Black Doves series 2 ending: Who were Kestrel and what did they want, the truth about 'Wildflower' Reed, and S3 news
Three words: "Bloody good fun!"
Black Doves series 2 was every bit as good as the first in 2024, perhaps even better, and there were plenty of loose ends left dangling for a possible series 3 in the explosive ending.
The six-part series was nothing if not bloody good fun. So long as you weren’t expecting realism. This was a preposterous, totally unbelievable spy thriller in which spies and assassins with no muscle mass whatsoever managed to take down the bad guys.
But leave incredulity at the door, and this was one HELL of a ride. Car chases, likeable assassins, sexy villains, historic secrets, and a ginormous body count.
This time, a nefarious organisation called Kestrel blackmailed trained hitman Sam Young into killing four targets. And the last of these intended victims was none other than Black Doves spymaster Elizabeth Reed. Of course, this put best friends Sam and Helen on opposing sides, with Helen’s job being to protect her boss (who incidentally had been missing for most of the series).
But who were Kestrel, and what did they have against Black Doves? All was finally revealed in the intense ending of Black Doves series 2…
***Warning: spoilers from the ending of Black Doves series 2 ahead***
Black Doves series 2 ending explained
The most recent series of the spy thriller saw Wallace Webb become Prime Minister of the UK, with wife Helen finally where Black Doves wanted her to be. As absurd as it was to think that a spy could be the PM’s wife, it all made for a rather tense plot.
Black Doves, a secret organisation that gathers state secrets and sells them to the highest bidder, was now in a very valuable position… However, that also means that her usefulness depends on her staying married.
This series, both Helen and her old friend Sam were targeted by a dangerous organisation called Kestrel. And Black Doves’ ice cold spymaster Elizabeth Reed was at the centre of the mystery. Which was a relief, as Sarah Lancashire’s character was criminally underused in series 1.
The end of Black Doves series 2 episode 5 was as taut as a tightrope. After rescuing Reed with much bloodshed, Black Doves’ Helen and hitwoman Laila took a well earned drink with Reed, as well as assassins Sam, Eleanor, and Williams. But it wasn’t much of a celebration. While Sam knew he had to kill Reed – his last target – to honour his pact with Kestrel, Reed in turn knew her days were numbered. Meanwhile, Eleanor and Williams had taken Black Doves’ hit on Sam. There would be more bloodshed by the end of Black Doves series 2…
In the final episode, Wallace and Helen prepared to attend his Peace Summit. But, you’ve guessed it, it was anything but peaceful!
What was Kestrel, and who was Wildflower?
This series we delved into Mrs Reed’s past, discovering a terrible secret about her early career as an agent in Berlin. In episode 1, the enigmatic spymaster went missing and a plot unfurled to bring her and the rest of the Black Doves down…
Wildflower was Elizabeth’s codename decades earlier when she’d worked undercover as part of a Black Doves cell in Berlin in 1988. She was there with station chief Peter Maddison, and foot soldiers Erik Klein and Melanie Ambrose. Reed’s mission? To infiltrate an anarchist political action group. A job she did so well, she was undercover for nearly six years.
In fact, she was in so deep, she had a child with anarchist Franz Meir. However, when the undercover operation collapsed, Reed fled Berlin – leaving a trail of dead bodies behind. She also, crucially, left her young daughter Vita behind too. If you were ever in any doubt, Elizabeth Reed was a ruthless bitch.
And the person behind the vengeful Kestrels? Step forward Reed’s abandoned daughter Vita, now going by the name of Katia Chernov, and married to a former KGB officer. It was all a bad case of mummy issues… She’d been left in a Soviet orphanage, and was determined to make Black Doves and Elizabeth Reed “pay for their crimes”.
What happened to Reed’s daughter Vita, now called Katia?
Patrick worked for Kestrel (and Katia), and was behind the hits on Erik Klein (Zeus), Alexi Chernov (Cowboy), and Melanie Ambrose (Spitfire). Long story short, he had blackmailed Sam into carrying out the hits. Of course, they also forced him to murder the hotel concierge, Sam’s lover, as a test. Lastly, they ordered Sam to extract Reed.
But they didn’t want Sam to kill her. That would come later… Sam delivered Reed to Kestrel, where Katia revealed her true identity. Having kidnapped Reed and US envoy Cecile Mason – throwing the Peace Summit into chaos in the process – Kestrel planned plenty more bloodshed where it would hurt Black Doves the most… In their headquarters.
But they weren’t counting on the arrival of “the psychotic girl gang” Laila, Eleanor, and Williams. They turned up just in time to save Reed’s life, and kill most of Kestrel – including Reed’s daughter who later bled to death from her injuries.
In the Black Doves series 2 ending, most of Kestrel were dead. However, a few escaped – leaving a dangling thread for a possible series 3 (more on that below).
In the closing minutes, viewers saw that Sam Riley’s Patrick was still very much alive when he “bumped into Helen” and gave her a Kestrel calling card. The message? Although Katia was dead, Kestrel lived on… Patrick was last seen boarding a plane to Tokyo.
What happened to Helen and Sam at the end?
In the Black Doves series ending, Sam and Helen had escaped with their lives – but at what cost? Helen “wanted to fight for the life that she’d built” with “no running”. But was that because she truly loved her husband, or because she wanted to continue being useful to the Black Doves?
Of course, her husband and her kids had all been put in huge danger because of her affiliation with the Black Doves. In the closing scenes of the series, Wallace had discovered that his wife wasn’t who she said she was. But would she tell him the whole truth? Doubtful.
