Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Have you ever experienced a desire so fierce it becomes physical resting in the pit of your stomach?
Coiling tighter and tighter, ever more desperate to be sated?
Even itsuneven second season, headed by showrunner Emerald Fennell ofPromising Young Womaninfamy, had some gristle to it.
Gone is the delicious fashion pivoting on moments of transformation in themanner of fairy tales.
Gone is the spry presentation, achieved through blocking, editing, and costume and production design.
Weve all experienced enough James Bond and John Le Carre to clock how tiredKilling Eveis in the espionage department.
Carolyns reaction to her fathers death cements her chilly, focused-on-the-job-above-all-else nature.
Watching episodes like this brought to mind a host of questions: Where are all the tactile joys?
Burberry coats in dusty pink.
Flowy Chloe tops in aquamarine.
A Dries Van Noten patterned suit.
And the fashion wasnt just about beauty; it was about transformation.
Consider the sleek black-and-white Roland Mouret dress Villanelle gifts Eve in the first season.
(Even though I dont agree with the essentialist framing, I enjoyed the conversation the first season sparked.
As the show became more entrenched in the Twelve, Eves desires outside of espionage began to wilt.
Oh is an actor of remarkable lucidity; gorgeous, with a clarity of emotion that pierces the soul.
Instead, the feelings audiences wanted explored with Villanelle are mapped onto another.
Comer and Oh have remarkable chemistry.
As Villanelle, Comer is wild and voracious, bruising and bruised.
Traveling together once again, Villanelle and Eve soften.
They stare at each other with longing and implied understanding.
Eve proceeds to feed Villanelle candy in the van they steal from the couple.
They eat curly fries, teasing about their different tastes in condiments.
Finally, we get what audiences have long wanted a true passionate, sexual kiss.
In the middle of a desolate road, Villanelle kisses Eve on the cheek.
Eve grabs her hand, pulling her near.
They kiss with heat and passion and curiosity as the music swells with whispering sweetness.
When they embrace on the deck afterward, its a moment of reprieve.
I did it, Eve.
Dont you meanwedid it?
And so a series about queer women obsessed with each other ends with a Bury Your Gays trope.
Not long ago, Eve was told, You have to find a new ordinary.
Whatever happens next you might choose.
But nothing has been a choice for her.
Shes a pawn, for the writers and the characters within the series.
Her story line is ultimately left a dangling thread.
Her story is a closed circuit without the electricity that once made the show a force.
