Killing Eve Theory: Villanelle Has Already Met Her [SPOILER]

Warning: SPOILERS for Killing Eve season 3, episode 3.

In Killing Eve season 3, Villanelle (Jodie Comer) wants to find her family, but she is unaware that she may have already met her parents. It’s possible that both Villanelle’s birth mother and father are now with her and they are Dasha (Harriet Walter) and Konstantin (Kim Bodnia). If this is indeed the case, then Killing Eve has been sprinkling clues in plain sight all along – and Villanelle has simply been unable to see what’s right in front of her face.

The centerpiece relationship of Killing Eve season 3 remains the toxic mutual obsession between Villanelle and Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh). Despite what seemed like a definitive “breakup” (Villanelle shooting Eve and leaving her for dead in Rome at the end of Killing Eve season 2), it hasn’t lessened their sordid fascination with each other in the slightest, even though they’ve spent months apart and tried to each move on, thinking the other was dead. Eve and Villanelle were briefly reunited in Killing Eve season 3, episode 3, “Meetings Have Biscuits,” and it quickly degenerated into a brawl on a bus (after a long-desired kiss). But now that she’s back in Eve’s life, Villanelle is leaving her reminders of their “love” to further torment her – and keep the flame burning.

However, both Eve and Villanelle are also leading separate lives and have other matters to occupy their attention. While Eve is busy investigating who killed Kenny Stowton (Sean Delaney), Villanelle finds herself back in The Twelve’s good graces and she aspires to climb the ladder of the international criminal organization to become a Keeper; i.e. a management position ranked above Konstantin who knows the true identities of The Twelve. Although she no longer answers to Konstantin – who still inserts himself into her life with cryptic warnings – Villanelle has been reunited with Dasha, her former mentor and one of The Twelve’s best assassins.

But despite her sumptuous new flat in Barcelona and the chance to do the job she loves really well – killing people in ingeniously creative ways – Villanelle remains unsettled and she can’t shake the feeling that her life is missing something. This is where the mystery of her parents comes in. Villanelle has been told her parents are dead and she accepted it as fact long ago, but she has also been the victim of numerous lies and deceptions (only some of which she’s aware of) from the people she trusted most, especially Konstantin and Dasha. However, there are clues that point to Villanelle’s handlers being her parents all along, and here’s what it would mean for Killing Eve if this turns out to be the case.

Why Villanelle Wants To Find Her Family In Killing Eve Season 3

Villanelle has always bristled against the structure and limitations The Twelve has placed on her. She’s afforded a lavish lifestyle, which she certainly enjoys, but none of the fashionable outfits and luxuries she buys really mean anything to her. This isn’t just because Villanelle is a psychopath; despite being an unrepentant murderer, Villanelle does seek genuine human connection (on her terms). Like she told Eve in the Killing Eve season 1 finale, Villanelle wants what anyone wants: “A nice flat. A cool job. Someone to sit on the couch and watch movies with.”

In Killing Eve season 3, Villanelle has expressed her desire to find her family. This is, in part, because she has come to realize she’s a puppet that The Twelve toys with at their leisure and the thing she needs to gain power over her destiny is knowledge. As she told Konstantine, “Power comes from knowledge,” which is something she also mentioned to Konstantin’s daughter Irina (Yuli Lagodinsky) in Killing Eve season 1. For Villanelle, power will come from finding the truth about her family – and she only found out she has living relatives because Konstantin told her so at the end of Killing Eve season 2. But, ironically, Killing Eve may have been surrounding Villanelle with her true parents all along.

Dasha Is Villanelle’s Mother

Dasha was introduced at the start of Killing Eve season 3 as an assassin The Twelve has employed since at least 1974. In fact, Dasha is obviously an older version of and predecessor to Villanelle: both are flamboyant killers, totally self-interested, and they are arrogant in the exact same way (they both think they’re “untouchable”). Dasha and Villanelle seem to be too much alike to be a mere coincidence. True, Dasha trained Villanelle (and the mysteriously betrayed her in the past), and it’s possible Villanelle simply emulated her teacher’s methods, but it could be much more: their similarities could be because they’re of the same blood.

