The Night Manager season 2’s shock return is a frustrating twist that could do real damage

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**Warning: major spoilers for The Night Manager season 2 episode 3.**

You didn’t imagine that—Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) is back, and it’s both shocking and strangely expected. If you’re not sure how to react, you’re not alone—we’re all a little bewildered, but at least there are biscuits.

In tonight’s episode of The Night Manager, Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) continued investigating Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva), discovering he is the hidden son of Pine’s former enemy.

If the connection to the first season wasn’t clear enough, episode 3 makes it undeniable. It’s revealed that Teddy’s business partner is actually his father, creating a surprisingly close and complicated relationship.

Roper continues to commit crimes, still using the name of a man who died years ago – Gilberto Hanson. And he hasn’t changed his methods at all in the last ten years; he’s stuck in his old ways.

It’s disappointing that this lacks originality, a problem that was already apparent in the predictable storyline, and this strange turn of events doesn’t help. It’s safe to say Roper coming back won’t make things any more interesting.

It’s common these days for stories and characters to never really conclude. That’s why we keep seeing tired movie series drag on, or popular TV shows continue long after their prime.

Although it was uncertain whether a second season of The Night Manager would even happen, the initial preview felt promising.

Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) identified the body of Roper, which was laid out on a slab – a clear signal of what was to come. It felt like a final goodbye to one phase of the investigation, and the beginning of a new one.

Considering how quickly Laurie reappeared at the end of episode 3, that earlier scene now feels like a deliberately misleading trick. It will likely be explained away with a simple, unbelievable excuse – maybe a drug that slows her pulse, or some other over-the-top deception.

Just like the new Star Wars sequels diminished the happy ending of Return of the Jedi, this new season of The Night Manager unfortunately takes away from the satisfying conclusion of the first season.

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Seeing Roper’s self-satisfied attitude turn to fear when his van was stolen by the people he’d wronged – people who appeared to want to punish him severely – brought out a bit of a cruel satisfaction in everyone watching, though nowhere near as much cruelty as Roper himself possessed.

We were all thrilled when Angela defeated the man who had caused so much suffering to people everywhere, and who had haunted her own life for so long. Sadly, that joy is now over.

Honestly, finding out Roper lived and is back dealing arms really took the wind out of my sails after enjoying the first season of The Night Manager. It feels like the writers didn’t fully trust their new villain, and bringing Roper back feels like a bit of a step backwards. I was hoping for something fresh, not a repeat of what we already saw.

As I noted in my review, the strong connection between Calva and Hiddleston has been a highlight of The Night Manager’s second season, and it could have allowed the new installment to stand out from the original. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite manage to do so.

Now, there’s a real concern that Teddy will take a backseat with his father back in the picture. Pine won’t simply ignore the return of his biggest enemy, so this has quickly become a battle for dominance.

If Farr hoped to both keep Roper involved and maintain Teddy’s importance, it would have been better to use Laurie primarily in flashbacks.

Following the second episode, it looked like the show might reveal more about Teddy’s past – we saw a flashback of his father visiting him as a child. However, the scene ended before we could see a younger version of Roper himself.

The story felt like it could have benefited from exploring that time period further, allowing for more development of Laurie’s compellingly threatening personality and a deeper understanding of Teddy’s past, as well as the complex bond between father and son.

The BBC can’t afford the high-tech digital de-aging effects commonly used in Hollywood, but a simple change to Laurie’s hair and some clever camera work likely would have improved these scenes.

Bringing Roper back simply by dropping him into the current storyline, essentially as we remember him, isn’t very compelling. It unfortunately appears this will diminish Teddy’s role instead of enhancing it.

However, it’s worth remembering that these concerns are likely just an initial, instinctive response to this news.

I’m just as in the dark about season 2 of The Night Manager as you are. However, there’s a chance the show will really pick up and prove itself in the later episodes. If that happens, I’ll gladly admit I was wrong.

It’s understandable to be wary of the entertainment industry’s growing habit of relying on rehashed concepts, existing franchises, and familiar actors playing iconic characters.

We’ve seen this situation play out before, and it usually ends badly. Let’s hope the second season of The Night Manager is smoother and more elegant than its past issues.

The Night Manager season 2 airs on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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Authors

David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig writes about TV and streaming drama and comedy for TopMob. Before that, he contributed to Starburst Magazine, hosted the podcast ‘The Winter King’ for ITVX, and earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Sheffield.

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2026-01-12 01:35