Killing Eve Season 1 Review: A Delightfully Subversive Spy Thriller

"Killing Eve" turns the spy genre on it's head. James Bond will not be swooping into this story to save the world (and bed any female without range). In a delightful change of pace, the two leads are both women. They're mysterious and flawed and a ton of fun to watch. See my premiere review here

Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) is fired from her MI5 job as the group begins to track a possible new female assassin. She is quickly grabbed up by Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) who is secretly running a MI6 mission. Their goal is to find Villanelle (Jodi Comer) and bring her to justice. Eve is bored with her mundane life. This could be her opportunity to break out and she jumps at it.

Through the course of six episodes we learn more about this world. A mysterious group called "The Twelve" dictates who Villanelle will hit next. Villanelle is very good at her job and enjoys killing targets in novel ways. Death by perfume anyone?

Who exactly are the Twelve? Is Villanelle's handler Konstantin one with them? How about Carolyn? And is Konstantin possibly Kenny's father. Remember when Villanelle suggested to Eve that they both might work for the same people?

The drama heats up when Villanelle is instructed to kill Konstantin and kidnaps his bratty daughter Irina (with hilarious results). Nothing like a mouthy kid to undo a serial killer. I would SO watch an Irina/Villanell spinoff .

What exactly is Eve and Villanelle's relationship? Eve says "I have lost two jobs, a husband and a best friend [Bill] because of you." Yet she continues to be completely addicted to the assassin. Will this lead to Eve's demise? I hope not but I'm afraid for Eve. Luckily she is one of the few people that Villanelle hasnt killed when given the chance. Instead she sends Eve a nice dress and breaks into her house just to have dinner.

In the season finale, Eve breaks into Villanelle's Parisian apartment and trashes it. Then Eve returns home. Uh oh. The two women eventually confess their feelings for each other. Eve goes through a lengthy list. "I think about you all the time. I think about what you're wearing, what you're doing, and who you're doing it with. ...I think about what you had for breakfast. I just want to know everything." Villanelle confesses to also thinking about Eve "when I masturbate". Well, no misconstruing that comment. They lie in the bed together. We're expecting a sex scene but instead something else happens. I won't ruin it for you. Just watch the episode!

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Love it! "Killing Eve" throws the spy genre on it's head by featuring strong women at it's core (Eve and Villanelle). It also walks a fine line between thriller and black comedy. Not an easy feat. And with only eight episodes total, "Killing Eve" is a quick watch. Luckily a season 2 has been announced so we'll get to see these two crazy kids circle each other again next year.