Written by Joe Barton And Emer Kenny
Directed by Julian Farino And Kieron Hawkes
Helen: "I would like to know who the hell it is that I am risking my life, liberty and freedom for."
Okay, I really enjoyed the first season of this British spy thriller back in 2024 and I was pleased when it got a second season. I wanted more of Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) and Sam Young (Ben Whishaw) and this second season certainly didn't disappoint. Once again, the Helen/Sam dynamic was a big factor into this season being so enjoyable.
For the most part, the focus was on the disappearance of their handler, Elizabeth Reed (Sarah Lancashire) and Sam killing practically everyone that Helen needed to talk to. That led to a bit of conflict between the pair but nothing that did any lasting damage to their friendship. Their friendship really can survive anything, can't it? I love that about this show.
Elizabeth might have spent most of the season in captivity by her employers but there was time to examine her younger years and the fact that she gave up a baby. The baby would grow up to be Katia Chernov (Sylvia Hoeks), who was in collusion with rival organisation, Kestrel and the wife of Russian oligarch, Alexi (Goran Kostic). The woman had abandonment issues and similarities to Helen and was a rather effective villain before her downfall.
Then there was Sam himself. He had also been roped into working for Kestrel by Patrick (Sam Riley) as his past caught up with him. There's a brief relationship with a man named Jerry (Samuel Barnett) that ended badly and ultimately, things seemed rather bleak for Sam this season. His rapport with Helen and several other characters fortunately stopped the character being too dour.
Speaking of Helen, she spent most of the season trying to work on her marriage to PM Wallace (Andrew Buchan) and things came to a head when he finally realised who she really was. It even resulted in a cliffhanger moment that hopefully will motivate Netflux into giving the show a third season.
Then there's the rest of the Black Doves themselves. Newcomer Laila Joshi (Ambika Mod) was a snarky breath of fresh air and I thought she had some genuinely hilarious moments with both Helen and Sam. There's more scenes with lesbisn duo, Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) and Davies (Gabrielle Creevey), who once again are so much fun to watch while they were figuring out their relationship. Lenny Lines (Kathryn Hunter) briefly returned and I quite liked her scenes with Sam.
- Episode titles were Black Door, Put Your Head On My Shoulder, P Is For Poison, The Opportunity To Be Savage, Murder Mix and Peace Summit.
- Maintaining her Netflux relationship, Neve Campbell had a recurring role this season as American defence envoy Cecile Mason. I liked her but she was underused.
- Helen didn't hesitate to take out the treacherous nanny, even with her children nearby. Helen also killed Reed's baby daddy under the latter's instruction.
- Helen's sister was mentioned a few times this season. Will we meet her if this show gets a third season?
- Standout music: There's the use of Olly Murs in the fifth episode and the context of that scene was so funny.
- Chronology: There's flashbacks to Berlin and Italy but the show is in 2026 London with the last scenes set during Christmas.
Season 2 of Black Doves managed to hit the right spot and was every but as entertaining as the first season. The newcomers are good, the recurring characters of old are nicely expanded on but it's Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw's chemistry and friendship that continued to make this season a must see.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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