Killing Eve Flashcards
Binary oppositions established in the opening
Protagonist vs Antagonist
Killer vs Victim
Detective vs Killer
Eve vs Villanelle
Good vs Evil
Eve vs Frank / Carolyn
Todorov narrative - established in opening
Equilibrium - Eve living her normal, boring life in the MI5, Villanelle living her exciting life
Disruption - Murder of the Polish diplomat for Eve, no disruption for Villanelle
Recognition - MI5 investigation into murder
Barthes narrative codes - opening
- Binary oppositions, the colour pallet difference between Eve and Villanelle - audience expectations being subverted
- Unconventional opening - female messy protagonist
- No equilibrium, enigma codes
Genre Neale theory - repetition of conventions
- exotic locations (Paris, Tuscany, Vienna)
- MI5 secret service - recognisable
- Villanelle in disguise
- Assassination - unknown killer
- Russian politician was in Vienna - creates an enigma
Genre Neale theory - difference of conventions
- female dominated cast, women as ruthless (Villanelle ice cream)
- Eve, messy and comedic (protagonist) - satirisation
“cool” “20 quid it was a woman” - 3 dimensional, ambiguous, complex - dark and witty - Phoebe Waller-Bridge
- Powerful representation of women - reflects the female dominated crew and writers
-Lack of action/chase scene - Post modern dialogue - naturalistic behaviour subverts melodramatic elements of spy thriller
- Hybrid of spy genre
Villanelle (representation in the opening)
- Mercurial, intelligent and enigmatic
- Materialistic, juxtaposes Eve
- Lacks emotional intelligence, subverting stereotypes
- Placed into Villanelle’s POV using close ups - audience empathises with her
Eve (representation in the opening)
- Eve wants more excitement in her life
- “cool” unconventional response - subverts stereotypes
- dishevelled + messy, food motivated
- subverts male dominant protagonist of the spy thriller genre
Audience positioning (targeting)
- targets a female audience in a male dominated genre
- Humour targets a younger audience
- Glossy and glamorous style - targets wealthier audience of ABC1
- Targets pre existing fans of Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Grey areas within the binary opposites
- The audience is positioned to empathise with and like, Villanelle, due to her skill, style, playfulness and humour.
- Eve admires Villanelle’s work (‘impressive’ ‘cool’) and her obsession with Villanelle grows as the series progresses, blurring the boundaries between good and evil, police (MI5) vs criminal.
Killing Eve also challenges binaries of gender and sexuality.
Representation of gender (Villanelle)
- Villanelle is an empowered, independent and capable woman, subverting audience expectations
- She breaks out of the mould of a stock female antagonist being depicted as an amoral psychopath
- Evidences through her brutal acts of violence shown in the Tuscany sequence. She uses a hairpin (a phallic symbol) to penetrate her victims eye - shattering the male gaze
- The majority of Villanelle’s victims are men
Representation of men
Van Zoonen argues men are typically represented as efficient, rational and individual
In KE, they break this mould
Nico - portrayed as a house husband, domestic role
Bill - Gentle and lacks control over Eve, later seen as a family man taking on a domestic role with his children
Konstantin - caring “uncle” rather than a dominating authority figure
Post modernism and Killing Eve
- Pastiche, incorporates elements of various genres, including espionage, thriller, and dark comedy, creating a pastiche
- Naturalistic dialogue, “croissant”
- Irony, takes a tongue in cheek approach to character, narrative and themes, often subverting audience expectations
Simulation - Baudrillard suggests that there’s a constant quest for authenticity within simulacra. Characters in “Killing Eve,” particularly Eve, often grapple with their true identities and desires beneath the layers of simulation and performance.
