Disappointed Killing Eve fans are using fan fiction to "fix" the "atrocious" series finale

Vanity Fair

"Within hours of the Killing Eve finale on Sunday night, the internet had gotten to work fixing it," says Jennifer Still. "On Tumblr and the fanfic repository Archive of Our Own, fans sprung into action to rewrite the ending ... The reimagined stories—all of which, like the final book in Luke Jennings’s original trilogy, allowed Villanelle and Eve to build a happy life together—were clear in their message: Villanelle deserved better, and they were going to give it to her. While it started off as one of the most excitingly unique and mesmerizing shows on television, Killing Eve ended its four-season run infuriating many of the fans who had stuck with it all along. The show spent years bringing its two protagonists together, as the assassin Villanelle embraced her vulnerability and Eve embraced her own dark side. For a few short moments, they got to work together as a team, as carefree lovers crazy about each other. And then it was taken away in a way that wasn’t just cruel, but stereotypical and exhausting. While exploring the complex nature of their humanity, it just as swiftly tore them apart. Both women were ultimately able to accept the qualities they fought against for so long: Villanelle, her vulnerability, and Eve, her dark side. However, that all seemed to be for nothing in the end." Still adds: "Showrunner Laura Neal killed off Villanelle so seemingly carelessly, after dangling the carrot of a fully realized and happy (if not somewhat dysfunctional) lesbian relationship in viewers’ faces. It didn’t just feel like sloppy storytelling—it felt personal."

ALSO:

• Some Killing Eve fans are basking in a conspiracy theory that there is a secret episode: "On places like Twitter, TikTok, and the Killing Eve subreddit, some fans are throwing out theories that there might actually be a secret episode of Killing Eve that will air on Easter Sunday," says Michelle Jaworski. "Versions of that theory pointed to the close proximity of Easter, Christian symbolism that appeared in season 4 including Villanelle talking to an imaginary version of herself dressed like Jesus, and even the new episode count (if a secret episode existed, it would be 33) as potential factors."
• Killing Eve paved the way for Why Women Kill, The Cleaning Lady, Yellowjackets and the upcoming Shining Girls, Roar and Fatal Attraction