Killing Eve has a habit of dropping allusions that have future payoffs; for example, Villanelle’s first meeting with Eve in the pilot, where she became enamored with Eve’s hair, paid off later when Eve learned that Anna (Susan Lynch), teenage Villanelle’s original obsession, had hair similar to Eve’s – proving Eve was Villanelle’s “type.” “Meetings Have Biscuits” contains what could be a blatant visual clue to Dasha and Villanelle’s true relationship when the two of them had lunch at an outdoor cafe, along with the baby Villanelle stole from her newest target. Villanelle joked that the visual of the three of them was like a young mother, baby, and grandmother – but that could very well have been what was happening (minus the baby actually being Villanelle’s). Further, an irritated Dasha took the infant, walked across the plaza, and deposited him in a trash bin. Was this a metaphor for how Dasha “got rid” of baby Oksana (Villanelle’s real name) 25+ years ago?

Konstantin Is Villanelle’s Father

As for Konstantin, there have been numerous indications that he’s actually Villanelle’s father all throughout Killing Eve. Konstantin’s interest in Villanelle goes beyond professional into the downright paternal, especially compared to how cold and heartless Villanelle’s interim handlers like Anton (Andrew Byron) and Raymond (Adrian Scarborough) were. Konstantin claims he found Villanelle in prison and recruited her for The Twelve, but he always knows much more than he lets on. The true affection Konstantin holds for Villanelle (even after he betrayed her) was evident at the end of Killing Eve season 1; even though Villanelle tried to kill him and kidnapped Irina, Konstantin wistfully spoke of how “amazing” his “daughter” is to Eve and Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw) – and the viewer did not get the impression that Konstantin was describing Irina.

Yet another clue is how, in Killing Eve season 1, Villanelle mentioned more than once that Konstantin has never tried to have sex with her. While she found this strange, it’s notable how repulsed Konstantin is at the very idea – could it be because Villanelle is really his daughter? Villanelle even once cooked Konstantine sausages (which he loves) and later in season 1, when Konstantin came home to his family, he called out “Sausage!”, which is his nickname for Irina, and Villanelle surprised him by replying, “You never call me Sausage.” This evidence seems circumstantial but there are enough instances throughout Killing Eve that they start to add up and point to the secret truth that Konstantin has been keeping from Villanelle.

It’s safe to guess that if Konstantin did father Villanelle with Dasha (who he certainly knows about but hasn’t interacted with yet in Killing Eve), he also gave the baby Oksana up and, to this day, can’t admit their relationship because he has to protect his other family. Yet Konstantin is constantly dour and feels disappointed that he’s letting down his family; this could mean both the one in Russia (who he doesn’t even really seem to like) and Villanelle (who he genuinely adores, even when she infuriates him). In fact, Konstantin has constantly gone to bat for Villanelle and worked to keep her alive regardless of the crazy things Villanelle does. And, no matter what they do to each other, Konstantin and Villanelle always forgive each other and reunite. In Konstanin’s own words to Villanelle in Rome, “That’s what families are. It’s what they do.”

Is Killing Eve Revealing Villanelle’s Parents A Mistake?

If Killing Eve season 3 does reveal who Villanelle’s parents are, whether or not they are indeed Dasha and Konstantin, it could also be a jump the shark moment for the sexy international spy series because Dasha and Konstantin being her real parents seems so obvious. Part of what makes Villanelle fascinating is how she fights to be a self-made creature with her own unique, unshakable agency. Revealing her parents threatens to strip that agency away, reducing her to the sum of her parents’ habits and manipulations. Perhaps this is partly the point of Killing Eve and that Villanelle has always struggled against an invisible power structure trying to contain and control her, but it might be a dicey proposition to place Villanelle in a position where all of her problems come down to having literal mommy and daddy issues.

Killing Eve crackles most when it resumes its focus on Villanelle and Eve’s disturbingly magnetic, will-they-or-won’t-they love affair. However, if Dasha and Konstantin are Villanelle’s parents, then their behavior towards Eve takes on the significance of not liking their daughter’s choice of lover and doing whatever they can to break them apart. Konstantin has been trying, in vain, to get Villanelle to give Eve up since season 1, and Dasha is now also trying to distract Villanelle with the shiny new goal of becoming a Keeper to prevent her from resuming her Eve obsession. Of course, despite all of the dangers and reasons not to, in Killing Eve, the heart wants what the heart wants. Villanelle wants to know who her family is but she may find out that this knowledge doesn’t lead to power as much as it leads to even more disturbing truths that won’t make her any happier.

About The Author