In this episode, the Story Grid Showrunners breaks down episode 1 of the hit TV series Killing Eve based on the Luke Jennings novel, starring Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh. Using the Story Grid methodology developed by Shawn Coyne, we will provide insight to help authors and screenwriters make better stories.
As a quick recap, Villanelle kills an Eastern European Politician/ Human Trafficker but leaves his Polish girlfriend behind as the sole witness. Eve is late to an emergency meeting about this murder and is ordered to protect the girlfriend. Villanelle makes another excellent assassination in Tuscany and is then told that she must kill the girlfriend so as not to leave any witnesses. Eve does some illegal investigating and interviewing with the Polish girlfriend and discovers that her first inclination was correct and the assassin was a woman. And finally, Villanelle, dressed as a nurse, meets Eve briefly in the ladies' bathroom of the hospital where the Polish girlfriend is being held under guard and Villanelle tells Eve to leave her hair down. Villanelle then kills a nurse, all the guards, and the Polish girlfriend (off-screen). Villanelle escapes before anyone knows she was there, and Eve returns from the bathroom to see the massacre. Eve is fired, but Carolyn meets with her briefly to talk about the female assassin.
This week we will discuss the 5 Commandments of episode 1 of Amazon Prime’s Killing Eve.
These are the five elements that are used to build a scene and should be clearly defined and executed for each scene, each chapter, and each episode.
Inciting Incident, Turning Point/ Progressive Complication, Crisis Question, Climax, Resolution
An inciting incident is the big event scene that kicks off the story. It’s the frisson that the reader/ viewer experiences that excites them.
An Inciting Incident can be either Causal - a result of an active choice by a character, or Coincidental - an event that is unexpected, random, or accidental.
For our complete show notes, check out our website at www.sgshowrunners.com, leave us a comment or question and vote on the next television series we will analyze.
For more information about the Story Grid Methodology (articles, videos, and other resources) check out www.storygrid.com.