The episode opens at The Coal Hole. An intoxicated man in a Santa Claus (Robert Ashe) suit purchases a beer before leaving. Jason Davies (Andrew Koji) watches from across the street. Santa rings his bell and yells Merry Christmas. Periodically looking back, Jason crosses a bridge when he receives a call from Maggie Jones (Hannah Khalique-Brown) who says she missed a call from someone. He voices concern about being followed. When Phillip Bray (Thomas Coombes) calls, she starts a conference call. He asks if she called. Jason asks if he talked to anyone. Phillips says it is none of his concern. Maggie hangs up when the woman calls. Jason tells Phillip that someone is pursuing him. Phillip receives an incoming call from Maggie but no response. She is lying on the floor with her throat slashed. Someone has her phone. Phillip is attacked from behind. In a voicemail, Jason tells “Soft Play” that he is in trouble and wanted to say… He is attacked from behind, takes a seat on a bench, and dies.

Rome – Sam Young (Ben Whishaw) ignores a call from Mrs. Reed (Sarah Lancashire). A short time later, he reluctantly answers Reed’s call. Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) tells Oliver Webb (Taylor Sullivan) where to find his inhaler. Defense Secretary Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan) says Ambassador Chen (Andy Cheung) overdosed and suggests his daughter, Kai-Ming (Isabella Wei) is in hiding. In a cab, Oliver and Jacqueline Webb (Charlotte Rice-Foley) chatter while Wallace tries to talk on the phone. At a fundraiser, Helen holds a short speech. Stephen Yarrick (Sam Troughton) informs Helen and Wallace that he is needed back at the office but Emma (Justine Mitchell) will be staying. Helen leaves to speak with Reed in private. She scolds her for showing up without notice. Reed tells her that Jason Davies was murdered this morning at 12:30am. Shocked, Helen denies meeting him more than once. Reed says they have been having an affair. After a quick flashback of being intimate with Jason, Helen claims to have loved him. Placing a photo of a deceased Jason on the table, Reed says his contacts, Maggie and Phillip were also murdered last night and asks what he gave her when they had lunch yesterday. Helen demands to know if he suffered. Reed claims he died in less than a minute. Helen says it was a Christmas gift that hasn’t been opened. Reed questions if he was seeking information about the Black Doves. Helen threatens to take the children if she is pulled out, reveals a knife, and threatens to kill her. Removing her would compromise their line into Downing Street. Helen rejoins the party like nothing happened. In a taxi, Helen remembers the first time she met Jason.

Sam picks up a vehicle and drives to the Royal Lancaster where Reed is waiting for him. They discuss Helen’s affair. He asks if she is too deep to pull out. She says Helen has been providing them with government secrets for ten years. She voices concern about what Wallace would do if he discovered Helen’s affair. She asks Sam to see if Helen is a target and if so, remove the threat. He asks if she wants him to hunt assassins. Reed says he owes Helen. He questions what prompted her to get intimately involved with Jason. She claims Helen said it was love. Elsewhere, Helen watches a news report about Jason, Phillip, and Maggie’s murders being connected. Wallace tells her that the Chinese refuse to accept the coroner’s report and he is due to debrief with the PM. She asks if he knew Jason. He says no. At Royal Lancaster, Daniel (Philipp Christopher) approaches Sam while he is having a drink. Sam invites him to his room but only if he removes his party hat.

Helen opens Jason’s gift, a bracelet, and doesn’t find anything hidden in the box. She later visits Jason’s flat. The landlord, Beth (Lizzie Hopley) tells her that the police already collected some of his things. She escorts Helen to his flat. Helen discovers a phone with Jason’s last voicemail before he was killed. She recalls their time together. It shows her cutting up SIM card. She inhales his vape pen. A police officer arrives. Helen sends Reed a text message – “Compromised.” At Royal Lancaster, Sam and Daniel are having sex when his phone rings. Sam pulls away from Daniel and answers checks his phone to see a call from Reed.

Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) and Kent (Eniko Fulop) identify themselves as police officers. Beth says the police were there earlier but Jason’s girlfriend is upstairs. Helen hides behind a wall when Jacqueline contacts her. She orders her to go back to bed and promises to be there soon. Armed, Williams and Kent approach. Helen stabs Kent in the leg. Williams fires several shots in her direction. Helen grabs the gun. A struggle ensues. Sam appears and shoots Kent. Williams flees. Covered in blood, Helen is shocked to see him. He goes out to his car. After retrieving a box hidden in what appears to be a vent behind a frame, she joins him in the car. He tells her that Reed alerted him of her being in trouble and he came. She asks if Williams and Kent killed Jason. He says probably not because the murder weapon was a long-range rifle. They briefly discuss Wallace and their twins. He says her falling in love was silly. She agrees. He suggests Jason was involved in something because he had a hidden hard drive. She asks him to protect her family and help her stay alive until she avenges Jason’s death. He promises to do his best.

After checking on her children, she accesses Jason’s hard drive to find their messages. She jots down a phone number. She finds messages with Philip about whether Sy is on the video footage. Helen writes down Sy. Sam goes to a guitar shop where Bingo takes him upstairs. They talk about the business while Sam fills a guitar case with guns. Arnie (Adam Silver) catches up with Sam who is walking down the street with the guitar case. Arnie says Zack will want to see him. He wants Sam to come around for dinner tonight. Sam gives him a phone number. He says Michael doesn’t know he’s here and he doesn’t want him to know. Sam walks to the scene where Jason died and looks at a building nearby using a one-eye binocular. It appears Helen accesses the system using the name of Wallace Webb. She calls Sam to say Jason was calling an unsaved number five times the day he died. Sam reminds her that Reed wants her to leave this to him.

She thinks he needs her. Helen also mentions that Philip messaged Jason about someone named Sy. She’ll get Reed to run the number. Sam says he’s going to dinner later. Helen notices that Wallace receives a message from the new assistant, Dani, about his socks. Helen hopes Sam isn’t going to see him. He says he’s not going to see Michael. Sam scopes the bench from across the way and finds a bullet casing. He speaks to George about getting the casing checked for DNA and prints. Sam uses his card to pay. Later, George messages Sam to say there were three usable prints on the casing. Sam meets Arnie and Zach (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett). They say they moved into this place just after their wedding. Reed is shown in the theater. Helen joins her. The Chinese are rejecting the coroner’s report into the ambassador’s death. Helen can tell Wallace is worried.

Sam told Reed about the assassins from last night. Reed asks her to let Sam deal with it. Helen asks her to run the phone number and tell Sam. Arnie and Zach want to know more about Sam and where he’s been. He says he just had to go because things had started to fall apart. Sam stayed in France until it was time to move on. He’s asked about Michael (Omari Douglas). A flashback shows Michael’s bloody hands-on Sam’s face. Arnie says Michael thought they were just too different. Michael is settled now that his partner used a surrogate. Later, Arnie snorts drugs with Sam and tells him that Michael is single now. Sam urges Arnie not to tell him that he’s back. Arnie admits he already told him. Michael only asked if Sam is okay. Sam says he’s not going to call him. Later, Sam calls Helen to say he’s got a positive ID for Jason’s shooter.

He also has a registered address. Helen wants to come with him. Wallace watches the report about Beijing rejecting the coroner’s report. Police are still searching for Chen’s daughter, Kai-Ming Chen. Sam tells Helen that Reed traced the number Jason was calling and it’s registered to a woman named Kai-Ming Chen. Before Jason was murdered, he was calling the daughter of the Chinese ambassador. Sam wants to do it together so he’s outside her house right now. Helen asks for two minutes. She retrieves a handgun.

 

Black Doves Review

The pilot episode jumps straight into Phillip, Jason, and Maggie trying to get into contact with a woman before they are killed. There is no character development or backstory.

The camerawork, writing, and action scenes are all amateurish. Ben Whishaw’s performance outshines all the rest. Most of the characters are one-dimensional. Reed and Wallace speak in a monotone. Sam must have a third eye because he knows things that he shouldn’t.

There is nothing that stands out to make it a must-see show. If anything, it is quite the opposite. A spy thriller? I think not! The episode deserves a 5 out of 10.

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