Warning: Spoilers ahead for Killing Eve episode “Nice And Neat”
What is dead may never die, amirite? Wait, wrong show. Despite being separated by realm and network, BBC America’s Killing Eve stayed true to fellow Sunday night show Game of Thrones’ hallowed Iron Islands-y slogan by bringing one supposedly dead character back to life. Fans who watched newest episode “Nice And Neat” to the very end know we’re talking about the shady Konstantin (Kim Bodnia), handler to Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and person who was supposedly shot to death in season 1 finale “God, I’m Tired.”
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The twist should have you questioning Carolyn Martens’ (Fiona Shaw) loyalty once again — and thinking about the looming super villainous cabal of The Twelve.
Killing Eve’s big Konstantin reveal arrives in the very last scene of “Neat,” after Eve and Carolyn have found irrefutable evidence Villanelle is alive and murdering yet again. A dead man with a toilet brush stuffed down his throat (Sally4Ever’s Julian Barratt) will do that. At that gruesome point, Carolyn reveals her biggest secret yet: She’s hiding Konstantin in what appears to her home (her adorable son Kenny is there, and he is over it). “Promise you won’t be cross,” Carolyn announces before the big unveiling of a dramatically scarfed Konstantin sitting in her living room.
“Hello, Eve,” Konstantin announces. Both Carolyn and Konstantin then stare at Eve in a conspiratorial manner. Mere days earlier in Killing Eve time, Carolyn had confirmed to both Eve and Kenny (Sean Delany) that Konstantin had died from the gunshot wound Villanelle inflicted on him in “Tired.” Remember, the hitwoman kidnapped Konstantin's daughter Irina (Yuli Lagodinsky) and needed to escape before the police closed in on her. A bleeding-out Konstantin was a great distraction.
Carolyn and Konstantin’s matching present-day “Nice And Neat” gazes remind you they have a long, complicated, and very sexual history. In season 1, we learn Carolyn and Konstantin have been sleeping together for some time, and continued to until at least the events of “God, I’m Tired.” Kenny’s deep discomfort of seeing his mom and Konstantin in a hotel room proves that.
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Because of this relationship — and another Carolyn had with a different Russian spy, Vladimir Betkin (Laurence Possa) — it’s been impossible to know where her allegiance fully lies. Especially since, as Eve and Kenny learn towards the close of penultimate season 1 episode “I Don’t Want To Be Free,” Carolyn had at minimum one dubious rendezvous with Villanelle during the latter’s prison stay. Since Carolyn is Eve’s boss, she never fully explains why she was quietly hanging out with a killer. In fact, in response to Eve’s questions, Carolyn disbands MI5's Villanelle-tracking task force and attempts to sequester Eve back to England.
Questionable meetings with assassins, ties to malevolent international assets, and unmitigated shadowy intelligence powers? These certainly seem like valuable qualifications for a member of The Twelve, the Illuminati-like organization that employs Villanelle to eliminate its enemies. Or, at minimum, Carolyn could be an asset to the group. It’s possible Carolyn covered up the failed murder of Konstantin as part of her executive duties or at the behest of The Twelve.
We’ll find out next week with upcoming episode “The Hungry Caterpillar” whether Eve has been drawn even further in the bad guy web of The Twelve, or if Carolyn is the hero we all hope she is.