‘Killing Eve’ Season 2 Premiere ‘Do You Know How to Dispose of a Body’ Recap: Cat and Mouse Reversed

Season 1 of Killing Eve almost felt like it was running around tugging and testing for the right ropes. There were plenty of moments that were unexpectedly refreshing to the senses. And yet, there were also moments that came too close to being excessive and sadly conventional. However, in its season 2 premiere, Killing Eve seems to have picked up a stronghold banking on its main character’s charms and fascinating personas.

“Do You Know How To Dispose Of A Dead Body?” doesn’t waste any seconds and picks right up after Villanelle (Jodie Corner) takes off to the streets bloodied and wounded, leaving a terrified and traumatized Eve (Sandra Oh) behind. Each of their obsessions has backfired. And each woman is left to get her bearings together. But now, the cat and mouse roles are reversed. Instead of it being Eve breaking the rules and boundaries to get to Villanelle, now it’s the assassin doing everything in her power to reunite with her girlfriend who not so lately stabbed her in the guts.

Fleeing For Help

Eve flees Villanelle’s apartment only to narrowly run into a fake paramedics team who shoots Villanelle’s sweet old lady neighbor and cleans up the assassin’s apartment. Meanwhile, the bleeding killer has flown to the streets and impressively manages to walk upright the whole way. At one point, she coincidentally finds a bottle of vodka and takes a huge swing before dousing her wound with it. Then, she trudges on.

Aimee Spinks/BBC America

Meanwhile, Eve goes straight to the train station, buys an overflowing bag of candy, and viciously binge eats it before going to the screening. However, right at the line, she realizes she’s still holding on to the retractable knife she used to stab Villanelle. So, Eve hightails out of the line on her socks into the bathroom and disposes of the weapon. After getting through screening, the traumatized agent settles into one of the bars where she absentmindedly and repeatedly stabs her palm with a retractable pen. Fortunately, a woman distracts her. Noticing Eve’s disheveled and uneasy state, the woman sympathizes with her. This drives Eve’s unease and suspicion overdrive. But, it turns out the woman only thought she was an addict. And as soon as Eve realizes this, she just loses it and ends up laughing like a madwoman.

As for Villanelle, she’s being rejected by every cab and car passing through her way. In desperation, she throws herself in front of a taxi. As soon as they’re speeding down the road, Villanelle asks how long it’ll take to get to the hospital. When the driver tells her it’ll take around 10 minutes she asks, “Do you know how to dispose of a dead body?” So when they get to the hospital, the driver unceremoniously drops her in front of the emergency entrance and bolts.

Waking Up As A Patient

A few hours later, Villanelle wakes up in a dressing gown, a little woozy of painkillers, and a whole lot suspicious of her surroundings. Her doctor informs her that he’ll have to report this to the police. But, she turns on her acting skills and feeds him a sob story of how she’s on the run from her investigator husband who stabbed her.

Aimee Spinks/BBC America

As soon as she’s able to stand, Villanelle heads for the lollipops first. Then, she acquaints herself with her roommate Gabriel who got messed up by a car accident. They soon get into their discussing their injuries. And when Villanelle tells him that a woman stabbed her, Gabriel doesn’t believe it. “Women don’t stab,” he says in confusion. The messed up thing is that Villanelle thinks she was stabbed out of care and affection. (Villanelle, your inner psychopath is showing!)

Back in London, the first thing a paranoid Eve does is call Paris and ask around for any news about a woman who got stabbed. Then, she gets into cooking. As she’s chopping up the vegetables, her attention is affixed by the sharp knife in her hand ala Villanelle. But then, Niko (Owen McDonnell) comes home and Eve tries to act cringy normal. It’s only after Niko pulls out the chicken she should’ve and claimed to have put into the stove does the whole charade drop.

As she’s soaking in the bath, Eve’s attention is caught on her hands and the blood caked on her fingernails. She doesn’t even give any care to her phone that’s been ringing non-stop until Niko checks in on her. Eve repeatedly lies to her husbands face that she’s ok. And when it became apparent she wasn’t going to tell him anything, Niko dejectedly walks out to have dinner.

Trying To Escape

Gabriel has become Villanelle’s new footman, and his first task was to get her a doctor’s coat and an id. She even commends his stealing and encourages him to do it more. Getting out of her quarters, Villanelle completes her outfit with a grubby pair of white nurses shoes she puts on in disgust.

