‘I created Netflix’s Black Doves – I had to fight for the finale’-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

*Warning: This contains spoilers for Black Doves

‘Let’s go full John Lewis advert’ are not normally words uttered by the showrunner of a Netflix thriller – but that was Joe Barton’s vision for the ending of Black Doves.

The six-parter stars Keira Knightley as spy Helen who is out for blood to avenge her lover MI5 agent Jason’s (Andrew Koji) death after he’s found slumped on a bench in London’s Southbank.

She is joined by best friend and hitman Sam (Ben Whishaw) as she defies her boss Reed’s (Sarah Lancashire) orders in her quest for retribution.

So far, so crime drama, but Joe told Metro he wanted to depart from the genre’s trademark scenes of gore, bloodshed and strife for Black Doves’ conclusion – and instead channel Home Alone.

However, his desire to inject some festive magic in the tale about corruption at the heart of Westminster and a ruthless London crime family was met with pushback.

Ben and Sam finally relax for Christmas dinner after preventing another world war (Picture: Netflix)

Christmas is an unofficial character in Black Doves (Picture: Netflix)

‘I’m really into Chrismas and enjoy that time of year so I was like, “Let’s go full John Lewis advert. Let’s go all out with a turkey and lights and snow and everything,’ Joe, 39, explained.

‘The other crew members are cooler than me and they were like, “Are you sure?” But I was like, “We’ve got to go full Home Alone.”

‘I was insistent that we do that as it felt like a nice wrap to the story.’

In the final scenes, after finally tracking down Jason’s murderer and preventing the outbreak of another World War, Helen enjoys some deserved family time with a lavish Christmas spread.

Joe said he wanted Black Doves to end like a ‘John Lewis advert’ (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

She’s also joined by a very special guest – her best pal Sam – who meets her family including husband Wallace (Andrew Buchan) and two children for the first time.

Joe began writing Black Doves – which could rival Die Hard as the ultimate Christmas Thriller – on Boxing Day in 2022.

There was no narrative need for the six-parter to take place over the festive season, but Joe said it was an ’emotional prop’ that adds ‘10% more stress’ for viewers.

He explained: ‘There’s something about that time of year where everything feels quite heightened.

All the drama on Black Doves takes place in the lead-up to Christmas (Picture: Ludovic Robert/Netflix)

‘There’s a lot of pressure on everyone to be happy or to be with families or to have some form of connection, but as we know, it can be a really lonely and difficult time of year for a lot of people.

‘So I liked the idea that these characters were going through a lot of emotional turmoil during the holidays.’

Black Doves has been a critical triumph since landing on Netflix earning a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes reviews aggregator the Tomatometer.

The streamer confirmed earlier this month it would be returning for season two.

Black Doves is available to stream on Netflix.

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