Black Doves Recap: Breaking the Code

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As a seasoned spy who has navigated through the murky waters of international intrigue and covert operations, I must say that the events unfolding in London are as captivating as they are perilous. The death of Stephen Yarrick, a seemingly minor character in this grand game, is set to have far-reaching consequences, particularly for the Chinese government’s investigation into Ambassador Chen’s murder.

To begin with, let’s address the matter at hand: Sam’s initial job as an assassin was to eliminate his own father, a man who had previously worked as a hitman himself. This situation raises some questions. Was it possible that Lenny understood she was sending Sam on a kind of twisted Oedipus mission? Given how troubling this act is, it seems Sam never shares the peculiar details surrounding this event, not even with Helen. I suspect Lenny did indeed know what she was asking of Sam. This could be indicative of a pattern that shows her tendency to conceal information from Sam, which helps to avoid potential disagreements and encourages him to carry out tasks as given once he’s fully engaged. Moreover, this tactic allows Lenny to shield herself from the backlash of any negative consequences, such as when Sam hesitated to kill the four Newman brothers in 2017 because he was unexpectedly faced with a terrified child instead of adults. Lenny claimed she didn’t have a photo of Hector, and this sudden change of circumstance clearly disconcerted Sam.

In simpler terms, the character could have gone through with the killing. It’s part of the job he’s being paid for, and he has already killed Hector’s three brothers. He is following a code his father taught him, which requires him to look his targets in the eye before taking their lives. However, according to the ethical standards that both Sam and his father uphold, the murders he carries out should serve a greater purpose and make the world a better place. Killing Hector won’t improve the world, and Sam wouldn’t cold-bloodedly shoot a child or, as Lenny puts it, Sam is “kind-hearted yet stained with blood.” Additionally, we could say that Sam adheres to the wise teachings of Omar Little, who never aimed his gun at ordinary citizens.

Certain individuals, such as those who employed Maggie’s, Philip’s, and Jason’s assassins, do not adhere to any ethical guidelines among their peers in the underworld. At present, these unidentified figures are merely known by the voice that responds to Stephen Yarrick’s calls to a number labeled Repair Shop. However, they remain quite intimidating. These anonymous, shady characters serve as the Black Doves‘ equivalent of Keyser Söze, the kind of people who cause Stephen Yarrick to caution Sam, “If you were wise, you’d be running already.” I find it hard not to believe him, given that only hours after delivering this warning, Yarrick is viciously attacked and later found with his throat slit by the individuals operating the Repair Shop. This is a drastic change in Stephen Yarrick’s interactions with the Repair Shop, as records show he communicated with them several times on the night of Ambassador Chen’s death, along with Maggie, Philip, and Jason.

In the midst of a Nativity Play where both Yarrick and the Webb children were acting, Sam secretly returned Yarrick’s stolen phone to Jacqueline Webb’s backpack for Helen to examine later. The series of events that unfolded was laughably careless with operational security, and I can hardly contain my indignation just contemplating it. Granted, I am not a covert information collector, but it appears to me that since Helen is aware that Yarrick has some connection to Ambassador Chen’s demise and that Philip knew about it prior to his own death, she may want to reconsider bringing Yarrick’s phone home with her. Couldn’t her advanced hacking tool also have the ability to duplicate phones? It seems more prudent to track the phone’s location instead of taking it to an unsecured residence, which is at best a questionable decision.

For her to tauntingly text Repair Shop is a doubling-down of recklessness that made me yell at the TV. When she learns unidentified Repair Shop Goons have kidnapped Yarrick and later witnesses his grisly murder when they stream it to his phone, I had to get up and get some fresh air. Has Jason’s murder now overridden all of her better judgment and training? After attending the memorial drinks in Jason’s honor, Wallace told Helen that nobody seems to have known Jason particularly well. Is it possible that Jason was a spy? Could that be why he seems so calm when Helen confides in him that her identity is a fake? On a more immediate and practical level, why isn’t Yarrick’s wife blowing up her missing husband’s phone with calls and messages? How is she going to live with the knowledge that the death of her husband’s steadfast friend is, to some degree, her fault?

