My husband and I always tend to have our most deep and meaningful conversations in the car. It makes sense; you’re wedged together for anything from a few minutes to a couple of hours where at least one person isn’t allowed to scroll the time away on their phone. Conversation is going to happen, and when you’ve known each other for ten plus years, it’s not going to be about the weather. In between mini-arguments over who’s Spotify Playlist has got the best mix (mine, obviously), bouts of road-rage and scrambling around to find that fruit pastille I dropped between my legs (it was a black one, no!) – we tend to get a little deep. Last weekend – road tripping back from West Wales – we somehow got onto the subject of murder. “Could you ever kill a dog?” I asked. “No, never – not unless it was in pain,” was our united stance on that one. Even then, I’d struggle and sob myself silly; I couldn’t even bear the thought of it, because, well… dogs. And then we played that game you always play when pondering moral dilemmas; you go to the most extreme situation you can think of. I shrugged my lips, “Alright then, could you kill a person?”
Now before you start thinking that my husband and I are psychopaths who spend every single car journey plotting murder, I should probably explain that we don’t. We’ve just been watching waaaaaay too much Killing Eve.
It’s back this weekend for Season 2; are you as excited as I am? I’m so ready for another helping of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s razor dagger-sharp script-writing, more scene stealing fashion and two of the most complex, well-written female characters on the box (three, if you include Fiona Shaw’s Carolyn – which I totally think you should because she’s awesome). But mostly because, finally, more Villanelle! Played by the brilliant and beautiful Jodie Comer, she’s become a bit of an unlikely icon and – yikes, dare I say it? – role model? Probably not for the cold blooded killer bits, but for just about everything else.
I mean, there’s a reason why tailored suits are everywhere at the moment, along with frou-frou pink tops and dresses (who can forget that psychiatrist scene from Season 1?). And it’s not just the fashion, it’s her playful, devil may care attitude that we’re all hooked on; she does and wears whatever the hell she wants, speaks her mind, and is as tough as the Balenciaga Biker Boots she stomps around in. There’s a beautiful brutality to her that I think we all fancy injecting a little of into our own lives – whether that’s wearing something eye-catching and extravagant, to telling someone exactly what you think of them. To their face, with a serene smirk. Sorry not sorry, baby.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge explained in an interview that crafting the character of Villanelle (originally created by the writer Luke Jennings in his book Codename: Villanelle) came from continually asking herself the question, “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?” And I think that’s the question we should all probably be asking ourselves every day in as many variously worded ways as possible. It’s the only way to acknowledge the fear holding you back from being the most explicit and honest version of yourself, and then shake it and be that person – devil may care. “What would I wear today if I wasn’t afraid of being stared at?”, “What project would I take on at work if I wasn’t afraid of failing?”, “What would I say to that person if I wasn’t afraid of being rejected?” ad infinitum. As long as the question isn’t, “Who would I kill today if I wasn’t afraid of being caught?” then you’re golden.
Killing Eve is back on BBC One this Saturday at 9.15pm. Smell you later. 🔪
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