“The Hungry Caterpillar” – aired on April 21, 2019
Writer: Emerald Fennell, Henrietta (Colvin), and Jessica Ashworth
Director: Lisa Brühlmann
Grade: 4 out of 5
Notice: All episode reviews contain spoilers
The third installment of Killing Eve’s second season appears to be an exercise in captivating viewers through the effective use of emotions when plot advancement is not the driving force of the episode. Betrayal is the central theme of the hour with most main characters maneuvering around circumstances in which they find themselves in order to gain more control of their situation. It’s not groundbreaking television, but its nifty narrative competently moves along and offers a handful of enchanting moments. Lastly, it includes a tour-de-force performance by Jodie Comer.
The structure is quite different from the first two episodes. Instead of centering on neatly demarcated A and B stories, each featuring one of the two main characters, “The Hungry Caterpillar” showcases that moment when the two storylines’ paths clank into each other and merge into a bomb with a short fuse, figuratively speaking, whose detonation is delayed until a later episode. The plot advances incrementally, but not substantively, and the hour is devoid of any meaningful action. Yet, astutely written and directed episodes like this one, albeit lacking ambition, reward those who watch closely because compelling revelations can be found in its substrates whether they are hidden in a sequence that appears at first to be inconsequential or in the minutiae of a character’s comportment that portends an unexpected repercussion.
In the merged A&B story, Villanelle is now comfortably settled in London and encroaching on Eve’s life. We see the two of them in the same location on three separate occasions. In each of them, Villanelle’s gaze is squarely on Eve who never sees her, persuasively conveying the sense that not only does Villanelle hold the reins in terms of invading the other’s space and privacy, but that she also cherishes the power of the gaze. Jean-Paul Sartre would have been intrigued.
The episode begins where “Nice and Neat” ended last week, in Carolyn’s house, with a befuddled Eve staring at Konstantin. She needs answers. Konstantin affirms that MI-6 agreed to protect him, that he is temporarily staying in Carolyn’s house, and that his daughter believes him to be dead. Otherwise, Konstantin is less interested in answering Eve’s questions than giving her advice with regard to Villanelle. He advises her to leave Villanelle alone, or at least make Villanelle hate her because, he adds, “the hungry caterpillar,” will “love you to death.” He reminds her of Anna and Nadia whom she loved, adding himself in the mix for good measure. After all, he is also considered dead in most people’s eyes after he got shot by Villanelle at the bistro in Russia in “God, I’m Tired,” the first season’s finale.
Speaking of the dead, Villanelle’s quota of at least one victim per episode gets fulfilled in the next scene when she, following the assignment given to her by the new handler Raymond, kills a hedge-fund manager named Greg Richardson (Simon Thorp). According to Jess, as we learn later, he was planning to buy Peel’s company, although it is not clear how pertinent that storyline will remain. It is not only mentioned in passing and forgotten for the rest of the episode.
In a room at a hotel where The Twelve apparently keep their assets, Raymond scolds Villanelle for not following instructions. She was told to make the killing appear “boring and discreet.” Choking Richardson to death by holding the end of his fake Hermès tie (Villanelle’s face when she realizes that the tie is fake, in the middle of the execution, is nothing short of hilarious) through a closed elevator door while it’s going up is neither boring nor discreet.
Raymond turns from scolding to being hateful when he viciously provokes Villanelle by referring to a “new girl in town” – The Ghost – and informs her that her execution was designed to make it appear as if The Ghost did it so that the “higher-ups,” as he calls them, are impressed with her and now will want to hire her. In short, Villanelle was used as a tool for the benefit of another female killer. He pushes her buttons further by telling her that Eve is now busy investigating this new assassin. Adrian Scarborough’s eerily drab tone squeezes every bit of gloom out of Raymond’s sinister speech. Judging by Villanelle’s expression as she stares at him at the end of the dialogue, this may also be the moment when he signed his own death warrant. Nobody taunts Villanelle the way he just did and lives to tell the tale. Wait for it Raymond, it’s coming.
