TL;DR – This opening episode builds the tension throughout because you know something very wrong is coming.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that I used to view this series.

Black Doves Review Introduction

There are times when you want just to sit down and wallow in intrigue and let a spy thriller absorb your life. That happened for me back in 2024 when Season One of the delightful spy romps/thrillers [I am not sure if something can be both, but Black Doves is both] dropped on Netflix. Well, it is now back for a second season, and I was more than ready to jump in.

So, to set the scene, things are moving fast in the world of Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) because not only is she a secret spy for an organisation that trades on secrets, but she is also now the wife of the PM of the United Kingdom. It is a dual life that is constantly rubbing up against itself, such as when a political dinner turns into a secret gunfight. However, while this dual world is a real struggle, what is worse is that even this structure is about to fall apart. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Let Them Act

One of the strengths of the Netflix shows coming out of the UK at the moment, such as Black Doves, The Gentlemen, and The Diplomat, is that it allows their cast to inhabit the roles and bring this world to life. Every moment you are captivated because Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw command every scene they are in. You then support them by adding in the ever-present Sarah Lancashire, and then a whole range of delightfully zany side-characters, and you get a tornado of engagement before you reach the first page of exposition. A good example of this is the opening scene where Helen is in couples therapy because she needs to keep her so-to-be-PM husband (Andrew Buchan) on side, only for her to realise that he has accidentally clocked her tea. Each moment of the episode is just as delicious as that.

Tipping Over the Apple Cart

What most of this episode is, when we are not murdering waves of bodyguards, is taking everything we understood from last season and turning it on its head or at least making it all even more suspect than it was, and it was very suspect to begin with. Throughout the episode, you can feel that coming storm, you know, with the temperature drops, the air tastes a bit different, and the wind changes, and you know something is coming before the first lightning bolt strikes. As it peels back the layers of the narrative, like an onion or a parfait, the unease continues to rise, as you realise that we might be witnessing a churn happen, a rumbling sudden shift in power that will take many people out in the process. Helen asks during the episode if she should take her kids and run, and by the end you feel the answer is a resounding YES!

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Black Doves? Absolutely. This first episode of the season perfectly captivated me. Each turn, each reveal, and each shift brought me further in. It also ends on the moment you knew was coming, but it was just as disastrous as you expected it to be. Have you seen Black Doves yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Black Doves
Directed by – Julian Farino
Written by – Joe Barton
Created by – Joe Barton
Production/Distribution Companies – Noisy Bear, A Sister Production & Netflix
Starring – Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, & Sarah Lancashire
With – Andrew Buchan, Ella Lily Hyland, Gabrielle Creevy, Babou Creevy, Sam Riley, Ambika Mod, Agnes O’Casey, Sylvia Hoeks, GoranKostic, Samual Barnett, Molly Chesworth, Ken Nwosu, Charlotte Rice-Foley, Taylor Sullivan, Michelle Duncan, Nadia Albina, Paul Antony-Barber, & Dempsey Bovell