Sam Young (Ben Whishaw) owed Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) a debt in Black Doves season 1, but Netflix’s spy thriller hid the reason for that debt until the middle of the season. As a spy thriller, there are several questions the cast of Black Doves sought to answer in the show’s first season, such as who killed Ambassador Chen and, more importantly to Helen, who killed Jason Davies. One question the characters weren’t concerned with answering, but that the show hid from the audience for a fair amount of time, is why Sam owed Helen some sort of debt.

When Reed (Sarah Lancashire) first hired Sam, she said that she needed someone Helen could trust and that Sam owed her. However, Black Doves didn’t immediately reveal why Sam owed Helen or where their mutual trust came from, aside from the fact that they were longtime friends. Considering how much trouble Sam got into to help Helen, and how many problems were waiting for him as soon as he returned to London, knowing what he owed her is rather important. Luckily, Black Doves didn’t just explain Sam’s debt to Helen, it showed the entire event outright.

Helen Helped Save Michael & Get Sam An “Exit” After Hector’s Men Attacked Him

Helen Saved Sam & Michael’s Lives At Great Personal Risk

The reason Sam owed Helen was because she saved both his and his parnter, Michael’s (Omari Douglas), lives. After Sam refused to kill Hector, the youngest Newman brother sent a hit squad to Sam’s home that he kept with Michael. To get out of the attack, Sam called Helen, who was heavily pregnant with her twins at the time, and she helped kill the hitmen and get Michael to safety. Helen also convinced Reed to clean up the bodies in and around Sam’s apartment and secure a safe exit for Sam.

Saving Sam and Michael’s lives was reason enough for the debt, but Helen’s decision to help her friend also cost her dearly. Though she had been training her combat skills with Sam, Helen had seemingly never killed anyone before that day, and her first victim clearly took a toll on her. On top of that, Helen had been trying to leave the Black Doves, and she had to agree to stay as part of the organization to convince Reed to clean up the bodies. Helen sacrificed a lot in Sam’s moment of need.

Sam Repays His Debt To Helen In Black Doves Season 1’s Ending

By Killing Alex & Trent Clark, Sam Helped Helen The Same Way She Helped Him

At the end of Black Doves season 1, Sam got the chance to repay Helen for saving him and Michael. After they discovered that Trent Clark (Angus Cooper) ordered the hit on Jason Davies (Andrew Koji), Helen wanted to kill him. She couldn’t pull the trigger, however, as Trent was just a young man and his mother, Alex (Tracey Ullman), was threatening to ruin everyone’s lives. Since Helen couldn’t pull the trigger and complete her revenge for Jason’s death, Sam did it himself. Just as Helen protected Sam and Michael years prior, Sam protected Helen from having to kill Trent herself.

Just as Helen had to make sacrifices to help Sam years prior, Sam also had to make sacrifices to help Helen, which just goes to show how powerful their friendship in Black Doves really is.

Sam’s decision to kill Trent repaid his debt to Helen, and it mirrored her original kindness in another key way. Trent and Alex Clark’s deaths are not going to be forgotten or forgiven easily, and Sam will likely be in quite a bit of trouble in Black Doves season 2. Hector Newman said so himself at Michael’s apartment, which also ruined Sam’s chances of rekindling his relationship with Michael. Just as Helen had to make sacrifices to help Sam years prior, Sam also had to make sacrifices to help Helen, which just goes to show how powerful their friendship in Black Doves really is.