Black Doves season 1 ending, explained, and how it sets up season 2

The Black Doves season 1 finale, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” ties up all the loose storylines in a neat bow on top of a Christmas present. 

After Sam (Ben Whishaw) is kidnapped by the Clarks at the end of episode 5, he wakes up in the same room as Kai-Min Chen (Isabella Wei) and Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy). The Clarks are holding them hostage. Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) has a plan, though, because she’s seen the tape and knows what really happened! 

Who killed the Chinese Ambassador? 

On the tape that Jason Davies (Andrew Koji) hid for Helen Webb to find in the jewelry, it reveals that Trent Clark, the son and heir to the Clark family, who are basically shadow-controlling the British government, killed Ambassador Chen (Andy Cheung) on accident. He was at Kai-Ming’s apartment to bring her heroin, but the Chinse ambassador confronted Trent about supplying his daughter. In the scuffle, Trent pushes him over the couch and the ambassador hits his head on the coffee table, killing him. 

Trent calls in some favors with the Clarks and the politicians who are in their pocket, including Stephen Yarrick (Sam Troughton), but it sets off this massive misunderstanding between the Chinese, American, and UK governments. The Chinese believed the tape showed a CIA agent killing Ambassador Chen, but that was not true. 

Who killed Jason?

Helen and Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) use Trent Clark as her own hostage to bring Alex Clark (Tracey Ullman) into the room where Sam, Kai-Ming, and Eleanor are located. Helen fully intends to kill her as a consequence of killing Jason, but after owning up to covering up Trent’s murder of Ambassador Chen, Alex denies killing Jason. She doesn’t know who killed him. Initially, Helen doesn’t believe her. Helen asks Williams, who was hired to watch Jason’s apartment, to call the number who hired her. We expect it to be Alex, but it’s not. It’s Trent! 

Trent hired Elmore Fitch (Paapa Essiedu) to kill Jason. He tried to cover up the murder. Outside, the Chinese and the CIA start killing each other, which causes a ruckus in the room. Helen kills Alex, while Sam kills Alex and her assistant. 

Immediately after the shooting stops, a phone rings. Sam answers. A voice says, “You have been watched and will be held accountable.”

I don’t think that you get to kill the head of a criminal organization and just get away with it that easy. More on that in a minute because it’s a huge indicator of where this story is going to move in season 2. 

Wallace Webb is set to become the Prime Minister in Black Doves season 2 

After killing Trent and Alex Clark, Helen gives the tape to the Americans. Mitch Porter (William Hope), who got the location of the recording from Reed (Sarah Lancashire), tells Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan) that his friend, Stephen Yarrick, was on the tape. Although he’s dead, he implicated people, including Prime Minister Richard Eaves (Adeel Akhtar), who was also working with the Clarks. 

And, that’s why Helen has to continue with the Black Doves as the story continues. Reed fills Helen in on the news shortly after Wallace finds out, as well. 

Reed reveals Jason was an MI5 agent, but he was loyal to Helen 

Later, Reed meets Helen in a church. Helen put it all together, but Reed reveals that Maggie was spying on her friend to sell information about Kai-Ming and the Chinese to the tabloids and the Black Doves. Trent, who killed Ambassador Chen, found Helen when she had lunch with Jason. 

Reed also reveals that Jason was an MI5 agent, a spy, basically. Jason was reporting on Helen for the government after some leaks were found. It appears that Jason was spying on her, but he filed a report before he died that she was not a spy and that she was just a normal, good mother. 

Jason loved Helen after all. He kept her safe, even when it was a giant risk to himself. 

And, Helen will still be part of the Black Doves in season 2. We know that for sure! Helen visits the bench where Jason was killed. She sits for a while and then drops the report that Reed gave her, the one Jason had compiled on her. 

Sam doesn’t get back together with Michael 

Finally, Sam gets some sort of resolution with Michael (Omari Douglas). After everything that happened, Sam returns to Michael’s place where they celebrate Christmas together. 

But, Sam wakes up to an intruder. It’s Hector Newman (Luther Ford), the boy that Sam let live after killing his whole family on the day that Sam was ambushed at Michael’s apartment. Hector knows Sam is responsible for taking down the Clarks, and he needs protection. Hector offers Sam a job in his criminal organization, which Sam accepts. 

Then, he pays a visit to Lenny (Kathryn Hunter) to settle their debts. Sam threatens to kill her if she can’t forget about the past and move on, but they agree to move on. 

Later, Helen walks back into the house at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning to celebrate with her husband and kids. They open presents, as Helen rests her head on Wallace’s shoulder. 

Then, she calls Sam and invites him over for Christmas dinner. Helen and Wallace spend the day cooking. When Sam arrives, he gives Helen’s kids toy guns as presents. How fitting. 

What to expect in Black Doves season 2 

Okay, so the good news is Black Doves is already renewed for season 2 on Netflix. That was revealed a few weeks before the first season premiered. And, it’s pretty clear how the ending of season 1 sets up season 2. 

Most importantly, Wallace is going to be the UK Prime Minister and his wife is going to continue her work for a spy organization. The issue, or one of the issues, facing Helen is that she’s been compromised. There are many people who know who she is now. That was very clear throughout the finale that there are multiple parties who can use that information to possibly blackmail her or get to her family. 

We also have that little incident where Helen and Sam killed Alex and Trent Clark and received that menacing phone call immediately after. That will likely be one of the big stories heading into season 2. We know the Clark family is going to be out for vengeance, even though they were the ones who started all this nonsense in the first place. 

It also feels like Sam’s meeting with Hector at the end of season 1 could be a big deal. If Sam starts working with Hector, does that put him at odds with the Black Doves? We’ll have to wait and see. 

That’s where I think things stand heading into Black Doves season 2. We’ll share more about Black Doves season 2 when we find out! Stay tuned!