Black Doves review: Ben Whishaw outshines Keira Knightley in Netflix's Christmas-set spy series

Black Doves review: Keira Knightley stars as Helen Webb, a wife turned avenger after her lover's murder.

Black Doves review: Keira Knightley makes her first foray into television as Helen Webb, the loving wife of UK’s Defence Minister, or is she really Daisy Bradshaw, a long-term operative for a shadowy organization known as the Black Doves? When her lover is murdered, Helen sets off on a righteous spree of vengeance. She is aided by her former trainer Sam Young, played by the unlikely Ben Whishaw, who comes out of forced retirement for the only friend he’s ever had. Together, they uncover a conspiracy that brings China and the United States to the brink of war with the UK caught in the crossfire.

In Black Doves, Keira Knightley plays Helen Webb, who seeks vengeance after her lover's death. Alongside Sam Young, they navigate a conspiracy involving global powers while revealing their emotional struggles, making this series a compelling character-driven action thriller.

What't the plot?

While the plot description makes Black Doves sound like a rollicking spy thriller, and it is, creator Joe Barton is much more interested in the fatally flawed humans at the center of this story. Barton shows a willingness to defy genre expectations and inject empathy into what could have been stock characters. Both Helen and Sam are struggling to come to terms with lost loves, and while it’s a pleasure to see Knightley sink her teeth into a meaty role, it’s really Whishaw who is the emotional core of the show.

Whishaw’s Sam is an open wound, supremely competent but completely broken by the devastating impact that his profession has had on the love of his life. A lesser actor would have made the easy action-hero choice of showcasing Sam’s anger and frustration, but Whishaw chooses to focus on the hurt. A stellar scene in the second episode where a mobster threatens his ex while the camera slowly pushes in on Whishaw’s expressive eyes shows why he is one of the finest actors working today. Whishaw (and the writing) elevate what should have been a perfectly cromulent action romp.

Darkly comedic touch

To be honest, neither Whishaw nor Knightley seem like obvious first choices for action heroes. In fact, the closest Whishaw has come to being a spy is his long-running role as the nerdy Q to Daniel Craig’s version of James Bond. Nevertheless, both of them acquit themselves well, helped by some taut and well-staged action sequences that lighten the brutality of the show with a darkly comedic touch.

The show clocks in at a brisk 6 episodes, thankfully avoiding the now-trademarked Netflix bloat. Barton’s use of a dual timeline structure, similar to Citadel: Honey Bunny, showing the audience the evolution of Helen and Sam’s relationship in parallel to the present, helps keep things fresh. The story also gets a jolt of excitement from occasional detours into the trials and tribulations of Williams, one-half of an enforcer duo, played by a scene-stealing Ella Lily Hyland who deserves a spin-off of her own. However, one must take offense at the criminal underuse of the great Sarah Lancashire as the Black Doves handler, Mrs. Reed.

Black Doves is a must-watch for fans of character-driven action shows.

Black Doves marked the second London-set spy show to debut last week. The first being Michael Fassbender’s The Agency, the English-language remake of the French spy procedural The Bureau. Both follow in the hallowed footsteps of Slow Horses and it’s not hard to imagine Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb noisily slurping down a noodle soup in Sam’s favourite Chinese restaurant.

The show is a must-watch for fans of character-driven action shows. Black Doves has already been renewed for a second season and it’ll be interesting to see how the show resolves some of the knottier complications of its finale, especially one twist that’s weirdly reminiscent of the way the second season of The Diplomat ended.

Black Doves is streaming now on Netflix.