‘Killing Eve’ Star Owen McDonnell Talks Niko’s Episode 6 Suprise

“Killing Eve” seemingly killed off Niko a couple weeks ago with a pitchfork to the throat, but [spoilers ahead] Sunday’s episode of the BBC America drama revealed that he survived the attack. He’s alive and hospitalized, and he is most definitely angry with his wife, actor Owen McDonnell told International Business Times.

After escaping to Poland, Eve (Sandra Oh) was tricked into believing that Niko (McDonnell) invited her to visit. Upon seeing Niko in episode 4, he was immediately stabbed in the throat with a pitchfork. While episode 5 was a bottle episode focused on Villanelle (Jodie Comer), episode 6 reveals that Niko is recovering in a hospital, unable to talk. However, McDonnell didn’t know he’d survive right away.

“I thought, because we get the scripts in two-episode blocks, I read through [episode] four. I thought exactly the same as you. I thought, ‘He's dead. Oh my gosh. They killed him. But at least he gets to go away somewhat interesting,’” McDonnell told IBT in a phone interview while he was isolating with his wife and children in Hertfordshire, England. He was, of course, happy to later learn that his character survived the assassination attempt.

Episode 6 finds Eve visiting her husband, but that leads to a minor confrontation with her father-in-law. McDonnell says there is plenty of unseen history there. “There's a whole backstory there that we don't really on screen. [Niko is] running to his father at the start and he had a terrible relationship with his father. He's an abusive man, and Niko would rather be with him,” the Irish actor noted. “[Eve] sits down beside him and says exactly the wrong thing as far as he's concerned.”

Though he tells Eve to leave, McDonnell is quick to confirm that Niko and Eve still very much care about each other. However, Eve’s obsession has destroyed their marriage, and McDonnell couldn’t say if the two were done for good or could get back together.

“Yes, I still think they love each other. Niko absolutely loves her. He just can't be with her. I think they had a really good marriage. A good relationship. … The reason that their marriage has fallen apart is because of Villanelle.”

While Villanelle is being framed for Niko getting skewered, she was indeed responsible for killing his roommate and locking him in a storage unit with the dead body last season. Niko checked into a mental hospital after the incident, and he took off for Poland after he checked out. Though he isn’t sure if Niko will have any lasting physical injuries, McDonnell is sure that the psychological damage has been done.

“Staying [in a storage container] for a couple of days with a corpse. And then it's hard to get better. Holding a huge grudge. Try to rebuild your life. And then being pitch forked. I think the mental scars will be very, very deep.”

As for Niko’s future, McDonnell just wants to see the teacher have a nice life. “I'd love to see him be happy. But I don't think that's a possibility, to be honest,” he told IBT.

“Killing Eve” airs Sundays on AMC and BBC America.