In The Bleak Midwinter – The episode opens with Sam (Ben Whishaw) waking on the floor. He looks up to see Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) and Kai-Ming (Isabella Wei) retrained to chairs. Thomas (Callum Coates) says it is Christmas Eve. During a phone conversation, Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) confronts Mrs. Reed (Sarah Lancashire) about sending a teen to kill her. Reed claims to have tried to repair things between them but she and Sam are unreliable. Helen tells her to send a more skilled assassin the next time and not involve Sam because he is loyal. Reed says he failed to show his loyalty when he didn’t end Alex Clark (Tracey Ullman) last night. Helen demands she give her the address and threatens her if something happens to Sam. Reed gives her one last chance to deliver the recording device to her. Helen suggests it is her only leverage to get the Clarks to hand over Sam. Reed tells her that she cannot protect them if she isn’t in control. Helen says maybe she isn’t in control and ends the call. Studying a photo of Trent Clark (Angus Cooper), Helen sees a logo for London City Stables on his cap. She removes a handgun and clip from a locked compartment in the boot of her vehicle. She notifies Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) that she has Trent’s location. Williams is waiting when she arrives. Helen shows her the recording device. Williams warns her that it may be a trap. Helen says it may be possible to still surprise them.

Eleanor and Kia-Ming discuss their favorite Christmas movies. They try to get Sam involved but he is busy trying to loosen his restraints. Eleanor teases him for not making any progress. He says they need to escape by noon before blurting out “The Holiday.” Upon arriving at London City Stables, Helen and Williams find Trent putting a blanket on a horse. Helen asks to see Alex and plays a video of his distressing call. When he refuses, Williams puts a gun to his throat and says Alex is holding Kai-Ming hostage. He accuses them of lying. Knowing he loves Kai-Ming, Helen warns him that Alex will kill her if he doesn’t do it. He calls Alex. Helen threatens to hurt Alex if she isn’t at the drop-off in one hour. En route to the drop-off, Trent denies being like Alex. Williams says she is a drug dealer and killer. He claims to get Kai-Ming drugs because he wanted her to like him. Helen gives him a few pointers on how to get a girl to like him.

Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan), Oliver Webb (Taylor Sullivan), and Jacqueline Webb (Charlotte Rice-Foley) arrive at Prime Minister Richard Eaves’ (Adeel Akhtar). In a voicemail, he informs Helen of their visit to Downing Street and warns that their children may end up on Newsnight because of the CCTV cameras. Cole Atwood (Finn Bennett) passes Wu Lin (Tai Yin Chan) and Chang Hao (Dan Li) sitting in a vehicle. They don’t notice him. Reed alerts Mitch Porter (William Hope) that the recording device is about to change hands. Helen, Williams, and Trent arrive at Borough Market and emerge from their vehicle. Mitch tells Reed that they are happy to win the bid when Cole approaches. Mitch says they just learned about an intel exchange. Cole says it involves the Clarks and will go down at Borough Market. Mitch insists they beat the Chinese there. Helen has a flashback of Jason. Trent is reluctant to meet Alex. She assures him that it will be okay, grabs his arm, and sticks her gun into his pocket. He tells the guards that Alex is expecting them. The guards confiscate Williams and Helen’s weapons before permitting them to enter. They find Eleanor, Kai-Ming, and Sam upstairs and remove their restraints. Alex approaches as Sam tries to convince Helen to leave. She steps forward and reminds them that they agreed on an exchange. Trent asks what she had for Kai-Ming. She says his obsession with Kai-Ming has gotten them all in trouble. Holding up the recording device, Helen tells her that Chen’s death was an accident. Alex sarcastically says everything he does is an accident and warns them against harming her. Helen gives her the device.

Bill (Ken Nwosu) tells Wallace that the Americans believe there is a recording of Chen’s murder that will exonerate them. At Borough Market, Alex and Kai-Ming watch the recording of Chen threatening to kill Trent if he doesn’t stay away from her. When Kent shoves Chen, he rolls over a sofa and strikes his head on a table. At Downing Street, Wallace informs Eaves of the potential video. Eaves alerts Alex via text message that the Americans are coming. Reading the text, Alex says it worked out for everyone and starts toward the door. Helen tells her that she didn’t get what she wanted. As Trent walks past, she grabs the gun out of his pocket and aims it at Alex. Drawing his gun, Thomas threatens to kill her if she shoots Alex. Sam urges Helen to walk away. She claims her father paid for taking something away from her and asks Alex why she shouldn’t have to pay as well. Sam tries to convince her to leave. Helen demands to know why she ordered Jason killed. Alex denies any involvement in his death. Helen asks Williams to call the number linked to the recording device in Jason’s flat. Kent’s phone rings. Porter and a team of armed men pull up in front of the building. Kent claims to have been trying to prove he could handle himself. Alex says he is just trying to protect her. He tells them that he had to cover up his mess and apologizes. Sam orders him to shut up. Alex grabs Helen’s gun. Sam and Thomas wrestle over a gun which misfires and shoots Thomas.

