Killing Eve ending leaves fans furious and unsatisfied
The last episode of Killing Eve – a British spy thriller written by Laura Neal and based on the novels from Luke Jennings – left viewers with an ending that’s been labelled as both unsatisfying and deeply offensive. As you may have guessed from the title, this article will include spoilers for the ending of Killing Eve.
Ending a popular show like Killing Eve was always going to come with risks – particularly when focusing on a psychopathic assassin and the investigator that was originally meant to bring her in, and the frenzied romance that burns between them. However, we suspect the last thing that was on people’s minds was the infamous ‘bury your gays’ trope that has tormented sapphic couples for years and years now.
Yes indeed – Villanelle (Jodie Comer) meets a watery end in the series finale by saving Eve (Sandra Oh) from being shot, taking the brunt and falling into the Thames in London. This came only moments after the two had taken down The Twelve, an organization that recruited assassins to do their bidding for them and shared a loving embrace.
Eve jumps in to save Villanelle, but she remains unresponsive. The other woman looks up and screams in anguish and horror and then… We see ‘The End’ in big, red letters. And that folks is the ending of Killing Eve, a thriller that has kept queer fans wanting more for 4 years now.
As you might already assume, the ending was not seen favourably by fans on social media.
Queer media has always been dogged around the ‘bury your gays’ trope, and while this often doesn’t mean we want our LGBTQ+ characters to be completely untouchable, the trope is heinous because the death usually happens at a moment of happiness between the two queer characters. It feels much like someone offering you something to eat, you taking a bite, and then it being ripped away from you before you can fully appreciate it.
Fans have taken to social media to compare it to several other instances of ‘bury your gay’ in TV and Film, referencing the death of Lexa in The 100, as well as Root from Person of Interest. Both characters die after having achieved happiness with their significant other, only for it to be ripped away from them mere moments later.
One fan said that the ending for Killing Eve was “the most heartless finale ever” whereas others compared it to Game of Thrones, another series that’s ending left such disappointment there was a petition for the ending to be redone.
We’ve no idea if Killing Eve’s finale will receive that much fervour, but what we do know is this: the ending for such a well-loved show may have just tainted it for queer fans for good.
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