A Little Black Dove – The episode opens with Helen Webb/Daisy Bradshaw (Kiera Knightley) out for a job. In a flashback, Daisy applies for a translator position at Weston Montgomery. Andy (Julian Wadham) declines to hire her because her stepsister, Bonnie Weir, murdered her father, Daisy’s stepfather. Bonnie is serving a life sentence at HMP Bronzefield women’s prison. He gives her a phone number and says to tell Reed (Sarah Lancashire) that he may have found “A Little Black Dove.” Later, Mrs. Reed meets Daisy in person. Daisy speaks Russian, German, and French. Reed explains how Little Black Doves gather intel and sell it to the highest bidder. She suggests Daisy is an alias and offers her a new identity.

Utilizing the alias, Helen Dawson, Daisy attends Wallace Webb’s (Andrew Buchan). She takes a seat beside him at the bar. She gives him a few pointers to improve his presentation and suggests he get another suit. He asks what she thinks about what he is saying. She assures him that no one will listen to what he is saying until he has a solid presentation. He claims to have meant what he said and asks her name. She shows him her name tag for Helen Dawson. Later, Helen copies Wallace’s files while he is asleep before leaving. Sam Young (Ben Whishaw) is waiting for her in the parking lot. She gives him the hard drive. He tries to engage her in normal conversation. She asks if he is a Black Dove. He claims to do off-the-book jobs for Reed. She calls him the odd-job man. He says that is not how he would describe his role. She suggests he would embellish his role to make it sound more important. She remembers her mother’s lighter. He warns her against returning to the scene of a crime but she insists. He devises a plan to rescue her if necessary. She returns to the room to find Wallace working. She retrieves her lighter and closes the curtain to show Sam that she is safe.

In the present, Helen remembers Jason (Andrew Koji). She meets Sam in the parking lot. He tells her that Elmore Fitch (Paapa Essiedu), a former SAS marksman, is Jason’s killer. He questions why Jason was in contact with Chinese Ambassador Chen’s daughter, Kai-Ming Chen (Isabella Wei). She recalls Kent (Eniko Fulop) and Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) looking for a woman. Kai-Ming went missing after her father committed suicide which the Chinese refused to accept. Jason had been in contact with Kai-Ming on the day he was murdered. His contacts, Maggie (Hannah Khalique-Brown) and Phillip (Thomas Coombes) were also killed.

Sam admits to having five glasses of wine and some cocaine, possibly ketamine. Helen sarcastically asks if he shot up before he got there. He claims to have cut his time short with some old friends to come and take out a hired killer for her. They later arrive at Fitch’s apartment to find it empty. She asks how he determined Fitch killed Jason. He says his fingerprints were found on a bullet casing near where Jason was shot. She suspects something is up when the lights flicker. Sam shoots out a window and they jump through it. A figurine stops turning and explodes. They land in the canal below, resurface, and emerge on the other side. He blames himself for not seeing it as a trap. She resets her dislocated shoulder. He is impressed. Upon arriving home, she goes in and clears the house before he drives away. While she is in the kitchen, Fitch sneaks into the house. She throws a knife at him but misses. A struggle ensues and ends when he retrieves his gun. Holding her at gunpoint, he says if she wants her family to live, she will hand over a listening device (camera) believed to have been in Kai-Ming’s possession. She denies any knowledge of it and tells him to not threaten her family again. Realizing he is Fitch, she asks if he killed a man on South Bank two nights ago. He says yes. She grabs his gun and a struggle ensues. Retrieving the gun, she puts it to his throat and threatens him if he doesn’t tell her why he killed Jason. He denies knowing who hired him and was given a photo, name, and a 24-hour deadline. He requested payment of a hundred thousand pounds. She forces him to the garden shed and kills him.

