We should've known that Killing Eve wouldn't have a happy ending.
Nonetheless, we were still disappointed to see Villanelle (Jodie Comer) killed just moments after she and Eve (Sandra Oh) finally rid the world of the Twelve in the April 10 season four—and series—finale. Their happily ever after was just within reach, but no, Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw) couldn't let them have that.
After getting them do the dirty work of killing the Twelve, Carolyn stepped in to tie up loose ends and ordered Villanelle's death. The last viewers see of the beloved serial killer is her bullet-riddled body floating down the Thames as Eve, who was shielded by the assassin, futilely watches.
A title card that reading "The End" closed out the BBC series.
Oh told Elle that she understands fans' desire to "be satisfied," but she and the rest of the team wanted to craft an ending that's "true to the show."
"I think one of the special things about the show is—hopefully—how satisfying it is to not get what you want, tied neatly in a bow," Oh said. "It was never neat between the characters, so Eve's ending leaves us with the question: How will she go on?"
For Comer, she thought Villanelle's death was the only reasonable way to end the series. "It was inevitable," she explained. "She's like a cat with nine lives."
Moreover, the killing allowed Villanelle to prove that she was capable of loving someone more than she loved herself. Saving Eve from death, Comer said, "that signified how much she had changed."
Season four lead writer Laura Neal added that she hopes viewers find the deeper meaning in this otherwise dark demise. "It is a happy ending for Villanelle in some respects, because she gets what she wants, which is that she demonstrates that she's changed, and she does this thing for Eve that allows Eve to go on and live her life," she reasoned. "Actually, that's a huge thing for Villanelle, and I think she ends triumphantly, and that's the thing that we were always really keen to make sure that happened."
Laura said that she hopes Villanelle's death brings Eve peace: "She's escaped. Carolyn thinks she's dead. She can have the life that she chooses to live now. In my head, she's going to take everything that Villanelle has given her into this new version of her life. And Villanelle will live on in Eve."
The only other person to make it out relatively unscathed is Carolyn, one of the founding members of The Twelve. Rumor has it her origin story may be explored in a spin-off series, but executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle recently told Deadline, "We got lots of thoughts, but nothing has firmed up at all, and it's quite a long way off. So, there isn't really anything else to say yet."
Though nothing has been confirmed, Shaw is game for a show of her own. "People are interested in the potential of it," she told E! News in February. "I don't know what will happen there but I can only say that I love the work."
All four seasons of Killing Eve are streaming now on AMC+.