KILLING EVE SEASON 2
1 IT STARTS SECONDS AFTER SEASON 1
SPOILER ALERT! Killing Eve S2 picks right up with M15 officer Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) after she’s stabbed the target of her off-the-books investigation: international assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). New series showrunner Emerald Fennell is keen to tackle the repercussions of that violent encounter head on. “Both Eve and Villanelle’s worlds have exploded and they’re putting themselves back together again,” she says.
2 IT KEEPS THINGS (PAINFULLY) REAL
While Eve reels from her actions, a wounded Villanelle has to navigate Paris without attracting the cops. “It’s always about going back to the truth, and what feels real,” explains Fennell. “So, I thought firstly, how would I feel if I stabbed someone and I had to get home? And then for Villanelle, if you believe that you’re immortal – because you have been up until now – and you’re a psychopath, what does it feel like to have everything just taken away from you quite quickly? We’re calling it the worst hangover ever.”
3 THERE ARE (METAPHORICAL) ANGELS AND DEVILS…
Thrown by how easily she shanked Villanelle, Eve also has to come to terms with the proverbial angel and devil on her own shoulders. Fennell says on the angel side is Eve’s safe, quiet husband, Niko (Owen McDonnell)… and then there’s the devil of Villanelle. “I’m always so fascinated by women like Villanelle, who’s objectively an extraordinary human being, but who can be scuppered by completely boring, ordinary men. It’s the most obvious and depressing truth that the biggest threat to women who are vulnerable are men who are not worth their time.”
4 …AND ‘GOD’ TOO
In between the leads is someone Fennell calls the God character: MI6 boss Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw). Having seen Eve’s obsession with Villanelle, Carolyn re-enlists Eve to investigate a new case away from her foe. Fennell says that adding a new target shakes everything up. “Do we find Eve is a female assassin expert… or is she a Villanelle expert?” she teases. “And what does that mean for her? We know she’s brilliant, and she knows Villanelle inside out, but suddenly there’s someone between them for the first time.”
5 TESTING MORALITY
In refocusing Eve, Shaw says Carolyn is able to bring some order to the chaos. “She steadies the ship in the second season. But the morality of all the characters, again, is pushed further. It’s about Eve compromising herself a little bit as we go.” And what about Carolyn’s own morality? Shaw says her inscrutable nature can be vexing. “I’ve found that very hard because my natural disposition would be to reveal, so I’m absolutely doing the opposite. It looks smooth, but actually it’s very hard to play. I’ve had to completely not do what I’m good at,” laughs Shaw. “But people love it! I don’t know, maybe I’ve been barking up the wrong tree all my life.” Tara Bennett
KILLING EVE S2 IS COMING SOON TO BBC ONE AND BBC THREE ONLINE.