#but I finished killing eve and it reminded me how good of a writer PWB is

[ogsherlockholmes]

Being so completely serious right now when I say the only, ONLY acceptable season 5 of BBCSherlock will be written by my darling Phoebe Waller-Bridge. No ifs, ands or buts, she's the only writer who could ressurect that show and do it well. I don't know, I suppose Gatiss and Moffat can carry on fucking around in a corner or do whatever they were doing before, but Miss Waller-Bridge is going to steer that fucking ship- or plane, if we're being contextual.

First scene? Sherlock and John are already in bed together. Yeah, during that giant hiatus, they decided the queerbaiting life really wasn't for them, so they got their SHIT together and are living happily with their daughter, Rosie, and it's just established that they are a couple.

Molly Hooper? Treated with respect, for once. She probably has a girlfriend too, and fourth wall breaking privileges as compensation for season 4- she uses it to say 'I can't believe I used to have a crush on this guy, at least we're friends though' then cut scene to her handing Sherlock a jar of eyeballs or something in awkward silence.

Moriarty? You bet your arse Phoebe is DRAGGING him from the grave- there is no way she would write this without pulling Andrew Scott back in. How she would manage that? No clue, but she would find a way. Sherlock walks into the living room, hearing a voice and thinking it's John, then finds Jimmy sitting on the floor playing Barbies with Rosie. He looks up 'Did you miss me?' then something outside blows up.

Speaking of Dr Watson, we get a full apology video from him with no adbreaks for cheating on his wife and beating the shit out of Sherlock. There's a scene where John and Sherlock have a deep and serious talk, producing at least one quotable line that ends up being turned into sad tik tok audios ('I love you' 'It will pass' esque) and this time they are, in fact, gay, so when the screen goes black it's only to keep the age ratings down.

I won't hold my breath waiting for a season five, but if something goes wrong and BBC starts sending out trailers, I hope I see Phoebe Waller-Bridge's name in the credits.

[letswatchwithlite]

Killing Eve (Season 2)

Type: Series (2019)

Platform: BBC America

What is it about?

A cat-and-mouse game between a psychopathic assassin, Villanelle (played by Jodie Comer), and the agent tasked to hunt her down, Eve (played by Sandra Oh). It is a thriller that has it all: guns, kills, drama, even comedy, largey hinged on the dynamic of the relationship between the two main characters, whom are fueled by obsession with each other.

Should you watch it?

Yes - If you’ve never seen S1, but likes cop-and-bad-guy thrillers, or delving into the minds of psychopathic killers (althought I wouldn’t say Killing Eve dived too deep into that compared to shows like “Mindhunters”), or you love some good old spy-action series with a healthy dose of comedy that is not slapstick, WATCH IT!

Also watch it for the incredible acting chops of Ms. Jodie Comer, which deservedly landed her her Emmy and BAFTA wins for Best Actress. If she was very good in S1, her performance in S2 is on another level - she made a psychotic killer ALLURING!

No - While still a commendable season, and I’m not sure if it’s because Phoebe Waller-Bridge is no longer the lead writer for S2, but the quality of the season in terms of pacing & storyline did drop a bit. Fans of S1 who had placed extremely high hopes on S2, will likely be disappointed.

For non-fans who’ve never watched this series before, what are you waiting for? Go and watch S1 FIRST before you even touch this!

How long will it take?

There are 8 episodes in total, at about 40-45mins each.

Rating: 85/100

Ready to watch? Or perhaps not? Here’s where you’ll want to stop reading if you want to watch the series spoiler-free and come back later for the full review. If you just don’t care, or you’ve finished it, read on my friend!

FULL THOUGHTS (SPOILER ALERT)

The Good Ones

I thought they did a pretty good job of keeping the relationship dynamic between Eve and Villanelle and cranking it up a few notches in S2. The tension is crazily good! The other characters, particularly Carolyn (more meat this round) and Konstantin (a slightly subdued amount of appearances, but lights up the scene everytime he’s with Villanelle) makes decisions that have far more profound impact on the lives of both Eve & Villanelle compared to S1. Those came at a bit of a price though at the sake of Kenny, as we see a decreased role for him this season. Hopefully we can see more of him in the next!

1. Chemistry & Heightened Tension

If Villanelle was hesitative and shy about meeting Eve in S1, her obsession with her was blown fully open in S2. A testament to Jodie Comer’s innate ability to disappear 100% into her character (watch her interviews and be blown away), she portrays Villanelle so perfectly in all her emotional range that you can’t help but feel for her when she’s disappointed or sad about Eve; or laugh at her childlike, compulsive behaviours and deadpan remarks, or be scared of her in her killing mode because you can never be sure when she’s going to strike you down.

She’s not alone with her thoughts though - Eve can’t shake her mind off Villanelle as well. While Villanelle develops an unhealthy, one-sided relationship with Eve in her mind, Eve goes through her life feeling sorry about what she did to Villanelle in Paris at the end of S1. Her fascination of how Villanelle works and her determination to catch her seems to have faded away to a more personal level - she wants to know everything about her, and the thought of putting her behind bars seem to dissipate even more as the season goes on.

The buildup to both characters eventually meeting each other was done so well - it’s just like the first time they met in S1. Even watching them together one can feel the tension in the air, almost as if you’re in the room with them and you’re peeking at them from the shadows. The dialogue, their movements, all are executed so well, which is great because their chemistry and tension are what’s driving this series!

Does Eve harbour romantic feelings towards Villanelle? Honestly I don’t think so. If anything, it’s likely an infatuation at this point. Here is an exciting woman who shows no intention to stop pursuing her (but happens to be a psychotic killer), on the other hand she has a loving husband who genuinely cares for her albeit a little too boring. I would understand if Eve’s intrigued, thrilled to be wanted even! But I feel she does love Niko more romantically compared to Villanelle.

2. Batman & The Joker Parallels

I can’t help but sense the increasing parallels between Eve and Villanelle, and Batman and The Joker in S2. Just like how The Joker is obsessed with Batman and vice versa, Eve and Villanelle both goes to the extreme in this slow but filled-with-tension dance between them. Villanelle starts to make direct moves on people she sees as a love threat (aka Niko) to her relationship with Eve, and Eve herself is spiraling down the path of psychosis herself by starting to disregard her own sanity and good judgment, and even Kenny who genuinely cares for her, to try and lure Villanelle to see her.

The chemistry and dynamics between Eve and Villanelle remains the core strength of the series, and it is made even better in this season, to some points poetic even. Villanelle repeatedly says that she and Eve are the same type of person, that what makes Eve interesting is she herself (can you feel the Joker-Batman parallel here?), and she is quite right as we slowly see the Eve untangling herself due to her own obsession with Villanelle. Has Eve started on the path to villainy herself? We shall see!

Not all the ‘good guys’ are as good as they seem to be, and not every villain is as bad as they make themselves out to be. Everyone operates in a grey area, and largely the focus has been on Eve & Villanelle.

Will we get more character backstory on Konstantin & Carolyn? I surely hope so! Carolyn has a bigger and shadier role this time around and you can’t help but wonder if we should be more careful of her from now on.

The Bad Ones

In general, there’s a couple of quetionable plotholes that I feel is a result of abit of too much going on to move the story along, and the first few episodes’ pacing were a bit too slow (in comparion, the entire S1′s pacing was excellent). Yes, there needs to be a new plot device to drive Eve and Villanelle back to each other, but I felt it could’ve been worked out better (is this because PWB is not the head writer anymore?).

1. “The Ghost”

I felt The Ghost was grossly underused and misused. Sure, she’s a plot device to get Villanelle jealous, and is also the prime suspect in a new case Eve is working on (thus the cause of said jealousy), but the way her character was handled felt very shortchanged.

It’s like she’s being built up to be the direct opposite of Villanelle yet equally lethal, but turns up and disappears in a rather anti-climactic way. She was cast aside too easily because compared to Villanelle, she is relatively ‘boring’!

Her confession: could’nt they have used her children as a leverage to make her confess? I guess that’s way too easy & convenient, as it wouldn’t have lead to Eve & Villanelle working together. Is this really the best way they could’ve brought the two characters together in the same room again?

The aftermath of her confession: wasn’t it enough to arrest Aaron Peel? There could be transactional records of payment for her service and whatnot, but Aaron Peel conveniently controls the whole of UK’s data now so....

It was a shame we didn’t get to see a direct showdown between Villanelle and The Ghost. I hope we see another opponent like this in next season?

2. Villanelle’s Escape

Villanelle had a REALLY hard time escaping from the Paris hospital and back to London. I’m pretty sure she would’ve eased through the trip quite easily in her S1 form. Yes she is injured, but her wit & survival skills would’ve moved her along faster innit?

So tough was the escape, that we needed 3 episodes before she was ‘rescued’ by a member of The Twelve. This was what bothered me about the pacing in the opening 3 episodes: they put a heavy handicap on her abilities. Also, given how efficient The Twelve is, it took 3 episodes for them to track down Villanelle? Really?

Villanelle and The Twelve, you both had suddenly become sooo sloppy.

3. Eve’s New Case

If the opening three episodes slowed down Villanelle’s return to badassery, it also serves an introduction to the new case Eve’s team is working on. From then on, the entire series’s plot suddenly lurches forward as we anticipate Villanelle finally reuniting with Eve again. Suddenly, they are working together on a case! Are international criminals allowed such freedom to walk across the globe so easily by exchanging personal favours with old acquantainces? Does it really work like that? It was even shown that Carolyn had an upper management to answer to! This means she can’t necessarily be allowed to make all the calls right? But conveniently, she does seem to have all the power to do so!

The case also involves a rather mediocre story about a son seeking to sell his dad’s company in a dodgy way. Carolyn so conveniently halts the Villanelle case as a result, at least for Eve. You couldn’t help but think - Villanelle definitely killed more and has more high-profile cases than The Ghost, and the entire MI6 division stops right there entirely to focus on The Ghost?

Hmm maybe that’s her deal with Konstantin? But it doesn’t add up still. Just like how Kenny reminded Eve and us all, “She killed Phil!”, Villanelle is easily let off the hook like that? Seemed abit too easy, and we’re talking MI6 here. I’m amazed though that the writers still remembered to use Phil! :D

Summary

I loved how they ended the season on another cliffhanger (and another amazing performance from both actresses!). The best episodes in this season happened in the middle, when Eve & Villanelle finally sees each other again and rekindled that chemistry/tension between them. After a rough start, it’s still a solid season carried well thanks to the performance of the actors, and some great cinematography and direction.

Season 3 should be exciting - what’s next? Can’t wait to see :)