Killing Eve

Question 1

Main characters?

Answer 1

Eve Polastri, Villanelle, Konstantin, Bill and Carol

Question 2

Who is Eve Polastri?

Answer 2

Protagonist government agent who breaks the rules to get results. Contrasting job from the beginning as she was originally only working a desk job

Question 3

Who is Villanelle?

Answer 3

She is the comical intelligent psychopath that is the binary opposite to Eve. She begins to admire and sexually desire Eve

Question 4

When and who produced Killing Eve?

Answer 4

BBC America in 2018

Question 5

Who directed it?

Answer 5

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (had previous success with fleabag)

Question 6

What is the show based off?

Answer 6

Luke Jennings series called ‘Villanelle’ that was self-published

Question 7

What is the plot?

Answer 7

Focuses on Villanelle and Eve developing a bizarre relationship between detective and killer

Question 8

How did the show subvert genre stereotypes?

Answer 8

By replacing all the character that would normally be male with females, made Villanelle the ‘Femme Fatale’ assassin

Question 9

What group of people was the show really received well with?

Answer 9

The LGBTQ+ community, felt as if they could relate

Question 10

What genre is Killing Eve?

Answer 10

Crime-drama/ spy thriller

Question 11

Intertextuality with the plot of Killing Eve?

Answer 11

Based off a lot of James Bond plots, the idea of an obsessive agent following a smart criminal nemesis.
cat and mouse chase is similar to Happy Valley where the women detective gets personally obsessed and attached over their quarry

Question 12

How is Villanelle depicted?

Answer 12

Femme Fatale who lives a glamorous lifestyle with designer clothes, but is not shot to be sexualised

Question 13

Who is Konstantin?

Answer 13

One of the only male leads, isn’t seen as scary and masculine, more of a jovial father figure to Villanelle

Question 14

Killing Eve’s narrative?

Answer 14

Linear, a prolonged investigation over the season following the detectives as they uncover more evidence

Question 15

What is the cliffhanger of the first episode?

Answer 15

Ends with Carol recruiting Eve to begin actively hunting down Villanelle

Question 16

How does Killing Eve subvert typical narrative structure?

Answer 16

Constantly sharing screen time and paralleling between Eve and Villanelle. This prompt the audience to equally empathise with the antagonist as they do with Eve

Question 17

What does equally sharing screen time with Villanelle and Eve do to the audience?

Answer 17

Makes them want Eve and Villanelle to interact in person together rather than the typical wanting Villanelle captured

Question 18

Intertextuality with Eve’s character?

Answer 18

Made to look like Columbo, the scruffy trench coat image to hide her true intellect and razor-sharp mind. A “shabby” detective

Question 19

Intertextuality with Villanelle?

Answer 19

The idea of a Femme Fatale from ‘La Femme Nikita’

Question 20

How does Killing Eve relate to Todorov’s theory?

Answer 20

Equilibrium - Villanelle is eating ice cream showing a normal mundane life and Eve is comfortably married. Disruption - Villanelle kills the Polish diplomat causing Eve to investigate further. Assume that the resolution would be Villanelle’s capture

Question 21

Typical crime drama theme that Killing Eve subverts?

Answer 21

The Enigma Codes, the audience doesn’t have to guess or question who the killer is as it’s obviously Villanelle from the beginning. Enigmas are more on their relationship and character

Question 22

A quote from Waller-Bridge about Killing Eve subverting gender stereotypes?

Answer 22

“people are exhausted by seeing women brutalised on the screen”

Question 23

How is Killing Eve praised?

Answer 23

People think having a more female dominated cast reflects social change and more progressive views. It also shows the conflict women feel between career success and personal success

Question 24

Actress of Eve and Villanelle?

Answer 24

Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer

Question 25

Where are the actresses from?

Answer 25

Oh = Korean-Canadian
Comer = English

Question 26

Steve Neale relating to Killing Eve?

