Hi Luke - such beautiful writing in this, I loved the inclusion of the different languages, diving into V's subconscious. That "fleeting" feeling she feels is one I've felt too but I've never seen described as well as it is here. I clung hard onto the first 3 books after finishing the TV series, it was very comforting to read. So thanks for another great addition, I've loved the journey with your characters and I'm looking forward to the next :)
Jae -- the languages are a good point. I almost took it for granted, but languages are such an integral part of Villanelle, so it was really nice to see her multi lingual mind at work even in distress. Or especially in distress? I imagine her dreams to be something like language world festivals...
Exactly. I'm somewhat bilingual - having been around a different language a lot when I was young, and I think Luke captured it very well, especially given she was flitting between life and death, which I'd imagine would feel somewhat like a dream. The inclusion of french was a nice touch too as we know how much she liked living in Paris!
I am bilingual, too, plus some knowledge of half a dozen other languages. Villanelle in that respect feels very normal for me. Very continental European, too. I loved the geographic diversity in both, the novels and the TV series. Most locations in the books and the series I know, but I think one day I also have to visit St. Petersburg!
Impressive! I loved seeing and reading about the different locations too. I'm most familiar with the London ones from both screen and books but I'd love to visit many others. Hope you're able to visit St. Petersburg at some point!
Well. As things are going these days, Russia, again, isn't exactly a casual tourist destination. I never warmed up to Paris, btw. Too chaotic and noisy. Also Berlin. No way. London interestingly always felt different to me. Also huge, but somehow there is a cozy feel to it. I can't quite pinpoint why.
Yes! That's how I saw it. It was clear that they didn't have a "normal" cozy relationship. That V was "off", somehow, out of touch with Eve at times and out of touch with her own emotions most of the time. That's, after all, one of the main topics of the entire series -- and the conclusion of chapter 23 here. Villanelle's nose finally is dunked into her own puddle of emotions, and all it required was a massive, near lethal bang to her head! :-)
Right! It was very satisfying to witness (apart from the shot!) and the buildup towards it was great. Not a "normal" relationship by far, but V has acclimated to the smaller things - like understanding why E feels the need to precisely place her makeup tubes, and slowly becoming vulnerable with her - sobbing in her arms. Almost as if she was learning to love, something that was cut short with the death of her mother and an apathetic father. It was interesting to see the callback to her mother when she was on the verge of death - something that was given its own episode in the show to explore.
I wonder if perhaps most humans have a childhood trauma to some extent, mainly because first time parents always are thrown into the cold water. They never were told what to do, how to cope with this new little human that suddenly is their responsibility. Parents are stressed out, constantly busy, outright overwhelmed. And then: enter the "special child". High IQ, neuro-diverse. You name it. In the series Oxana's mom struck me as rather young, so perhaps she was in her late teens when Oxana was born. A teenager in a time of social unrest and material insecurity (collapse of the Soviet Union) suddenly confronted with just such a special child -- I'd say neuro-diverse AND high IQ. That makes her a fascinating person, but also a nightmare for the young mother. In the show Konstantin said, about V killing her mother "Every mother deserves it -- but you are not actually supposed to DO it." So I guess on a symbolic level what it means is not "kill your mother", but "Kill your mother/parent issues within yourself." Let go of that anger. Most parents surely try their best, and dropping Oxana off at an orphanage likely was not an act of evil but of helplessness.
On the topic of "normal" relationships: what is that supposed to be to begin with? Who defines?
Ahh, Luke, thank you and well done! I've certainly enjoyed this endpoint more than what the fandom received from LN and the end of TV series. I would imagine that seeing your prized characters finding such an unsatisfactory stopping point was not easy and I truly appreciate you diving back into the Killing Eve universe to continue the canon. Long live our femme fatales... waiting, with great anticipation, for their next adventures. Until then, cheers!
Oh my god 😭 my heart aches and screams and cries with pure fricking joy. I’ve been so attached to this series for months , my comfort zone, my safe space. I needed them together and you gave that to us. Luke the power that you hold. Don’t ever stop using it 😭❤️
I was both excited for and dreading today…had to read each paragraph twice to drag it out longer. Ha. So beyond excited to get to the end and see you are writing another! I love this ending because there is so much more to dive into, but at least we have a lovely resting spot while we wait for the next to begin. So many possibilities here! Murder wives! The ship has been righted!
