The Night Manager Season 2 Premiere Review: A Resurrection in Three Acts

Critic’s Rating: 5 / 5.0

5

Ten years in the offing, The Night Manager Season 2 had gigantic shoes to fill, following in the groundbreaking and universally lauded steps of its first Jonathan Pine adventure. With a three-episode premiere event, serving up half the season in a single helping, it confirms that the wait was worth it.

While The Night Manager Season 1 was an adaptation of John le Carré’s 1993 novel of the same name, The Night Manager Season 2 expands on the world of Jonathan Pine, extending his story into the aftermath of Roper’s capture. Before his passing in 2020, le Carré gave Season 2 his blessing, always a good sign.

On a personal note, I do love a good play on words, and the fact that they spun the meaning of “The Night Manager” from Pine’s position as the after-hours manager of high-end hotels to the head of an MI6 surveillance team that works at night is some delightful genius right there.

Prime Video’s The Night Manager

To recap briefly, ten years ago, Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier, pivoted from a life of posh hotel management to help take down the nefarious arms dealer, Richard Roper. In the process, he embedded himself in Roper’s inner circle. He was friendly with Roper’s son, Danny, and even friendlier with his girlfriend, Jed.

Arrested in the finale, Roper expected to face the British government to account for his crimes, where he probably still had enough connections to guarantee that he’d be freed quickly. However, in a twist, Roper was kidnapped from MI6 custody by his unhappy customers, a nasty lot, and taken away, screaming in panic.

The Night Manager Season 2 picks up in the present day, where Jonathan Pine’s identity has been scrubbed. He is now Alex Goodwin. The first premiere episode establishes his life nowadays complete with cat and flirty across-the-corridor neighbor.

Act I – The Past Comes Knocking

The brilliance of The Night Manager is how the production weaponizes the “sell it, don’t tell it” philosophy to hook us with a deep understanding that things are not well with Jonathan-who-is-now-Alex. His nightmares don’t just provide exposition; they’re an indication of his baseline anxiety.

His memory of the day Angela Burr identified Roper’s body on a slab in Syria recurs in his dreams because he never had the closure of looking Roper’s corpse in the face and knowing the monster was dead. Instead he spends his nights with the Night Owls surveillance team watching, constantly vigilant for more monsters.

Hiddleston slips back into his MI6 operative skin flawlessly. As Alex Goodwin, he’s meticulous, persistent, and hyperaware. His team trusts him. The high-ups praise his work. And although his work-mandated psychologist is wary, he seems solid and steady.

However, Jonathan Pine still exists under Alex’s façade. Spotting one of Roper’s mercenaries at a poker game reveals the first crack in his neither shaken nor stirred mask. And the dominoes topple from there.

Blowing It All Up

It’s a masterclass in building tension as pieces fall into place. Rex Mayhew’s suss behavior and subsequent death leads the team to Roxana Bolaños. Cue fiesty honey pot music. They uncover the connection to Mayra Cavendish’s River House. (Indira Varma is never better than when she’s playing powerful and corrupt.)

Alex/Jonathan follows the breadcrumbs to Roper’s stored belongings and, eventually, the belligerent and bitter Danny Roper. I’m not sure how he thought telling Danny that Richard had died six years ago would help things. It seemed like it was more to assuage his conscience than help the boy.

Once Alex/Jonathan commits to the unsanctioned mission to Spain, we know there’s no coming back. Simultaneously, the effort to keep Roxana out of the action fails as she demonstrates some sneaky skills and deadly resources.

Act I, aka Episode 201, concludes with nearly the entire Night Owl team dead and a literal bomb blowing the Alex Goodwin identity to pieces as our new Big Bad, Teddy Dos Santos strolls away.

Act II – Chasing Ghosts

With Alex Goodwin presumed dead, Jonathan Pine takes the reins, and things slow down again as he reassesses and plans his next steps. Act II, aka Episode 202, begins with him forming his new team — Sally, the last Night Owl still invested in the mission, and Basil, MI6 specialist and a longtime Jonathan Pine fan.

