The Night Manager's second series finale has concluded with a merciless, unresolved ending that represents a huge departure from the style of John le Carré, the original novelist whose work inspired the BBC's acclaimed spy thriller. While Hugh Laurie's weight of charisma has been a gift to this series, the latter stages have been let down by implausible character development that strains credibility.
A Nation Hooked on Deception
There's something in the water here in the UK – other than sewage overflow – that has turned the television viewing public into gluttons for subterfuge. Deception, betrayal, and fragile alliances could equally describe both of 2026's biggest shows: The Traitors and The Night Manager, which concluded its second series tonight. The burning question remained: did Tom Hiddleston's mystery man get banished from the Amazonian jungle, or did he manage to turn the tables on his treacherous opponent?
Roper's Ruthless Triumph
With Richard Roper, played with magnetic menace by Hugh Laurie, on the verge of an arms deal that would destabilise Colombia's peace and somehow repay his Syrian creditors, the focus shifted to the seductive powers of Jonathan Pine. Successfully turning Roper's pouting illegitimate son and obedient lieutenant Teddy, portrayed by Diego Calva, allowed Pine to inveigle his way into the Colombian rebels' operation.
"You can be free," Pine implored Teddy. "But not with him alive." Sadly for Teddy, it was Roper who emerged victorious. "I forgive your immortal soul," he whispered to his son before putting a bullet into his forehead. "But not your mortal one." There was no mercy either for Olivia Colman's Angela Burr, whose power struggle with MI5 Chief Mayra Cavendish, played by Indira Varma, ended with her bleeding out in the French snow.
Thus the series, which seemed to be building towards some retribution, concluded with Roper restored, rolling through the Cotswolds in a blacked-out Range Rover, while it was Pine's turn to end a season bruised, bloodied, and running for his life. So much for justice.
Contrasting Conclusions
This lack of resolution stands in stark contrast to the ending of the show's first season. There, Richard Onslow Roper – a grippingly malevolent force – was delivered into the merciless hands of his enemies by the combined forces of Burr and Pine. That felt like a reasonable conclusion, somewhat more definite than the ending of le Carré's novel, and remained that way for ten years and three episodes.
But just as Tom needs Jerry, Holmes needs Moriarty, and Neo needs Agent Smith, The Night Manager needs Richard Roper. Hugh Laurie's return for the second half of this series injected it with renewed energy. He possesses a weight of charisma that Hiddleston lacks; Roper chews the scenery while Pine remains, true to his name, immovably wooden.
"I pride myself on being an adaptable man," Roper purred sinisterly. "When circumstances demand it, I shed a skin and pick up a new one."
Fathers and Sons Dynamic
The return of Roper to narrative primacy meant that characters like Camila Morrone's Roxy, Paul Chahidi's Basil, and Hayley Squires's Sally were relegated to bit parts in the denouement. At its heart, this became a story about fathers and sons – both Roper and the child he fathered in the mountains of Colombia, and Roper and the superspy he engendered over the course of the first season's rough apprenticeship.
"You're a real big game hunter, aren't you Jonathan," Roper observed. "First my American sweetheart, now my very own son."
Implausible Character Development
However, Pine's relationship with Teddy felt far less plausible than his earlier intrigue with Jed, Roper's willowy consort played by Elizabeth Debicki. Indeed, Teddy's damascene conversion came across as rushed and improbable. He regressed from hard-bitten guerilla leader to a blubbering daddy's boy. Pine's sympathy for Teddy, too, seemed to forget the events of earlier episodes, where Teddy blew Pine's beloved colleagues to smithereens. One might wonder if all is forgiven simply because of those cheekbones.
Departure from Le Carré's Plausibility
These twisting loyalties reveal a lack of integrity to Le Carré's source material. Above all else, Le Carré was a ferociously plausible writer. His situations could have been lifted from the redacted files of British Intelligence, and his characters always seemed motivated by distinctly human foibles: pride, fear, envy, anger, revenge.
In this second series, however, Pine has become a dead-eyed monomaniac, and while Roper's desire to return home to England feels tangible, his plan – brokering continental chaos in South America – appears wild and unruly. Despite the huge gap between the first and second series of The Night Manager, this run of episodes has ended up feeling like a bridge to the show's inevitable third season, where Roper will once again be in a position of power and Pine, once again, the outsider nipping at his heels.
Remaining Charms and Future Prospects
None of this is to say that these six episodes have been without their charms. Hiddleston remains a suave cypher, and in a world where Amazon has bought James Bond, it's refreshing to see the BBC investing in a very British spy franchise. But that simple pleasure of the original The Night Manager – the tension of whether he would be rumbled – has been diluted by a messy, high-stakes plot.
For all the Medellin MacGuffins, including the "state-of-the-art electromagnetic pulse weapon" straight out of Mission: Impossible, this series was ultimately about the redemption of Richard Roper. Somehow, with the viewing public suitably enthralled, it seems unlikely we'll have to wait another decade for his eventual downfall.
