 In Season 2, Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer reprise their critically-acclaimed performances as Eve (Oh), an MI6 operative, and psychopath assassin Villanelle (Comer) in this story of two women, bound by a mutual obsession and one brutal act. Beginning just after the end of the final episode of season one, Villanelle has disappeared, and Eve is left reeling, having no idea if the woman she stabbed is alive or dead. With both of them in deep trouble, Eve has to find Villanelle before someone else does...but unfortunately, she s not the only person looking for her. Storyline: Eve is a bored, whip-smart security services operative whose desk-bound job doesn't fulfil her fantasies of being a spy. Villanelle, is a talented killer who clings to the luxuries her violent job affords her. These two fierce women, equally obsessed with each other, will go head to head in an epic game of cat and mouse, toppling the typical spy-action thriller. ------- Disc 1 2.01 Do You Know How to Dispose of a Body? - Directly following the end of Season 1, Eve searches for the wounded Villanelle. Without finding her, Eve is called back to London to investigate a murder case. Villanelle has a rough time as she makes her way from a Paris hospital to London. Carolyn approaches Eve with an opportunity. 2.02 Nice and Neat - Eve meets her new team and deduces that the murder is not by Villanelle, but a new assassin she nicknames "The Ghost." Villanelle is close to London, but has difficulty charming the residents of Basildon into helping her. She tricks Julian into taking her home and helping her heal. Eve finds out a secret that Carolyn has been hiding. 2.03 The Hungry Caterpillar - Free from Julian, Villanelle is ordered to perform a clean assassination like the Ghost. She kills her target in an elevator and delivers lipstick to Eve with the name "Love in an Elevator" to ensure that Eve knows who performed the assassination. Eve is struggling with balancing her job and her relationship with her husband. 2.04 Desperate Times - The Ghost's body count is much larger than expected and appears to be centered around Aaron Peel. Villanelle tries to get Eve's attention with an assassination in Amsterdam, but is angered when Eve doesn't show up to investigate. Carolyn is called in to face the music with her boss. After the discovery of another dead body, Eve and her new team make a break in their case. ------- Disc 2 2.05 Smell Ya Later - In a desperate attempt to get closer to Villanelle, Eve puts out a hit on herself, hiring Villanelle to do the job. The Ghost is coerced into giving up information about her boss. A visitor from Broadmoor comes with a dire warning. Eve and Villanelle find themselves closer than ever. 2.06 I Hope You Like Missionary! - Niko confronts Eve about what really happened in Paris. With new information about Aaron Peel, Eve and Villanelle work together to get Villanelle close to Peel and his company. 2.07 Wide Awake - Eve may have worrying competition for Villanelle's affections. 2.08 You're Mine - Eve's mission is disastrously compromised; Carolyn leaves Eve's future in her own hands. ------------------------------Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Randy Miller III, April 24, 2019 Does Killing Eve, a BBC series that just started its second season earlier this month, qualify as a cat-and-mouse thriller if both leads are cats? Developed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and based on the Codename Villanelle book series by Luke Jennings, it stars Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, a suppressed MI5 officer who connects a recent string of bloody murders to an as-yet-unknown assassin. In Eve's mind, this killer is believed to be female with psychotic tendencies -- a tiny fraction of documented cases, ignoring "crazy ex-girlfriend" stereotypes -- but stuffy supervisor Frank Haleton (Darren Boyd) disagrees. There aren't many in her corner aside from dutiful husband Niko (Owen McDonnell), but Eve's suspicions are confirmed by the sole witness of a recent murder in Vienna that follows similar patterns. Nonetheless, Eve's rule-breaking investigation of said witness earn her an immediate dismissal, along with her young assistant Elena Felton (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and like-minded associate Bill Pargrave (David Haig). Almost unwittingly, the three form a rogue partnership under the direction of MI6 operative Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), who takes notice of Eve's good instincts, and they pursue the mysterious female suspect known only as "Villanelle" (Jodie Comer). Of course, we know the suspect is trouble from Killing Eve's opening scene, in which Villanelle purposefully knocks a little girl's ice cream sundae right into her lap. It's an unexpected but laughably over-the-top