The first season of Kleo introduced a brilliantly portrayed (by Jella Haase) German equivalent of Villanelle from Killing Eve. Trained throughout life as an ultra-secret Stasi assassin, Kleo’s life falls apart at the time of the Berlin Wall coming down when she is betrayed big time, and the season gloried in her violent revenge. That season sparked off Kleo’s increasing confluence with Sven, a hapless West German bumbler whose only virtue is persistence. The first season was plot heavy, stylish, fast-paced, and addictive. Now we have Season 2, in which Kleo continues to pursue the true underpinnings of her betrayal, searching for a red suitcase despite being pursued by the CIA and the KGB, and Sven is still there, less clumsy but more and more fallen for Kleo. The second season adopts a lighter, almost slapstick tone but the underlying plot is as wild and internally logical as ever, and the action scenes remain a treat to watch. The six episodes build in intensity and the climactic outing is incandescent, both violently riveting and emotionally rich. For this reviewer, Kleo is trumping Killing Eve, and that is a high bar to scale, one it scales with vivacious ease and style.
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