Poster for Killing Eve (Image Source)

To kick off this blog post, I have a confession to share with all of you. I’m not really a TV show person. This might come as a shock to anyone who has been reading this blog for a while, but it’s true. I don’t really watch TV shows that often. Or, really, I never used to watch TV shows often. That all changed this semester when my dear friend told me to watch Killing Eve. In case you don’t know what the show is about, let me give you a quick rundown: a member of a British national security agency (Eve) goes after a talented assassin (Villanelle) and drama ensues. And Jodie Comer is in it, so that’s reason enough for all of you to watch it.

In all seriousness, though, this really was one of the best TV shows I’ve ever watched. The plot was fantastic (I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time) and to really add to this already stellar story, Eve and Villanelle are in love with each other. Not in a cheesy Wattpad enemies to lovers kind of way (no hate to that trope, though), but in a really well written way. Actually, the writing behind their story is probably my favorite thing about this show (besides Jodie Comer, of course). None of the storylines were forced at all, and the relationship between Eve and Villanelle was complex far beyond just the fact that they were working for opposing organizations. The characters all felt like real people with real stories and motives and lives, and that was definitely something I found refreshing.

The tension? Palpable. (Image Source)

Another aspect of the storytelling that I absolutely adored was the way that Eve and Villanelle’s queerness was established. I find that too often in shows and movies they make entirely too big of a deal over the fact that a character is queer. Don’t get me wrong, I live for a good coming out story and I think it’s good to openly and proudly display queer characters. I just also think there is a time and place to just let the characters be people first and foremost and the fact that they’re queer is just a fun little bonus. This is something I also praised in my previous blog post about Dickinson. As I mentioned in that post, I think it’s really important for there to be stories like this that provide meaningful queer representation in the form of characters that everyone can admire and who just happen to be members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Eve and Villanelle being in love (Image Source)

While I have recently been in the habit of praising subtlety when it comes to queer representation, that is not to say that I am promoting the idea of not having flamboyantly gay characters. I love the loud and proud moments as much as any other queer person watching queer media. In fact, although I adore the fact that Eve and Villanelle have personalities and storylines outside of being queer, my favorite part of the entire show is when they finally get together and make out in a moment of pure sapphic love. I’m not joking when I say that this scene had me giddy just from the excitement of seeing two women in love. Love is such a beautiful thing, and I think it’s really special that we as a society have gotten to the point where two women or two men can be openly in love on camera and no one makes a big deal out of it.

Respectfully, it would be an honor to be assassinated by her (Image Source)

Now that I’ve done all the fancy commentary on the representation provided by Killing Eve, it’s time to talk about the real reason this show won over the hearts of sapphic teens everywhere: Jodie Comer. Jodie Comer played Villanelle in the show, and, honestly, I understand why Eve kept going after her. Now, I’m not supporting chasing after a highly skilled assassin that most definitely wants to kill you, all I’m saying is that if the assassin looks like Jodie Comer, I do think it’s reasonable to weigh your options there. The young sapphic community seems to share that sentiment with the amount of love they have for Jodie Comer. I truly think she was doing the Lord’s work with her portrayal of Villanelle because I’m pretty sure she single-handedly tripled the population of queer girls in the world. Jodie Comer was a gift on this show, and I just really felt like her presence deserved special recognition.