Just over four years after the spy drama’s initial debut in 2018, “Killing Eve”‘s series finale aired in April 2021. The BBC America original series received overwhelmingly positive reviews from TV critics and general audiences upon its initial release. The show’s success contributed to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s reputation as one of the most prestigious TV screenwriters. The popularity of “Killing Eve” Season 1 only served to increase Waller-Bridge’s profile, yet she did not return to the show as showrunner on any of the following seasons.
Instead, “Killing Eve” started a custom of switching off its showrunner every season. As a result, while Waller-Bridge was in charge of “Killing Eve” Season 1 production, Emerald Fennell, the director of “Promising Young Woman,” was eventually in charge of the show’s second season. When it came time to produce Season 3 of “Killing Eve,” Suzanne Heathcote replaced Fennell, while the fourth season of the thriller was later directed by Laura Neal.
The fourth season of “Killing Eve” marked the end of the show’s distinctive behind-the-scenes tradition after four years. It’s important to consider why Season 4 of “Killing Eve” was the final season now, almost two years later.
Killing Eve ended for purely creative reasons
Killing Eve received a Season 4 renewal from BBC America in January 2020. The information was released just a few months before the start of Season 3 of the program, but BBC America didn’t also reveal that Season 4 would be the espionage drama’s final season until well over a year later. Fans were naturally extremely shocked by the network’s revelation, especially after the events of the Season 3 finale of “Killing Eve,” which laid the groundwork for the show to take a novel turn in its upcoming episodes.
Although the news caught everyone off guard at first, BBC America and the show’s producers quickly clarified that “Killing Eve” was in no way cancelled. The creators and producers of the show simply decided that the series’ plot required that it conclude sooner rather than later. As The Hollywood Reporter reported in its coverage of the unexpected announcement, some of the show’s important creative team members also reaffirmed this in their remarks regarding the show’s conclusion.
The President of Entertainment and AMC Studios at the time, Dan McDermott, even made a joke about how “we look forward to what is sure to be an amazing final season and to explore future extensions of this captivating universe.”
In other words, “Killing Eve” ended for a cause that was comparatively easy to understand. Of course, few could have anticipated how polarizing the “Killing Eve” series finale would end up becoming when the show’s denouement was first revealed.
Killing Eve’s ending was notoriously divisive
Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), the show’s two main characters, ultimately get together in the Season 4 conclusion of “Killing Eve.” Villanelle is sadly shot to death in the episode’s last minutes by an assassin hired by none other than Carolyn Martens, so their long-awaited relationship ends up being short-lived.
fans weren Essays were published to explain why people thought the series finale of the show finally abandoned its formerly radical character by adhering to a number of detested TV clichés. Even novelist Luke Jennings, whose books served as the inspiration for “Killing Eve,” panned the BBC America drama’s climax in a piece for The Guardian. Many even cited Villanelle’s passing in the “Killing Eve” finale as one of the worst TV moments of 2022 at the end of the day.
As if that weren’t terrible enough, the polarizing nature of the “Killing Eve” finale has not only damaged the reputation of the program among many of its fans, but it has also cast doubt on the sustainability of any future spin-offs. A “Killing Eve” spin-off focused on Carolyn Martens’ early years as an MI6 spy was famously rumoured to be in development in April 2022, but no news or announcements on the project have been made since then.
After considering everything, it’s safe to say that “Killing Eve” fans will probably be discussing whether or not the show actually should have ended when it did for a very long time.
