Killing Eve Season 2, Episode 7 Fashion Recap: Villanelle Does Roman Holiday Chic

Technically, there isn’t too much of Jodie Comer as Villanelle in the penultimate episode of Killing Eve season two, but the more time she spends embodying her alter ego, Billie, the “rich Insta hottie” she’s adopted to take down the evil nerd Aaron Peel, the closer she and Eve seem to get. Case in point: Less than two minutes into episode seven, Eve plops onto the bed where Villanelle is lounging in a silky, tiger-print floor-length robe. Almost immediately, they have a full-on moment; in response to Eve’s question as to whether Villanelle ever has feelings, she looks into Eve’s face and responds, simply, “I feel things when I’m with you.”

As always, something intrudes before anything can happen. A noise alerts Eve that they aren’t alone; it turns out Villanelle had been keeping company with another chic woman, who’s still getting dressed over her bra and sheer blouse (a python-print coat, for the record) when she pauses to thank Villanelle for “the sex.” Eve immediately leaps up from the bed, as Villanelle entreats her not to be jealous, though once again, they’re immediately interrupted by another chic young woman, who makes Eve painfully aware that she’s the fourth suitor Villanelle has already received that morning.

As Eve rushes out of the apartment in search of her dignity, Villanelle turns her attention to suitor number four: Aaron Peel, who’d asked her—well, technically, Billie—out to lunch earlier that morning. Remember, the last time they saw each other, she hit him with a hefty philosophy book full on in the face. Apparently, Aaron has made peace with that or it gave him CTE and he forgot. Back in her pink wig and another silky robe, “Billie” puts away course after course. Aaron declines to eat, feasting his eyes upon her instead. He likes what he sees, because suddenly he’s asking if she’d like to come along to Italy.

Back at home, Villanelle pulls off her wig and lies back to listen to the three voicemails Eve has left her, along with nine missed calls. She switches into a somehow flattering double plaid ensemble and meets up with Eve’s husband, Niko, who’s discussing his plans to leave Eve with his coworker crush Gemma when Villanelle shows up, ready to have some fun before she jets off to Rome.

Blissfully unaware that her husband is sprawled out on the bloodied floor of his storage unit, Eve, too, is a thousand miles away from London, in Rome, schlepping her luggage across cobblestones and up the stairs of the hotel room that she and her own flirty coworker, Hugo (Edward Bluemel), are about to convert into a makeshift office.

Meanwhile, Villanelle is also getting settled in, pulling up to Aaron’s villa in a corner of Rome that couldn’t look more different. Even Billie’s best—stilettos and pink fur coat—aren’t nice enough to join the pair of them inside; Aaron has stocked her walk-in closet with a fresh new wardrobe full of designer goods instead, dispelling any thoughts about the hidden mic that was whisked away along with her luggage.

Clearly, this wasn’t a selfless act. Aaron takes obvious delight in Villanelle’s reactions to each piece via no less than three screens, hooked up to a variety of cameras hidden in her bedroom. Still, when they next meet up, he plays coy: “Do you like your things?” he inquires of Billie, who responds with an empathetic yes. “It took hundreds of hours to make that jacket at the atelier,” he informs her, ordering her to touch it and tell him what it feels like. Villanelle responds as only an assassin disguised as a faded New Yorker could: “It kills.”

Aaron is still in his usual immaculately boring tech bro uniform when they next reunite, whereas “Billie,” to his crushing disappointment, has changed. “What have you done?” he demands dramatically, taking in her mustard yellow maxiskirt, pussy bow blouse, and belt. “You’re ruining it,” he continues, staring down the latter. “Take it off.” She obeys, and he sighs in relief. “There, that’s better.”

“It has to be perfect. There’s no point if it isn’t perfect,” Aaron adds, prompting Hugo, who’s listening in with Eve, to reflect on perfection too. “Sounds like you’ve got competition, Eve. They’re both cold-blooded psychopaths—the perfect match.”

Related: Killing Eve Season 2 Episode 6 Fashion Recap: Villanelle Is Now a “Rich Insta Hottie”