moment that's next to dog-kicking and nun-punching in the Beginner's Guide to Writing Villains, which doesn't exist but would be a fun read. Villanelle, whose name is the show's second eye-rolling hurdle to overcome, is depicted as a completely off-balance and unhinged individual, but her disturbing behavior thankfully isn't glamorized as Killing Eve's story unfolds. We get a few flashes of sympathetic behavior, as well as hints of her past extrapolated from Villanelle's conversations with handler Konstantin Vasiliev (Kim Bodnia)...but we also get an equal amount of crocodile tears. For better or worse, she's placed on nearly equal footing with Eve herself, a protagonist whose only apparent flaw is an infatuation with the abject chaos that Villanelle brings into her otherwise ordinary life. If only the assassin's social graces didn't resemble a dumpster fire -- or she hadn't murdered more than a half-dozen people in cold blood -- things might be different. Despite the series' borderline embarrassing collection of thriller clichés -- on-the-nose psychological profiles, perfectly executed crimes, "enhanced" surveillance footage, and even an expert hacker -- Killing Eve, like the assassin herself, avoids punishment for its unpredictable nature, take-no-prisoners attitude, international destinations, and the early revelation that Villanelle is just as infatuated with Eve, if not more so. This is hardly new territory for psychological thrillers (and perhaps most similar to the relationship between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs), but it's pulled off in a way that doesn't feel as telegraphed as it sounds on paper. All the warning signs of this mutual attraction can be spotted along the way, from Villanelle's near-captures to the gradual disintegration of Eve's marriage and personal life, but no one is safe once the story narrows its focus as both sides gradually converge. So while Killing Eve's pulpy subject matter make it much more "guilty" than "pleasure", it's still an extremely entertaining ride that carves out its own identity long before this first season's eight episodes wrap up. The performances, music, and cinematography are all first-rate. Still, its more clichéd elements can't be ignored no matter how entertaining...so at the very least, the recently-started second season will hopefully shed some of this excess baggage. At this point, BBC's two-disc Blu-ray release of Killing Eve: Season One primarily exists for those who, like myself, showed up a little late to the party. Since the series is only three episodes into its second season (as of this writing), it's easy enough to get caught up via binge-watching, as the non-stop twists and turns make Killing Eve a solid -- if not slightly overwhelming -- candidate for back-to-back viewing. Featuring a great A/V presentation and an assortment of brief but welcome behind-the-scenes featurettes, it's a low-priced package that'll get you up to speed in no time. Phoebe Waller-Bridge's TV adaptation of Killing Eve is equal parts sophisticated, globe-trotting psychological thriller and pulp-filled black comedy, and even its most glaring genre clichés aren't troublesome enough to sink the ship. At a lean and mean 42 minutes apiece, these eight episodes remain entertaining through their many twists and turns, with the obvious disclaimer that there's room for improvement during future seasons. The story, performances, music, and cinematography are all quite good and, for many, will be more than enough reason to keep watching. In the meantime, BBC Video's Blu-ray treatment of this first season combines an excellent A/V presentation with a few lightweight but appreciated behind-the-scenes featurettes. It's recommended to established fans and curious newcomers alike. [CSW] -5.0- One of the quirkiest shows with straight faced British humor imbedded in it. Sandra Oh is wonderful, as is all the cast in this brilliant show - but why didn't Jodie Comer (Villanelle) win the Golden Globe? Honestly, she is the best villain in my memory of TV and movies in my entire life - and in my opinion the star of the show. She's just so wonderfully perfect in this role - animated, funny, scary; you name it. Such an entertaining series - kudos to all involved! [V4.5-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box Cast Notes: Sandra Oh (Eve Polastri [17 episodes, 2018-2019]), Jodie Comer (Villanelle [17 episodes, 2018-2019]), Fiona Shaw (Carolyn Martens [15 episodes, 2018-2019]), Kim Bodnia (Konstantin [14 episodes, 2018-2019]), Owen McDonnell (Niko Polastri [14 episodes, 2018-2019]), Sean Delaney (Kenny Stowton /....[13 episodes, 2018-2019]), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Elena Felton [7 episodes, 2018]). IMDb Rating (05/21/19): 8.3/10 from 39,065 users
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