This article has spoilers about the last two seasons of Killing Eve.
After four seasons, Killing Eve is coming to an end and the character Villanelle is experiencing some changes in her life choices. Since the beginning of the show, Jodie Comer’s character has been portrayed as a cold blooded killer, who gets paid by the organization The Twelve to kill their enemies. And, because she does her job really well, without even questioning its motives, she is seen as a psychopath by the other characters and the public.
However, in the third season, she starts regretting all the deaths that she has caused. This feeling is awakened when she kills her mother, Tatiana (Evgenia Dodina), after seeing her for the first time in years since being rejected and put up for adoption as a child. Following that, Villanelle starts a journey of redemption that creates the questioning: is she really a psychopath?
Psychopathy or personality disorder?
First, let’s clarify what a psychopath is. Concerning the word’s etymology, a psychopathic person would be someone with some sort of mental illness. According to the psychiatrist Harif Bakri, this would mean that “if I have Panic Syndrome or depression, I should be considered a psychopath”. But that is not the case. The term “psychopath” is used in a misinterpreted way, referring to people with personality disorders.
Bakri adds that “personality disorders are alterations in the construction of the psyche, created by the combination of our temperament, which we are born with, and character, formed with our experiences”. This combo makes the personality.
Generally speaking, psychopathy is a type of personality disorder in which the person has a cold character, does not show empathy towards others and does everything in their power to get what they want.
Is Villanelle really a psychopath?
In the first seasons, Villanelle seemed to be the perfect fit for that description. For Bakri, “when you think of fictional characters, you should also consider that they are a union of variants that writers want to make more appealing to the audience”. So, making the killer look like a psycho would be a way of highlighting her personality and actions.
But, in spite of having some traits that seem psychopathic, it is possible to notice her having relationships throughout the episodes. They might be hidden or she might hide how she feels about them, like with Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), who she has a love and hate relation. These bonds may not be healthy, but they are still bonds, and real psychopaths have difficulties when engaging with others.
Can real psychos feel regret?
To break that psycho persona even further, in season 3 she goes to Russia to find her family and ends up killing most of them, including her mother. By doing that, something is unleashed inside her and she starts to feel guilty for her actions.
Later, in the fourth season, we see a new and christian Villanelle, trying to be good and to not commit crimes again. Though her time away from killing does not last long, she still wants to be a better person and even speaks with a therapist in the third episode (despite doing that while holding him hostage).
Martin (Adeel Ahktar) tells her that psychopaths don’t want to be good. For Harif, “regretting is something that a psychopath cannot do, at max they can regret not being efficient in doing something or getting what they wanted”. Real psychos are not able to go through a redemption process like she is, because they are not empathic. Villanelle is, if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be escaping the stereotype of a cold killer.
If Villanelle wants to be good and is regretting all her past actions, it is because she really isn’t a psycho like everyone thinks. So what can we expect from the final episodes of Killing Eve? Let’s hope that she finally finds her redemption.
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The article above was written by Milena Casaca and edited by Julia Queiroz. Liked this type of content? Check Her Campus Cásper Líbero’s home page for more!