Quick answer: Williams and Eleanor’s partnership becomes romantic in Black Doves Season 2 after Williams admits her feelings during a gunfight in Episode 4 and Eleanor returns them in Episode 5. Their first kiss happens in the middle of another firefight. The actors Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy say the connection works because the characters understand each other, share a sharp sense of humor, and offer a rare feeling of safety in a dangerous life.
Spoilers for Black Doves Seasons 1 and 2, including Episodes 4 and 5.
For much of Black Doves, Williams and Eleanor seem like the kind of duo who could turn any ordinary conversation into a threat assessment. They trade dry jokes, move through danger with unnerving ease, and rarely behave as if the job they do is unusual. Season 2 gradually reveals that their connection is more than professional chemistry. Beneath the banter is a relationship neither woman is entirely prepared to name.
The payoff is not a conventional romantic scene. Williams confesses while bullets are flying; Eleanor takes longer to admit what she feels; and their first kiss arrives during a shootout, with a live grenade adding the sort of complication only this series would consider romantic. The sequence is funny, startling, and surprisingly tender. It also makes the season’s larger point: even people who have trained themselves to survive alone can still want someone who understands them.
When do Williams and Eleanor become a couple in Black Doves Season 2?
The shift becomes unmistakable in Episode 4, when Williams finally says what she has been trying not to say. She tells Eleanor, “I love ya. Probably. Definitely, actually.” The line is characteristically awkward and funny, but the feeling behind it is real. Williams is not delivering a polished declaration; she is trying to make an honest admission while the two are in immediate danger.
Eleanor does not give her a neat answer at once. Her hesitation is part of the story. She is more comfortable with jokes, action, and the next problem to solve than with admitting that another person has become emotionally important. In Episode 5, however, she returns Williams’s feelings. Their first kiss happens while the pair are again under fire.
Netflix’s official Season 2 ending explainer confirms the sequence: Williams confesses in Episode 4, and Eleanor reciprocates in Episode 5. The show does not hide the relationship behind a vague look or an ambiguous final shot. It lets the characters say what they feel, then places that emotional breakthrough inside the chaotic world they inhabit.
What Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy say about their chemistry
The cast’s explanation is more revealing than a simple claim that the two actors get along. In Netflix Tudum’s interview, Hyland and Creevy describe a connection built on humor, understanding, and the way their characters seem to complete each other. Hyland says she feels Williams cannot exist without Eleanor. Creevy describes Williams as a safe place for Eleanor in a world where safety is almost never available.
That idea helps explain why their scenes feel different from the show’s other relationships. Williams and Eleanor do not need to translate their work or pretend to be ordinary. They can be blunt, strange, funny, and frightening in the same moment. Each recognizes the other without asking for a softer or more socially acceptable version.
Creevy also explains that Eleanor is slower to acknowledge the romance because letting someone in is frightening. The characters have no easy family safety net or nurturing environment to fall back on. Their lives are built around survival. Emotional vulnerability therefore carries a risk that is different from, but no less real than, physical danger.
Why the Irish and Welsh accents add to the relationship
The chemistry is not only in the dialogue or the action. Hyland is Irish, while Creevy is Welsh, and both performers have discussed how meaningful it is to use their natural accents in a major television series. In an interview with Netflix, they say the sound of their voices contributes to the way the characters connect. Hyland even describes them as operating almost like one entity.
That detail gives the partnership a texture that goes beyond a standard assassin double act. Their banter has a particular rhythm, and their different voices make the exchanges feel individual rather than interchangeable. It also gives the characters a sense of identity that is not defined by the organization employing them.
In a separate interview reported by ITV News, the actors discussed the value of representing Welsh and Irish voices on screen. Creevy described using her own accent as freeing, while Hyland said it felt special to bring a part of herself to the role. Their comments add context to the performances: the characters’ voices are not simply comic flavor; they are part of what makes Williams and Eleanor distinct.
How the romance changes Williams
Williams begins the story as a dry-witted, hard-to-rattle assassin. Netflix’s cast guide describes her as someone who often sees a situation clearly and keeps her composure when other people might panic. But Season 2 lets the audience see what that self-control conceals. She becomes jealous when Eleanor dates someone else, struggles with feelings she cannot file away as another job, and eventually decides that saying nothing is more dangerous than being honest.