Parisa Taghizadeh/BBC America

Villanelle’s first stop is the medical stockroom where she loads up on supplies. Then, when she passes by a patient’s room with a handbag left out in the open, she dares to feel it up for money. However, the owner of the bag comes back a little too soon, and Villanelle immediately pretends to be a consultant. She breezily lies and tells the woman that her husband was doing better even though he obviously looked minutes away from death. Then, she nicks the woman’s pocket for her purse. Back at her room, Villanelle accounts for the fruit of her thievery only to be sorely disappointed. Before she can do anything about it though, she passes out.

In London, Eve finally agrees to meet up with Carolyn. As soon as they’re alone, Carolyn asks about Eve’s trip to Paris. But, Eve lies about meeting Villanelle to which Carolyn doubtfully raises her eyebrows. She then asks Eve if she had any inkling or feelings as to where Villanelle might have gone. Eve answers albeit a little too forcefully that she had nothing, no feelings or whatsoever. As Carolyn continues to discuss matters with her, Eve clarifies that she was fired. But, Carolyn seems to have a new offer in mind. Begrudgingly, Eve follows Carolyn to wherever she’s leading her.

New Dead Guy

Carolyn leads Eve to a morgue. And there, she unveils the body of Alistair Peel who seemingly died of a normal heart attack. Only after they satisfy their cravings for a burger (which was brought on by the smell of formaldehyde) does Carolyn tell Eve about the note Nadia slipped out her door before Villanelle killed her. It was addressed to Eve and only contained the name of Alistair Peel. Because of it, Carolyn now thinks that Alistair was murdered.

Parisa Taghizadeh/BBCAmerica

Despite Eve’s second thoughts, she couldn’t resist the temptation of solving Alistair’s case more especially that Villanelle might be involved. So, she starts asking about the victim. It turns out, Alistair was very anti-social. The only person he regularly came in contact with was his pedicurist. With that, Eve told the forensic person to look for a puncture mark on his foot. This seemingly simple question and answer procedure grate on Eve as much as it pleases Carolyn.

Sympathy From A Killer

As soon as Villanelle wakes up again, she asks for Gabriel’s clothes and makes do with a pair of his pajamas. Then, she starts packing. Gabriel suddenly asks her to look under his bandages and tell him the truth of how he looks. Villanelle agrees and true enough to what he asked, she tells him with full sincerity that he looks like a pizza.

Parisa Taghizadeh/BBC America

As she starts packing again, Gabriel asks if he looks scary and if he would get better again to which Villanelle disappoints him both times with her brutally honest answers. He ends up sobbing, and with a look of “oh come on” on Villanelle’s face, she sits beside him and tries to comfort him. Gabriel wants to be normal. And now that he knows he can’t be, he just wishes that he died in the car accident. When he asks if Villanelle would want to live like him with a face like his, her uncaring attitude gives way to a hint of sympathy as she softly answers no. She puts her arm around his shoulder and pats his head comfortingly. Then, she snaps his neck. After which, she puts him back in bed and drapes a blanket over him.

Villanelle tries to wheelchair herself out. But because of an emergency, the guard stops her at the doors. So, she plays the vulnerable devastated patient card and begs for a moment alone. Taking pity, the guard allows her out. As soon as she’s out the doors and the guard turns his back for a second, Villanelle takes off.

A Midway Threat

Back in the morgue, Eve finally confronts Carolyn about her charades and her actions back in Moscow. Carolyn throws back her own sets of questions she knows Eve won’t answer. And as she offers Eve a new opportunity, she plays on Eve’s obsession with Villanelle as well as the assassin’s threat to Eve. Carolyn also tells Eve to save the reluctant act for her husband and even pushes Eve further telling her to use Carolyn as an excuse to her husband. “Tell him I forced you. It’ll be easier,” she says to Eve.

Aimee Spinks/BBC America

Later that day, it’s Niko who pushes Eve to her job. “You need this,” he tells her and stops her from apologizing. He only needs her to tell him what’s happening. Eve comes so close to breaking but, at the last second, she changes her mind and instead fesses up that she bought a shit ton of expensive windows.

Like her earlier circumstance, Villanelle walks the streets again. She manages to hitchhike in a tow truck which drops her off at a gas station. Then, she spots a happy family headed towards the convenience store. She empties their trunk and gets comfortable inside. As they’re driving the freeway, an eerie smile crawls up to Villanelle’s face knowing that she’s inevitably getting closer and closer to her prey Eve Polastri.

Killing Eve continues Sunday, April 14th with “Nice and Neat” at 8/7c on BBC America and AMC.