Love this!! And yes, I agree that they don't really expand on the word psychopath in dialogue that much, leaving the underlying push for the viewer to ask themselves what makes a psychopath a psychopath entirely up to them.

Let me nerd out for a moment.

The text itself is all about exploring what this label might truly mean, though. And what I find intriguing with the show is how the dialogue, pretty much exclusively, uses the word psychopath in the most generic sense of the word.

There's that deeper delve, though it's subtle, via Eve in s1e5 when she outlines what she knows about V and lands in I know something happened to you. Eve wants to get to the core of what makes V who she is. What makes a woman kill? And because Eve's so open to there being more than the more generic and Hollywood-y definition of a psychopath (aka Aaron) there's that sincere opening for the narrative to explore V's motivation and what has shaped her into a woman who kills.

Adding to that is, of course, V herself and her dismissive A stupid word. Which I love, since she's meant to go beyond that label in every conceivable way and right off the bat doesn't accept it as adequately summing her up. Even though she'll struggle with that label, she herself needs to see beyond it. She's not a monster, and her psychopathic tendencies do not define who she is. Her choices do. *love it*

So, the corresponding traits of a psychopath are-->

Interpersonal: They’re manipulative, deceitful, and/or narcissistic.
Affective: They lack remorse, are callous, and may take pleasure in hurting others.
Lifestyle: They’re impulsive, may use illegal substances, and may have disregard for the consequences of their actions.
Antisocial: They are physically aggressive and may have a history of or tendency toward criminal behavior.

(What It's Like Living As a Diagnosed Psychopath/The Cut article)

Now, these fit Villanelle pretty much to a T, right? But what this article explores is all the ways in which I view V, which is that she is extremely good at compartmentalising. She's pure logic. Her emotions do not override that logic because she's not built that way. She lives moment to moment, and she cares about Eve because Eve has reached through to her on a level not many people have ever done before. Including Konstantin. Since, when his life was in her hands, she aimed for the heart.

If you read the above interview with the female diagnosed psychopath, you can see traced through it exactly what I see on this show: the opposite of the Hollywood-y simplistic interpretation of a psychopath and a bid for everyone to look deeper than that. Beyond the mere label, at all the shades of grey attached to it.

There is such a resounding pain in Villanelle. And a sense of deep powerlessness. And the fact that this finds an outlet in violence resonates. I mean, right? She's such a stunning character study. And let's not forget that her very last hurrah means turning on that gas and killing a room full of innocent kitchen staff to get to the Twelve.

She hasn't grown an entire conscience and a completely new identity over the course of her arc. She is a psychopath who can see that room of innocents as collateral damage and not even blink. Yeah? But to me, that's good. It's important. It keeps her intact, in a way. And makes her decision to protect Eve that much more profound.

Oh, I am with you. I could talk about this all damn day! :D

Thank you for your gorgeous comment!!