Aahana Swrup
During the early days of the unraveling of Eve and Villanelle’s intriguing dynamic in ‘Killing Eve,’ the brutal killings by the Russian Assassin that took Eve around the world as a part of her dedicated MI5 investigation defined the pair’s relationship. As such, the third episode of season 1, ‘Don’t I Know You?’ takes the narrative to Berlin, Germany. There, following a visit to the Hot Medica establishment, Colonel Zhang Wu, a Chinese Military Personnel, falls victim to the elusive killer. For the same reason, Hot Medica becomes a consistent point of conversation as MI5 circles the location— while Villanelle circles the object of her fascination, Eve.
As a result, Hot Medica, the unique BDSM location that caters to people with medical-related kinks and fetishes, is bound to pique the audience’s curiosity, compelling them to wonder whether or not a similar location exists in real life.
Hot Medica is a Fictional Location With a Basis in Real Kink Culture
Hot Medica, the specific medical BDSM location depicted in ‘Killing Eve,’ has no real-life counterpart behind it. Within the show, Hot Medica, a one-off appearance in the narrative, becomes the place for one of Villanelle’s signature killings, where she targets Zhang Wu, a significant personality in the Chinese Military. The man’s position as a frequent customer at a local BDSM establishment offers a convenient— and colorful— method for the killer as she exploits his vulnerable state at the location to deliver a deathly blow. While the gruesome details and general disposition of this particular German location is a work of fiction crafted for the show— plenty of similar businesses exist in real life across the globe.
The BDSM community has been thriving within the culture for a long time now, with recent years shining a more prominent light upon it and bringing it to the mainstream consciousness. As a result, locations of several BDSM joints, often referred to as dungeons, playspaces, or clubs, are easily available to the general public through a number of different methods. Furthermore, professional Dominatrixes— as the ones employed under Hot Medica’s fictional banner— also remain a common profession within the sex work industry. Therefore, ‘Killing Eve’s’ depiction of a kink establishment focused on medical fetishes and Dominatrixes— with anonymity and safewords in place— possesses a basis in real life, reflecting an authentic aspect of the BDSM community.
Nevertheless, the exact location present in the show holds no connections to a real-life establishment. Instead, it only takes inspiration from the BDSM community, specifically the part of it that caters to Medical fetishes. Thus, as a concept, Hot Medica retains some level of real-life authenticity due to its connections to the kink community. Yet, ultimately, it is a fictional location without any basis in a real-life BDSM business establishment.
Read More: Killing Eve: Is Purple Penguin a Real Restaurant in Charing Cross?
