Warning: This story contains plot details from the season 3 premiere ofKilling Eve, which aired Sunday night.
Allow us to explain.
At work late one night, he heard a few suspicious noises and proceeded to investigate.
Nick Wall/BBCA
To borrow a phrase from his cell phone case, it’s not rocket science.
Seeking more control, Villanelle demanded a promotion to “keeper.”
But first, Dasha needed her to take out a target to prove she was back in the game.
Laura Radford/BBCAmerica
So she trolled her old mentor with a spicy kill.
(In this case, saffron.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Well, that was quite a way to start a season and end the episode.
How painful of a decision was it to kill Kenny?
And did you do it for theSouth Parkreference?
SUZANNE HEATHCOTE:Do you know what?
TheSouth Parkreference was almost a reasonnotto do it.
It was like, Oh, are we ever going to be able to avoid that?
We had to think long and hard about it… Those decisions are never easy.
And nothing was going to bring her back into investigating the Twelve for a professional reason.
It was just too much water under the bridge for her, emotionally.
So we knew there had to be something really personal happen to bring her back in.
And the more beloved the character, the more it means when they go.
So it’s always a double-edged sword.
Like, Bill [David Haig] in season 1.
It means so much because you love the character so much.
Those decisions are always hard and we mourn the characters just as much as the audience does.
How did Sean react when you told him the news?
Actually, Sean was amazing.
But at the read-through [of the first two scripts], we spoke at length.
And he said, It’s funny, he was actually weirdly a huge part of the season.
Even though he’s not physically there, he is the propelling force.
But it was sad to see him go.
Is it possible we will see him again in flashback form?
It’s a world in which anything can happen.
So never say never.
As far as conspiracies go, how high up does this one go?
What can you say about the scope of what he was investigating?
There’s a definite trail that they’re on.
I hate to be irritatingly cryptic, but I can say there are very specific twists and turns.
There’s a lot to be revealed, right to the end of this particular story.
Just before he dies, Kenny trashes the file with the financial information on his computer.
When you’re on the precipice of something, there’s something very dangerous lurking around the corner.
And so it’s his own self-preservation that moment, really.
He can sense that it’s in his best interest that he stop investigating the Twelve.
He’s trying to step away from it, the way everyone else has.
But like all of them, they keep getting drawn back in.
What about the seahorse investigation that was on his computer?
If this all ties in to illegal seahorse poaching, that would be pretty amazing.
[Laughs] The seahorse investigation I mean, well just have to wait and see how that resurfaces.
How disillusioned with MI6 was he?
His disillusionment is both with MI6 and his mother, too.
He felt that her integrity was really lost in what she did in season 2.
He doesn’t have the protection of the institution in the way that he would have had before.
But MI6 has a very specific role.
That is Carolyns homeland, and it always will be.
She would never work for anyone other than MI6.
Shes fully institutionalized there even though she obviously has her rogue moments.
So that definitely remains Carolyns hub through the season.
Albeit a difficult place for her, with her new relationship with Paul.
Does Carolyn make a mission to find out what happened with Kenny and what he was investigating?
This is the biggest challenge that Carolyn has ever faced in her life.
Fiona and I really discussed at length, actually, what this would do for Carolyn as a character.
What can you hint about their clashing energies?
As you say, theyre cut from very different cloths.
They’re a mother-daughter dynamic where neither of them fully understands the other.
Theyre just such different people, as I think often happens in families.
Carolyns buttons definitely get pushed by Geraldine who feels that Carolyn should illustrate how shes feeling more openly.
Eve seems rudderless and is reeling from what happened in Rome.
And now comes the trauma of witnessing the death of Kenny, whos one of her last friends.
Does this activate her from the nihilistic post-traumatic haze that she’s living in?
This is definitely like a personal bombshell in her life.
And something that really wakes her up.
And [there’s a] realization that she just doesn’t have a choice shes needed, actually.
No one else is going to investigate this.
No one else is going to find out what happened to Kenny.
No one else is really going to find out anything about the Twelve.
It’s something that she understands from this.
She’s going to have to go forward and make this her role.
And that brings up an interesting complication.
Eve felt betrayed by Carolyn and quit MI6, and this brings her back into Carolyn’s orbit.
But their dynamic would be changed because Carolyn is not calling the shots.
There’s no quick fix for the rift that happened in season 2 between Eve and Carolyn.
Eve felt so betrayed by Carolyn and understandably so.
Lets talk about Villanelle, who got married!
Oh, we had great fun!
And also just her survival.
The reality is she knows that she’s escaped from and defied, really an enormously powerful underground organization.
She’s incredibly smart.
She’s aware of the fact that that’s going to have an impact.
And her need to survive and desire for the finer things is definitely what led to that particular match.
How might Villanelle react when she finds out Eve is not dead?
Villanelle is all about control and feeling like she’s in control.
It was so conflicting for her that moment at the end of season 2.
I just think it was a real act of conflict for Villanelle.
Of course, if she truly wanted her dead, she could’ve fired several bullets into her.
Her gun game needs a little work.
We discussed that a lot in the writers room, mapping out Eves story of how she survived.
And that’s why we really felt like Eve has been saved.
But yes, she doesn’t have a good history of getting her aim right.
Shes motivated to get Villanelle back in business so she can get back to Russia.
Is Dasha as full of surprises as Konstantin?
And what kind of foil will she be for Villanelle moving forward?
There’s an intriguing history and rivalry there.
There are a lot of surprises coming from Dasha.
Shes full of them.
And yeah, she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants and what she needs.
And Villanelle has very begrudging respect for this woman.
So that relationship is a lot of fun and we had great fun writing it.
And of course, Harriet and Jodie are so great together.
Speaking of Konstantin, he received a time to go fishing order on the menu.
Any hints about where he might find the most fish?
Well, you know, he has had his fingers in many pies.
I think the fish are starting to catch up with him.
Good to see Niko, though hes in rough shape at a psychiatric facility of some sort.
He has a lot of anger toward Eve for what she and her work put him through.
How damaged is he and is his relationship with Eve?
Theres no two ways about it; hes just got to recover.
And there’s something conflicting in the relationship with Eve that is holding that back somehow.
So yeah, he’s definitely not in a great way.
What can you tease about episode 2, which brings the introduction of Carolyn’s daughter?
Whats one word that you want to leave viewers with as they prepare to watch episode 2?
