DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Killing Eve episode “Making Dead Things Look Nice” has spoilers. Sorry, baby — proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, assassins! We’ve reached penultimate episode territory for Killing Eve, and folks, the endgame is nigh. “Making Dead Things Look Nice” is the swan song for Konstantin. While his death didn’t entirely surprise me, I wanted him to survive. I love his dancing bit right before Pam arrives. We finally see him at his happiest. Unfortunately, in TV, that usually spells disaster for most characters.
Sandra Oh delivers tour de force work here, mining Eve for nuance and plunging into her depths. Much of “Making Dead Things Look Nice” explores her former life and those who’ve left her. Niko, Bill, Elena and Yusuf parted ways with Eve in some shape or form. But Villanelle is always there for her.
Ready to dig deep into “Making Dead Things Look Nice”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with Villanelle (Jodie Comer) on Feasgar Island. She spots Gunn (Marie-Sophie Ferdane) dragging a fisherman who was trespassing on her waters. Gunn explains that he was stealing her fish, so she plans to fillet him like one. Villanelle watches her do this, utterly fascinated. That’s a normal thing that people do, right? Gut humans like fish?
Meanwhile, Eve (Oh) hauls shopping bags through an upscale shopping district in London. We see she’s an assistant/driver for a wealthy woman.
Eve returns to her hotel room, wherein Yusuf (Robert Gilbert) proposes they go out and let off steam. Oh, and he unlocked Hélène’s phone.
So, the duo engages in a rousing session of karaoke. After a duet, Yusuf encourages Eve to belt a solo, so she sings “Chandelier” by Sia. Amid her performance, we see the room shift and her clothing change. Eve peers out into the “audience” to find Niko (Owen McDonnell), Bill (David Haig), Keiko (Haruka Kuroda) and Elena (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) cheering her on.
The above moment harkens back to the karaoke night Eve had with Bill and her coworkers in the pilot episode. It’s a punch to the gut, especially since none of these people are in Eve’s life anymore. Overwhelmed with emotion, Eve leaves abruptly.
Next, Yusuf follows Eve outside. Eve confesses that she’s struggling to move on from her old life. Yusuf tries to relate to her dilemma by revealing the significant adjustments after embarking on multiple tours while in the service. Finally, Killing Eve tells us something about this character.
So, Yusuf tells Eve to do what she feels is best and remember that she has a choice. However, this is where their paths diverge. Yusuf bids farewell and departs, leaving Eve in the dust (and probably with the karaoke bill).
Meanwhile, in Margate, Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) gets a call from none other than Irina (Yuli Lagodinsky), who reveals that his boss let her out (ahem, Hélène). Konstantin warns Irina to watch her back — the Twelve isn’t a lenient and flexible organization. Irina mentions “sh*thead,” a.k.a. Villanelle, asserting if she joins the Twelve, then perhaps Konstantin would pay attention to her. Irina refuses to disclose her location before hanging up on her father.
Later, Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) reads in a lobby in Salzburg while Robert (Anton Lesser) interrupts her session to gush about birds inexplicably. Carolyn has his number almost instantly, knowing something’s amiss. However, before pressing further, Vlad (Laurentiu Possa) appears.
Konstantin chats with Pam (Anjana Vasan) over hot chocolate. Pam notices Konstantin’s sour mood and attempts to elicit a smile from him. He urges her to spend the day doing something fun.
Carolyn informs Vlad about Robert, an assassin sent to kill her. Robert most likely poisoned her sherry glass. Vlad warns Carolyn about the ramifications of betraying Russia. After Lars Meier’s death, Carolyn admits that she’s back to square one.
But Vlad says something that switches on the lightbulb for Carolyn. She jots down her idea before quickly departing, suggesting to Vlad that he bring Robert back to Russia in her place.
Meanwhile, Villanelle and Gunn are hunting for wild boar, and Villanelle doesn’t look too enthused about it.
Eve asks Martin (Adeel Akhtar) over for an impromptu therapy session. It’s nice to see him looking well after their last encounter. Martin inquires as to what “help looks like” to Eve. Eve launches into a monologue about how she survived Villanelle, Hélène and her chaotic life since she joined MI6.
“Unbelievably, I survived. For what?” Eve says.
Martin encourages Eve to find happiness in the “little things,” somewhat echoing what Yusuf advises her about finding the “good parts” in life and “living there.” Both of these pieces of advice are nods to Eve’s former life with Niko, where she did partake in mundane activities.
Sandra Oh mesmerizes here, delivering one of her best monologues on the show. She’s such a powerhouse of a performer.
Then, Martin suggests Eve go to her “loved ones.” Villanelle! Villanelle and Gunn sit around a campfire while preparing to dine on a wild beast. Villanelle asks Gunn about how she joined the Twelve. It sounds like Gunn poisoned her village before Hélène found her, whisking her away to Paris before gifting her with Feasgar Island. Gunn prefers solitude; humans are too messy.
