Killing Eve Season 3 Ending Explained

This article contains MAJOR spoilers for the Killing Eve Season 3 finale.

The Killing Eve Season 3 finale has aired and it left us with plenty of delicious, lingering to turn over and discuss as we wait for the fourth season, which has already been confirmed.

What Does That Last Scene Mean?

One of the cool things about Killing Eve is that, every scene, it promotes a new female writer to head writer of the show. This not only means that the show acts an incubator of sort to give women the chance to run their own show, but it also creates a system in which the previous head writer challenges the next head writer to fulfill their season finale cliffhanger.

Last season, Season 2 head writer Emerald Fennell ended the season with Villanelle shooting Eve in Rome and leaving her to die and Season 3 head writer Suzanne Heathcote was responsible for playing that scenario (and the other lingering plot threads) out in the third season. This season, Heathcote leaves Season 4 head writer Laura Neal (who wrote two Season 3 episodes) with the wonderful “problem” of resolving the Season 3 cliffhanger.

I give this context to say: the next chapter in the story of Eve and Villanelle might not even be decided upon, but there is still plenty of meaty elements in that final scene that hint at what might be next for these two. More than ever before, Eve seems to accept her attraction to Villanelle. More than that, she seems open to leaning into it, agreeing with Villanelle that the idea of them killing Dasha “together” is romantic and telling Villanelle “I think my monster wanted [your monster to encourage it].” This is a far cry from the way Villanelle manipulated Eve into killing Raymond last season, and how Eve felt about it and Villanelle in the aftermath.

Villanelle has also changed. She isn’t trying to manipulate Eve into staying. When Eve asks for Villanelle’s help in leaving this—in leaving her—behind, Villanelle gives it to her. Not because she wants to, but because it’s what Eve says she wants. Sure, she turns around, but she doesn’t demand that Eve turns as well. She probably hopes that she will, but she lets Eve make her own choice. This feels like a new incarnation of their relationship.

The scene is arguably the most romantic one yet between Eve and Villanelle (though that dance scene was pretty damn romantic, too). Not only does it take place on the iconic Tower Bridge, overlooking the picturesque London cityscape along the Thames, but it is partially set to Johnny Jewel’s “Tell Me” (featuring Saoirse Ronan), which includes the lyrics: “Tell me I’m Your Baby, and you’ll never leave me. Tell me that you’ll kiss me forever. Whisper that you love me, that you’ll never leave me. Be mine for always. I’ll be yours forever.” I mean… come on.

Killing Eve Season 3 has, more than any season before, used its soundtrack to give further insight into the characters’ interior lives, their thoughts and feelings. So which character does this song stem from? Both Eve and Villanelle. The scene in shot in a very balanced, symmetrical way, as if it is answering the episode’s title: “Are You Leading Or Am I?” For the first time since their relationship began, they are both leading and they are both following. When Villanelle instructs Eve to stand back to back, they both do it without fear of the other. This feels like trust.

Who Killed Kenny?

The big, character-driven mystery that has fueled this season, especially when it came to Carolyn’s character was: Who killed dear, sweet Kenny? In the very first episode of Season 3, he either fell or was pushed from the top of the Bitter Pill building. In the finale, we get some answers about what happened to lead to Kenny’s death, but there is a good chance we will never know exactly what happened with 100% confidence.

In the Season 3 finale, Bear suddenly remembers that he had previously hidden a camera to see who was stealing his Presumably Very British Candy (Sorry, Sweet). This felt like a bit of a plot hole—Bear seriously didn’t think about this very relevant information source the entire time the Bitter Pill team was trying to get to the bottom of Kenny’s death? MI6 didn’t find it when they were searching the Bitter Pill offices a few episodes ago? Damn, that is one well-hidden camera… it was even hidden from Bear’s mind.

Anyhow, the camera reveals that Konstantin came to the office the day that Kenny died. They are seen together on and then leave (presumably to go to the roof—never go to the roof, Kenny), not long before Kenny died.

Later, Carolyn confronts Konstantin about it at gunpoint. He confesses that he was there, but it wasn’t to kill Kenny. It was to tell him that The Twelve were on to him and to offer him a job with The Twelve. Konstantin claims that he was doing this to try to keep Kenny safe and that he would never do something like kill the son of someone he used to love, i.e. Carolyn.

So, if Konstantin didn’t kill him, what does he claim happened to lead to Kenny’s not-alive status? “He got scared. He kept stepping back. I tried to stop him, but he fell.”

Carolyn straight-up doesn’t believe Konstantin, or at least that’s what she tells Konstantin. Villanelle adds that Konstantin doesn’t kill people; he gets other people to do it, which is a good point. Either way, whether he was pushed or he fell, Konstantin’s presence at the office that day led to Kenny’s death. And, if he did murder Kenny, it was no doubt at the order of The Twelve, represented by Paul in this climactic scene.

