Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for the series finale of Killing Eve.Killing Eve debuted in 2018 and immediately captured the hearts of audiences with its subversion of the police procedural and TV spy drama, dark humor, mutual obsession between the two captivating lead characters, and its equally complex and compelling supporting cast. The series is based on the Villanelle novel series written by Luke Jennings, and each new season is helmed by a different woman writer. The first and most popular season of the show featured Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) as the head writer. Waller-Bridge was also the executive producer and received critical acclaim for her work on Killing Eve. Seasons two, three, and four are led by Emerald Fennell, Suzanne Heathcote, and Laura Neal, respectively. While there are some subtle differences in each writer’s style, the one thing all four women have in common is their ability to write fully fleshed-out characters that leap off the page. Over its four seasons, Killing Eve has seen main characters come and go, some whom we wished we could’ve seen more of and some who overstayed their welcome. Here is every main character on the show, ranked in order of their popularity amongst audiences and the impact they left on the show and the remaining characters.
6 Niko Polastri
Eve’s former husband Niko (Owen McDonnel) was a regular character in the first three seasons of Killing Eve, however, his character didn’t leave a lasting impression on the show. While there wasn’t anything inherently unlikable about Niko, he wasn’t a very compelling character. That said, everyone would agree he got the short end of the stick when Eve prioritized an unhealthy obsession with Villanelle over their marriage. He was a loyal husband with a strict moral code who tried to be supportive. What he couldn’t have known is that Eve was still discovering her truth and, unfortunately, his presence in her life was ultimately holding her back. As if the guy didn’t have it bad enough, after their separation, Niko was grievously injured in an unprovoked attack by Dasha (Villanelle’s former handler) to turn Eve and Villanelle against one another. We have to give the guy props for setting boundaries though with his final words to Eve: “Piss. Off. Forever.”
5 Carolyn Martens
While we admire Carolyn Martens’s ambition, her dedication to her work reads more like an unhealthy obsession. Early on, the audience learns Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) will stop at nothing to get what she wants out of any situation with no regard for collateral damage, even to the detriment of her interpersonal relationships. Most notably, her relationships with her children are neglected throughout; for instance, we don’t even learn that Carolyn is Kenny’s mother until the show is well established. Even Carolyn’s obsession with finding out who killed Kenny is more about justifying her actions in finding The Twelve than it is about Kenny. In Carolyn’s final self-serving act on Killing Eve, she hired an assassin to gun down Villanelle, despite the fact that Villanelle had previously spared her life. Carolyn saw it as her ticket back into MI6, proving the only person Carolyn is loyal to is Carolyn.
4 Konstantin Vasiliev
Despite being a self-serving member of The Twelve, who is estranged from his biological daughter, Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) won over the audience’s hearts with his softer side. His paternal relationship with Villanelle is quite endearing as is his love for Carolyn, which is a common theme throughout the series. Even in his final moments in the series, he was sacrificing himself to protect Pam from following in the footsteps of Villanelle, and we can see his death – despite her being responsible for it –impacted Pam greatly, as she ends up turning Carolyn down on her job offer of taking out Villanelle.
3 Kenny Stowton
Kenny (Sean Delaney) was the most beloved character on the show behind the two leading ladies. His close friendship with Eve, high intellect, and determination to uncover the truth of the Illusive Twelve made him a fan favorite. His shocking and untimely death in season 3 of Killing Eve also left a lasting impact on the audience as well as the remaining cast of the show. Eve was devastated at the loss of another close friend and doubled down on finding The Twelve in honor of Kenny. Carolyn also held onto a lot of guilt concerning Kenny’s death, which would heavily impact her storyline for the remainder of the series. Even Konstantin finds himself in some precarious predicaments due to his involvement in Kenny’s death.
2 Eve Polastri
While we are excited to see what Sandra Oh will do next, the feeling is bittersweet as it is hard to say goodbye to such an extraordinary, honest, and complex female character. While Eve is technically one of the good guys, it becomes apparent as the series progresses that Eve is much more like her counterpart Villanelle than she may care to admit. The audience sees glimmers of her darker side throughout the series, like when she kills a man to save Villanelle in season two, or when she kidnaps Helene’s daughter in season four. In the finale, we see Eve let go of her past and finally embrace who she truly is. During her time on Killing Eve, Oh had many memorable moments as Eve for audiences to revisit. The abrupt ending of the series, however, leaves lots of unanswered questions that make Eve’s story feel unfinished.
1 Villanelle
Despite not being the title character, Villanelle has the greatest impact on the show overall, as her character is instrumental in the underlying premise. The title Killing Eve is not meant to be literal, but rather a metaphorical “letting go” of the person Eve once was. If not for Villanelle’s influence and unconditional acceptance of who Eve is deep down — which Eve reserves for Villanelle solely — Eve’s character could not have evolved in the way the showrunners had intended her too. Further to that, the show wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining without her wild antics, killer fashion sense, fascinating backstory, intriguing personal transformation and Jodie Comer's inspired portrayal. Villanelle is undoubtedly one of the best villains to ever hit the small screen.
In the series finale of Killing Eve, we get a glimmer of a happy ending for the pair, while they embark on an intimate road trip en route to dismantling The Twelve. However, in Villanelle’s final triumphant moments after eradicating The Twelve, Villanelle is taken out by a sniper. Her shocking death in the series finale was gutting to die-hard Killing Eve fans who felt Villanelle was short-changed. According to Vanity Fair, fans immediately went to work "rewriting" their own happy ending for their beloved characters. While we can’t disagree it was a disappointing end to a phenomenal character, head writer Laura Neal feels it was an appropriate end for the stylish assassin. There has already been talk about potential spinoffs to extend the Killing Eve universe.