Emeritus Professor Rosemary Lloyd says in her ontological study of jealousy in literature entitled Closer and Closer Apart (1995), that jealousy “concerns what you have and do not wish to lose.” Until now, Villanelle operated under the assumption that she held every bit of Eve’s attention. Yet, Raymond says just enough to create seeds of doubt in Villanelle’s mind. As a result, the fear of losing what she thought she possessed penetrates her to the core. Feeling betrayed and burning with jealousy, wheels begin to turn in her head as soon as Raymond leaves. She has one emphatic objective: bringing Eve’s focus squarely back on her. What better way to accomplish that than by violating Eve’s personal boundaries? And what better target than her unremarkable husband to begin that process?
First, she calls Niko’s school, impersonating a student, and reports a complaint about his behavior. Next, she stops by the school (impersonating a parent, perhaps) to observe Niko from a distance while a colleague named Gemma (Emma Pierson) flirts with him. Then, she follows Eve in a park before Raymond appears and signals her to back down. Never mind that telling Villanelle to back down has about as much effect on her as Konstantin telling Eve to leave Villanelle alone had on Eve. None. Zilch.
Later, Niko and Eve attend a school party. Villanelle is also there, striking up a conversation with Gemma during a smoke break. She baits her into opening up about her attraction to Niko, then gives her a bit of home-wrecking advice: “Squirt your perfume in his room so it always smells like you. Flatter him. Make him doubt his wife.” The heart-broken Gemma finds her suggestions “manipulative,” but she is nonetheless intrigued. She also utters what is arguably the most accurate sentence of the season: “his wife barely even notices him.” Well, okay, I admit that she did prepare an omelet for him earlier while he was in bed, although the soupy (and soapy) looking meal in the plate that I saw on screen hardly resembled one.
It’s worth stopping here for a moment to talk about Villanelle’s wardrobe and Jodie Comer. Her outfits are usually eye-openers, but in terms of the wide range of styles that Villanelle can handle in a single episode (see for instance the variety of her looks in the assassination scene and her two appearances at the school), as well as how perfectly Comer molds her character into them role-wise, “The Hungry Caterpillar” takes the cake. She shines throughout the hour with a convincing representation of a smart, impulsive, and eccentric psycho killer with an obsession for haute couture. If I had to pick an episode as exhibit A to argue on behalf of Comer winning an award, “The Hungry Caterpillar” would be my first choice. Although the episode begins and ends, again, with the camera focusing on Sandra Oh, it is Comer’s spectacular performance that occupies most of the space in between.
Back at the school party, Villanelle still has more tricks up at her sleeve. She places an apple on a desk in a classroom where Eve and Niko are having a pleasant, flirtatious moment. Eve notices the apple, reminding her of Gabriel’s bitten apple in the Paris crime scene photos – also echoing the biblical reference to Eve and the apple. She loses her composure, rushes to the corridor, and pulls the alarm handle. Niko is confused, as he usually is every time he is trying to figure his wife out. As the school is being evacuated, Eve looks around for Villanelle, to no avail. Niko, visibly upset, makes a rare valid point: “The one time you came to support me and my job, you were able to miraculously somehow make it about you and your job.” To make matters worse, he tells her to go home as he joins Gemma to walk back into the school. A crestfallen Eve does not even notice Villanelle sneaking up behind her and dropping a lipstick in her purse.
In the meantime, Villanelle is not the only one with tricks up her sleeve. Eve gets Kenny to dig up the location of Konstantin’s family so that she can manipulate the Russian into revealing the location of where The Twelve keep their assets (read: Villanelle’s location). In return, she must tell him where his family is located, because Carolyn won’t. Her strategy works, or so she thinks. Konstantin is no fool, and also carries his own bag of tricks. He reunites with Villanelle in another room at the hotel (a hilarious dialogue ensues) prior to Eve’s arrival with her team of MI-6 operatives. His ulterior motive quickly surfaces as he tells Villanelle that Eve and her MI-6 team are within minutes of arriving to the hotel, essentially leaving her with no choice but to accept an independent partnership with him to avoid capture. It’s clear to Konstantin that his time in Carolyn’s house has run its course. Earlier, she rejected his request to see his family, and his life had turned unbearably dull in hiding. He is now no longer confined to her house (although technically a fugitive) and has his family’s location in hand, assuming that Eve held up her end of the bargain.
