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11 April 2022

Killing Eve fans are fuming over the series finale: ‘the worst ending of any show ever made’

The show has been hinting at an LGBTQ relationship forming from the beginning.

By Alastair James

Words: Alastair James; pictures: BBC

It’s safe to say that fans of Killing Eve are fuming after the series’ grand finale!

The series’ fourth season ended over the weekend in a way that fans were not expecting and definitely not wanting.

Queer fans of the BBC show, starring Jodie Comer as Villanelle and Sandra Oh as Eve, have long been baited with the idea of its two central female characters getting together in the end.

“We hate the ending of killing eve”

The show has boxed around with the idea and given fans plenty of hints that the two would form a happy couple, as they do in the source material for the show. 

In the Villanelle novel series by Luke Jennings, the characters 

One person wrote on Twitter on Sunday (10 April): “i hope jodie and sandra know that even though we hate the ending of killing eve, it wasn’t on them it was the writing, while they gave us the best most comforting characters in eve and villanelle and they’ll always be loved”

“the way it took 2 minutes, a hundred and twenty seconds, for the killing eve writers to ruin everything they’ve built up for 4 years,” someone else added.

Another fan gave a stinging critique of the series’ ending saying, “killing eve has overthrown game of thrones for having the worst ending of any show ever made in the history of television”. 

Someone tweeted a screenshot of Sandra Oh’s character taking a swig of clear liquid from a bottle, which we imagine is relatable content for many fans. 

The main frustration is the build-up over four seasons for a relationship to become official and celebrated on primetime TV, only for that to be taken away at the literal last moment. The idea of betrayal, both of the fans and the show’s characters, runs through a lot of the criticism. 

It’s sad to see old ideas and themes that result in misery and trauma for LGBTQ characters still playing out in 2022. Of course, LGBTQ people are not immune to loss and grief, we know it all too well in fact, but that LGBTQ narratives in the media still revolve so much around them is upsetting to us, and clearly to the rest of the audience. 

In a recent interview with Collider, showrunner Laura Neal said of the ending, “It feels like a massive responsibility to get it right for the show and for those incredible characters, and we had a lot of discussion about it.”

She added: “it was really important to sort of get it right and to make sure that the ending honored the journey that these women have been on.”

Asked how she would describe the last episode of the series Neal said it was “glorious.”

It doesn’t seem like the fans agree…

Attitude’s new-look March/April issue is out now.

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