Rent Killing Eve: Series 1 (2018)

The 1st & best series, based on the iconic novels & elevated by a stunning Jodie Comer - Killing Eve: Series 1 review by TB

In the bloated & extremely crowded genre of spy/espionage thrillers, Killing Eve was an instant & incredible success, making stars overnight of Sandra Oh & especially Jodie Comer. It just was such a fresh, light but also at times shocking series, following a highly skilled Russian assassin called Villanelle who was not only leathal with her skills but also her ability to blend in as well. And nowhere is this more amazing than with Comer's staggering ability with any accent you can imagine.

Bearing in mind that Comer's mother tongue/accent is an extremely strong Liverpool/Scouse accent, she literally can do any voice imaginable & switch immediately from one accent to another, sometimes in the same sentence. She also absolutely convinces in the physical/action scenes.

Sandra Oh was a bit more of a mixed experience for me. Eve Polastri is a typical desk-bound operative who works for MI-5. She is successful & competent in her job, but dreams of being an agent in the field. She is then drawn into a shocking battle of wills with Villanelle, who takes great delight in avoiding all of the traps that are laid for her, as well as mercilessly slaughtering Eve's operatives & associates.

However, despite my 4 star rating, this series as a whole also has some problems with it, the main one being how many of the situations that are set up simply aren't believable. This is either represented as repeated gross incompetence that would have, once discovered, resulted in probably instant dismissal; or quite simply things which would not happen in the way they are shown/extremely unlikely situations that stretch believability.

But I cannot deny how many times I found myself either laughing, in awe of the acting ability or totally gripped by what was on screen. So despite the flaws, this is a great series. It's just a shame that once we get to series 2 and change the showrunner (Phoebe Waller-Bridge,) a lot of the charm & zany elements are lost.

But Comer is perfection in every way.