Answer 26

Genres are limited by familiar tropes but are also marked by difference and variation

Question 27

What does clothing indicate to the audience?

Answer 27

Eve’s clothes have a more dull and grey tone highlighting her boring desk job lifestyle living in London. Villanelle’s are really bright and extravagant which shows her freedom and personality

Question 28

Difference between Eve and Villanelle’s homes?

Answer 28

Eve’s home gives off a sense of ‘comfy’ domesticity with her and Niko. Contrasts Villanelle’s large fancy apartment in Paris, very indulgent but conveys the sense of loneliness and emptiness

Question 29

Significance of the wittiness of the show?

Answer 29

Contrasts stereotypical seriousness of MI5 agents written in other medias

Question 30

What band sings all the songs used in the show?

Answer 30

A band called Unloved, specialise in moody 1960s songs, gives a feminine but threatening tone to Villanelle and Eve

Question 31

Target audience?

Answer 31

15-55 global and mature audience, seen as progressive

Question 32

What is the typical gender that is attracted to spy genre?

Answer 32

Males, spy genre seen as more masculine. Killing Eve subverts this by having female cast

Question 33

How popular was Killing Eve?

Answer 33

2nd most watched show on BBC Iplayer

Question 34

What is Villanelle’s archetype?

Answer 34

Anti-hero, audience see her as empowering and fierce

Question 35

How are women portrayed in Bond movies?

Answer 35

Very sexualised and objectified, someone who requires the man help to save them

Question 36

Van Zoonen’s theory relating to Killing Eve?

Answer 36

Patriarchal power by having the men in charge of MI5, Carol subverts this. Believes that if media industries had female production teams then gender would be better represented, this is seen with Killing Eve

Question 37

Killing Eve subverting masculine stereotypes?

Answer 37

Bill who is Eve’s boss is seen as gentle and ‘unbossy’. Niko does all the domestic responsibilities instead of Eve

Question 38

bell hooks relating to Killing Eve?

Answer 38

Patriarchal power is a problem is society, it victimises them into conforming to stereotypes. Carol subverts this

Question 39

What is significant about the scene where Villanelle gives clothes to Eve?

Answer 39

She is inviting her to conform to her gender instead of wearing ‘frumpy’ clothes. For another women’s pleasure

Question 40

Why did Luke Jenning’s write the Villanelle series?

Answer 40

Part of Amazon Kindle’s project to publish e-books of new authors

Question 41

How does the US help in production?

Answer 41

Provides financial backing as the main character is from America

Question 42

Where is the show filmed?

Answer 42

England, Russia and lots of places around Europe

Question 43

What is Killing Eve an example of in audience figures?

Answer 43

‘Word-of-mouth’ hit, received an 82% increase in views after Episode 1 aired

Question 44

Hesmondhalgh relating to Killing Eve?

Answer 44

Famous actors to ‘minimise risk and maximise profit’, large companies reduced the potential of the internet.

Question 45

How has media and technology change affected Killing Eve?

Answer 45

Streaming the premieres, can watch the episodes all on catch-up not confined to traditional broadcasting times, social medias to promote

Question 46

How did Killing Eve target their audience?

Answer 46

Previous success with Fleabag with Phoebe Waller-Bridge in, Sandra Oh’s fame from Grey’s Anatomy, complex themes and violence that 18-55 year olds would enjoy, politically progressive

Question 47

What is Killing Eve’s intention that they encode to the audience?

Answer 47

Feminist ideology and empowering women

Question 48

Ways that the audience reject intended meaning?

Answer 48

Conservative viewers might reject Eve and Villanelle’s sexual relationship, find it uncomfortable.

Question 49

Henry Jenkins fandom theory relating to Killing Eve?

Answer 49

LGBTQ+ community create a fanbase for it, Eve and Villanelle’s relationship resulted in ‘FemSlash’ fiction.

Question 50

What is Stuart Hall’s theory?

Answer 50

People encode and decode media differently according to the values and beliefs