Killing Eve Season 3’s Ending Could Be A New Start For Eve And Villanelle

Warning: SPOILERS for Killing Eve‘s Season 3 Finale – “Are You Leading Or Am I?”

Killing Eve‘s season 3 finale resolved the lingering mysteries and signals a possible new beginning for the offbeat romance between Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer). Killing Eve season 3 also ends the tenure of the series’ third female showrunner, Suzanne Heathcote (Fear The Walking Dead). Heathcote passes the baton to season 4’s showrunner Laura Neal (Sex Education), who co-wrote the Killing Eve season 3 finale, “Are You Leading Or Am I?” with Heathcote.

Villanelle was reunited with Eve in the finale episode, and they teamed up to try to foil Konstantin’s attempt to escape to Cuba with $2 million he stole from The Twelve. Meanwhile, after telling her daughter Geraldine (Gemma Whelan) to leave, Carolyn finally confronted Paul Bradwell (Steve Pemberton), her boss at MI6 who has been part of The Twelve all along, which resulted in Paul’s death by Carolyn’s hand. The truth about the death of Carolyn’s son Kenny Stowton (Sean Delaney), which kicked off Killing Eve season 3, was also revealed. In the end, “Are You Leading Or Am I?” left fans with an open-ended (but tentatively hopeful) future for Eve and Villanelle’s love story.

Killing Eve has always been a ruthless and bloody show that’s not afraid to kill major characters. By the end of season 3, the series maintained its core foursome of Eve, Villanelle, Carolyn, and Konstantin and continued with its tradition of bumping off supporting characters like Dasha Durzan (Harriet Walter) and Mo Jafari (Raj Bajaj). But Killing Eve season 3 also significantly changed the course of Villanelle’s career as an assassin while resolving the lingering issues between Eve and Villanelle. Here’s how everything hashed out in Killing Eve‘s season 3 finale.

Konstantin (Accidentally) Killed Kenny

The central mystery of Killing Eve season 3 is who killed Kenny, and the answer is murky and unsatisfying, especially for Carolyn. Kenny was presumably murdered when he fell to his death from the roof of his workplace, the building that housed the investigative website Bitter Pill. A heretofore unknown camera recording the night of Kenny’s death showed Konstantin arriving in the building. But Konstantin denies actually killing Kenny; his story is that he came to warn Kenny that his investigation into The Twelve was placing him in danger. According to Konstantin, Kenny got scared and accidentally stepped backward off the roof.

There’s no way to know if Konstantin is telling the truth, but he didn’t change his story even when Carolyn pressed a revolver to his head and threatened to kill him. In the end, Carolyn spared Konstantin and took the blame for Kenny’s death herself. Carolyn decided to accept what Geraldine had been trying to tell her all season, that the distant way she parented her children drove Kenny away. Whether or not that’s completely true, Carolyn didn’t execute Konstantin (someone she used to love) and now has to find a way to live with her choice and carry on as she always has.

Dasha Is Dead (Because Eve And Villanelle Both Killed Her)

Dasha died in the hospital from the severe injuries she sustained from both Villanelle and Eve. Villanelle hit her in the head with a golf club in the previous episode, “Beautiful Monster,” but Dasha didn’t die. Eve then found Dasha and pressed her boot on her chest in revenge for Dasha almost murdering her husband Niko (Owen McDonnell), but Eve didn’t go through with it. Still, Dasha succumbed, and her death was confirmed by Konstantin, whom she argued with over who’s to blame for the way Villanelle turned out. Villanelle’s original mentor as an assassin died without ever getting her heart’s desire to return home to Mother Russia, but Dasha spoke about her mysterious son, who may appear in Killing Eve season 4.

Carolyn Outs Paul Bradwell As Part Of The Twelve And Kills Him

Carolyn’s assistant Mo Jafari uncovered Paul Bradwell as a member of The Twelve, and Mo was subsequently murdered by their new assassin, Rhian (Alexandra Roach). Carolyn finally decided to confront Paul at gunpoint, whom she ordered to call Konstantin and invite him to this “meeting” at Paul’s home. Paul has been overseeing Konstantin and was his secret London contact for The Twelve and Carolyn killed him by shooting him in the dead after Paul denied everything.

