“Management Sucks” continues to set up the season plotline that was established in the first episode.
Kenny has been killed and his death has been declared a suicide, despite Eve (Sandra Oh) and Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) knowing better. Both Carolyn and Kenny’s employer (Danny Sapani) attempt to bring Eve in to help investigate Kenny’s death and Carolyn has information that could entice Eve: the return of Villanelle (Jodie Comer).
Villanelle has returned to working for The Twelve and has been promoted to the role of Keeper. But the role has extra responsibilities and when she gets assigned to a job she has to mentor a young assassin.
The previous episode, “Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey”, showed what happened to Eve, Villanelle, Carolyn, and Kenny after the events of Season Two. This episode’s job was to bring Eve back into the fold despite her protests. “Management Sucks” does this effectively with its trademark wit and drama.
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The episode opens with Kenny’s funeral and Eve was in a depression, drinking her way through it and avoiding Carolyn. A powerful moment in the episode was when Carolyn tries to talk to Eve as she to leaves the funeral. That moment combined comedy and drama with a drunk Eve struggling to open a door and then snaps at a grieving mother. Kenny’s death being covered up as suicide was similar to what happened with Gemma and like Niko, Eve objects to this. Eve, Carolyn, and the website Bitter Pill were all fighting against their own intelligence services as well as a shadowy organization.
Villanelle’s half of the story was filled with dark humor. Villanelle had to do something that she has proven to not be good at: working with others. In the episode, she has to go on an assassination assignment with an apprentice and there were issues fans would expect. Villanelle interacting with kids is always hilarious. “Management Sucks” has some of the most memorable moments from the Season Three trailer like Villanelle doing an operatic roar whilst wearing a blue dress and Villanelle disguising herself as a clown. The end of the episode had a world-shattering revelation.
The first two episodes of Season Three mirrors the start of the previous two seasons. All of them had a murder or message that indicates that Villanelle was active and starts up the cat-and-mouse game between Villanelle and Eve. It’s a demented relationship.
The first two episodes of Killing Eve‘s does a fine job setting up the storylines, characters, and mystery with its unique style of humor. I am hooked, again.