Meanwhile, Pam gets a text message featuring a postcard that says “Margate” on the front and “Sunday Funday” on the back. The Twelve have gone digital! Pam’s next assignment is a local one.
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She spots Darren (Josh Zaré) working in a new station at the carnival. He’s chopping meats! Pam squeezes in and helps him make the cuts, citing that she knows how to “make dead things look nice.” This statement is some heavy-handed foreshadowing.
Eve visits Konstantin in Margate after receiving a Twelve postcard on Hélène’s unlocked phone. She apologizes for shooting his hand. Konstantin explains that it’s from the Twelve, while Eve informs him of Hélène’s death. Konstantin urges Eve to seek out Villanelle, writing down her current location. He tells her not to forge ahead alone, and Eve wishes him well. Hey, at least they mended fences.
Konstantin orders food at the food truck where Pam works with Darren. Pam must do something unforgivable, and Konstantin’s out of the loop. He asks her to meet him at his hotel room later.
While Eve rushes to the airport to reunite with V, our fave assassin makes out with Gunn. Pam brings pizza to her meeting with Konstantin. She notices he packed her belongings. Konstantin reveals they’re leaving Margate. He thinks a morally sound person like Pam is too good for the Twelve, so he vows to protect her. It’ll be a new adventure! P and K are on the lam!
It’s interesting rewatching this scene with the knowledge of its outcome. It’s scrawled blatantly across Pam’s face — Hélène tasked Pam with killing Konstantin. If you’ll recall, Hélène ordered someone in the previous episode to assign a new job to Pam.
Additionally, before Pam embraces Konstantin and thanks him for caring about her, she tries to spin her actions in a more “reasonable” direction. Konstantin’s perpetually living in fear, so Pam’s doing him a favor.
Pam slices Konstantin’s neck and midsection with a pizza cutter, surprising him. He falls over and informs her that Hélène is dead. Pam cries out, instantly regretting her actions. Pam tries to staunch the bleeding from Konstantin’s neck, but he pushes her hand away. He tells her how proud he is of her and asks Pam to deliver a letter to Carolyn alongside the admission of his lifelong love.
Pam slices Konstantin’s neck one last time as a mercy move. RIP, Konstantin Vasiliev, you guffawing teddy bear. You deserved better. Admittedly, this death rocked me to my core.
Later, Pam embalms Konstantin and dresses him in a suit with flowers. She places him on his hotel bed before leaving.
Meanwhile, Villanelle wakes after her one-night stand with Gunn. She takes note of her destroyed boat, which Gunn utilized for firewood. Gunn also moved Villanelle’s belongings into her bedroom. Uh oh. Someone’s getting clingy.
While Gunn prepares breakfast for them, Villanelle reveals she’s hightailing it. Hélène’s dead, and Villanelle plans to eradicate the Twelve. Gunn discourages her from doing this. She believes she’ll lose her precious island if Villanelle wages war with the Twelve.
So, Villanelle flees, taunting Gunn into chasing her. Gunn grabs a machete and follows her. We see Eve get off a boat near the island, hunting for her love. But while Gunn pursues Villanelle, she spots Eve. Another trespasser!
Gunn hones in on Eve, chasing her down. She pins Eve to the ground, and our girl doesn’t go down without a fight. Gunn brandishes her machete, pressing the blade into Eve’s neck.
Then, the screen cuts to black. Infuriating!
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Kim Bodnia gave his all to Konstantin. I can’t imagine anyone else but him portraying our fave laughing Russian — Villanelle’s surrogate father. Bodnia churned in multifaceted, masterful performances, making us fall head over heels for Konstantin. Killing Eve is lucky to have him.
On another note, “Making Dead Things Look Nice” wholly underutilizes the brilliant Anton Lesser, having him appear as a harmless threat. Vlad hauls him, a trained assassin, back to Russia like it’s nothing. In addition, I find it hard to believe Vlad would let Carolyn walk free again, former lovers thing aside. Whatever happened to Russia not taking too kindly to betrayal? That part seems unbelievable.
While Robert Gilbert is an excellent addition as Yusuf, someone sort of on the outskirts of it all, he doesn’t add much to the story. The writers don’t flesh him out, only adding detail about his military service in his final outing. Yusuf’s purpose was to serve Eve’s arc, and I’m not a fan of writers condemning characters to underdevelopment. Yusuf deserves better.
Pam appears to be in the same boat as Yusuf, as is Gunn. It’s peculiar to introduce multiple new supporting players in the last season, but Killing Eve inexplicably did that. I don’t think Konstantin needed to die, and if he did, I’d much rather it be at the hands of one of our main characters. That said, Vasan is a top-tier performer whose star is rising.
Overall, “Making Dead Things Look Nice” boasts a handful of intriguing moments and stellar performances, but it falters under the weight of its inconsistent pacing and messiness.
Stick around as I recap the series finale of Killing Eve, “Hello, Losers,” which airs directly after episode 7 on BBC America.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
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