Carolyn blames herself for Kenny’s death, which is perhaps part of the reason why she doesn’t kill Konstantin. After all, it was Carolyn who first got Kenny involved in investigating The Twelve during his time at MI6. It was Carolyn’s decision to manipulate Villanelle into murdering Aaron Peel and more or less have Eve take the fall for it—a mission that led Kenny to leave MI6 and start working for Bitter Pill. Staying at MI6 wouldn’t have necessarily kept Kenny safe (Justice For Mo), but Carolyn at least could have kept a better eye on him.

Personally, I think it’s a good storytelling choice to keep viewers somewhat in the dark about what actually happened to Kenny. The show could have chosen to show us what happened, via a flashback or with another plot device like the Hidden Sweets Camera. Instead, we’re left, like Carolyn, Eve, and Villanelle, to have to judge for ourselves whether we believe Konstantin’s story or not.

The Twelve Cannot Be Stopped

While Carolyn doesn’t kill Konstantin for his role in Kenny’s death, she does kill Paul, who continues to deny all things The Twelve up to his death, though he does threaten that Konstantin and Carolyn that they’re going to “burn for this.” Sure, this could refer to the power he has at MI6, but more likely, he is speaking in his capacity as a member of The Twelve.

There are, sadly, not many concrete revelations made about The Twelve in the Season 3 finale. Paul is more or less confirmed as a member, something we strongly suspected after Mo ended up dead for gathering concrete evidence linking the MI6 employee to the organization. Other than that, we simply get a sense of how well both Konstantin and Carolyn seem to know the criminal organization—at least to the extent that neither seems to think it is possible to take them down.

When Eve gets angry with Carolyn for killing Paul, their one serious lead/source when it comes to discovering new information about The Twelve, Carolyn simply tells her: “You can’t defeat The Twelve,” suggesting that Eve go “cold turkey” on any and all things The Twelve, including Villanelle. Villanelle doesn’t disagree with Carolyn’s assessment of the situation, though she seems more willing to help Eve in a potential pursuit of The Twelve. Then again, she has always been more reckless than Carolyn when it comes to any and all things. Could we potentially see Eve and Villanelle team up to help The Twelve?

Is Konstantin Really Gone?

At this point, it’s really hard to imagine this show without Konstantin, but the character has dodged death twice at this point and is also currently on The Twelve’s bad side, so it’s also hard to imagine him surviving much longer.For now, Konstantin seems like he is set for Cuba. He ended the Season 3 finale with access to the millions of Euros he has stolen from The Twelve.

That being said, he ended the season in a worst place—physically, emotionally, and in terms of relationships—than we have ever seen him. Not only is he fresh off of a heart attack, but he doesn’t have his daughter (who is locked away in some kind of Russian juvenile detention facility after running over for stepfather), he doesn’t have Villanelle (“He’s not family”), and he doesn’t have Carolyn. Even if he makes it safely to Cuba, what will his life look like without any of the people he claims to love?

When Konstantin is leaving Paul’s house, he pauses to wait for Villanelle. She tells him she not going with him because “He”s not family,” echoing something Konstantin said to Villanelle in the Season 2 finale. While Villanelle admitted in the previous episode that she really didn’t want Konstantin to die, she is choosing Eve and/or herself over Konstantin’s often incomplete affections.

Earlier in the episode, during Konstantin’s conversation with a dying Dasha, Dasha says to Konstantin, “If you didn’t like how I treated her, why didn’t you do anything about it?” reinforcing this idea that, even though Konstantin may care about Villanelle, he has rarely done what’s best for her.

Who Dies in the Season 3 Finale?

While the Killing Eve Season 3 finale has a moderate death count, the people who died were all supporting characters—even if, for a minute there, it really looked like Carolyn was going to murder Konstantin.

Dasha is the first to bite it in this episode, eventually succumbing to the wounds both Villanelle and Eve inflicted in the previous episode. They killed her together, which both admit to finding romantic in the final scene of the episode. It’s a far cry from last season’s ender in which Villanelle manipulates Eve into killing Raymond to protect her, even though Villanelle could have done it herself. This feels like a big moment both for Eve as a character and for the Eve/Villanelle relationship.

Next up, we have Rhian, the Twelve assassin who was looking to take Villanelle’s spot as favored killer at the organization. Villanelle kills Rhian in a London Tube station after Rhian tries to make Villanelle feel small and defeated. It is a stylized kill, for sure, but the episode also doesn’t lean away from its horror, with Rhian begging Villanelle to help her. Even though Villanelle begins the fight with an “I’m sorry” (a rare apology from the killer), she doesn’t save Rhian. She watches her die. Was this the monster inside of her? A strategy borne of getting away from The Twelve? Or some combination of both?

Finally, we have Paul, who is shot through the head by Carolyn: justice for her son and for Mo, who was killed by Rhian presumably by order of Paul when he dug up evidence connecting Paul to The Twelve. From all appearances, Paul is a high-ranking member of The Twelve. Eve bemoans the missed opportunity to get more information about the secret organization, but Carolyn seems to think he never would have talked. Also, she probably just really wanted to shoot him.

What other questions and/or insights do you have into the Killing Eve Season 3 finale? Let us know in the comments below.