Though I admit I was momentarily confused when I got to the end and, after all that, Eve said they were “quits”. In the U.S. I’ve only ever heard of that meaning done or breaking up, calling it quits…but that just seemed to come out of left field here, it couldn’t be right. I had to google it to see that it means they are even. 😹 Love this!
This is where Eve was always meant to be headed—not on some pointless nihilistic quest to destroy the twelve and her own life, and doing it all alone. I think you captured it well here that without Villanelle, Eve would still be Eve, but she would be lost in a way. She had to get her bearings here on her own and realize she was driven to Villanelle. And maybe that’s what the series was trying to do in S4, but it never made sense that she would want to force distance between them first, only to chase that dark side without Villanelle. I could just never feel what she was supposed to be feeling there. The way you have Eve suddenly finding herself back in the safety and security of her old life (kidnapping and blackmail or not) only to realize on her own who her life really is and then diving into it head first (literally?) makes a whole lot more sense to me. And is so Eve (and with a much better plot device and believable foils between them to bring all that out, rather than the inexplicable/contrived/forced distance created in S4 out of nowhere just to make something happen).
Sorry for the long-ass post, but thank you again for writing! Never thought I would be into thriller novellas, or that I would find my queer heroines written by a man, but you really sold me on your Villanelle books (once I figured out your style after the tv show and fanfic). And I love the way you tell a story! I’ve never been good at that and so I avoid it in my own writing. But planning to subscribe here at least for a while so I can support this book and the next, and also read your Killer Prose installments to see if I can learn something. Thanks for being here keeping our gals alive and fighting and figuring out how to live their best life!
I think it says a lot when the assassin feels like your hero, and a bit of missing ear and cracked ribs is true love. There’s definitely something very real in there while indulging in a bit of fantasy.
For me V feels like the hero because she is a survivor and always worked so hard on herself. Part of the story is about hope -- that one can change for the better, against all odds. I find it almost funny that there is a bit of a parallel impossible story about the actress who played her in the series. Jodie C, the girl that never went to drama school and became the planets most celebrated actress. Yeah. And hey -- I don't think Eve loves Villanelle because of her perfect ears, does she? So what? Now the badass assassin has a cracked ear and a scar on her cheek. Given her "profession" it is a miracle that so far she had come out of her missions relatively unscathed. And true love -- love overcomes everything, doesn't it?
I was just telling two different friends about you being on Substack for the ending of Killing Eve. Now that the TV show is on Netflix I know there will be a huge influx of new fans. I loved the ending here and yes it was so satisfying. I laughed when I heard an interview of Jodie Comer saying I don’t like to think of Villanelle floating around the Thames" — she would love this ending!
Must be frustrating to play a shining multi facetted character like Villanelle for years only to see her thoughtlessly done away with like that. When I write I always find it extremely difficult to inflict pain and hardship on my characters. Sometimes it is necessary for the drama. Killing Villanelle in the TV show was not necessary at all. It was only annoying and disappointing.
Omg I was 😭 happy tears 🥹, this is the ending that season 4 should of had . Very emotional right now my god Villanelle is lucky to of survived , Luke you are a mastermind genius who has healed our broken hearts . Best therapy session ever ! Luke thank you so much 👏👏👏💯🔥🎢🫡 can’t wait till the next part of your Villanelle&Eve adventures begins. Revenge on the cards ? For Balice ? I’m so emotional right now 🤦♀️ Luke you’re mending our broken hearts ! Ps everyone get subscribing 👏👏👏 take your crown 👑 Mr Luke Jennings the super mastermind genius with a massive heart towards fans
I’m literally all over the place , I’m so emotional 🥹. Now that is how season 4 should have gone, Luke has literally mended our broken hearts . I’m 😭 happy tears , it was so emotional, so well written ! This will go down in history Luke the mastermind , what a writer 💯🔥🎢❤️🥹👑 he deserves all the respect in the world . Mending our broken hearts , yes it’s emotional what happen to Villanelle but she lives on always through Luke . Luke’s writing is the only writing I can read without stopping , & some also some amazing fan fic writers who I believe should bring their writing to the next level . Without Luke none of us would know of Villanelle&Eve 👏👏👏💯🔥🎢🔥 . Seems like Villanelle&Eve will be very naughty 😂 In Luke’s next part of writing ! Bring it on I can’t wait 😜 hope Balice gets what she deserves 🥳
Ah -- chicken soup for the soul. Thank you Luke. But hm... they are both bound to The Twelve for good now? I mean in Die for Me they were basically depicted as some sort of ultra right wing quasi Neo-nazi organization. So if Villanelle and Eve now have to work for them forever that isn't exactly a pure happy ending after all... But V lives. They both acknowledged what this thing between them is. And no doubt: together they will find a way. Their way.
