The BBC's acclaimed espionage thriller, The Night Manager, has been reignited by the electrifying return of its arch-villain. Hugh Laurie is back as the sadistic, self-loathing arms dealer Richard Roper, whose pulsating aura of evil has immediately reclaimed dominance over the story.
The Malign Presence Returns
Roper reappeared at the climax of last week's episode, a shocking resurrection for a character last seen in a Syrian morgue with an apparent bullet wound to his head. Despite Laurie's executive producer role on the show, fears that Roper would be confined to cameos have been spectacularly dashed. His intimidating presence now looms over every scene, palpable even when he is off-screen.
The sequel to the 2016 series had, until now, lacked this exceptional charisma. Roper's cruel wit was on full display as he mocked an old friend's divorce with the purred line, 'If I had a heart, it would surely bleed.' It takes a masterful performance to deliver such venom without sounding merely petty, and Laurie provides it.
Alliances and Animal Instincts
The plot thickened with the welcome return of Olivia Colman as retired MI6 chief Angela Burr. In a fraught and foul-mouthed outburst, she revealed she helped Roper fake his death, insisting he would have killed her and her child had she refused. This confession underscores the terror in which everyone operates around Roper.
This fear extends to his illegitimate son, Colombian drugs smuggler and political influencer Teddy (Diego Calva). Writer David Farr brilliantly illustrated the dynamic, showing Teddy reduced to a frightened child in his father's presence, even hesitating to deliver morning coffee for fear of waking him.
In a standout scene, Farr revealed Roper's primal survival instinct. Asleep and facing away, Roper sensed Teddy watching him. He then paced the room, sniffing the air, still conscious of being observed—by the show's hero, maverick spy Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), watching from half a mile away with binoculars.
Intuition Versus Plot Convenience
This moment chimes with arguments, like those made by biologist Dr Rupert Sheldrake in the Daily Mail, about a human sixth sense that warns when we are being watched. While science may be sceptical, drama readily accepts this primitive intuition as the trait that has kept a predator like Roper alive.
Less convincing, however, is the suggested gay frisson between Pine and Teddy. Their steamy dance with gangster's moll Roxana (Camila Morrone) and subsequent hesitation to shoot each other in a gunfight feels more a plot contrivance than a believable physical attraction.
But this is a minor detail in a series now supercharged by its central monster's return. With Richard Roper back in play, dominating all around him with his sadistic drawl and animal cunning, the burning questions are compelling: Who will he destroy to save himself this time? And will he get away with it again?
