'Killing Eve' fans slam show ending as 'tired' and 'unforgiveable'

Killing Eve viewers have said they "hate" the show's finale, slamming the last episode for using a "tired trope".

The BBC One adaptation of Luke Jennings' Villanelle novels series starred Jodie Comer as charismatic assassin Villanelle and Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, the MI6 agent tasked with taking her down.

Read more: Will there ever be a Killing Eve movie?

It was originally written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the first series, who then handed the reigns to Emerald Fennell and Suzanne Heathcote in subsequent seasons and most recently Laura Neal for the last instalment.

But viewers, many of whom had identified with the romance between Villanelle and Eve, complained that writer Neal had followed the "tired" plotline of killing off gay characters as soon as they found happiness.

One outraged viewer tweeted: "WE REALLY GOT THE BEST VILLANEVE SCENES AND THE WORST F***ING ENDING #killingeve we can’t have s***."

Someone else added: "The last minute of #KillingEve’s finale is void of heart & uses a tired trope carelessly. It feels like a slap in the face & discards V & Eve’s journey like it meant nothing. I’m disappointed, angry, & it hurts to know a show I loved is tainted for me now."

Read more: Better Call Saul fans have mixed feelings on Breaking Bad cameo

Another person agreed: "Quick note to #KillingEve writers: Letting your main character finally get everything she wants and then brutally taking it away to make her feel dead made your audience feel exactly the same way. For some people, this wasn't just a show, and the lack of empathy is unforgivable."

The two main characters had been dancing around a romance for much of the show, with Eve originally married to Niko (Owen McDonnell) and Villanelle looking set to kill her.

In the final episode, the pair shared intimate moments as they committed to being together, but after being set one last task by MI6 boss Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw) to assassinate The Twelve, Carolyn then ordered Villanelle's murder.

She fell into the Thames after being shot on a boat as a devastated Eve was left screaming at her loss.

Read more: SAS: Who Dares Wins fans complain 'bring back Ant Middleton'

Fans thanked Comer and Oh for their work on the show, but held nothing back in criticising the series that Neal had written.

One fan tweeted: "Don't you love it when the lesbian character you related to the most bleeds to death in front of your eyes moments after she finally found happiness?"

Someone else explained: "Just gotta say, the argument isn’t that it’s 'never' ok to kill a queer character. What’s played out and tired as hell is withholding love from two queer women, then letting them experience it for all of 5 seconds before immediately killing one. TIIIIRED."

Another viewer wrote: "They had no reason to kill off Villanelle. There is no special meaning to her death. It doesn’t even fit in with the scorpion and the frog or the cupid/psyche 'foreshadowing'. It’s just straight up bad writing."

Someone else commented: "There were breathtaking, swoon-worthy moments. Oh but that ending. I HAAATE it. I didn’t expect happy but this was cruel. Eve and Villanelle - and the audience - deserved better."

Killing Eve series one to four is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Watch: See the trailer for Killing Eve series four