropped, fans were quick to voice their opinions on Villanelle's controversial ending and thanked Jodie Comer for playing such an important character:
i came to #killingeve as a grey's fan desperate for more sandra oh and ended up loving a literal assassin. jodie comer's performance as villanelle for four seasons was mesmerizing, complex, and career defining. villanelle is easily one of my favorite characters of all time
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you’re telling me that eve polastri who said “when i think of my future all i see is your face over and over again” was gonna go on to live some great life without villanelle
Im still not over how lexa was killed and now #killingeve is opening that wound again with the way they killed villanelle Im sick of writers giving us (and the characters) everything we've been waiting for only to take it away minutes later by killing one of them..its just cruel
i hope jodie and sandra know that even though we hate the ending of killing eve, it wasn’t on them it was the writing, while they gave us the best most comforting characters in eve and villanelle and they’ll always be loved
It occurred to me last night that I’ve never actually lost a comfort character to death before…and the way I lost Villanelle was more violent or traumatising than I ever could have prepared for. You deserved better, V. WE deserved better. #KillingEve
i can’t even describe how cruel it was to have eve give a sentimental speech about how no matter what the important thing is that you always come back together only for her to not be able to reach villanelle in the end
eve resisted and rejected villanelle this whole season because she was terrified of EXACTLY WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING. like she was punished. queer women aren’t allowed to be happy. women aren’t allowed to be weird and funny and awful.
thoughts about the killing eve finale: the most heartless finale ever. villanelle’s death was a disrespect to the creator of the character and to the fans. how cruel do you have to be to give this queer character hope only to end it all in the most unnecessary death scene?
They had no reason to kill off Villanelle. There is no special meaning to her death. It doesn’t even fit in with the scorpion and the frog or the cupid/psyche “foreshadowing”. It’s just straight up bad writing. #KillingEve
jodie comer was trying to warn us all along and we should've listened #KillingEve
Jodie Comer brought the best fucking character to life to grace our screens and she dies with two minutes in the shittest way, she deserved so much better.
she always says villanelle means so much to her and that she's taught her a lot :(
Thank you Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer for bring this incredible women to life, and thank you for the spectacular chemistry on screen. It’s hard to accept that a show like #KillingEve ends like it ended.. KILLING EVE DESERVED BETTER #killingeve
a genuinely friendly reminder that this is how the books end: them together, living their lives happily. 💞 villanelle doesn't die and gets a linguistics degree. #killingeve #villaneve
Anyway, if you need me, I'll be reliving Villanelle and Eve's happy moments in that series finale and conveniently stopping before the very end.