Hyland told Netflix that love makes Williams warmer and more willing to let people in. That is a meaningful shift for a character whose professional identity depends on detachment. The romance does not make Williams harmless or turn her into a different person overnight. Instead, it reveals that her emotional life has been present all along, even when she has been reluctant to acknowledge it.
Why Eleanor takes longer to admit her feelings
Eleanor’s delay is not evidence that she feels less. Creevy told Netflix that Eleanor is avoiding what is in front of her. She sees Williams becoming vulnerable and admires that honesty, but she is not immediately ready to make herself equally exposed. For someone accustomed to danger, a direct emotional commitment can feel like stepping into a situation without knowing where the exits are.
That hesitation also makes the eventual answer more satisfying. Eleanor does not simply mirror Williams’s confession because the plot needs a romantic beat. Her response arrives after the story has shown her resistance, her uncertainty, and the particular trust she has developed with her partner.
It is also important that the show does not present the romance as a cure for either woman. They remain assassins in an unstable world. Love gives them a connection, not immunity from consequences. The relationship is hopeful precisely because it is fragile.
Why the romance works inside a violent spy thriller
At first glance, a love story that develops during shootouts and grenade attacks might sound like a joke. Black Doves makes the contrast part of its identity. The characters are so accustomed to violence that emotional conversations happen in the middle of it. The absurdity is funny, but it also reveals how little room their lives leave for ordinary intimacy.
Creator Joe Barton told Netflix that he found the tension fascinating: two business partners developing feelings that complicate the work they do together. The relationship fits the series because it turns a familiar thriller problem — whether partners can trust each other — into a more personal question. Can they keep working together while knowing that one has become the other’s emotional home?
The romance also gives the action scenes a different kind of suspense. The audience is no longer only wondering whether Williams and Eleanor will survive the next attack. It is wondering whether they will be honest with each other, whether they will protect what they have admitted, and whether the job will allow them to keep it.
What happens next for Williams and Eleanor?
Season 2 gives the pair a real emotional breakthrough, but it does not provide a detailed roadmap for their future. Creevy and Hyland joked with Netflix about wanting a Vegas wedding, complete with white tuxedos and cowboy boots. That is a playful wish from the actors, not confirmation of a plot point or a promise about a future season.
The more interesting question is how the relationship changes their decisions. Williams has started letting people in, while Eleanor has accepted that connection can be worth the risk. If they remain partners in the field, their feelings may make them more protective of one another — and potentially more vulnerable to anyone who understands what they mean to each other.
For now, their ending is a beginning rather than a final answer. The show has moved them from sharp-tongued colleagues to a couple who have openly acknowledged their feelings. Whether that bond can survive the next crisis is a story the series has left available to explore.
For more character coverage, read our Eleanor and Williams character partnership breakdown and our article on Sam’s bounty and the danger facing his allies.
Frequently asked questions
Do Williams and Eleanor get together in Black Doves Season 2?
Yes. Williams admits her feelings in Episode 4, and Eleanor returns them in Episode 5. They share their first kiss during a shootout.
Who plays Williams and Eleanor?
Ella Lily Hyland plays Williams, and Gabrielle Creevy plays Eleanor.
What episode does Williams tell Eleanor she loves her?
Williams confesses her feelings in Episode 4. Her declaration is awkward, funny, and sincere, which fits the character’s difficulty with emotional openness.
Why does Eleanor take longer to respond?
Gabrielle Creevy told Netflix that Eleanor is avoiding the feelings she already has. Letting someone close is frightening for a character whose life is built around danger and survival.
What do the actors say about Williams and Eleanor’s chemistry?
Hyland and Creevy point to humor, understanding, and a feeling of safety. Hyland says the characters seem to operate as one entity, while Creevy describes Williams as a safe place for Eleanor.
Do Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy want a Vegas wedding for the characters?
They joked in a Netflix interview that a Vegas wedding would be fun, imagining white tuxedos and cowboy boots. It is an actor wish, not a confirmed storyline.
Will Williams and Eleanor return in a future season?
Their relationship is left open for future development, but no specific future storyline or renewal outcome should be treated as confirmed unless Netflix announces it.
Sources and further reading
- Netflix Tudum: Williams and Eleanor’s romance, explained by the cast
- Netflix Tudum: Black Doves Season 2 ending explained
- Netflix Tudum: Black Doves Season 2 cast and characters
- ITV News: The actors on representing Welsh and Irish accents
- JOE: Black Doves Season 2 cast interview
By Shivam Das
