Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Killing Eve’ Season 4 On AMC+, The Final Season Of The Female-Centric Spy Thriller

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly four years since Killing Eve premiered and breathed fresh life into the spy thriller. Starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, the delightful game of cat-and-mouse has raked in its fair share of acclaim and awards attention, and now, it’s back for one more ruthless romp. The fourth and final season of Killing Eve kicks off on BBC America today (and AMC tomorrow), as well on AMC+ with two back-to-back episodes. 

KILLING EVE: SEASON 4: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Scenes of an industrial area in Russia.

The Gist: Eve (Sandra Oh) has changed. Or at least she’d like to think she has. Some time has passed since that moment on the bridge that ended Season 3, and she’s now dedicating her time to hunting down The Twelve and refusing to let anyone get in her way – including Villanelle (Jodie Comer). While Eve embraces her killer instinct, however, Villanelle tries to do the opposite; she really, really wants to be good, and she’s endeared herself to a church community in the hopes of reforming her deeply damaged soul. (More than anything, she wants Eve to see how much she’s changed, and how *good* she really is). She doesn’t need to kill people in increasingly ostentatious ways to feel something. Really! Eve, unfortunately, is a little distracted with her mission and new coworker/hookup buddy (Robert Gilbert), and something has clearly gone down between our two leading ladies since we last saw them on the bridge. They’re not exactly on the best of terms.

While Eve continues on her own mission of vengeance, Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) (now on an extremely boring desk assignment) is also in on this hunt for The Twelve, and she won’t rest until she has all the answers about how Kenny really died. Villanelle, now focused on charming a skeptical vicar and his kind daughter, is seemingly farther away from this world than she’s ever been, and for the most part, she seems okay with it. If there’s anything we know about our lethal lady, however, it’s that she can’t be content playing nice for very long. It’s only a matter of time until she’s pulled back into the fold alongside her other half, the woman she’s been trying to kill or kiss for the last three seasons. (And we can’t wait to see what’s next).

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Bodyguard, The Americans, The Little Drummer Girl, and The Flight Attendant. 

Our Take: Killing Eve‘s first season was magic. In the hands of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the series struck the perfect balance of thrilling and funny, only made more electrifying by Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer’s crackling chemistry. Since the series began passing off each season to a new showrunner, however, that same witchcraft has remained just out of reach. This isn’t to say Killing Eve isn’t good or watchable anymore; Comer and Oh remain at the top of their game, and the show is still as addictive as ever. It’s just different, and not quite as exhilarating as it was the first time around. Season 4 kicks things off with a bit of a slow burn, picking things up shortly after the Season 3 finale finally saw our leading ladies begin to come to terms with what they really want. While the game of cat-and-mouse has changed a bit, it’s still exciting to see the way these women have changed, and what happens when they try to navigate their lives with their new respective personas.

It’s impossible to imagine giving Killing Eve a perfect ending, especially after all of the increasingly wild places the show has gone. The Season 4 premiere, “Just Dunk Me”, tries hard to show us what the women look like without embracing that their fates most certainly lie with one another, and for a moment, the role reversal is exciting. It doesn’t take long for the series to pivot back towards the tried-and-true habits that have fueled it since Season 1, and it’s undeniably entertaining. It’s just nothing new. So much of what has made the show great since the beginning is the dynamic between Eve and Villanelle, but now, they’re reduced to silly bickering and arguments, neglecting the subtlety and little moments that made their relationship so intoxicating at the beginning. That said, this time around, the show does seem to be embracing some of the dark humor and dazzling danger that made it such a delight out the gate. Killing Eve may have lost sight of some of the show’s most enticing ingredients since its first iteration, but it remains one of the most interesting series on television, largely thanks to Comer and Oh’s singular connection and consistently stunning performances.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Tears fall from Villanelle’s eyes as a (let’s face it, deranged) smile spreads across her face.

Sleeper Star: Fiona Shaw remains one of Killing Eve‘s greatest assets, imbuing each of her scenes with her signature dry humor and magnetic energy. She may not get the delightful kinds of zingers Phoebe Waller-Bridge gifted her with in Season 1 (“I once saw a rat drink from a can of Coke there. Both hands. Extraordinary.”) but she still leaves quite the impression. Carolyn is going through grief and hell and everything in between, and Shaw plays this journey with grace and ease, as if she’s filled this woman’s shoes her entire life. Whether she’s deadpanning or delivering some grave news, Shaw is always exciting to watch.

Most Pilot-y Line: No pilot-y dialogue here… Killing Eve remains in its signature groove.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Killing Eve might have lost hold of Season 1’s magic some time ago, but reliably perfect performances from Oh, Comer, and Shaw make Killing Eve worth seeing through to the bitter end.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Where to Stream Killing Eve