By Danielle Cherry
Coming off the ending of episode three, Pine is rightly shocked by the unexpected and horrid discovery of Roper (Hugh Laurie) being alive. Like Pine, I felt my heart jump out of my body as one of television’s biggest bads walked across my screen.
From the beginning of this season, Roper has been haunting Pine (Tom Hiddleston), being seen in Teddy’s similar business model of fronting arms dealing as a philanthropist. Now Pine understands why. As Pine watches Roper on the restaurant terrace, we watch fear and dread manifest as Pine realizes his biggest victory is actually his greatest defeat.
Feeling betrayed by Angela Burr, Pine’s previous head of MI6 operations, he seeks his own path – distancing himself from everyone, making rash and, frankly, dumb decisions in the name of justice.
This side of Jonathan Pine is raw. Even amidst his many personas Pine always keeps his cool. Now we watch as those walls fall down as Roper’s return peels back the layers of who Pine really is. Acting rash and unfiltered, Pine becomes the very man he swore to his therapist he would never be: the man who explodes.
Tom Hiddleston reaches new levels of emotionality in the final episodes of season two. As friends betray him, leave him and die in front of him, Hiddleston’s performances are gut-wrenching. “The Night Manager” deals with people who are the definition of a moral “gray area,” but Hiddleston’s grief and torment make me feel deeply for those I didn’t expect to care about.
The writing of the whole show is phenomenal, and episodes 4-6 in particular showcase the writers’ talent for metaphor and tiebacks. Conversations between Roper and Pine are particularly striking, having layers upon layers of depth in their background and meaning.
The red car is a testament of Pine’s (Tom Hiddleston) loyalty to those who care for him.
‘The Night Manager’ episodes 4-6 of season two leave viewers eager for another season
The ten year gap between season production can’t be talked about enough, because it feels like it never happened. The writers were so intentional with every line and word, giving both incredible thought as to how it would play out in the season as a whole and in the plot of the specific episode.
By far the most exquisite piece of dialogue I have ever been blessed with is the terrace conversation between Roper and Pine. Hugh Laurie and Hiddleston have some of the best chemistry and delivery, making this particular performance chilling and warm all at once.
The depth of characters is incredible, as each season has only been six episodes long. We watch as Teddy (Diego Calva) recognizes his father is not who he believed him to be, and Roxanna (Camila Morrone) digs deeper into her history, showing her real intentions are only for herself. Despite them both being on the wrong side of things, Diego and Camila bring humanity to characters that would be written off as strictly bad in other tv shows.
Roper is one of those bad guys you can’t help but respect; incredibly cunning and deceptively kind – he always slithers out of tight spots, wrapping you around his finger. For a while, he had it all, but Pine took that from him. Yet, in Roper’s own words, he finds a fondness for Pine that shouldn’t exist.
The pinnacle of this show is the moment the viewer sees good and evil in both Pine and Roper. Never have I been so gagged by two characters being similar in personality, pursuit and value – yet on such jarringly opposite sides of a coin.
“The Night Manager” is so much bigger than an espionage show; it shows the pursuit of justice is not always the “good” thing to do. The ending to the show leaves viewers with a metaphorical question: is this really where you see justice satisfied?
To put it kindly, the show ends with a victory – yet the question remains, is it right? As the screen cuts to black, viewers are left to ponder the haunting words that turned the tide for Pine:
“I struck a cord with you.”
Roper’s haunting words unmoor Pine, leaving the show off-kilter as his perspective tilts everything that follows. While the camera stays visually focused, Pine’s view is blurred, allowing us to see the ways Roper has seeped into Pine.
With end credits rolling, I had to know, was that it? Thankfully, the show is set for a new season with a release in 2027 (if you have seen it, you understand the importance of a renewal).
With haunting words swimming through my mind, I wait to see what will happen next – this show having “struck a cord” in me that only another season can fix.
“The Night Manager” season two has released all episodes, currently steaming on Prime Video
Danielle Cherry is a sophomore communication major and writer for Cedars A&E and Sports. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and loves to travel, play volleyball and desperately wants to meet the writers for “The Night Manager.”
Images courtesy of The Ink Factory
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