Black Doves season 2 episode 2, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder," begins right where the first episode ended. Sam (Ben Whishaw) kills his mark, who happened to be one of the Black Doves, which Helen (Keira Knightley) tried to warn him about right before he killed him.
Unfortunately, Sam can’t go back in time, but he’s very worried after killing one of the Black Doves. He knows they are going to come for him now. He leaves Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) and Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) at the home and connects with Helen. A luggage drop tag takes them to King’s Cross, where they collect a bag of the man, Erik Klein, who Sam just killed.
Helen reveals that Ida, the Chernov’s housekeeper, was a Black Doves agent
Later, they go to a diner, and Helen shares a mission brief with Sam from Ida, the housekeeper who was working for the Chernovs. As it turns out, she was an undercover Black Doves agent, and she located information about a Wildflower mission in Berlin, where there was one unnamed survivor.
On the recording, Ida reveals she passed this information on to Mrs. Reed (Sarah Lancashire) and immediately after, her cover was blown. She was going to abandon the mission, but as Helen reveals, she turned up dead. The Chernovs definitely had something to do with it, but did Reed as well?
Now, they really need to know who Sam is working for and why they’re killing Black Doves. They pay a visit to Lenny Lines (Kathryn Hunter), but she doesn’t know who is taking out Black Doves. It’s not going well!
Mr. Conteh learns Sam is killing Black Doves
Shortly after, Mr. Conteh (Babou Ceesay) arrives at the house. One of the men who was shot reveals that a man named Sam and two women are responsible for killing them all. The Black Doves will be hot on their tail in no time at all.
Sam finds a lover and a new target
That night, Sam hooks up with the concierge, Jerry (Samuel Barnett) again. Then, they have a long chat about what Sam does, and it takes a very dark turn. I don’t like the look of this or the start of this relationship, especially considering who Sam is working for.
The next morning, Sam receives instructions to take out his next target, known as Spitfire.
Conteh questions Helen about her relationship with Sam and Laila
Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan) meets Cecile Mason, played by Neve Campbell, as Helen slips out the door to meet Mr. Conteh. During their meeting, Conteh reveals they don’t know where Reed is, but they’re looking for her.
Helen is questioned about Sam and how close she is with him. He also bites into her when Helen lies, and he makes it clear that she doesn’t have as much power as she thinks she does. He also warns her that two Black Doves agents have been killed in the last month. Conteh tells her that they’re trying to find Reed, Sam, and Laila Joshi, who Helen worked with in Paris.
Sam kills Spitfire, a Black Doves agent who worked in Berlin
Sam gets to work on his next kill. He shows up at Spitfire’s house and finds an old woman, who is quite welcoming. Sam wants to ask her some questions. He asks her who is actively trying to kill her. Sam learns that she, too, is one of the Black Doves, but she got out a long time ago. Sam asks about Wildflower, and she says it was in Berlin when “they had an opportunity to become savage, and they took it.”
Right then, she tries to pull a gun on Sam, but he’s faster. He kills her and then eats her biscuit, but she made an impression.
Helen meets Laila, but the Black Doves try to take them
Helen meets up with Laila (Ambika Mod) in London, but they are followed and attacked. The kidnappers try to take Laila, but she fights her way out and escapes with Helen's help through an art gallery. It’s quite hilarious watching the pair move swiftly through the art gallery, taking out those bad guys one by one in the process while also pretending to be part of the installation.
After sneaking out, Helen wants to work with Laila, but Laila doesn’t want anything to do with her. She leaves Helen and tells her not to call her again.
Sam learns some interesting information from Lenny Lines. She calls and tells him that she caught up with an old colleague who got the same offer Sam did, but instead of killing Black Doves, he was responsible for stockpiling weapons in a house in the city. She gives Sam the address.
The big reveals happen at the end of the episode, though!
Reed is alive and being held by the Black Doves
While Sam and Helen are busy, Mr. Conteh pays a visit to Reed. She wants to know what the hell is going on. The Black Doves are holding Reed because they are worried that Reed is turning on Black Doves agents, which might actually be true.
Robert plays the message from Ida, and then he questions her about Ida’s death. When she doesn’t speak, Mr. Conteh reveals that all the people who were part of the Wildflower operation in East Berlin in the ‘80s, which Reed was a part of, are now dead except her. Reed went undercover for more than five years with an up-and-coming terrorist organization, Kestrel, one of her first jobs.
Mr. Conteh also reveals that Alexi Chernov (Goran Kostic) was a KGB officer at the time, and he made contact with the group. Ida said in the recording that Chernov was looking for the lone survivor of the Wildflower operation. He thinks that Reed is behind all this, but she won’t tell him what she’s hiding.
Is Reed actually behind this? It doesn’t seem like her style.
Sam learns he’s now working for Kestrel
Sam visits the address that Lenny told him, and he finds Patrick (Sam Riley). He is furious at Sam for getting curious about their business. He shows Sam a video of Helen that he’ll release to the public unless Sam uploads his end of the bargain. He also mentions that Sam has had a target added to his list, and he needs to kill them that night. When Sam finds out who it is, he is shocked.
Remember Kestrel moving forward in season 2. That’s the same organization Mr. Conteh mentioned when Reed was in Berlin in the ‘80s. She infiltrated the group as a mission for the Black doves, and now that group appears to be coming to collect, or so it appears.
Wallace questions Helen’s commitment to their marriage
When Helen arrives home, Wallace is waiting for her. He isn’t happy. In fact, he’s trying to figure out what’s going on with Helen lately. He questions her about having an affair, which was alleged by his former assistant, Dani, who is one of the Black Doves. Wallace also asks Helen if she’s trying to leave the marriage.
Helen isn’t happy with the line of questioning, and she does a fantastic job acting. She admits that she isn’t happy all the time with him or their situation. She also admits that she has to force herself to be near him sometimes, but she does because she loves him. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t put up with all of the political stuff and just move on.
Sam kills his lover, Jerry, at Kestrel’s request
Everyone is talking about love now. At the bar, Sam asks Williams if she’s going to tell Eleanor if she’s in love with her. Sam tells her that she should because, if she doesn’t, she’ll wake up one day and realize that she has nothing and no one to show for the life she lived.
Shortly after, Sam leaves. Remember, he is supposed to have a date, but that’s put on pause while he finishes the new job that Patrick and Kestral made him. As Sam sets up his rifle and looks through the scope, we see the concierge from the hotel. Kestral is forcing Sam to kill him to prove his loyalty to them and Helen. Right before the credits roll, Sam shoots him and kills him.
It’s an absolutely devastating end to the episode. I can’t believe that Sam actually went through with it, but at the same time, it’s not like Sam was just choosing himself. He had to kill him to save Helen. We all know Sam is selfish, but he’s also fiercely loyal to Helen, and it was her life that was on the line. Kestrel knew that, and they took advantage of him.
Now, this whole Kestrel situation is quite interesting, as well! What is their angle? Why are they forcing Sam to kill Black Doves? What does Reed have to do with it? There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle, and I don’t quite know how they fit together.
We'll see what's next in Black Doves season 2 episode 3.
Add us as a preferred source on Google