There are few forces as powerful throughout TV history as the duo. From Lucy and Ethel to Niles and Frasier, from Mulder and Scully to every police procedural ever, a good duo is often crucial to the success of a series. Black Doves continues in this rich television tradition by featuring the year’s best new twosome.
Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw star as Helen Webb and Sam Young. Helen is the wife of Britain’s defense secretary and also a spy working for the titular Black Doves organization. Sam is a “trigger man” otherwise known as an assassin, who prefers to work freelance and far away from the UK. He’s brought back to protect Helen from danger in the aftermath of her secret lover’s murder. The plot only gets more complicated from there, with elements from Helen and Sam’s past adding to the intrigue.
While the overall conspiracy plot is interesting, it takes a backseat to the show’s true focus: the relationship, both past and present, between our two leads. Black Doves features copious amounts of flashbacks, a narrative tool that frequently gets overused. Often, flashbacks can feel like an excuse to pad out a story that doesn’t have enough juice. That it works here is a testament to clever writing and the incredible performances from Knightley and Whishaw.
The chemistry between the two is so fun that the show seems to lose energy when they aren’t on screen together. Knightley plays Helen as a woman desperate for revenge but unsure how to go about it without ruining her secret life. She is outgoing and social in front of others, but sad and raging underneath. Whishaw, by comparison, is withdrawn and calculating, using one-liners as a way of coping with his job. The show takes its time revealing our duo’s connection to each other, but the payoff is emotionally satisfying thanks to the character work in the present day scenes.
Set during the holiday season, Black Doves calls back to classic action films (Shane Black movies specifically), with an added level of brutality. Our first action scene ends with our leads splattered in blood. That level of real-world violence certainly won’t be for everyone, but does a fine job of introducing us to the realities of this profession. The show also loves a good close-up shot. At least once an episode, one of our leads stares into the camera. It provides a great excuse to showcase some brilliant face acting.
Black Doves succeeds by blending various genres together, often in the same scene. It’s a spy thriller that deftly handles comedic beats with no tonal dissonance. It can add in elements of political intrigue or romance and still feel true to the world it’s created. This isn’t a grounded show. I’d argue it isn’t even trying to be. This is John Wick meets Guy Ritchie with a dash of holiday cheer for good measure. You can do much worse than that at this time of year.