Outside, the Chinese and Americans get into a shootout. Sam shoots Alex and aims his gun at Trent. He recalls young Hector Newman (Billy Hickey) and his father saying there is a wrong way and a right way. He shoots Trent. Distraught, Helen says he was hers to kill. He embraces her and says it is over. Williams warns them that they need to go. Sam retrieves Alex’s phone and listens to a message – “You have been watched, and you will be held accountable.” Helen emerges from the building to find the street littered with dead bodies. An armed Cole steps forward and asks if anyone is alive upstairs. Handing him the recording device, she says it will clear him because Trent accidentally killed Chen. As she starts to walk away, he agrees to keep who she is a secret.

Mitch tells Wallace that the recording device proves they weren’t involved in Chen’s death and the Chinese will back down. He says Yarrick was seen in the video and there is nothing he can do to keep it out of the media. Wallace thanks him. Mitch says several people have been implicated. Wallace asks who they are. Surprised, Mitch suggests he is clean and tells him to take his children home. At a cathedral, Helen updates Reed on Chen’s murder. Reed claims Maggie (Hannah Khalique-Brown) had been selling information about Kai-Ming to Phillip Bray with the tabloids. A camera that she installed in Kai-Ming’s revealed Chen’s murder and Yarrick’s involvement. Phillip notified Wallace that he had a recording connecting Yarrick to Chen’s death. Wallace warns Yarrick who in turn notifies the Clarks. Reed claims Jason was an MI5 agent investigating government intel leaks and Helen came under suspicion. Helen questions if it was all an act. Reed says Jason’s report said there was no evidence of her being a spy at great risk to himself. She gives Helen a USB drive containing information about Jason. She informs her of Eaves’ impending resignation and recommends Wallace as his replacement. Reed wants to continue working with Helen.

Sam goes to Michael’s house. Michael asks if it is over. Sam turns to look at him. Michael suggests they not talk about it now. Helen visits the South Bank where Jason was murdered. Sam leaves Michael in bed, retrieves his gun, and walks into a room where Hector Newman (Luther Ford) is sitting alone. Hector claims to have hated his brothers and their deaths broke his mother’s heart. Sam says if it wasn’t him who murdered his brothers, it would have been someone else who may have killed him as well. Hector never determined if Sam was his guardian angel or worst enemy. He warns that the Clarks will come after him and he is in need of some muscle. Sam asks if he wants to hire him. Hector tells Sam that what’s coming isn’t going to be pretty. Sam says he didn’t kill him eight years ago before he was a child. Hector knew Sam had good in him. Michael listens to them talk and watches Hector leave moments later. Sam says goodbye to Michael before leaving. Helen has the drive containing information about Jason. She throws it into the water in front of her. Sam visits Lenny Lines (Kathryn Hunter) who says she can smell gun residue. She’s not going to ask him to kill Hector. Sam reveals Hector offered him a job. He believes that leaves them with the chance to put the past in the past and move on with their lives. Sam pulls a gun on her and asks if she can do that. Lenny admits she doesn’t know. Sam will look into her eyes. If he believes she can, he will leave without killing her. Sam tells her he’ll see her before leaving. Helen returns home to her kids and Wallace. They gather around and begin opening their presents.

A bit later, Helen calls Sam who says he isn’t doing anything. She tries to force him to come around. Sam arrives with presents with the kids. Wallace introduces himself to Sam and asks what he does for a living. Sam claims he works in insurance. In private, Sam tells Helen he’s going to stick around in London for a while. She wants to talk about what he did. Sam says it’s why he came back and he’d do it again. Helen learns that his relationship with Michael has ended. Williams and Eleanor are shown celebrating with Kai-Ming. Marie (Molly Chesworth) is with Reed.

 

Black Doves Review

The finale of Black Doves was fairly uneventful and uninformative. Almost everything was revealed before the finale and Helen never looked at the information about Jason.

The series potentially left the door open for a renewal although it really isn’t necessary. Usually, the first installments are the best and it’s highly unlikely this is going to improve the next time around. Since none of the characters were unsympathetic, it just felt like the series was going through the motions.

The messy storytelling certainly didn’t help matters. The series had too many flashbacks with Helen and Jason being romantic. By the hundredth time, viewers had likely already gotten the point. Williams and Eleanor were on par with Ken and Barbie in Stay Close. The characters were annoying enough to nearly drag down every scene they were in.

It’s really a shame that someone managed to get this cast, and this is the lackluster script they were given. It’s impossible not to see this as a big, missed opportunity.

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