‘Killing Eve’ Season 2, Episode 2 ‘Nice and Neat’ Recap: The Assassin Gets Leashed

Villanelle (Jodie Comer) is no doubt a terrifying psychopath. But, it’s amazing how she can get out of almost any rut without breaking a sweat. I mean just look at how she got out of the hospital in last week’s episode, fresh wound and all, with barely a hitch. Unfortunately, that just might be the last of her luck.

Killing Eve Season two episode two titled “Nice and Neat” brought out the vulnerability to a character otherwise shown to be almost impenetrable. In contrast to season one where Villanelle’s at the top of the food chain, now she’s on the way to her knees. Jodie Comer seriously did a stellar job playing the assassin slipping from her best state into vulnerability, desperation, and something almost like fear. And we never got to see Villanelle fear for her life before in Killing Eve. This time though, she knows she’s been compromised.

While trying to survive her stab wound, Villanelle finds an unlikely good Samaritan – a man with a house full of dolls. And though she thinks she’s in control, she doesn’t realize she just walked into a very creepy trap. Eve (Sandra Oh), on the other hand, has been taken underwing by M16. She investigates Alistair Peel’s death and finds that Villanelle might not be the only assassin nearby.

The Good Samaritan

Villanelle’s clueless ride takes her to suburban Basildon, England. There, she finds a laundry place where her meds get stolen and where she steals a change of clothes. Now that the PJ’s are gone, Villanelle goes into a grocery mart looking for unsuspecting people to help her.

Parisa Taghizadeh/BBC America

Meanwhile, Eve’s still fraught with paranoia. She searches the internet for any record of Villanelle’s death, if there is, and almost gets caught by her husband Niko (Owen McDonnell). Eve hastily clicks on a shopping ad. And upon seeing it, Niko looks at her doubtfully before suggesting she get the sexy blue spaghetti strap dress. Considering it, Eve adds the dress to her cart.

Later on, Eve tells Niko about the Peel case. In fact, Niko’s non-suspicious gaze actually says that Eve has already told him everything. And he somewhat comfortably talks about Villanelle with his wife. Then, before he heads out for the day, Eve wishes him a sweet little ‘be careful.’

Villanelle, on the other hand, finds a seemingly harmless looking man named Julian (Julian Barratt). Then, she works her charms on him and pretends to be a stepdaughter running away from an abusive stepdad. Between the pitiful lies and the Bambi eyes, she gets a free ride and a house to stay in for the night.

Back On Duty

As for Eve, she meets Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) as her boss again. Quickly starting off on an awkward but funny note, Eve asks Carolyn how she manages to look so good every time. And Carolyn divulges that the secret is in her moisturizer made from pig placenta. “Cost a fortune, smells like arse, but it’s exceedingly effective,” Carolyn says of her youth elixir. Then, she takes Eve inside to meet her new teammates in M16. Eve joyfully reunites with Kenny (Sean Delaney). And in the short time before she meets the other two, Jess (Nina Sosanya) and Hugo (Edward Bluemel), Kenny asks if she’s ok. Eve quickly answers “no.”

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When they’re finally alone, Eve tells Kenny about what happened in Paris. She asks if she should tell Carolyn. But, Kenny informs her that she’s withholding information in an investigation she’s directly involved in. On the bright side, Kenny is now too.

Just in time, Hugo interrupts the pair for the assassin briefing. Eve compresses Villanelle’s long history for the team. And Jess calls the assassin sloppy. This makes Eve launch into a rant of all of Villanelle’s qualities that makes her anything but sloppy.

The Creepy-Ass Doll House

The assassin in question arrives in her good Samaritan’s house. And the first thing she sees is dolls, dolls, and more creepy ass dolls. Even an acclaimed assassin like Villanelle can’t help but be kind of freaked out by all those dead eyes staring at her. Soon, she manages to get Julian out of the house to buy her a cake. And while she’s checking out her infected wound, she suddenly hears a thump upstairs. Just. Plain. Creepy.

Later that night, Villanelle tries to make up any excuse she could to get Julian to give her some antibiotics. But in the end, he plays doctor and tells her all she needs is a little bit of rest. In the middle of the night, she wakes up to the sound of more thumping. With a cat figurine in her hand, she creeps down the hall to the room where the noise is coming from. She opens the locked room to find it empty. But when she turns around, she comes face to face with a screaming old woman. Then they just start screaming each other’s head off. (Best screaming faces ever though) Julian catches Villanelle’s arm in the nick of time before she could bash the old woman’s head in. Poor Villanelle though Julian’s mother was a ghost and she hates ghosts.