Thank you, a great new beginning for Eve and Oxana. My favorite line: "I'd rather have sex with a ferret." Eve is a good judge of character! 😂 I do feel sorry for poor Niko, though.
Cat is more like it. You are right. In the series, S1E3, when she turned around on the dance floor in Berlin, grinning at Bill, I instantly thought: Lioness!
Luke! You are my hero! Villanelle lives! 😊 Thank you, thank you thank you. I am so relieved! Eve saved Villanelle from drowning! How wonderful is that?!! They are together💕 and that is all that matters. I loved this installment. I love how Eve and Villanelle are so sweet and understanding with one another. They are lovers forever! Please give us more of their adventures Luke. You are a great writer and I want to read more about our girls and their happiness with being together. Also, thank goodness Johnny came along to assist them in getting Villanelle to the hospital. Thanks so much for letting Eve❤️ and Villanelle ❤️be together as they should be, and I look forward to reading your great writing in the future. Cheers to you Luke!
So grateful to have this perspective of “THE END” instead of the one in the show. Thank you Luke for how healing this series has been ❤️
I was wearing all black, in preparation to be in mourning, but I guess we can all relax now.
Resurrection is dead, long live resurrection!
Hi Luke - such beautiful writing in this, I loved the inclusion of the different languages, diving into V's subconscious. That "fleeting" feeling she feels is one I've felt too but I've never seen described as well as it is here. I clung hard onto the first 3 books after finishing the TV series, it was very comforting to read. So thanks for another great addition, I've loved the journey with your characters and I'm looking forward to the next :)
Thank you Jae
Jae -- the languages are a good point. I almost took it for granted, but languages are such an integral part of Villanelle, so it was really nice to see her multi lingual mind at work even in distress. Or especially in distress? I imagine her dreams to be something like language world festivals...
Exactly. I'm somewhat bilingual - having been around a different language a lot when I was young, and I think Luke captured it very well, especially given she was flitting between life and death, which I'd imagine would feel somewhat like a dream. The inclusion of french was a nice touch too as we know how much she liked living in Paris!
I am bilingual, too, plus some knowledge of half a dozen other languages. Villanelle in that respect feels very normal for me. Very continental European, too. I loved the geographic diversity in both, the novels and the TV series. Most locations in the books and the series I know, but I think one day I also have to visit St. Petersburg!
Impressive! I loved seeing and reading about the different locations too. I'm most familiar with the London ones from both screen and books but I'd love to visit many others. Hope you're able to visit St. Petersburg at some point!
Well. As things are going these days, Russia, again, isn't exactly a casual tourist destination. I never warmed up to Paris, btw. Too chaotic and noisy. Also Berlin. No way. London interestingly always felt different to me. Also huge, but somehow there is a cozy feel to it. I can't quite pinpoint why.
I agree. London's a huge city but there is something strangely comforting about it. I think it's even partly how much I associate it with Killing Eve!
Yeah -- In "Die for Me" V and E were not exactly a harmonious couple, but it still was something like an anti depressant after the series.
It was, and I quite liked how it was portrayed, it gave a differently complex angle to the pair which was refreshing.
Yes! That's how I saw it. It was clear that they didn't have a "normal" cozy relationship. That V was "off", somehow, out of touch with Eve at times and out of touch with her own emotions most of the time. That's, after all, one of the main topics of the entire series -- and the conclusion of chapter 23 here. Villanelle's nose finally is dunked into her own puddle of emotions, and all it required was a massive, near lethal bang to her head! :-)
Right! It was very satisfying to witness (apart from the shot!) and the buildup towards it was great. Not a "normal" relationship by far, but V has acclimated to the smaller things - like understanding why E feels the need to precisely place her makeup tubes, and slowly becoming vulnerable with her - sobbing in her arms. Almost as if she was learning to love, something that was cut short with the death of her mother and an apathetic father. It was interesting to see the callback to her mother when she was on the verge of death - something that was given its own episode in the show to explore.
