Black Doves - The Coming Night

There's quite a bit of ground covered in "The Coming Night" which fills in past events concerning Sam's (Ben Whishaw) relationship with Michael (Omari Douglas) are explored. We also get the events concerning the notable murder he did for Lenny (Kathryn Hunter), which proved his loyalty and ability beyond question, and the one he missed which also ties into him fleeing and the favor he owes Helen (Keira Knightley). The flashbacks build up the friendship between the pair including the time where she had one foot out of the door before being pulled back in keep her friend safe. And in the present, everything comes full circle with the Hector (Luther Ford) leading up to suicide run number 2 for Sam. 

While the mystery of the Chinese ambassador percolates and tensions rise on a political level, and Sam enlists some help for his next attempt to kill Hector and save Kai-Ming (Isabella Wei), action in the present by Sam and Helen into her lover's death has deadly consequences for one of her husband's co-workers as new mysterious players are revealed, even if their reasons for killing the three people to open the episode still remains murky. Helen also discovers the assistant she suspects of having an affair with her husband might also be a potential Black Dove replacement should she ever have cold feet about her current posting again. With threats on all sides, and Sam about to put his head in the lion's mouth once again in part to right an old mistake and in part to keep his promise to Helen, where does Helen go from here?

Despite the amount of plates the show has spinning at once, the episode doesn't lose focus on the through-threads of Helen and Sam's stories which intersect both in past and present in key moments of their lives. Memorable moments abound such as Sam and an extremely pregnant Helen saving Michael, Sam recruiting Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) and Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) into almost certain death, Helen getting a glimpse at her shadowy adversaries, the final confrontation between Sam and his father, and Helen's reaction to hearing Mrs. Reed's (Sarah Lancashire) favorite phrase in the most unexpected setting.

• Title: Black Doves - The Coming Night
• IMDb: link