Killing Eve Viewers Disturbed After Scene Takes Things A 'Step Too Far'

The scene in question began with Villanelle in her bathroom, where she sought help from God in moving on from the chaos and violence engulfing her past. Kneeling in front of the bath, surrounded by candles and the sound of a chorus, she said, "Dear God, let me have a new life... please."

Her efforts to move on didn't last long, however, and things quickly turned dark after her cat entered the room and began purring. In case you can't see where this is going, allow me to warn you that it's not pleasant.

Picking up the cat, Villanelle said, "Come here, let's sit. There's nothing to be scared about, we're all friends here."

But when the cat suddenly scratches the former assassin, she reacted swiftly and the cat was dropped, bleeding, into the bath.

While it's far from the first display of violence in the show, the fact that Villanelle's victim was an animal appeared to cross a line for many viewers, some of who took to social media to express their anger at the scene.

One viewer wrote: "I eagerly awaited the final season of #KillingEve only to be turned off by the killing of the cat only minutes into the first episode. Sorry, I'm done. I will NOT tolerate any animal abuse regardless of how much I like the show. Shame on the producers - and advertisers."

Another commented: "Killing the cat was a step too far. I'm on team Eve now.", while a third said: "I can’t believe #villanelle killed the #cat. this is too far #killingeve. delete that scene now before i call PETA."

Not everyone thought the scene was uncalled for, though, with one viewer pointing out the death was not entirely out of the blue as they wrote: "It’s so funny watching people under #killingeve accepting the fact that v is a literal assassin but drawing the line at her accidentally killing a cat".

The BBC does not appear to have commented on the backlash.