Killing Eve 404 “It’s Agony and I’m Ravenous”: The Best Of The Season So Far [Review]

Eve’s caught her assassin and sent her off to jail – so it’s game over, right?  

As you might have guessed, it’s never been that simple.

In the fourth episode of Killing Eve’s final season, we see Villanelle team up with an unlikely ally as Eve continues to pursue the Twelve through Helene.

“It’s Agony and I’m Ravenous” is my favorite episode of season 4 so far. Not only was the humor on point, it finally feels like this final season has a direction it’s building towards. I thought there were plenty of good moments in the first three episodes, and I enjoyed watching them. But it also felt a bit like the show was spinning its wheels, killing time and rehashing old stories. Now, it feels like things are really taking shape.

Villanelle gets her groove back

After a brief stint back in prison, Villanelle is out and about in the world again. And she finds herself in the company of none other than Carolyn Martens.

It’s one of the greatest dynamics the show has ever explored.

Seriously, their characters were so fun together. It felt so incredibly natural and perfect to watch them bounce off each other, I’m surprised I never thought about it before this episode. Carolyn, while more proper and reserved than Villanelle, possesses a dark and specific sense of humor and unflinching opinions about society that fit the assassin’s vibe nicely. This episode was one of the funniest in the series, and a lot of the humor came from these two interacting.

Beyond her surprising but welcome relationship to Carolyn, Villanelle has a huge personal breakthrough this episode. That’s right, our favorite assassin has got her groove back, and has returned to relishing in extreme violence!

As much as I’ve appreciated the series letting Villanelle explore her deeper emotions and search for understanding, I can’t deny it’s satisfying to watch her go all-out to kill again. I love Soft!Villanelle, but much like Eve, I can’t deny the appeal of watching her go feral either.

The Eve/Helene of it all

Oh, the power play! The one-upmanship! The quadruple-texts and the gotchas and the sexual tension! Eve, haven’t you been down this road before?

Yes, the parallels between Eve’s ongoing dance with Helene and her dynamic with Villanelle are clearer than ever in this episode. And while I was unsure about the series dedicating so much screen time to Helene and Eve earlier, now I’m on board. I get it. I’m going on record as saying I’m putting faith in the Killing Eve gods (Laura Neal and Jesus!Villanelle, naturally), because now I really feel they have a plan for us.

Because where before I was worried we were just rehashing the same old “Eve’s obsessive and controlling and self-destructive” storyline, now I’m seeing the glimmer of something more. All those parallels Helene shares with Villanelle don’t exist to show us they’re the same to Eve – they’re there to show us how different they are. Yes, Eve’s doing everything she can to have power over Helene, but that’s all she wants from that relationship. And it’s only become increasingly clear – to the audience, and hopefully, to Eve herself – that’s not all she wants from her relationship with Villanelle.

To keep this spoiler-free, that’s all I’ll say for now. But check out my full liveblog for the episode when it airs next week on cable – I have a LOT more to say about the big developments in this episode!

Finally, some direction in the final season

Really, my biggest issue with episode 4 is that it’s episode 4. I feel like I absolutely do see the direction for the season now, but in doing so, the first three episodes come across as even less impactful. 

Frankly, the show never really adequately explained Eve’s shift from the season 3 finale to the season 4 premiere. The end of season 3 appeared to show her finally coming to terms with her own darkness and her feelings for Villanelle. But this season kicks off with her being angry and distant towards Villanelle again – which made sense kicking off season 3 after she’d been shot, but doesn’t really track now after the emotional climax last season. The best argument I can make is that Eve felt rejected when Villanelle walked away from her on the bridge, and she’s turned that sadness into anger directed at the other woman. But I’m not gonna lie – that feels like a stretch at best. And even if that was the intention, the show hasn’t communicated it very well.

And while Villanelle’s personal arc of trying to be good and understand herself makes more sense than Eve’s starting season 4 arc, it also feels very much like filler to stretch it across three episodes. It feels like the season could have condensed the biggest points from episodes 401-403 into just the premiere, and made this episode 402 instead.

Still, I’m excited to see the final season really start to take shape here. It feels like Eve and Villanelle’s personal arcs are reaching their peaks, and we’re finally getting some information about the Twelve too. In other words, everything is falling into place to set our favorite duo back on their inevitable collision course. And as a Killing Eve fan, that’s all we ever really want.

Your Spoiler-Free Tease For Killing Eve 404 “It’s Agony and I’m Ravenous”

I saw screencaps of my spoiler-free teases for episodes 1-3 making the rounds on social media, and I appreciated your freak outs/speculation about them. So, here’s a little more to get you ready for episode 4:

Who it’s for:

• Anyone who saw the first three episodes and immediately wanted to take Pam under their wing
• Fans of “Vin Diesel throwing down in the Fast & Furious franchise” energy
• Eve/Helene shippers (yes, I said it before but it is RELEVANT again)
• Fans of Truth or Dare
• People who have a thing for bathrooms

That’s all for now. Check back here next week for my full spoilery 404 liveblog and a spoiler-free review of episode 405.

Until then, drop your predictions, hopes, and dreams for the final season in the comments below.

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