Killing Eve's series finale ignited fierce controversy among fans, but in a new interview with Deadline, Sandra Oh revealed an alternate idea for the show's ending that was ultimately nixed amid the pandemic.
In the final episode of the thriller, which ended its four-season run in April, Villanelle (Jodie Comer) is killed by a sniper, while Oh's Eve survives. However, Oh told Deadline that after her initial discussions with Season 4 showrunner Laura Neal, "it was going to be the other way around."
“I was like, ‘You should kill my character,’" said Oh. "I thought that would be the strongest and the most interesting [ending]."
“I felt, emotionally, it was the right place of where I was at," she added. "Eve was starting to get into, like, a nihilistic place, and we’re like, ‘Let’s just continue that line and go straight into it.'”
After her discussion with Neal, the pandemic shut down production, and when they came back to work later that year, Oh was told they couldn't kill Eve.
“They came to me, and they said, ‘We can’t do it. We need to change it ... Eve needs to live.'” Oh continued, “Eve is the way into this world. She’s our everywoman. So it’s kind of really super depressing if she dies.”
As a result, producers killed Villanelle instead, a decision Comer “was very much onboard for,” reveals Oh. The same can't necessarily quite be said for the show's fans.
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Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.
TOPICS: Killing Eve, Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh