Posted in: AMC, BBC, Trailer, TV | Tagged: amc, bbc america, Jodie Comer, Killing Eve, Sandra Oh
'Killing Eve' S02, Ep07: We're "Wide Awake" with Suspense! (PREVIEW)
After the last episode of Killing Eve– "I Hope You Like Missionary!", I think we're all a little on edge waiting to find out what's going to happen next with the oh-so-unpredictable thriller from BBC America.
Villanelle (Jodie Comer) is helping Eve's (Sandra Oh) Operation Mandalay get to the bottom of a series of murders that appear to revolve around the Peel family. Eve found evidence that Aaron Peel (Henry Lloyd Hughes), the smug, eccentric son of a billionaire tycoon, is behind those murders. The problem is, Aaron likes to play games, and is just smart enough to see through most attempts to entrap him.
That's where Villanelle comes in- she's not known to Peel, and she has the skill set needed to gain access to him, if not his outright trust. Comer really dials up her performance, dashing through a series of flawless accents, complete with personas behind them, before settling on "Billie", a bored and obnoxious American.
"Billie" starts going to AA meetings, and meets Aaron's sister, Amber (Shannon Tarbet), and gains her confidence after her bodyguard conveniently ends up under a truck. That lands "Billie" an invitation to an incredibly awkward dinner date at the Peel household.
The whole affair starts to go sideways, though, as Peel begins to poke and prod around "Billie's" background, and Villanelle lashes out in anger, then leaves to blow off steam.
It's amazing watching a performance that's going to win awards as it happens. Comer brought her A-game to "I Hope You Like Missionary!", somehow balancing a menacing, raw performance with an accent that's by no means normal for her. And still, the raw, terrifying nature of Villanelle peaks through from time to time, and it's unnervingly brilliant.
So, enough gushing about Comer. She's just part of an ensemble of amazing actors that make the entire show memorizing. Sandra Oh's Eve is coming undone a bit, pulled to the dark flame of sociopathy by Villanelle's presence. Every time she gets close enough, though, she gets singed a bit, and Eve has spent the last episode and a half grappling with the collateral damage of this twisted obsession.
Fiona Shaw brings together the supporting cast as Carolyn, Eve's boss, with Kim Bodnia contrasting her perfectly as Villanelle's handler, Konstantin. These two are playing their own mysterious game, each concealed behind layers of intrigue. Carolyn is all swagger and bored indifference, while Konstantin projects a bumbling, oafish incompetence that belies his cold, calculating mind.
It's all so very good.
Sunday, May 19th, BBC America and AMC will be rolling out "Wide Awake", which may open with a couple of random corpses after Villanelle's little hunting expedition last week. Here's the trailer: