What Did The ‘Killing Eve’ Season Finale Mean For Villanelle and Eve’s Relationship?

A major appeal of Killing Eve is not only the general intrigue that Villanelle brings with her everywhere she goes. But it’s also the very palpable “Will they, won’t they” vibe she and Eve Polastri have going on. Many fans really want them to at least face their feelings for the other. That is, if you believe those feelings are real and true. So what did that final scene in the Season 3 finale mean for the pair? [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for Killing Eve Season 3 finale]. 

This season finale was ‘quieter’ than the others for a reason

This season, as a whole, was a bit more subdued than the rest. It was really the most mystery-based season, with a lot riding on what the audience needed to figure out. A lot of questions to ask. So it’s no surprise that the finale didn’t end with Eve stabbing Villanelle or Villanelle shooting Eve. 

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on May 31, executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle talked about the “quietest” season finale we’ve had thus far for Killing Eve. And she explained what this means for the two women. 

“Of course, they are on a bridge and there’s all sorts of drama that could have happened there,” Woodward Gentle said about why they didn’t go for a stabbing or shooting (again). The biggest thing they wanted for the pair was for them to lay it all out. They’ve gone through a lot. Together, and because of the other. 

“I think that what was really appealing was for both of them to have an honest conversation, which we rarely see – particularly with the revelation in the earlier scene that they were both complicit in somebody else’s death,” she said, referring to the fact that Villanelle and Eve played a part on Dasha’s demise. “They both did it together, and in a way that’s a good jumping-off point for a discussion about where they are.”

So the couple that kills together, stays together, right? Well, that’s not exactly the message they were going for. It seems like they’re trying to turn a new leaf. Eve and Villanelle admitted a couple of times in the episode that their monsters sort of egg each other on. 

Did Villanelle know Eve would turn around on the bridge? 

It comes down to a very pivotal moment in the finale between the two. Eve wants to be released from the torment of being with Villanelle. She’s too captivated and she’s not a good person with that fixation. 

Woodward Gentle said that the honest conversation they needed to have turned into Eve saying “You’ve got to release me. I can’t stop thinking about you,” and Villanelle tells Eve to turn around and walk away forever. Cold turkey, like what Carolyn talked about before. 

“They walk away and Eve turns around with Villanelle, and I think what you see in her is she knows that Eve is going to turn around,” Woodward Gentle said. “She knows that Eve is going to be looking back at her. Is that point-scoring, or is it actually something much more fundamental than that? And that’s quite an interesting way to look at it.”

It’s safe to say that Villanelle isn’t surprised to find Eve staring at her when she turns on the bridge. It sounds like the audience has to be the one to decide if it was out of triumph at calling the situation or triumph at Eve’s refusal to let her go. Woodward Gentle thinks it’s a bit more of Villanelle knowing she manipulated the scenario. 

“[Villanelle] walked away. She wouldn’t help but be tempted because her ego is so massive as well,” the executive producer said. “She needed to have confirmation. And she knew. She was, like, 99.9 percent sure she’d turn around and Eve would be looking at her.”

Villanelle and Eve are ‘entwined’ by everything they’ve gone through

So what will happen with Villanelle and Eve next? One could easily guess that the two will become a team — or more — but it’s never been that easy for these two. However, Woodward Gentle did confirm they’re now “entwined” with everything they’ve done for the other. She said that Villanelle was attracted to Eve at first because she reminded her of Anna, and she also loves attention. That’s changed.

But as time has gone on, they’ve both acknowledged that the other sees themselves in a way that nobody else has seen them. And that is really intoxicating and hard to walk away from…  It’s sort of the most f*cked-up, self-destructive, glorious, edifying, ego-fulfilling relationship ever. I think it is really hard to walk away from something [when] somebody sees you in a very unique way that makes you feel like you’re a little sunflower in the sunlight. That’s really hard to step away from that.

Either way, it seems a bit more hopeful of an ending than Seasons 1 and 2, just because they’re not running away from each other. But with Villanelle, who really knows.