I wonder if perhaps most humans have a childhood trauma to some extent, mainly because first time parents always are thrown into the cold water. They never were told what to do, how to cope with this new little human that suddenly is their responsibility. Parents are stressed out, constantly busy, outright overwhelmed. And then: enter the "special child". High IQ, neuro-diverse. You name it. In the series Oxana's mom struck me as rather young, so perhaps she was in her late teens when Oxana was born. A teenager in a time of social unrest and material insecurity (collapse of the Soviet Union) suddenly confronted with just such a special child -- I'd say neuro-diverse AND high IQ. That makes her a fascinating person, but also a nightmare for the young mother. In the show Konstantin said, about V killing her mother "Every mother deserves it -- but you are not actually supposed to DO it." So I guess on a symbolic level what it means is not "kill your mother", but "Kill your mother/parent issues within yourself." Let go of that anger. Most parents surely try their best, and dropping Oxana off at an orphanage likely was not an act of evil but of helplessness.
On the topic of "normal" relationships: what is that supposed to be to begin with? Who defines?
Ahh, Luke, thank you and well done! I've certainly enjoyed this endpoint more than what the fandom received from LN and the end of TV series. I would imagine that seeing your prized characters finding such an unsatisfactory stopping point was not easy and I truly appreciate you diving back into the Killing Eve universe to continue the canon. Long live our femme fatales... waiting, with great anticipation, for their next adventures. Until then, cheers!
Cheers Derrick
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. #VillanelleLives ❤️
Great ending to a great story. Thanks.
Oh my god 😭 my heart aches and screams and cries with pure fricking joy. I’ve been so attached to this series for months , my comfort zone, my safe space. I needed them together and you gave that to us. Luke the power that you hold. Don’t ever stop using it 😭❤️
Ilinca!
I was both excited for and dreading today…had to read each paragraph twice to drag it out longer. Ha. So beyond excited to get to the end and see you are writing another! I love this ending because there is so much more to dive into, but at least we have a lovely resting spot while we wait for the next to begin. So many possibilities here! Murder wives! The ship has been righted!
Though I admit I was momentarily confused when I got to the end and, after all that, Eve said they were “quits”. In the U.S. I’ve only ever heard of that meaning done or breaking up, calling it quits…but that just seemed to come out of left field here, it couldn’t be right. I had to google it to see that it means they are even. 😹 Love this!
This is where Eve was always meant to be headed—not on some pointless nihilistic quest to destroy the twelve and her own life, and doing it all alone. I think you captured it well here that without Villanelle, Eve would still be Eve, but she would be lost in a way. She had to get her bearings here on her own and realize she was driven to Villanelle. And maybe that’s what the series was trying to do in S4, but it never made sense that she would want to force distance between them first, only to chase that dark side without Villanelle. I could just never feel what she was supposed to be feeling there. The way you have Eve suddenly finding herself back in the safety and security of her old life (kidnapping and blackmail or not) only to realize on her own who her life really is and then diving into it head first (literally?) makes a whole lot more sense to me. And is so Eve (and with a much better plot device and believable foils between them to bring all that out, rather than the inexplicable/contrived/forced distance created in S4 out of nowhere just to make something happen).
Sorry for the long-ass post, but thank you again for writing! Never thought I would be into thriller novellas, or that I would find my queer heroines written by a man, but you really sold me on your Villanelle books (once I figured out your style after the tv show and fanfic). And I love the way you tell a story! I’ve never been good at that and so I avoid it in my own writing. But planning to subscribe here at least for a while so I can support this book and the next, and also read your Killer Prose installments to see if I can learn something. Thanks for being here keeping our gals alive and fighting and figuring out how to live their best life!
Oh yeah, and to do it all while vomiting out the Thames and every river in the end? Perfect. 👌
As I wrote before: grimy and grubby yet sweet and romantic. Not easy to do...
Agreed! I like a little grit in my romance! Definitely not easy to do and still have that kind of sweetness and charm. Comes across as very “them”.
Very, very "them". Oh yes!
I think it says a lot when the assassin feels like your hero, and a bit of missing ear and cracked ribs is true love. There’s definitely something very real in there while indulging in a bit of fantasy.
For me V feels like the hero because she is a survivor and always worked so hard on herself. Part of the story is about hope -- that one can change for the better, against all odds. I find it almost funny that there is a bit of a parallel impossible story about the actress who played her in the series. Jodie C, the girl that never went to drama school and became the planets most celebrated actress. Yeah. And hey -- I don't think Eve loves Villanelle because of her perfect ears, does she? So what? Now the badass assassin has a cracked ear and a scar on her cheek. Given her "profession" it is a miracle that so far she had come out of her missions relatively unscathed. And true love -- love overcomes everything, doesn't it?