The Killing Eve season 3 finale’s Hitchcockian climactic confrontation between Carolyn, Paul, and Konstantin, which also included Eve and Villanelle as observers, highlighted the fact that Villanelle has been completely removed from Killing Eve season 3’s main storyline involving The Twelve. Villanelle has been wholly preoccupied with her identity crisis; she didn’t know who Paul was, had no idea Kenny was murdered, and was also ignorant of Dasha trying to frame her for murdering Niko.

For her part, Eve was furious that Carolyn killed Paul when he was a source for information about The Twelve, but Carolyn now believes they can never destroy the evil secret organization. Meanwhile, The Twelve still seems to be everywhere, and it’s likely the loss of Paul won’t hinder their operations.

Konstantin Stole The $2-Million From The Twelve And Is Trying To Flee To Cuba

Kenny died because his investigations uncovered a Russian national named Charles Kruger as the accountant for The Twelve and that someone had secretly stolen $2 million from the organization. The culprit was Konstantin, who pilfered the money to fund his escape plan: fleeing to Cuba with his 14-year-old sociopath daughter Irina (Yuli Lagondinsky). For a time, Villanelle was also going to join them in running from The Twelve. It’s likely that Konstantin also confronted Kenny to dissuade him from investigating the $2 million theft since it would have ultimately led to Konstantin himself. The Twelve later ordered Villanelle to kill Kruger, and then Konstantin requested Villanelle kill Kruger’s wife to erase the chance the theft could be traced back to him.

At the end of Killing Eve‘s season 3 finale, Carolyn allowed Konstantin to leave with his $2 million. Presumably, he will return to Moscow and spring Irina from juvenile detention for trying to murder her mother’s boyfriend. Whether or not Konstantin and Irina make it to Cuba remains to be seen. However, Villanelle decided not to join them and told Konstantin, “You are not family,” which echoes what Konstantin told her in Killing Eve season 2’s finale.

Villanelle Quit The Twelve And No Longer Wants To Be A Killer

At the start of the Killing Eve season 3 finale, Villanelle tried to “accept” Carolyn’s job offer to kill for MI6, which solved the mystery of what Carolyn spoke to Villanelle about when they met in the Russian prison in Killing Eve season 1. Carolyn rebuffed Villanelle since her only real value is as an assassin. Killing Eve season 3 broke the series’ formula when Villanelle was injured for the first time during a kill in “End of Game” and “Beautiful Monster” is the first episode where Villanelle didn’t technically kill anyone (she tried to kill Dasha, who then died in the next episode). Killing Eve season 3 ends with Villanelle uncertain about her future and on the run as an enemy of The Twelve, apparently with no real friends or allies – except for Eve.

Eve And Villanelle (Can’t) Walk Away From Each Other

Eve and Villanelle’s toxic romance is the twisted heart of Killing Eve, but the would-be lovers were apart for most of season 3. Their brawl on a bus in episode 3, “Meetings Have Biscuits,” also led to their first kiss, but beyond Villanelle sending Eve gifts and a birthday cake and then briefly glimpsing each other at a Scotland train station in “Beautiful Monster,” the duo had no further interaction until the Killing Eve season 3 finale, where they seem to have forgiven each other and behaved like wary old friends on the cusp of being a couple.

At the end of the Killing Eve season 3 finale, Villanelle and Eve had their most frank heart-to-heart talk about themselves and the limits of their relationship. When they danced earlier in the episode, Eve admitted that they would “consume each other” if they tried to be a couple. However, Eve also tacitly admitted at the Tower Bridge that she no longer wants the wedding and home (and chicken) she had with Niko and that the monster inside Villanelle “encouraged” the monster inside Eve. After all, the two of them “killed” Dasha together, and only they would consider that “romantic.” Eve also told Villanelle that every time she tried to visualize her future she saw Villanelle’s “beautiful face” (Villanelle’s words).

In a weirdly sweet compromise from how Killing Eve season 1 ended with Eve stabbing Villanelle and season 2 ended with Villanelle shooting Eve, all seems to be forgiven between them. Villanelle and Eve ended Killing Eveseason 3 trying to walk away from each other, agreeing to “never look back,” but they both stopped and looked back at each other. Whatever the uncertain future holds for Eve and Villanelle, it appears they might just try to face it together after all.

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