Konstantin and Villanelle cut it very close before finally escaping the hotel. Villanelle spots Eve and the MI-6 team breaking into her room through the door’s peephole from Konstantin’s room. A frustrated Eve walks back out of her room into the corridor. Villanelle breathes deeply as she watches her. So much for Konstantin alerting her that it’s time to leave. Villanelle is not leaving yet. She is virtually swooning at the sight of Eve’s anguish, and by God, Konstantin will have to wait! Thus, develops a fascinating sequence of about 80 seconds during which Eve somehow senses Villanelle’s presence (did she hear her nearly orgasmic breathing?) behind the door at the end of the corridor and begins to slowly approach it. She caresses the door while Villanelle, breathing even heavier, watches Eve’s bewildered face up close.
By the time Eve comes to her senses and yells at the team to break in the room, it’s too late. Villanelle and Konstantin – as unathletic as the latter is – have somehow disappeared from the room in a matter of eight seconds, keeping up the tradition of lightning quick disappearances from scenes in this show.
The hour piles on the betrayals, starting with Raymond betraying Villanelle (in a sense, she returns the favor at the end by taking off with Konstantin), continuing with Eve betraying Carolyn and Kenny, Carolyn betraying Konstantin and vice versa, Kenny betraying Carolyn, and finally, Konstantin betraying Eve. Did I say earlier that the theme of betrayal dominated this outing?
Mission accomplished for Villanelle. She successfully wrecked Eve’s life who is now on bad terms with her husband, Carolyn, and Kenny – who bitterly tells her, “I thought you were different.” She has also lost a potential ally in Konstantin to her nemesis. To add salt to the wound, she tries on the lipstick Villanelle left in her purse, only to cut her lip because of the razor blade that Villanelle had apparently placed in the lipstick. The episode ends with Eve looking at blood dripping from her lip in the same way that the Killing Eve title generic has blood dripping from the letter “V” of the word Eve. Make of that what you will…!
Last-minute thoughts:
– I am curious to see what the next two episodes will entail. “The Hungry Caterpillar” was in some ways an episode of course modification. It created some new dynamics without exploring them yet, thus demanding the viewers to be patient for potent storylines to follow. As of now, I don’t see enough material to cover five more episodes, therefore I am expecting more pertinent shifts in narrative, accompanied by further revelations.
– Not sure how plausible the freak-out reaction by Eve and her subsequent pulling of the alarm came across to other viewers, but I found it a bit overblown. Eve should know that even if Villanelle were there, she would not just leisurely walk out the door and reveal herself anyway. Eve’s reaction appeared, to me at least, to be no more than a contrivance in order for the lipstick bit to be added in the script, as well as to generate more pressure on the fragile relationship between Eve and Niko.
– Larry the receptionist, played as traditionally British as possible by Nickolas Grace, was a charming guest-character addition to the episode.
– The dialogue between Gemma, Eve, and Niko at the school gets my vote for the most awkward conversation of the series so far, even by Killing Eve’s standards of awkward conversations.
– The episode’s credits list Henrietta Colvin (one of the three writers of the episode) as just “Henrietta.” The way the three co-writers’ names were shown on screen, it appeared as if she is related to Jessica Ashworth. The last line literally reads “Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth.” Strange choice of listing I thought, but then again, I am probably the only one who notices such oddities.
– Will Hugo ever have an impact on a story? He is zero for two in two episodes so far.
– How many times will Carolyn overlook Eve’s shenanigans before she fires her? I don’t expect that to happen frankly, but Eve’s constant insubordination is beginning to reach outrageous levels and I am not sure that even the most tolerant of bosses would keep giving her second chances the way Carolyn has done so far.
– Eve telling Kenny, “I’m not doing this for myself,” must be the most conspicuous lie of the hour.
– I spoke a lot in my review of betrayals. Does the following conversation count as one?
[Niko and Eve kissing in bed]
Eve [pulling away]: “Oh no, I-I gotta go to work. I’m sorry. Later, I promise.”
Niko [dejected]: “I’ll just masturbate onto this omelet, then, I guess.”
Eve [yelling from the living room as she leaves]: “Okay! Love you!”
Until the next episode…
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