‘Killing Eve’ Season 3, Episode 4 ‘Still Got It’ Recap: Happy Birthday Eve!

And then there were two. First, there was Kenny. Then, there was Niko (Owen McDonnell). That’s two beloveds down from Eve’s side. Yet, they’re no closer to The 12. That pretty much sucks as a birthday surprise, doesn’t it? Welp, that’s Killing Eve for you.

On the other hand, I’m not sure I’m liking this new backflipping format Killing Eve is trying out. Instead of being sectioned into locations, this episode is split by characters. It might’ve worked in another episode. But, this one had too many moments felt like fillers. Anyhow, it still did the trick somewhat. Without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s episode of Killing Eve. 

Happy Birthday To You!

The first 90% of the episode was by far the most chill of the season. But, ‘Still Got It’ still delivered a mighty punch in the face with Niko’s death. Although, I’m still confused about what Eve (Sandra Oh) really wants from Niko. It’s clear their marriage is broken. But, does Eve really want him back in her life, or is she just seeking him out as a scapegoat? Anyhow, that problem might’ve been already just solved for her.

Des Willie/BBCAmerica/Sid Gentle

Before getting into the details of poor Niko’s death though, let’s backtrack a little. While Niko’s living the idyllic breadman life in Poland, Eve has resigned herself to the Bitter Pill’s office couch after the teddy bear scare. She stinks. She looks horrible. She’s undoubtedly hit a low point.

To make things sadder, it’s her birthday. Lucky her (or maybe not) though because there is someone in the world who cares and remembers. As Eve tries to get her focus back on solving Kenny’s death, the arrival of a birthday cake interrupts her. The cake is in the shape of a London bus in commemoration of, you guessed it, Eve and Villanelle’s first kiss. I mean just look at that!

Eve being the ungrateful wench she is though throws it off the roof. There’s instant regret. But, come on woman, how can you ever think of throwing a sweet perfectly delicious cake off the roof like that?

Dark Story Bonding

The cake aside, Eve’s birthday does start to look up when Jamie (Danny Sapani) offers a spare room to her. Now, at this point in Killing Eve, I still don’t find myself caring much about the Bitter Pill gang. But, I enjoyed Eve and Jamie’s horror story trade-off.

“This morning, I took a piss in the shower,” Jamie starts. Charming. And then, it becomes “I was unfaithful to my husband. I put him in so much danger he ended up in the hospital with PTSD” from Eve. From that, it quickly spirals to drugs, arrests, and stabbing people. The exchange stops when Jamie says, “My best friend died on the drugs that I gave him.” To be fair, that is pretty hard to top off.

Ludovic Robert/BBCAmerica/Sid Gentle

The emotional charge doesn’t end there though. Later that night, restless and awake, Eve picks up a teddy bear strewn about in her bed. She asks it, “What do you want from me?” It’s the question she’s been asking since the first season of Killing Eve. But, I think Villanelle’s made it clear. The better question would be what does Eve want from her. Eve doesn’t get to think about it further though because out of nowhere, she receives a picture from Niko of himself in Poland.

The next morning, Eve finds a connection between one of Villanelle’s recent kill, the political agitator woman and Dasha’s old kill. After that though, she’s jetting off to Poland.

Sneaky, Sneaky Konstantin

Elsewhere in the world, Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) is doing his own jetting around. He’s a little all over the place but, it’s interesting seeing how all his involvements are clashing with each other. First, he’s in Russia visiting his daughter Irina. The visit doesn’t last long though after the conversation sours. Irina gets the last words pointing out that Konstantin only cares for himself.

Laura Radford/BBCAmerica

Next, Konstantin is in London, consoling Charles Kruger’s widow. He learns that Charles left an email and asks the widow to send it to him. Then, he tells her to go somewhere safe. Then, lastly, Konstantin finds himself sneaking up on Villanelle in Barcelona.