The next morning, Villanelle wakes up to Julian standing on the edge of her bed watching her. She gives him a list of things she needs from the pharmacy but falls back asleep midway the conversation. And this is when Julian reveals the level of creepy he is. As Villanelle weakly slumbers on, Julian gives her forehead a kiss.

Eve’s Apple

While looking for news on Villanelle, Eve comes across an article detailing the murder of Villanelle’s old hospital roommate Gabriel. Eve quickly asks for the crime scene photos. And in the photo, she finds Gabriel holding onto a bitten apple. Putting the pieces together, she connects the apple to the garden of Eden and to her namesake Eve. This gives Eve the confirmation that Villanelle’s very much alive and coming for her.

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The next morning, Eve enlists Hugo’s help in pulling apart the evidence from Peel’s case. In contrast to Villanelle’s style, the murder was discreet, anonymous, and quiet. Together, they figure out it wasn’t Villanelle.

Later on, Eve and Carolyn pay Peel’s children a visit. And they reveal the truth of his death. However, not one of the siblings is familiar with Villanelle’s face proving Eve’s theory right. With a big bright smile and giddy steps, Eve declares there’s another assassin in town.

Going back to Villanelle, she’s found herself quite the caretaker. Though it’s obvious she’s sick, Julian still hasn’t brought her any meds. Instead, he’s caring for her like a doll, combing her hair back and serving her tea and all. As soon as Julian leaves the room, his mother suddenly speaks up startling Villanelle. In her short bout from dementia, the old lady warns Villanelle to be careful of Julian. But before she could clarify, Julian’s mother goes back to her lifeless stare.

Love Call

As soon as Julian leaves the house, Villanelle tries all windows and doors only to find them all securely locked. And since she doesn’t have any supplies, she cleans up her wound with a sanitary pad and some betadine. Soon enough, Julian comes back to find her rifling through the drawers for a knife. When he asks what for, Villanelle answers quite literally “To stab you with.” Unperturbed, Julian shrugs it off and leaves again.

Parisa Taghizadeh/BBC America

This time, Villanelle grabs the telephone. The first person she calls seems to be the 12 whom she gives a code to. However, the operator answers they can’t help her anymore. Really desperate now, Villanelle calls up the M16. She repeatedly asks for Eve Polastri but, the operator can’t seem to understand her. A minute too late, Villanelle flees as she hears Julian back at the door. Rookie move, she doesn’t place the telephone back to where it should be and Julian sees it.

Meanwhile, while another office man is being assassinated somewhere, Eve and her team discuss the very characteristics of the responsible murderer. They name her the Ghost. And they characterize her to be the exact opposite of Villanelle: discrete, anonymous, and meticulous. As for her physical attributes, they assume she might look like an immigrant, surely not white. And she has a penchant for being unnoticeable. With this, Jess suggests crossing Villanelle out. But both Kenny and Eve try to convince them otherwise. Before they could discuss further, Carolyn calls for Eve and gives her Villanelle’s love call.

This Is What You Get

Julian confronts Villanelle about the telephone call. And before he could go full psycho on her, Villanelle lies and tells him she was calling for a thank you cake. Julian immediately turns soft to her brilliant acting. But before he could bat an eyelash, the Russian accent comes back, and the assassin kicks him in the face. The pair viciously wrestle around the house with Villanelle getting choked a couple of times. However, in the end, she emerges the winner after driving a knitting pin to Julian’s neck. Finally, she walks out of that dreadful house. Even Julian’s mother comes right out after her.

Parisa Taghizadeh/BBCAmerica

A couple of blocks away, a car blinks its lights at Villanelle. She cautiously approaches it and once inside, she meets her new handler Raymond (Adrian Scarborough). Looking paler than the dead, Villanelle refuses to work for them again. However, Raymond refuses to let her go. Letting her temper get the best of her, Villanelle attempts to choke him only to have the move reversed and put on her. Figuratively demonstrating, Raymond informs Villanelle that she’s now on a very short leash.

Eve and Carolyn track down Villanelle’s phone call. Unfortunately, they arrive right at the moment Raymond takes Villanelle away. Back at the house, Eve finds that Villanelle added another touch to the already messy scene by shoving a toilet bowl brush down Julian’s mouth. Finding no other lead, Eve and Carolyn head back to the latter’s house. Kenny passes by them in the hallway with a betrayed look on his face. Only when Eve steps into the living room does she understand why. Because right there, sitting on Carolyn’s couch is no one but a very much alive Konstantin.

Killing Eve continues Sunday, April 21st with “The Hungry Caterpillar” at 8/7c on BBC America and AMC.