Currently, I consider these moments of poor judgment as being extreme instances of Helen’s well-known recklessness, particularly when she is determined to safeguard someone dear to her. This incident provides valuable support for this hypothesis. For instance, remember the time Sam decided not to kill young Hector Newman? The consequences of that choice became apparent the next day, in the form of a violent home invasion by multiple assailants (it appears Hector himself orchestrated this attack from a distant SUV, showing signs of a psychopathic behavior). In such critical situations, Sam’s only call for help was to Helen. Over the years they spent working together on her combat skills, they grew quite close and despite their lives taking different paths as she became more involved with Wallace and Sam fell in love with Michael, they remain supportive of each other when it matters most.

By 2017, Helen, who was heavily pregnant with Wallace Webb, faced a big challenge when Sam asked her to be removed from her assignment. However, she didn’t let that stop her. She rushed to London to help Sam and Michael in need. She was ready to risk her and her children’s future for their safety and Sam’s escape plan. This act of love, if it’s not deep and reckless, I don’t know what is. Sam might not be fully aware of the magnitude of her sacrifice for him, but she doesn’t boast about it either. It’s also worth mentioning that this incident reveals more about Sam’s first hit, as it spends a lot of time detailing the Newman retaliation, implying that not killing Hector was a crucial and influential moment in Sam’s life.

In his reluctant pursuit of Hector, he’s learned that he can’t go it alone. So, he decides to bring Williams and Eleanor on board to assist him with this task. Despite the fact that they’re paid assassins who have threatened to kill Michael if Sam fails to kill Hector, and Williams has expressed her intention to kill Sam for avenging her partner Kent’s death, their recruitment scene is a hilarious display of wit among the three characters. I’d love to see more outtakes, improvisations, and deleted scenes from this trio. As they drive towards Newman’s secondary hideout, Eleanor, the sharp-witted youngest sibling, delivers the best line of the episode, scolding Sam and Williams for their unnecessary argument about who should be killed and why: “You’re driving me crazy – a car full of assassins, arguing over finding the moral high ground?!” Come on, less of Helen endangering her family and more of this dynamic trio, please! They work wonderfully together.

I hate to end on a tremendous downer, but this is the midway point of a spy thriller, where everything in the plot is required to start snowballing directly downhill. Yarrick’s death — which, at this point, only Helen knows about — is bad for even more than the obvious reasons; it’s going to delay the Chinese government’s own investigation into Ambassador Chen’s death. They give Wallace a seemingly quite justified earful as they present their theory of the case, complete with stills from outdoor CCTV footage that suggest his killer was Kai-Ming Chen’s American boyfriend, Cole Atwood, who is also a CIA operative. At a minimum, they want to talk with Cole, who fled to the U.S. Embassy in Nine Elms. They suspect Stephen and the entire apparatus of London’s Metropolitan Police of being complicit in covering up Chen’s murder, so they’d love to speak with him, too, but they’re so sure of the strength of their hand that they’re trying to use what they already know as leverage to force Wallace’s department to reconsider their applications for certain, highly lucrative military contract proposals. This feels a little too close to indulging in the “crafty Orientals” stereotype, and it’s a rational play on the part of any government looking for extrajudicial recompense for their ambassador’s incredibly suspicious death.

Closing Doors, Opening Windows

In the nativity play at the twins’ school, Jacqueline showcases her excellent comic delivery as one of the Three Wise Men, while an actual “No Room” sign is displayed outside the inn in Bethlehem. I must admit, it brought a smile to my face.

As Wallace engages in an awkward dialogue with his Chinese colleagues, Helen is nearby chatting amiably with Dani at the bar. She casually quotes one of Reed’s favorite sayings, “Every time a door shuts, another opens.” Was Dani trying to provoke Helen with this familiar phrase? While it might seem innocent, Reed had previously hinted in both episodes that if Helen were ever replaced in the Webb household, a newcomer would swiftly take her place. Something to ponder!

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2024-12-06 01:57