Ben Wishaw’s Sam was given a tough choice in Episode 3 of Black Doves.

Sam’s head and heart were put to the test as he was enlisted to kill his father in Black Doves.

The Netflix spy thriller stars Ben Wishaw and Keira Knightley as Sam Young and Helen Webb follows Knightley’s UK Secretary for State of Defense as her identity as Black Dove spy-for-hire is made public, sending her longtime friend Sam to come and help protect her.

All six episodes of the streaming series are now available on Netflix, allowing audiences to experience all of the show’s twists and turns all at once.

Did Sam Kill His Dad in Black Doves?

Episode 3 of Black Doves left audiences slack-jawed, as Ben is forced to potentially kill his father, Frank.

In the series’ first extended flashback sequence, Episode 3 reveals the origins of the series’ central British assassin, following him as he takes on his first kill for employer Lenny (played by Kathryn Hunter).

Played by Ben Whishaw (former classmate of Daredevil actor Charlie Cox), Sam grew up with killing in his blood. His father was also a bloodthirsty assassin, imparting his trigger-pulling wisdom onto his son, and eventually leading him to becoming a contract killer himself.

This first mission though was used by Lenny as a way to gauge just how serious Sam was about getting into the assassination business. If he was willing to pull the trigger on his own father, then she knew that he would do anything for her without question.

As seen throughout the series, Sam is a killer with a moral code, only killing those he deems whose deaths would make the world a better place.

In this first mission, Lenny gives Sam the only motivation he needs, telling the young would-be assassin his father “crossed a line,” without any further elaboration.

Sam goes through with the contract, looking his father, Frank, in the eye and taking him out.

Throughout the rest of the season, the exact reason for Frank’s killing is not specified, but it seems as though Sam has come to terms with it in his head. Sam likely believes his dad stepped outside his moral code, killing someone who did not deserve it.

This would justify the reason for the price on Frank’s head and why Sam was asked to dispose of him.

With Sam alive by the end of Black Doves Season 1 (read more about Sam’s Black Doves fate here), there is always the chance that this first mission of his and the motivations surrounding it could be explored further in Season 2.

Black Doves is now streaming on Netflix.