'Killing Eve' Season 3, Episode 4 Recap: "Still Got It"
This week's Killing Eve takes on a different format, with each character taking center stage for their part of the narrative that leads to this week's shocking conclusion. It opens with Niko, who we last heard checked himself out of the psych ward and was headed home to Poland. He commemorates his arrival back home with an embarrassingly bad selfie, but hey, he's earned it. He's delivering bread to old ladies like Milena (Anita Poddenbniak), watching football at the pub, and generally living a simple life. Face it Eve: This Is Divorce.
Villanelle: I gained valuable insight into Victorian gender politics.
In her timeline, Eve's not having a great day. She spent the night on the couch at the Bitter Pill after finding the pink teddy bear, and now she's taken over Bear's desk (and Cocoa Puffs). In light of Kroger's assassination, Bear pulls up other related murders that might have been The Twelve. There's the spice shop lady Villanelle killed in the premiere, and Bear also mentions the death of a CO of a French semi-conductor company, which one assumes was Episode 2's clown kill. Eve feels like she recognizes the former. (She should, Villanelle used saffron dumped on her face as an homage to Dasha's first kill in the gymnastics locker room.) But before Eve can fully make the connection, a cake shows up.
Happy Birthday, Eve! But when Eve sees it's in the shape of a double-decker bus, she realizes who sent it. Rather than let her new co-workers eat it, she takes it up to the roof in case it explodes. It does not, but she throws it off anyway. That's where Jamie finds her, crying over the lost cake. He tells her she cannot live in the office, but it's a sneaky way to offer his guest room. The two get along fine one-upping each other over badly they've blown up their lives. Jamie's includes things like GBH charges, taking his daughter to the zoo while high on Ketamine, and giving his best friend drugs, on which he ODed. Not too shabby, considering he's up against Eve's stabbing Villanelle, leaving Hugo to die, and that weird sex scene from last season.
The next morning Bear puts together Villanelle's saffron homage to Dasha's 1974 kill. But his timing sucks. Eve has finally made headway with Niko, who texts her asking her to come to Poland. She runs out of the office, following his messages, and pulls up to see him working on a barn door. He waves as she walks up. Maybe it will be a happy birthday after all?
Far away in Moscow, Konstantin is visiting his daughter, Irina (Yuli Lagodinsky). She is not thrilled, but she does ask to stay with him. He can't; his job at the Russian State Security Service demands a return to the UK. Irina is not in the mood. She walks off, telling him one day, everyone is going to realize he's playing them, and then he'll be dead. (Kids, man.) Back in the UK, Konstantin visits Kroger's widow, Bertha (Rebecca Saire). Weeping, she tells him Charles worked out who had taken the money. Should he die, she was to forward a particular email. (She hasn't yet.) Konstantin says to send it to him, and get somewhere safe. With that, he heads to Barcelona and Villanelle.
Villanelle's been baking, and the results are not great. GBBO would be kind. Dasha is not. She's also not pleased Villanelle won't tell her the truth about London. Dasha insists she's just worried; Villanelle is close to getting what she wants. The heads of the Twelve want to meet with her. But she must behave and stay in Barcelona until that happens. Dasha recommends going shopping. And that's where Konstantin finds her. He suggests they go somewhere private to talk so he can give her the details of her family. He hasn't found them yet, but he will. First, she has to do something for him: Take out Kroger's grieving widow. It isn't enough to solve Villanelle's hiccups, but it is enough to get her a ticket home to Russia. So much for staying put.
On another track, Carolyn's got a lunch meeting today with Paul, who is there to apologize for bungling keeping Charles safe. As far as Carolyn's concerned, taking her authority away led directly to Kroger's death, apology not accepted. Paul asks what she needs to solve the case, and she begins with the obvious: Her office, thanks. As the car service drives her home, Carolyn notices Konstantin walking through her neighborhood, and Geraldine is unpleasantly surprised to see her mother home in the middle of the day. And when Carolyn (very uncasually) asks if she's had any visitors, Geraldine claims only her friend Lily from uni.
And in the final leg, there's Dasha, smoking cigarettes while swimming, an impressive feat indeed. But then, someone in perfect red heels walks up. Her name is Helena (Camille Cottin); the two sit poolside as Dasha shoots vodka out of a tea thermos. Helena demands answers about Villanelle's antics in London concerning Eve. Dasha tries to insist it's all under control, but she's lying, and they both know it. As Helena walks away after ordering Dasha to get Villanelle working without the extracurricular activities, Dasha pops out with a suggestion: She can kill Polastri herself. Helena says no, that would "cause too many other problems." Dasha needs to get creative.
The next day, Niko arrives with his deliveries for Milena, only she's been replaced by Dasha. Niko accepts her as Milena's "oldest friend" Magda, and her story about Milena being in hospital without question, and says to tell him if she needs anything. Unsurprisingly, "Magda" has a request: Repair her barn door. Niko promises he'll pop round tomorrow. As Niko drinks in the pub that night, Dasha sneaks in and grabs his phone. Those messages telling Eve to come to see him? She's the one sending them. It's her barn door Niko's working on when Eve drives up.
As Eve waves back enthusiastically believing she's come to save her marriage, Dasha murders Niko from behind the barn door, right in front of her. Happy birthday indeed.