The next morning, Jacqueline Webb (Charlotte Rice-Foley) gets upset when Wallace tells her that Rudolph is not real. Oliver Webb (Taylor Sullivan) doodles. Wallace tells Helen that he is scheduled to attend a memorial for Jason. At a pub, Lenny Lines (Kathryn Hunter), Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy, and Williams approach Sam at a pub. She hired him to kill Hector Newman (Luther Ford) and when he didn’t follow through, it damaged her reputation. She asks who brought him back. Refusing to answer, he asks Williams who hired her to go to Jason’s apartment. She expresses her desire to kill him. Eleanor is Kent’s replacement. Lenny insists Sam still owes her for Hector. After a brief flashback, he says Hector is not his top priority at the moment. Lenny threatens to hire Williams to kill his ex, Michael (Omari Douglas), if he doesn’t take out Hector. She gives him a recent photo of Hector and says he owns a garage in Brixton. No apology for killing Kent will change Williams’ mind.

Hector is drawn to a news report about Kai-Ming’s disappearance. He calls someone and asks if the girl from the other night is still there. The man says she is in Kelly’s office. Security footage shows her asleep. Elsewhere, Bill (Ken Nwosu) tells Wallace that the Chinese insist the Americans are involved in Ambassador Chen’s death and they are covering up. Wallace says what if the Chinese are right. Bill sarcastically suggests building a bomb shelter.

Helen tells Sam that she killed Fitch last night and his body is in her shed. She insists on finding whoever hired him. Fitch, Williams, and Kent were looking for a listening device. He suggests they wanted to get their hands on a video. She believes Kai-Ming is the key. Reed says Kia-Ming and Maggie were schoolmates and Phillip published articles about her party life in the Weekday newspaper. She adds that Jason made five calls to her before he was killed but their connection is still unclear. Reed asks Helen if she said anything to Jason about being a spy. Helen says no and suggests she spend more time looking for Kia-Ming instead of interrogating her. Sam also believes Kia-Ming knows something. Reed stresses the importance of treading lighting. While researching Kia-Ming, Police Commissioner Stephen Yarrick’s (Sam Troughton) name pops up. Helen recalls Wallace saying Stephen is being forced to attend Jason’s memorial. A short time later, Helen arrives at The Westminster Arms to find the memorial is in full swing. She places a flower with a wiretap in a floral arrangement. When Stephen and Wallace arrive, she returns to her vehicle and sets up a covert listening device. Wallace and Stephen discuss the Chinese’s allegations against the Americans which may develop into a war. Wallace says Phillip contacted him about a story and video of Stephen, claiming it was connected to China. Stephen assures him that his investigation into Chen’s death turned up nothing suspicious.

Helen visits South Bank where Jason was murdered. Sitting on the same bench, she asks if he is familiar with Black Dove. Looking through a window, Sam watches Michael interact with his child. Williams approaches and urges him to not get sentimental. He voices concern about being a psychopath. She assures him that a psychopath wouldn’t pine over their ex. He promises to take out Hector. She questions if there was ever a time, he got the upper hand on Hector. En route to Brixton, Sam alerts Lenny that he going to deal with Hector. She says when the job is done, they will be square but don’t lie to her. He arrives at the warehouse to find it littered with corpses. He finds a camera recording him. He rewinds the footage to see Kia-Ming lying on the bed. Hector orders her to start talking. A man warns him that the Clarks are coming. Hector and another guy take Kia-Ming and flee. The episode ends.

 

Black Doves Review

The episode explains how Daisy, now Helen, got involved with the Black Doves. Reed starts to suspect Helen told Jason that she was a spy. A flashback confirms her suspicion.

Reed puts pressure on Sam to keep Helen safe. He finds himself once again facing his biggest challenge, Hector Newman. Lenny hired him to take out Hector. When his plan is thwarted, he leaves London. She threatens to kill Michael if he doesn’t finish what he started.

The series lacks the key element, suspense, of a good espionage show. The story is at times bland and repetitive. The episode deserves a 5.2 out of 10.

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