Updated November 8, 2026 · By Shivam Das
Quick answer: The “Murder Mix” playlist in Black Doves Season 2, Episode 5, is more than background music. Williams brings the playlist into the car as Helen, Sam, Williams and Eleanor head to rescue Reed. Their argument over what to play turns a dangerous assignment into a revealing group moment: the assassins are professionals, but they are also friends and colleagues with clashing tastes, private jokes and emotional blind spots. The track that becomes the episode’s most conspicuous musical punchline is Olly Murs’ “Dance with Me Tonight,” which lands against the violence of the mission.
There is something wonderfully ordinary about arguing over the car stereo when the passengers are driving toward a heavily guarded rescue. That is the joke at the centre of “Murder Mix.” Helen Webb, Sam Young, Williams and Eleanor are not setting off on a carefree weekend road trip. They are going to get Mrs Reed out of captivity. Yet before the bullets start flying, the group has to settle a question that feels familiar to anyone who has ever shared a car: whose music gets to play?
Why the playlist argument matters
Episode 5, titled “Murder Mix,” begins with Helen, Sam, Williams and Eleanor travelling to the location where Reed is being held. The episode’s premise is serious: the team is trying to extract a high-profile target from a secure site while the influence of Kestrel threatens the operation. But the car conversation gives the four characters a moment to be themselves before they return to work.
Williams is the one associated with the “Murder Mix” playlist. That detail fits the character without needing to turn her into a caricature. She is a hard-to-rattle assassin with a dry sense of humour, and the playlist is a small expression of the confidence she brings to a dangerous job. The choice of music becomes a way for her to set the tone for the mission — and to make the others live with her taste.
What each character brings to the car
Williams: control, confidence and a sense of occasion
Williams’ playlist is the clearest personal stamp in the scene. She does not just accept whatever happens to be playing; she arrives with a soundtrack for the job. That is consistent with a character who approaches violence with unnerving composure. Her coolness is not the same as having no feelings, though. Season 2 increasingly shows that Williams is less emotionally detached than she would like to appear, especially where Eleanor is concerned.
Netflix’s interview with Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy describes Williams as someone beginning to realise that she cares about people and may not be as apathetic as she once seemed. The playlist therefore works as both a joke and a character detail: she can curate the mood for a mission, but she cannot control every feeling that comes with it.
Eleanor: playful, outspoken and difficult to intimidate
Eleanor’s presence turns the playlist debate into a proper group exchange. She is brash, funny and comfortable saying what she thinks, even when the timing is questionable. That directness is part of why she and Williams work so well together: they can trade sharp remarks without either one needing to pretend the other is easy to handle.
Their relationship also changes the meaning of the scene. The music argument is not simply four colleagues passing time. It takes place in a season where Williams and Eleanor’s professional partnership is becoming personal. Netflix’s cast interview describes their connection as a slow-burn romance that grows out of their banter and teamwork. The playlist is another small example of how they operate as a pair while remaining two very different people.
Sam: dry humour beneath the professional mask
Sam is the group’s experienced triggerman, but he is not presented as a machine. His friendship with Helen has always been built on familiarity, loyalty and a willingness to tell each other uncomfortable truths. Around Williams and Eleanor, his reactions help make the journey feel like a workplace carpool with an unusually high chance of a gunfight.
That contrast is important. Sam knows how dangerous the mission is, but the show allows him to exist in the same scene as jokes and musical preferences. His character is often defined by what he does not say, so the casual group setting gives the audience another way to read him: not only as a capable killer, but as someone who has become part of this odd little team.
Helen: the practical centre of a chaotic team
Helen has the most to lose if the rescue fails, and she is used to balancing a public identity with a covert one. In the car, she is surrounded by people whose instincts and personalities are very different from hers. That is part of the scene’s appeal: Helen is not travelling with a polished military unit. She is travelling with a collection of dangerous people who have history, opinions and complicated loyalties.
The mission still has to happen, and Helen’s role is to keep the operation moving. The music debate briefly lets her share the group’s everyday rhythm, even though she knows the stakes are anything but ordinary.
From “Nobody Speak” to Olly Murs: the joke gets louder
The playlist discussion pays off with music that refuses to behave like a conventional action score. SeekerTune places “Nobody Speak” by DJ Shadow and Run The Jewels at approximately 2:47 in Episode 5. Later, Olly Murs’ “Dance with Me Tonight” appears at approximately 31:42. Time Out’s episode-by-episode soundtrack guide also lists both tracks in “Murder Mix,” alongside songs by Cain Culto, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.
“Nobody Speak” has a confrontational, hard-driving energy that suits the group’s approach to the rescue. “Dance with Me Tonight,” by contrast, brings bright pop exuberance into a violent sequence. The mismatch is the point: the series lets the music create a comic counterpoint to the danger on screen. It is not asking the viewer to forget the violence; it is showing how casually these characters have learned to move through it.
The soundtrack does not assign one neat theme song to each person. Instead, the playlist works as a group portrait. Williams sets the tone, Eleanor challenges and complements her, Sam adds weary experience, and Helen keeps the objective in view. The music becomes a shared space where their differences are audible before the mission tests their teamwork.
Why the scene captures Black Doves’ personality
Black Doves often places ordinary behaviour beside extraordinary violence. Characters can discuss relationships while carrying out a dangerous assignment; they can make a joke seconds before a fight; they can be emotionally vulnerable without becoming any less lethal. The “Murder Mix” conversation distils that tone into a short, memorable exchange.
It also gives the audience a breather before the rescue operation escalates. Rather than using the car ride only to deliver plot information, the episode lets the characters reveal themselves through the way they disagree. The scene feels lived-in because the argument is recognisable. The circumstances are not.
For more on the music heard throughout the season, read our complete Black Doves Season 2 soundtrack guide and our related breakdown of why Olly Murs, Billy Joel and Can belong on the same murder playlist.
Frequently asked questions
Who created the Murder Mix playlist in Black Doves Season 2?
Williams is associated with the “Murder Mix” playlist discussed in the car before the rescue mission in Episode 5.
Which song plays during the Murder Mix car sequence?
SeekerTune lists “Nobody Speak” by DJ Shadow and Run The Jewels at approximately 2:47 in Episode 5, “Murder Mix.”
Does Olly Murs appear on the Murder Mix soundtrack?
Yes. “Dance with Me Tonight” by Olly Murs is listed in Episode 5 at approximately 31:42 by SeekerTune and is also included in Time Out’s episode soundtrack guide.
Why is the music scene funny?
The characters are debating music while travelling to a dangerous rescue operation. The ordinary argument clashes with the deadly purpose of the trip, creating the show’s signature dark humour.
Does every character choose a separate song?
The available episode guides identify the songs used in the episode, but they do not establish a separate personal song selection for each character. The scene is best understood as a group playlist argument, not a formally assigned set of individual theme songs.
What does the playlist reveal about Williams and Eleanor?
It highlights their sharp banter and easy working rhythm. Their partnership is also becoming more emotionally intimate as Season 2 develops.
Sources and further reading
- Time Out: Black Doves Season 2 soundtrack by episode
- SeekerTune: song timings and episode placements
- Netflix Tudum: Williams and Eleanor’s relationship, explained by the cast
- British GQ: Black Doves Season 2 review and the Murder Mix scene
- The Journal: Season 2 review and the car playlist conversation
Editorial note: Episode-specific song timings are approximate and may vary slightly by platform or playback version. The article distinguishes the group’s playlist discussion from the full list of licensed tracks used across Episode 5.