After “spy wife” Helen asked Reed to be more involved in Black Doves, Reed in turn gave Helen an “extraction plan”. The device appeared to be a button that she could press if in danger of being found out.
What happened to Black Doves?
After the bloodbath at Black Doves Headquarters, the future of the organisation was possibly in peril. As Conteh warned: “Rogers is dead, and about a dozen staff. It will be one hell of a job keeping the Met out of this.”
Of course, Rogers was a high-ranking executive within the Black Doves organisation. The HQ was subsequently moved to a different building, and “half of the executive committee was gone”. That left Elizabeth Reed and Robert in charge of Black Doves.
Meanwhile, MI5 agent Jim Perryman was on to Helen, and we’re sure he won’t let it go until he “gets answers”.
Lastly, Sam left London to return to Italy. He “had no reason to stay”. He was a broken man by the end of the series, having been forced to kill a man he’d grown to love. A lifetime of killing had taken its toll on him. Understandably.
Could Black Doves series 3 have a Sam shaped hole in it? It’s possible, but the series wouldn’t be the same without the sublime Ben Whishaw. So we’re pretty confident he’ll be lured back in the future.
Was Conteh good or bad?
Like most of the characters in Black Doves, Conteh was a bit of both (probably). Reed had been set up, and Kestrel had made her look like a villain. Which she sort of was, too. All of the characters had blood on their hands, and all of them were capable of heinous acts.
Reed herself admitted she and her ilk aren’t “normal people” who are “at peace”. As Helen’s so-called nanny Marie said just before her former employee shot her in the head: “Loyalty is not the game.” The moral of the story here is that people who trade state secrets, kill in cold blood, and lie for a living are not decent people. And they certainly aren’t trustworthy.
Black Doves series 2 ending: Who are Bonnie Weir and Lily Morris?
In the Netflix spy thriller Black Doves, Bonnie Weir is the stepsister of Helen Webb (played by Keira Knightley, formerly known as Lily Morris, and after that Daisy Bradshaw). Although Helen told people she was an only child, this was just another of her many lies.
Bonnie had been serving a life sentence at HMP Bronzefield women’s prison since 2004. She was convicted of murdering her biological father, who was also Helen’s stepfather. However, she died of cancer in prison, having been a “model prisoner” in jail. Reed had promised to look after her.
During a past job interview where Daisy (Helen) applied for a translator position, her family connection to Bonnie’s infamous crime caught the attention of Weston Montgomery’s Andy. He referred her to Reed (Sarah Lancashire). This dark family history helped recruit Helen into the covert spy organisation known as the Black Doves.
In series 1, the true circumstances of the murder remained ambiguous. This, of course, raised questions about whether Bonnie and Helen planned it together, or whether Helen committed the act and pinned it on Bonnie. In series 2, we discovered that Bonnie “was doing the time for her step-sister”.
An MI5 agent required to dig into Helen’s past found a social services report from 2002 which verified Bonnie’s story about Lily Morris. Although there had been no other documents to prove Lily ever existed, suddenly a birth certificate, school report, doctor’s record, photographs and census were all “undeleted” and found their way into the MI5 agent’s hands. MI5 agent Jim Perryman was onto Helen. Fact.
What is the meaning of Sam’s words ‘you were the setting sun’?
Sam’s dad Frank, also an assassin, had imparted some wise words to Sam, words that he repeated to himself often during series 2.
He told his son: “When you take someone out, you look them in the eye, because it is the most intimate thing you’ll ever do with another person. You were the setting sun. You were the coming night, you were the last word in their story. So you look them in the eye. Because you owe them that. Nothing more.”
Fans might remember that Steve Wall played Frank, the father of the lethal assassin Sam Young. In a flashback during episode 3, Sam was given his first-ever hit by his handler Lenny (played by Kathryn Hunter). She ordered him to assassinate his own father, Frank, after Frank crossed a line by murdering someone he shouldn’t have…
What happened to Helen and Wallace’s nanny Marie?
At the end of Black Doves series 1, viewers discovered that Reed had planted a Black Dove spy in Helen’s household – a nanny called Marie.
However, although Reed claimed the Webb family nanny was there for Helen’s protection, that all backfired rather spectacularly in series 2. Kestrel had turned Marie against the Doves and, in turn, Helen.
Kestrel convinced Marie to spy on Helen for them. Crucially she later helped them abduct Helen and Wallace’s kids in a bid to force Helen to murder her husband. Which, of course, she didn’t do.
Having tracked Marie down to London zoo, Helen killed her.
Is there a series 3 of Black Doves?
Although Netflix has not confirmed a series 3 of Black Doves yet, there’s plenty of opportunity for more episodes. Although Sam seemed to have stepped away from the game, Helen’s role in Black Doves was increasing. Would she follow Patrick to Tokyo to tie up the Kestrel loose ends?
Of course, a series 3 could also see MI5 agent Jim Perryman delving into Helen’s past, while Wallace would finally know more about his wife’s real identity…
Talking about a possible return, Babou Ceesay said he would 100% welcome the chance to step back into Mr Conteh’s shoes for a third series. He said: “Absolutely. I’m usually quite picky about what I do because I want to spend more time with my family but that would be a no-brainer. I’d make it work at all costs because I had such a good time.”
Andrew Buchan, aka PM Wallace, added: “Without question, [I would return for a third series]. From the cast to the crew to Joe’s storytelling – there are so many elements to filming this that feel very rare. So yes, a third series would be a dream.”
Read more: Black Doves cast list: Who plays who in the Netflix thriller led by Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw
