Black Doves Recap ‘The Coming Night’: Business of Codes
- Cherish
- Jul 6
- 5 min read
Black Doves Season 1 Episode 3 Recap and Review
Ten years ago, Sam wanted a career change. He approached Lenny Lines to become a triggerman, like his father before him. His parting with Mrs. Reed was amicable; Mrs. Reed did not employ killers so his employer switch was understandable. That was the business they were in, provide references to your prospective employer, hand in your notice to your old one. It was all very calm and civilised, until it was not.
It was important for Lenny to know if Sam was reliable, so his first kill was a test and the hardest one he would have to do. Sam’s first kill was his own father, in a Chinese restaurant that he would later on frequent, and even take Michael on their first date. Whatever past father and son had that allowed Sam to raise his visor, look his target in the eye, and pull the trigger, he still kept his father’s memory close. His code became Sam’s code. It was this very code that eventually led to the breaking of his idyllic relationship with Michael seven years ago, and placed him in fresh danger in the present.
Now this is how you illustrate an espionage love story – the eye contact at the bar, the shy first date in a place that carried dark history for Sam, the pleasant home life as they moved in together, the violent attack that broke them apart. Sam’s mercy, his code, was what brought terrible danger into his life. He was supposed to kill the four Newman brothers but he could not pull the trigger when he saw that the youngest, Hector, was just a boy. This boy led an attack into Sam’s flat that he shared with Michael.
Sam called the very pregnant Helen for help, before he led Michael out of their flat in this show’s most moving sequence so far. Michael was a civilian, an artist, and quite unused to having men with guns around trying to kill him. Sam told him to close his eyes, to stay behind him, to stay low. They moved together, with Sam gently guiding Michael down the stairs as he shot one gunman, then another. They almost made it to the street when another gunman hit Sam on the stomach. Helen had arrived, however, and she unloaded her pistol at him. She told Sam to run, she would fix this, and grabbed Michael and put him in her car.
In a single episode we got (1) part of Sam’s childhood including his legendary triggerman father (2) why he had to leave seven years ago (3) what Sam owed Helen, so that when Mrs. Reed called for her sake, he came. To give Sam an exit strategy, to clean up the dead bodies inside and outside his flat, to protect Michael, Helen gave up her plan to free herself from Mrs. Reed’s employ.
It was Helen’s pregnancy that changed things for her; she did not want the twins to become part of her spy life. She went to Mrs. Reed, who was civilised as usual with an employee trying to leave. Wallace would simply meet another girl to replace Helen; their organisation had (correctly, it turned out) identified him as a long term information source. Helen already had her go bag packed when she received Sam’s call. When she asked for Mrs. Reed’s help, Mrs. Reed pointed out the clean-up would be expensive. Helen said she would stay in exchange, a valuable source of company intel.
In the circular world of I-owe-yous, present day Sam was still helping Helen in her investigation on who had Jason killed. She wanted Sam to question Stephen Yarrick, whom Wallace suspected had something to do with Phillip Bray’s death. Helen was very specific about Sam not hurting Yarrick, however; Yarrick was a fixture at the Wallace house, their kids went to the same school together. It was during the Nativity play that Sam took Yarrick to an empty classroom and asked him questions he absolutely refused to answer. Yarrick figured out that Sam was not going to kill him right there at the school, and he left, leaving behind his phone with the mysterious ‘Repair Shop’ he was in communication with a lot, including the night the Chinese Ambassador was killed.
Sam gave Helen Yarrick’s phone, and Helen rather recklessly messaged ‘Repair Shop’. Their response was shocking in its immediate violence. They sent Helen a video of Stephen Yarrick being tortured and eventually killed.
Sam’s next move was to try and retrieve Kai-Ming Chen from Hector Newman. Hector, however, had holed himself up in a veritable fortress. Sam went to Williams and Eleanor for help, and the banter amongst the assassins was rather enjoyable. Eleanor who offered her rocket launcher was particularly entertaining. Sam agreed to pay them, but more than that, their success would raise their reputation amongst their small business community. The three of them drove to Hector’s place; even from outside, they could see that their chances of success were slim. Sam, however, did not, or could not, change his mind. One has to have a code.
‘The Coming Night’ was a successful blend of action and grief. The timeline jumps occurred seamlessly, and gave us a firmer picture of the two leads, Helen and Sam. Its strongest beats, however, happened with Sam and Michael. In the midst of all the espionage business, it was the stolen time of love that hit the hardest.
Rating: A-
Strays
💌Sam trained Helen even after he had already left Mrs. Reed’s employ.
💌Jason asked Helen to come away with him, with the children. The name on her passport was Daisy Bradshaw, which seemed to be her first false name.
💌Helen finally met Wallace’s new assistant Dani, who had been flirting with him. Dani thoughtlessly echoed something Mrs. Reed used to say, which Helen recognised.
💌Bill arranged for Wallace to casually meet the Chinese Envoy Chang Hao and the man who had been informally investigating the Ambassador’s death, Wu Lin. Mr. Lin showed Wallace footage of Kai-Ming’s flat an hour before the Ambassador was found inside. Cole Atwood, Kai’s boyfriend and suspected CIA agent, was seen fleeing and making his way to the American embassy. There was no footage around the Ambassador’s time of death, as though someone wiped the evidence. China made Category 1 military contract proposals to various British companies which were denied; they wanted these reevaluated.
💌Helen told Michael to tell their friends Sam had a breakdown and had to leave, then follow Mrs. Reed’s instructions when she called.
Episode Title: The Coming Night
Episode Writer: Joe Barton
Episode Director: Alex Gabassi
Original Air Date: December 5, 2024