Screen Time

February 26 - March 4, 2022 The Daily News and North Valley Community Papers 5 By Dana Simpson TV Media A esop, master of the morality tale, is often credited as the au- thor of a particular story involving a scorpion and a frog. While the true origin of the story remains un - known — some speculate it may, like a certain show's main charac- ter, have originated in Russia — and many versions of it exist, the fable seems to be the driving force behind the fourth and final season of a much-beloved BBC America series, "Killing Eve." Premiering its final season on Sunday, Feb. 27, on BBC America and AMC, and for streaming on AMC+, "Killing Eve" has earned a reputation for its complicated plots involving espionage, attrac - tion, human nature and obsession. Now, not unlike the scorpion that asks the frog for help crossing the river, it's time to see who, if any - one, comes out on top on the oth- er side. First hailing from BBC America in 2018, the series, led by Sandra Oh ("Grey's Anatomy") and Jodie Comer ("Free Guy," 2021), is based on the Villanelle novel series by British author Luke Jennings. It didn't take long, however, for the TV series to eclipse the books and rise to immense popularity among British and North American audi - ences. The series came in hot with a 98% approval rating on the popu- lar ratings site Rotten Tomatoes, and while its approval has, as with many series, borne witness to a slow decline over time, leading lady Comer seems to have no doubt that Season 4 will wow fans right off the bat. "We have definitely got off to an exciting start," Comer told NBC in a recent interview. "I think now, be- cause we know it's the final season, they are definitely pushing bound- aries, especially with Villanelle. Where we open with her [Vil- lanelle] is totally bonkers and bril- liant. I hope people finally enjoy it when it hits the screen." Following the emotional culmi- nation of Season 3, AMC, parent company to BBC America, released a statement announcing Oh's Eve, Comer's Villanelle and Fiona Shaw's ("Harry Potter and the Sor- cerer's Stone," 2001) Carolyn are all in "very different places" head- ing into the final chapter, saying, "Following Eve and Villanelle's ex- change on the bridge, Eve is on a revenge mission, while Villanelle has found a brand-new community in an attempt to prove she's not a 'monster.'" This "new community" will like- ly lead to new characters for the show's fourth season, and — dare it be said — perhaps create new opportunities for a possible spinoff if all goes well. Just about anything is possible in the land of "Eve." The same AMC release also al- ludes to Carolyn's quest for ven- geance for Kenny (Sean Delaney, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," 2021), stating she "goes to extraor- dinary lengths to continue to chase down The Twelve" and restore or- der to the chaos that has been brewing over the past three sea- sons. Despite having been relegat- ed to an embassy role by MI6, she is doing everything within her pow- er to get back in the field as quickly as possible. With new series writer Laura Neal ("Sex Education") at the helm this season (following the one-sea- son reign of "Fleabag's" Phoebe Waller-Bridge), the "Killing Eve" trend of having women write pow- erful stories about powerful wom- en continues. But despite the new voice behind the plot, AMC assures fans that every bit of the "passion, revenge and obsession" viewers know and love will build to "a messy, nuanced and totally glori- ous series finale." The first episode of the eight- part season, "Just Dunk Me," sees Eve on the same mission as Caro- lyn: hunting down The Twelve. Fol- lowing a lead by reaching out once more through a network of assas- sins, Eve hopes to find more infor- mation on Hélène (Camille Cottin, "House of Gucci," 2021), the high- ranking member of The Twelve who was introduced to viewers during last season's battle against Dasha (Harriet Walter, "Succession"). Meanwhile, Villanelle finds some solace in religion and finds herself about to take the next step towards truly immersing herself in her new life: a baptism. Though, as she admits to a therapist in the trailer, it hasn't exactly been a clean break away from her old life. "I don't like the way I feel," Vil- lanelle says to a disembodied voice, later assumed to be that of a men- tal health professional. "I killed two people last night after I tried really hard not to." The second episode, which is available exclusively to AMC+ subscribers on Feb. 27 (it airs March 6 on BBC America and March 7 on AMC), is titled "Don't Get Eaten" and finds that Hélène may actually prove useful to Eve in her and Carolyn's mutual quest to destroy The Twelve. It also continues the plots that were established for Villanelle and Carolyn in the season's first episode. Of course, all eyes will be on Eve and Villanelle when they fi- nally meet again — and they will. Though, in typical "Eve" fashion, we just don't know when. Don't miss the highly antici- pated premiere of "Killing Eve's" fourth and final season, premier- ing Sunday, Feb. 27, on BBC America and AMC, and for streaming on AMC+, because while there are several ways the series could end, many of us know what befell the scorpion and the frog. 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