I was just telling two different friends about you being on Substack for the ending of Killing Eve. Now that the TV show is on Netflix I know there will be a huge influx of new fans. I loved the ending here and yes it was so satisfying. I laughed when I heard an interview of Jodie Comer saying I don’t like to think of Villanelle floating around the Thames" — she would love this ending!
Must be frustrating to play a shining multi facetted character like Villanelle for years only to see her thoughtlessly done away with like that. When I write I always find it extremely difficult to inflict pain and hardship on my characters. Sometimes it is necessary for the drama. Killing Villanelle in the TV show was not necessary at all. It was only annoying and disappointing.
Omg I was 😭 happy tears 🥹, this is the ending that season 4 should of had . Very emotional right now my god Villanelle is lucky to of survived , Luke you are a mastermind genius who has healed our broken hearts . Best therapy session ever ! Luke thank you so much 👏👏👏💯🔥🎢🫡 can’t wait till the next part of your Villanelle&Eve adventures begins. Revenge on the cards ? For Balice ? I’m so emotional right now 🤦♀️ Luke you’re mending our broken hearts ! Ps everyone get subscribing 👏👏👏 take your crown 👑 Mr Luke Jennings the super mastermind genius with a massive heart towards fans
Pru, I loved your response to Luke!
I’m literally all over the place , I’m so emotional 🥹. Now that is how season 4 should have gone, Luke has literally mended our broken hearts . I’m 😭 happy tears , it was so emotional, so well written ! This will go down in history Luke the mastermind , what a writer 💯🔥🎢❤️🥹👑 he deserves all the respect in the world . Mending our broken hearts , yes it’s emotional what happen to Villanelle but she lives on always through Luke . Luke’s writing is the only writing I can read without stopping , & some also some amazing fan fic writers who I believe should bring their writing to the next level . Without Luke none of us would know of Villanelle&Eve 👏👏👏💯🔥🎢🔥 . Seems like Villanelle&Eve will be very naughty 😂 In Luke’s next part of writing ! Bring it on I can’t wait 😜 hope Balice gets what she deserves 🥳
Me too. Where can I sign?
Ah -- chicken soup for the soul. Thank you Luke. But hm... they are both bound to The Twelve for good now? I mean in Die for Me they were basically depicted as some sort of ultra right wing quasi Neo-nazi organization. So if Villanelle and Eve now have to work for them forever that isn't exactly a pure happy ending after all... But V lives. They both acknowledged what this thing between them is. And no doubt: together they will find a way. Their way.
Baby steps...
Steps nonetheless...
Loved it
Oh -- and what I really love is that somehow the story manages to be rather grubby and grimy and exceedingly sweet and romantic all at the same time.
Thank you Stefan!
Thank you, a great new beginning for Eve and Oxana. My favorite line: "I'd rather have sex with a ferret." Eve is a good judge of character! 😂 I do feel sorry for poor Niko, though.
It made me wonder, for a moment: isn't Villanelle occasionally a ferrety type of character? So... I mean...?
I think she's more like a cat - an intelligent, carnivorous hunter. And ferrets have lots of pointy little teeth and tend to bitey, just sayin'.
Cat is more like it. You are right. In the series, S1E3, when she turned around on the dance floor in Berlin, grinning at Bill, I instantly thought: Lioness!
I haven't seen any of the TV series, so my opinion is based on the books, but I think you've pegged her - lioness fits her to a T! 😉
They even had a lion roar in the soundtrack during that moment. And I'm amazed by both, the books and the series.
Luke! You are my hero! Villanelle lives! 😊 Thank you, thank you thank you. I am so relieved! Eve saved Villanelle from drowning! How wonderful is that?!! They are together💕 and that is all that matters. I loved this installment. I love how Eve and Villanelle are so sweet and understanding with one another. They are lovers forever! Please give us more of their adventures Luke. You are a great writer and I want to read more about our girls and their happiness with being together. Also, thank goodness Johnny came along to assist them in getting Villanelle to the hospital. Thanks so much for letting Eve❤️ and Villanelle ❤️be together as they should be, and I look forward to reading your great writing in the future. Cheers to you Luke!