Killing Eve Season 3: Who Killed Kenny?

The following contains spoilers for Killing Eve season 3 episode 8. 

Killing Eve season 3 opens with about as bold a declaration of intent as possible. Episode 1 “Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey” did the unthinkable and killed off Kenny Stowton (Sean Delaney), former MI6 agent, son of Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), Tottenham Hotspur fan, and irrepressible lover of bare legs.

It was a tragic moment for Killing Eve and one that set up the entire season to come. It also led to this truly charming photo of Sean Delaney admiring his own casket:

But that’s neither here nor there. What’s important is that Killing Eve season 3 was duty-bound to answer the question of “Who killed Kenny?” before season’s end. And in the season  finale, titled “Are You Leading Or Am I?” Killing Eve does answer that question…kind of. For while there is still some room for gray misinterpretation of the event, if certain unreliable parties can be relied upon, we now know what caused Kenny to fall to his death. 

We get the answer due to the dogged determination of Kenny’s mother, Carolyn. After spending all season trying to find out what happened to her son, Carolyn gets her first real break when the Bitter Pill staff invites her to their ransacked office to watch a video they’ve uncovered. Gummy candy enthusiast Bear (Turlough Convery) set up a camera in the office to catch Kenny stealing said gummy candy. Instead of uncovering sugary larceny, however, the camera reveals that Twelve-associate and one-time Carolyn paramour Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) paid a visit to the Bitter Pill offices before Kenny fell off (or was flung off) the roof. 

This revelation causes Carolyn to take her new boss, and suspected Twelve member, Paul Bradwell (Steve Pemberton) hostage and convince him to invite Konstantin to his home to discuss important Twelve-related business. Konstantin arrives with both Eve and Villanelle in tow and Carolyn demands to know what really happened to her son. Konstantin provides the following answer:

“Because of Paul. Kenny was getting too close to the Twelve. I told him if he wanted to live, he needed to come working for The Twelve. I was trying to save him. I was trying to save him, I swear. He got scared, he kept stepping back. I tried to stop him but he fell before I could do anything. I wouldn’t do that to someone I once…”

It’s up to the viewer whether or not one chooses to believe Konstantin’s “confession.” It must be said, however, that the description of the events sound quite plausible. Earlier in the season, Eve discovered that Kenny was indeed closing in on the Twelve by using his elite hacking skills to uncover more information about Twelve associate Fat Panda. It’s also well-established that Paul Bradwell is indeed a part of The Twelve due to him calling Konstantin in this episode and earlier on in the season. 

The only thing left to debate is whether Konstantin really tried to encourage Kenny to join the Twelve and he stumbled off the roof frightened, or whether he tossed him. Ultimately it comes down to whether Konstantin really loves Carolyn and her son or not. Carolyn doesn’t want to believe that Konstantin loves her but by shooting Paul and not Konstanin, she seemingly concedes that he does. 

By season’s end, Carolyn is resigned to the fact that her son’s death was a tragic accident brought along by an equally tragic misunderstanding. And if Carolyn believes that, then so should we.

Keep up with Killing Eve season 3 news and reviews.