Here’s how Eve managed to survive the gunshot wound she sustained in Killing Eve season 2 episode 8. To say that Killing Eve’s main characters Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) have something of a twisted relationship is an understatement. What started as a cat-and-mouse game between the psychopathic assassin and MI6 agent quickly evolved into a mutual and morbid obsession, which only got stronger when the pair started working together in Killing Eve season 2 to bring down creepy tech billionaire Aaron Peel (Henry-Lloyd Hughes).

Their mission took Eve and Villanelle to Rome, where Aaron had gone to sell his cyber-weapon to prospective buyers and invited Villanelle’s alias “Billie” along for the ride. In the Killing Eve season 2 finale “You’re Mine,” the mission soon descended into a bloodbath when MI6 agent Hugo (Edward Bluemel) got shot and Villanelle brutally killed the very deserving Aaron. Shortly after, Eve came to her rescue and reluctantly offed her would-be killer Raymond (Adrian Scarborough) but soon found herself on the wrong side of Villanelle.

Related: Killing Eve: Villanelle Crossed The Line When She Killed [SPOILER]

Towards the end of Killing Eve season 2 episode 8, the pair came to blows when Eve rejected Villanelle’s proposal for them to run away to Alaska and live happily ever after. Their showdown culminated in Villanelle shooting Eve and leaving her for dead, which left Killing Eve viewers wondering whether the series had dared to kill off its protagonist. Luckily, trailers for the show’s third season soon revealed Eve was alive and well but how did she survive getting shot in the Killing Eve season finale?

Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh in Killing Eve

Some fans speculated that Eve may have been wearing a bulletproof vest and took a cue from Hugo who played dead after getting shot himself earlier in Killing Eve season 2 episode 8. Others wondered whether Villanelle’s aim was off, though that seemed unlikely given how skilled a killer she is. Indeed, the situation posed quite the conundrum for the Killing Eve writing team – how could they have Eve survive the shooting without making Villanelle look like she was getting sloppy?

According to Killing Eve writer Suzanne Heathcote, it was sheer luck that Eve survived. As she explained in an interview with TVLine before Killing Eve's season 3 premiere:

With Eve, I felt that she would’ve bled out. It was sort of an act of God, almost. It was a miracle, really. The only way to maintain Villanelle’s integrity and have Eve survive was that Villanelle left her, she would’ve bled out, it was a matter of minutes, and she was discovered by tourists. It was touch-and-go, and she just managed to survive.”

The official line may be that Eve’s survival was a miracle, but a couple of clues were dropped in Killing Eve season 3 which suggested Villanelle may have allowed her feelings for Eve to get the better of her. For example, when Konstantin informs Villanelle Eve is alive he chides her for getting angry and running away without checking she was dead first. Later, when Villanelle decides to gift Eve a Build-A-Bear-style soft toy she records a message stating “I should have shot you in the head and watched you die” – perhaps implying that she never intended to fatally shoot Eve. Could Villanelle really be going soft? Here’s hoping Killing Eve season 4 will provide some answers

Next: What To Expect From Killing Eve Season 4