Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh, Fiona Shaw, Kim Bodnia, Owen McDonnell, Harriet Walter, Danny Sapani, Turlough Convery, Gemma Whelan, Steve Pemberton, Raj Bajaj, Alexandra Roach, Sean Delaney.

As inevitable as it was for a third offering of Killing Eve to be commissioned, especially with the cliff-hanger that preceding series left the viewers confronting their emotional response to Villanelle’s destruction of Sandra Oh’s titular character, there seems to be a moment in which you can foresee the story-lines embracing the world of the absurd, of creating havoc for havoc’s sake and treating the agent of chaos as nothing more than that of embracing titillation.

Eventually any series can find ways for the shake-up to affect the way it is viewed, and whilst progression is good, whilst evolution is necessary if a programme is to continue being relevant to its core fans, there is a line where the absurd can be seen coming over the hill and marching to the sound played by dishonesty, of just wanting to mix up the atmosphere without having to explain the reason why they are creating it, and it is to the toxicity employed as an undercurrent between the ever reliable Fiona Shaw and her character of Carolyn Martens and those around her, that find the storyline grating, especially with the introduction of other characters that fuel that negativity. 

There are though moments in the third series which absolutely stand out, which are sparkling joy, brilliance in the hands of the programme’s creators which further enhance the madness deep in Villanelle’s psyche and which bring Jodie Comer to even more national attention for the way she portrays the passionate turmoil and crazed anarchy of her profession.

The scintillating way that Villanelle returns back to her home and then destroys with liberty and without exception across the board, the psychotic, bordering on intimidating relationship with Harriet Walter’s Dasha, these are moments of absolute television joy which delves deep into how the assassin’s mind was not only formed, but encouraged to develop.

Aside from pairing of Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, the performances of Owen McDonnel and newcomer Turlough Convery added an extra dimension to the popular show’s appeal, and even in the face of installed havoc, these performances kept the show’s on the ground, not allowing it to step into the realms of fantasy. A marvellous series, but if it is to remain as dominant as it has been, it needs to remember where it came from. 

Ian D. Hall