Gotta love an operational montage — it’s the ten-year-old A-Team fangirl in me, I guess — and watching Sally, Basil, and Jonathan build his new identity, Matthew Ellis, disgraced financier riddled with vices, is a delight.

In Medellín, the decision to infiltrate Dos Santos’s organization through the lawyer, Carrascal, feels deliberate, a remembrance of how much trouble Corcoran caused in Season 1 when he felt threatened by Roper’s doting on Pine. Best to have the right-hand man on your side than behind your back.

As a villain, Dos Santos feels like a more refined Freddie Hamid. There’s damage and darkness there, but also a cold, calculating, extremely paranoid mind. So much so that when Jonathan uncovers his biological lineage, it’s hardly a surprise.

Roxana remains a wild card. Jonathan’s instinct is to trust that she’ll go along with their plan to further her own interests — personal immunity and freedom from Teddy. However, she feels more invested than intimidated. Her interests are not as straightforward as they seem.

Baptism

In an elegant parallel, The Night Manager Episode 202, or Act II, as I’m framing it, ends with Jonathan/Matthew nearly dying (again), this time in water as opposed to Episode 201’s explosions/flames.

Despite the insane amount of cocaine and alcohol in his system, he manages to maintain his cover story. Even Roxana’s impressed by his performance. Teddy seems completely convinced.

Act III – Everything Old is New Again

The pity of a shocking reveal like the final scene of Episode 103 is that, once it’s seen, there’s a real danger that all the excellent espionage that precedes it will be forgotten.

And that would be a shame because we learn so much about Teddy, Basil, and Roxana in those scenes. Teddy’s fanaticism is built on a layer of unstable mental health. Basil’s got some 1000-carat diamond cojones. And Roxana’s still hiding something.

Of course, Jonathan continues to find himself in the direst of circumstances, but lucks out with a little help from his friends. And, ironically, Mayra Cavendish.

Two moments jarred my suspension of disbelief here. The first was Jonathan successfully hiding under a latticework desk and witnessing Teddy’s self-harming behavior. And the other, also in that office, was Carrascal not hearing the photocopier running. Minor points, but I know how loud those copiers are. Roxy should’ve been a goner.

Teddy subtly foreshadows Roper’s survival when he’s recounting his childhood to Jonathan/Matthew. He states that his father died six years previously.

Since no one besides Jonathan and Angela was supposed to know that — and assuming Danny didn’t immediately call his illegitimate Colombian half-brother after “Alex Goodwin” visited and spilled the beans — we can assume he knew it because that was the story Roper told him to spread.

With the high level of risk and repercussions in the mix, I appreciate that the usual trope of “undercover agent needs sexual encounter to release the pressure” hasn’t been called on. In fact, it feels like Jonathan might’ve learned that his attraction to women in dangerous relationships might be a red flag in and of itself. Will miracles never cease?

Roper’s Revenge

Now that Richard Roper’s back on the playing field, we can float some theories as to his endgame. Based on his track record, he’s looking to leverage his access to weapons into political power and monetary gain.

The trick is that he has to do it all — re-establish networks, rebuild an empire, rain down vengeance — from behind Teddy’s public persona. To complicate things further, the $20 million Teddy’s just acquired to further their plan came from the very man to brought him low ten years ago.

As we embark on the back half of the season(!), we can expect Angela Burr to make an appearance. The team will have to figure things out on two fronts. With Jonathan and Sally in Colombia, Basil will need Angela to keep Mayra at bay and in the dark.

All in all, The Night Manager Season 2 premiere event is a triumph of acting, pacing, and narrative. It gives us everything we loved about Season 1 with new stakes, players, and twists.

The consideration put into how the characters have changed, the respect for their trauma, and the innovation in the script’s approach are a credit to the creators and a worthy tribute to le Carré’s legacy.

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