Killing Eve is slowly killing female spy tropes

Polygon

"By offering varying depictions of women in the spy genre, Killing Eve is a departure from the frequent costume changes of Jennifer Garner in Alias, Angelina Jolie’s thigh-split black dress in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and La Femme Nikita’s titular blonde bombshell appeal to the male gaze," says Scarlett Harris. "Though Villanelle certainly has an envious wardrobe, her style fluctuates from the severe patterned suit she wears to murder Eve’s friend and colleague Bill in a Berlin nightclub to her deliberately infantilized Big Pink Dress, a fashion moment to launch one of this season’s most recognizable red carpet looks. The dress is of color and style we typically associate with vulnerability or gentle femininity, and Villanelle pairs it with combat boots, a binary that is straddled again this season when she dons a pair of children’s pajamas. Yes, Villanelle is dressing for Killing Eve’s primarily female audience, but she’s also dressing for Eve herself, as we see when Villanelle gifts Eve an evening gown and the perfume from which Villanelle takes her name. By the same token, Eve is hardly the picture of the sleek, female spy of yore." ALSO: Breaking down Killing Eve's latest twist.