How Kim Bodnia’s Konstantin Managed To Survive In Killing Eve

In the BBC America series ‘Killing Eve,’ Konstantin, who was formerly part of Russian Intelligence and worked as the psychopathic assassin Villanelle’s handler under the Twelve, played by Kim Bodnia, became one of the outstanding characters of the show.

In the surprising ending of the episode titled ‘Nice and Neat’ in season 2, we discover that Konstantin is still alive. This revelation comes after Villanelle shot him in the chest in the previous season’s finale. Villanelle and Konstantin share a complex relationship throughout the series.

Reflecting on the pair’s bond and explaining how his character managed to survive in the second season, Bodnia said in a 2019 chat with HollywoodLife:

“Of course, I love her [Villanelle], of course. That’s how I survive. If I don’t love her in the way that I should, I’d probably get killed. Or, if I love her too much, I’d probably also get killed. It’s so complex, but that also makes it funny to act because you really don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Apparently, Konstantin was initially intended to appear only until the fourth episode of the first season. Discussing how he extended the presence of his character, Bodnia told Daily Express in 2022:

“I had long talks about him with Phoebe [Waller-Bridge] back at the start, and Konstantin was meant to be a baddie who had to be killed off. He was to die in episode four.”

Although Konstantin managed to survive in the second season, fate took a different turn in the final season. He met his death at the hands of the new assassin, Pam, with a pizza slicer.