Before their meeting, Villanelle received very special news from Dasha (Harriet Walter). They want to talk to her. It’s no certain confirmation of Villanelle’s promotion but, it’s enough to get her jolly. In return, she only has to stay put in Barcelona. Seriously though, I don’t trust this. Villanelle has basically disobeyed 90% of orders. And she’s been quite erratic on top of all that. I reckon The 12 is either simply stringing her along and using her or they have other plans for her.

Hiccup Hiccup

Back to Konstantin and Villanelle though, he’s not simply there for a social call. He takes her to one of those cable cars and seemingly instantly regrets it once Villanelle starts jumping up and down on the car. Villanelle knows how to push his buttons and she just loves doing it. After rubbing it in Konstantin’s face that she’s getting promoted, Villanelle perks up when the old man mentions that she destroyed Eve’s marriage.

Laura Radford/BBCAmerica

“The mustache is gone?” she asks perking up immediately. Like how Villanelle knows how to annoy him, Konstantin also knows how to get her attention. More than her relationship with Eve though, Konstantin has more to offer: pictures of Villanelle’s family. He can find where they are. Villanelle only has to make one more kill for him – Kruger’s widow. Strangely enough, Villanelle doesn’t even put up one word of protest. She also develops the hiccups nonstop when she sees the pictures.

Villanelle finishes up the poor woman with a garden hose around the neck. Then, she immediately reports to Konstantin. Unbeknownst to her, she might’ve just stumbled into something far more dangerous than getting her beloved promotion. At the end of the episode though, Villanelle isn’t in Barcelona or London anymore. She’s HOME.

Desperate Times

Last season of Killing Eve, it became abundantly clear that things tend to mess up in the middle. The chain of command is clear. But, it’s what happens in between that fucks things up. This episode, that’s on Dasha.

Roald Aron/BBCAmerica/Sid Gentle

One day, she’s simply enjoying her time swimming. Then, she’s paid a visit by one of The 12’s lackeys and is told to get a grip on Villanelle. “Skittish is not acceptable,” the woman pointedly tells her about Villanelle’s behavior. More than that though, it’s the threat of not ever getting to return home to Russia that has Dasha worrying. She suggests killing Eve to get to the root of it all. But, The 12 don’t want any more problems like that. This tells me that they’re still using Eve to some extent though. All Dasha needs to do is to put a wedge between Eve and Villanelle. How? Niko.

Death of the Mustache

Dasha tracks down the poor man. She poses as this kind old lady friend of his friend. She swipes his phone and sends Eve the picture and a sweet message that inevitably makes her decision to jet to Poland. Then, she asks for his help repairing a barn door. With everything in place, she starts preparing for the slaughter.

Attaching a card with the note “Still got it” on a two-pronged pitchfork, Dasha prepares to kill Niko. But, she’s interrupted by Eve’s arrival. Remember though, the keyword here is interrupted. Dasha hides as Eve and Niko acknowledge each other. Eve approaches, beaming and relieved. Then, Dasha shoves the pitchfork into Niko’s neck.

Des Willie/BBCAmerica/Sid Gentle

Blood spurts on the barn door and Niko falls. As she watches Niko fall to the ground, Eve collapses on her knees, eyes wet with tears, and face twisted in anguish. She doesn’t see Dasha. All she sees is her lost chance at redemption and reconciliation. If we’re grasping at straws here, Niko didn’t appear totally dead. He was still twitching. We’ll find out if we’re really saying goodbye to him next week.

The important question though is how Eve will deal with it. And why did Dasha think it a good plan to kill Niko? Did she think Eve will pin it on Villanelle? Because that kill wouldn’t really be Villanelle’s style. Plus, I think she knows that’s not a line to cross with Eve. What’s more interesting is that I think this death and her grief will remake Eve. She’ll be forced to confront her emotions and what she really wants. What happens then?

Killing Eve continues next Sunday, May 10th with “Are You From Pinner?” at 9/8c on BBCA.