I just finished watching all the three seasons of this series yesterday and I must say, Phoebe Waller-
Bridge (Fleabag fame) has not disappointed being the head writer of season one and one of the executive producers of this show. The concept is old but has a fresh air to it by introducing women lead protagonists. The queer angle to it is the perfect icing on the cake and works well by adding novelty to the otherwise “usual mouse and cat chase” plot.
What is impressive is how they have dealt with the background story of all the major characters
including the cold blooded serial killer/assassin Villanelle played spectacularly by the English actress
Jodie Comer and the focused MI6 agent Eve played by the wonderful Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy fame).
Jodie Comer has done such a brilliant job whether it is her funny punches, accents or looking dead
straight in the eye lacking any sense of empathy, it makes you to dread her as well as want to be friends
with her at the same time. I haven’t seen very often such range of expressions and it’s an absolute
delight to watch her even while she’s murdering her targets brutally onscreen. She’s dressed stylishly
living the “hippy life” in fancy apartments in Paris and Barcelona, travelling all across Europe as a paid
killer for “The Twelve” making it all seem somehow cool yet ghastly.
I honestly just had eyes for her in the entire series and Jodie Comer is undoubtedly the star of the series.
I would want to see more of her in different characters and roles ahead. I somehow feel it would be nice
to see Andrew Scott (Jim Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock and the hot priest in Fleabag fame) and
Jodie Comer together onscreen.
Sandra Oh is consistent and has given a sincere performance as the dedicated MI6 agent who later gets
obsessed with catching Villanelle and eventually just gets obsessed with the entire idea and persona of
villanelle. The chemistry between the two is steamy and sizzling and towards the end you kind of start rooting for them to end up together romantically as well.
The other characters worth mentioning are those of Konstantin played by Kim Bodina and Carolyn
played by Fiona Shaw.Both have done justice to their parts. Especially striking is the relationship between
Konstantin (Villanelle’s handler for The Twelve and mentor) and Villanelle which makes you to think that
you can be close to someone and care about them yet not trust them. Fiona Shaw’s portrayal of a coveted and respected MI6 agent Carolyn who takes her work more seriously than her personal relationships including that with her children Kenny and Geraldine is well balanced and to the point.
Interestingly all the three seasons of the series have different head writers, each of them being females.The head writers have written all their characters especially the female ones whether its Villanelle, Eve, Carolyn or even Dasha (another of Villanelle’s handler for The Twelve and former mentor) played by Harriet Walter with a certain nuance giving them multiple layers. You can clearly witness very different sides of the same person and yet be convinced that these layers are not imposed unnecessarily and infact seem natural.
Personally for me, it left me with a message as Eve says to Villanelle in the end “I think we all have
monsters inside of us, it’s just that most people manage to keep theirs hidden.”
