The leading ladies of the outgoing drama spoke to ET's Matt Cohen about the upcoming final season and the special wrap gifts they got.
Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer are getting ready to say goodbye to Killing Eve, BBC America's award-winning drama that's only weeks away from launching its final episodes.
"We just felt like it was the time for the characters to come to their ultimate growth," Oh told ET's Matt Cohen over Zoom on Feb. 8. "I mean, it's a tricky dynamic that was set up four years ago in the first episode -- that there is a certain kind of cat and mouse to it and dramaturgically it's actually really hard to sustain. So we've done our best and I think, at this time, we both felt like it's OK. We're ready to try our best to resolve this unresolvable relationship so I think that's really what it was."
"I would agree to that and it also felt like everyone was on the same page in that sense," Comer added. "It felt like a natural place to get to something really satisfying in the sense of we all knew it was the end so we all knew what we were trying to work towards. Trying to stay truthful to the characters but ultimately we'll hopefully get the season satisfying for the fans who watch it. Quite a big task really."
When the final chapter begins on Feb. 27, six months will have passed since the dramatic events of the season 3 finale. As Oh and Comer alluded during a virtual panel previewing the new season earlier this month, the characters are in wildly different places in their lives when the show returns.
"There’s been a bit of space between the two characters," Comer tees up, "and Villanelle, we find her at a church and [she] is desperately trying to seek all things good and change for the better and for who she is trying to do that for isn’t exactly clear and it's also, you know, can she do that? Is she capable of changing? So, yeah, she's in a very different place then where we've seen her before."
"And Eve is also in a different place, very different place, and you see it much more physically," Oh chimed in. "She has clearly gained a lot more skills and all those skills are honed in towards revenge. I really wanted to have that sense of time that happened between them. They haven't seen each other in a little while and you can see in the second episode -- how Eve and Villanelle are both not in the same place in their relationship, even though they were in the end of [season] 3. There was an understanding of where [they] both are but time has passed. They both have changed. They're in different places, so when you see them come back again it's [dramatic]."
Added Comer: "I think that's hugely to do with the motivation for changing. You can see that Eve has evolved. She's put the work in for herself to change whereas why Villanelle is doing it is so murky and unclear, even within herself and you kind of see that unravel between the two of them."
Comer admitted that as filming neared the end, she didn't get emotional on the final day but the second to last one.
"I was actually more emotional the day before we wrapped," she revealed, catching Oh by surprise. "Yeah, because we got to be together the final week of filming. We got to be together, which was wonderful. It was actually the night before I was reaching out and watching Sandra do something and it was like... and then I was a mess that night. And then it was the final day after, very surreal. We’ve been doing this for four years now and a lot of the crew came back every year, so to just have a safe and fun space to work in and you always come back every year going, 'Oh it's fine, see you next year!' But this time around it was very final."
"We can't exactly tell you what was going on that last day but I felt there was a lot of symbolism in how we ended the series," Oh shared. "I was really happy we were together. For me it was heightened and emotional. It's not like it's sad, it's just a lot of emotions. I can't put my finger on it, it's just a lot."
To commemorate their four-season run, Comer revealed she and Oh received clapper boards from the crew with the final take numbers scrolled on it when they wrapped as a series gift.
But of course, ET had to ask Oh before the interview was over whether she'd be open to popping by Grey's Anatomy one last time before the medical drama signed off for good in the future. She skirted the question, instead allowing Comer to answer.
"No, she’s not going anywhere! She’s not allowed!" Comer quipped.
Killing Eve premieres Sunday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BBC America.
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