Killing Eve Author Slams TV Show's Final Episode

The debut season of BBC America's Killing Eve earned tremendous acclaim for a number of components, though there was a consistent decline in critical reactions to the series with each season, including the final season sitting at only 56% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes as compared to the first season's 96% positive. Viewers aren't the only ones disappointed with the final season, including the season finale, as creator of the stories the series is based on Luke Jennings also took issue with how the four-season journey culminated, penning a lengthy response to the series finale on The Guardian.

WARNING: Spoilers below for the series finale of Killing Eve

Throughout the entire series, Eve (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) had a twisted and violent relationship, which often became romantic and sexual at times. The finale saw them connecting romantically as their goals aligned, only for Villanelle to unexpectedly be shot and killed, with the credits rolling on the series just moments after her death. 

"The Season 4 ending was a bowing to convention. A punishing of Villanelle and Eve for the bloody, erotically impelled chaos they have caused," Jennings wrote. "A truly subversive storyline would have defied the trope which sees same-sex lovers in TV dramas permitted only the most fleeting of relationships before one of them is killed off (Lexa's death in The 100, immediately after sleeping with her female love interest for the first time, is another example). How much more darkly satisfying, and true to Killing Eve's original spirit, for the couple to walk off into the sunset together? Spoiler alert, but that's how it seemed to me when writing the books."

The first season of the series was written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, which was one of many projects that earned her praise from critics and audiences. Waller-Bridge didn't return for subsequent seasons, which some viewers cite as the reason for the diminishing quality of the show. Jennings went on to note how drastically different the finale became from his initial conversations with Waller-Bridge.

"When Phoebe Waller-Bridge and I first discussed Villanelle's character five years ago, we agreed that she was defined by what Phoebe called her 'glory': her subversiveness, her savage power, her insistence on lovely things," the author detailed. "That's the Villanelle that I wrote, that Phoebe turned into a screen character, and that Jodie ran with so gloriously." 

Despite the disappointment that one version of Villanelle is gone for good, Jennings concluded his thoughts, "I learned the outcome of the final episode in advance, and suspected, rightly, that fans would be upset. But to those fans, I would say this: Villanelle lives. And on the page, if not on the screen, she will be back."

At least one Killing Eve prequel series has been announced with other spinoffs potentially being developed.

What did you think of the finale? Let us know in the comments below!