The phase "Jumping the shark" has been bandied around for this third season of "Killing Eve". I think that's way too far, but I would concede that the issues in this season have continued the trend of "characters looking for a plot", that began in the last run.
Following a time jump from the end of the second season, Eve (Sandra Oh) has recovered from her gunshot and left the intelligence services, working now at a Chinese restaurant. She drawn back in though when she is approached by Kenny (Sean Delaney), now an investigative journalist and tracking information about the 12. Villanelle (Jodie Comer) has moved on too, and is looking to advance her career by moving into assassin management. Her initial trainer Dasha (Harriet Walter) is sent to make contact and assess her capability.
Lots of the aspects of the show that I previously admired are still there. Performances are still great, Comer is still a revelation as Villanelle. It's still got its humorous offbeat moments and dialogue. It still looks great, foreign locations and tremendous outfits. Harriet Walter's Dasha was a great additional character as was the whole team at the investigative publication. I liked the bottle episode of Villanelle heading home.
But. I feel like it's a plot designed to keep the show going, rather than a compelling story that still needs to be told. I'm not, if I'm truthful, sure I could tell you exactly what was going on for all of it. I understood the story strand about the money going missing from the 12, and where that went, and what was done to cover that up. Carolyn's daughter's relationship with Konstantin seemed like a misstep and I'm not sure what it added other than something for Fiona Shaw to be doing. Steve Pemberton's addition didn't really add anything, when you consider the series as a whole. Kostanin's daughter was an unusual step also. I get nothing about Villanelle's interactions with Helene either.
Let's not get too down, I'm still enjoying the show overall. But there needs to be a storyline shakeup before the fourth season, to try and arrest the decline.
Following a time jump from the end of the second season, Eve (Sandra Oh) has recovered from her gunshot and left the intelligence services, working now at a Chinese restaurant. She drawn back in though when she is approached by Kenny (Sean Delaney), now an investigative journalist and tracking information about the 12. Villanelle (Jodie Comer) has moved on too, and is looking to advance her career by moving into assassin management. Her initial trainer Dasha (Harriet Walter) is sent to make contact and assess her capability.
Lots of the aspects of the show that I previously admired are still there. Performances are still great, Comer is still a revelation as Villanelle. It's still got its humorous offbeat moments and dialogue. It still looks great, foreign locations and tremendous outfits. Harriet Walter's Dasha was a great additional character as was the whole team at the investigative publication. I liked the bottle episode of Villanelle heading home.
But. I feel like it's a plot designed to keep the show going, rather than a compelling story that still needs to be told. I'm not, if I'm truthful, sure I could tell you exactly what was going on for all of it. I understood the story strand about the money going missing from the 12, and where that went, and what was done to cover that up. Carolyn's daughter's relationship with Konstantin seemed like a misstep and I'm not sure what it added other than something for Fiona Shaw to be doing. Steve Pemberton's addition didn't really add anything, when you consider the series as a whole. Kostanin's daughter was an unusual step also. I get nothing about Villanelle's interactions with Helene either.
Let's not get too down, I'm still enjoying the show overall. But there needs to be a storyline shakeup before the fourth season, to try and arrest the decline.