RECAPS

Killing Eve Season 2 Finale Fashion Recap: In Cold Blood Red

Villanelle is once again dressed to kill in episode 8.

by Steph Eckardt

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As you might expect, the drama in Killing Eve‘s season 2 finale is wire to wire: Villanelle starts her day by slinking across Aaron Peel’s palazzo in a set of silky designer pajamas to his room, where she discovers secret CCTV videos of herself and another woman being murdered in cold blood. Then she changes into a fittingly blood red ensemble and makes her way to breakfast as if it were just another morning. Oh, and perhaps bolstered by the secrets she’s learned, she’s also wearing the belt that nearly caused Aaron to have a mental breakdown last episode front and center around her waist.

Jodie Comer as Villanelle as Billie, joining Aaron Peel for breakfast in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

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Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Aaron Peel in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

Gareth Gatrell/BBCAmerica

Meanwhile, Hugo is teasing Eve about being Villanelle’s girlfriend, which turns out to be one of his final acts; an unexpected assailant takes him down when he steps out into the hall. Even then, Eve can’t get said girlfriend off her mind; after hearing Villanelle say their safe word, “gentleman,” through her earpiece, she rushes away to be by her side, leaving Hugo pleading and bleeding on the floor.

To be fair, she does attempt—and fail—to call the Roman version of 911, then makes the pathetic effort of scribbling a note for any potential passersby. She encounters one sooner than she expects: an accomplice of his assailant stops by, but quickly continues on his way—that is, after asking Eve, who appears to be working the front desk, out on a date.

Eve, clearly amused, accepts, though she clearly hasn’t forgotten her other suitor. She abandons her heather gray blazer for a navy workwear shirt that’s even more nondescript. Paired with a clear bag of folded clothes, it gives her the guise of a laundry attendant—particularly when she holds them up and responds in Korean to the guards asking her why she’s heading inside Aaron’s palazzo.

Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

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Once inside, Eve exchanges her laundry bags for the only thing resembling a weapon in sight—Aaron’s letter opener—and bursts open a grand set of doors. Villanelle looks up giggling from breakfast with Aaron to greet her: “Hi Eve, so nice to see you.” Before long, however, Villanelle proves which side she’s on when she slits Aaron’s throat. Just look at how well his blood matches her outfit.

Jodie Comer as Villanelle and Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Aaron Peel in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

BBCAmerica

Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

BBCAmerica

Billie makes one last cameo as they make their escape, when Villanelle reverts to her snotty American accent to tell security that she’s “borrowing the maid to help carry [her] shopping.” She snaps her fingers for Eve to hurry along; Eve scowls and and mutters under her breath, “She’s such an asshole.”

“It’s not my fault you’re dressed as a maid,” Villanelle retorts, then smiles and adds, “You look cute, by the way.”

They continue to bicker over the next step of their escape plans, and, for a moment, Eve (who’s let down her hair) and Villanelle (who abandons Billie’s pink wig on a random fence) look like they could be just any other couple fighting while on a romantic getaway in Rome. Of course, their tiff is more dramatic than most. Villanelle makes two demands of Eve: “Don’t be brave,” and, “For the funeral, make sure they use a flattering photo—not the mug shot with the bandana.” Eve shrugs off her touch and storms away down a picturesque, winding cobblestone Roman street to collect the evidence she left back at the hotel.

Jodie Comer as Villanelle and Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

Gareth Gatrell/BBCAmerica

Jodie Comer as Villanelle in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

Gareth Gatrell/BBCAmerica

But, as one would expect with 25 minutes left in the episode, the bloodshed isn’t over just yet. Villanelle goes to collect Eve from her hotel, intending to whisk her away in her new getaway car (a convertible, naturally)—but not before she makes another demand. When Raymond, her forsaken handler, shows up to ruin her plans, she tells Eve to murder him with a red axe that matches her scarlet ensemble. And yet, the blood ends up on her hands again.

Jodie Comer as Villanelle in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

BBCAmerica

Somehow, Eve and Villanelle’s escape route leads them right to the center of the ancient aqueducts, where, in a matter of minutes, things fall apart. Once Eve realizes Villanelle had a gun all along, it ruins their Thelma & Louise moment. She tearily turns her back on Villanelle, before falling to the ground wounded. Looks like Villanelle was dressed to kill Eve after all—we’ll have to wait till season 3 to find out.

Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri and Jodie Comer as Villanelle in the *Killing Eve* season 2 finale, episode 8.

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Related: Killing Eve Season 2, Episode 7 Fashion Recap: Villanelle Does Roman Holiday Chic