Does Sam survive Black Doves season 2? The truth behind his tragic ending

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Black Doves season 2*

Sam Young has cheated death so many times, you’d think he’s a cat. With Black Doves season 2 out now, here’s what happens to him at the end, as well as why he was forced to kill someone he was falling for. 

The champagne-loving hitman (and my favourite Black Doves character), played by Ben Whishaw, has had a pretty rough time of it since we last saw him.

After returning to London to help his best friend Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) in season 1 of the Netflix series, Sam finds himself dragged into another dangerous conspiracy. Only this time, it’s Helen’s life that’s being used against him.

Enter Patrick (Sam Riley), a mysterious figure working for a shady group called Kestrel. After Sam is arrested following a hit, Patrick offers to make his legal troubles disappear. In exchange, he must carry out a series of killings. 

But when Sam starts asking questions, Patrick reveals he also has footage of Helen carrying out a murder years earlier. He threatens to expose her unless Sam does exactly what he’s told. And given Helen’s husband Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan) is now the prime minister, that’s a pretty serious threat.

As for Helen, she has problems of her own. In season 2 episode 1, she travels to Paris with fellow agent Laila (my other new fave, played by Ambika Mod) to steal some files for her handler Reed (Sarah Lancashire).

After this, she discovers that Reed has mysteriously disappeared. And when the Black Doves’ new man in charge, Robert Conteh (Babou Ceesay), questions her about the mission, he claims Reed never authorised it in the first place. Hmm.

Determined to find out what’s going on, Helen starts investigating Reed’s disappearance. That’s when she discovers Erik Klein – one of the people Sam has been ordered to kill – is actually a Black Dove. She immediately tries to warn her best friend, but she’s too late. Sam has already pulled the trigger.

The pair subsequently follow a clue left by Klein and discover a recording from Ida Povetkin. She’s another murdered Black Dove who had been working undercover at the home of Russian businessman Alexi Chernov (Goran Kostic).

Ida had been investigating a mysterious operation called Wildflower, which took place in Berlin decades earlier. She had passed her findings to Reed shortly before she was killed. 

As Helen and Sam start putting the pieces together, it becomes clear that Sam’s assassination targets aren’t random. They’re connected to the Black Doves and the same decades-old operation.

It eventually emerges that Wildflower was Reed’s codename when she infiltrated Kestrel, then a radical political group, in 1988. The operation ended in bloodshed after Reed had tried to escape. Now, the people involved are now being hunted down by Kestrel. 

So, while Helen is desperately trying to find Reed and uncover what happened in Berlin, Sam is being forced to eliminate the very people who might have the answers. The two friends are essentially working against each other, even if they’re trying to help one another at the same time. 

Sam is eventually ordered to kill Alexi Chernov, who was involved with Kestrel during his time as a KGB officer. He manages to poison the businessman at a dinner attended by Helen and Wallace, without Helen realising what he’s up to until it’s too late.

Meanwhile, Helen discovers that Reed is actually being held by the Black Doves themselves, who suspect her of being involved in the murders. She sets about trying to rescue her, unaware that Sam has just received one final assignment from Patrick: Reed.

Does Sam die at the end of Black Doves season 2?

You can breathe – Sam survives the end of Black Doves season 2. But it was touch and go for a minute there. 

In episode 5, Helen and her allies manage to rescue Reed from the Black Doves, who have been holding her captive. There’s just one problem: Sam has been ordered to deliver her to Patrick. And he knows refusing could put Helen’s life in danger.

So, at the beginning of the finale, Sam hands Reed over to Kestrel alive. In return, Patrick agrees to delete the incriminating footage of Helen. Finally, Sam’s deadly arrangement with Kestrel comes to an end.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the danger is over. Far from it.

It turns out Katia Chernov (Sylvia Hoeks), the widow of Alexi Chernov, is actually Vita, Reed’s long-lost daughter. She was abandoned in a Soviet orphanage after Reed’s undercover mission in East Berlin went horribly wrong. And she’s spent years plotting revenge against her mother.

Her plan is a pretty big one. As Kestrel launches an attack on the Black Doves’ headquarters, Vita also targets Wallace’s peace summit. All in the hopes of forcing Helen to kill her husband and bring the entire organisation crashing down.

Thankfully, Helen manages to save Wallace, while Laila, Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) and Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) storm the Black Doves’ headquarters to rescue Reed. A bloody shootout follows, leaving several people dead, including Vita, who dies after a final encounter with her mother.

Patrick, however, manages to escape. Right at the end, he approaches Helen and hands her a Kestrel calling card. In other words, this is no doubt the last we’ll see of him. 

As for Sam, he’s finally free of Patrick’s blackmail. But he’s also had enough of the life he’s been living. He meets Helen for an emotional goodbye and announces that he’s leaving London.

His destination? The Italian village where he previously found refuge. It’s here that he hopes he might finally have a chance at a quieter, happier life. But whether he can actually leave his past behind is another question entirely.

Is Sam really free now?

Technically, yes. Sam has fulfilled his end of the bargain with Patrick and Kestrel. So, as far as that particular arrangement is concerned, he’s a free man. But that doesn’t mean he’s escaped the danger surrounding him entirely. 

Sam was never actually a Black Dove himself. He worked as a contract killer under his former handler Lenny (Kathryn Hunter), who gave him his first job and even ordered him to kill his own father. 

Plus, Kestrel is still operating and Patrick is still alive. And Sam has spent years working as a contract killer. If Black Doves season 3 gets the greenlight by Netflix, it’s likely he’ll be pulled back into this world after a much-needed break. 

In the finale, he tells Helen, “If you ever need me, you just have to call.” She replies, “I need you now,” but Sam makes it clear that he needs this break. “You’ll be fine,” he reassures her. 

Once Sam leaves for Italy, Reed gives Helen a new job: track down Patrick, who was last seen getting on a flight to Tokyo. So perhaps season 3 will be taking place in a city far away from London. No matter what direction it goes in, there’s a good chance Sam will be dragged back into the chaos. 

Speaking about his decision to go to the other country and be away from Helen, showrunner Joe Barton told Netflix, “It just symbolises his chance to get away. It symbolises a different life for him. The first time he went there, he was on the run, and he had this glimpse of a peaceful alternate life that, ultimately, he wasn’t able to maintain.”

“It’s left kind of open whether he’ll ever be successful. But I think that village represents freedom and happiness in his mind,” Barton added.

Why was Sam forced to kill Jerry?

Poor Jerry. If there’s one person who deserved better in Black Doves season 2, it’s him. And the same goes for Sam, who is forced to kill his new love interest. Why? Because Kestrel wanted to test his loyalty. 

Played by Samuel Barnett, Jerry is the concierge at the hotel where Sam is staying in London. The pair quickly strike up a romantic relationship. And for a little while, it looks like Sam might’ve actually found someone who makes him happy after Michael (Omari Douglas).

Unfortunately, Patrick has other ideas. In episode 2, Sam discovers that his next target is none other than Jerry. And it’s not because the concierge has some secret connection to Wildflower or the Black Doves. Instead, Kestrel wants to test Sam’s loyalty by forcing him to kill someone he’s starting to care about.

It’s an especially cruel move given Patrick already knows how far Sam will go to protect Helen. By threatening to expose her past, he’s left with an impossible choice: kill Jerry or risk destroying his best friend’s life.

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Featured image credit: Netflix