News Beat
Night Manager shock twist explained as drama continues tonight
Tonight, viewers will see Pine having the proof he needs to expose the British-backed overthrow of the Colombian government. But Teddy no longer trusts Matthew Ellis, and Gilberto Hanson is on his tail.
The Night Manager is based on the 1993 novel of the same name by John le Carre.
The second season follows Hiddleston’s character Jonathan, who thought he had buried his past, living as low-level MI6 officer Alex Goodwin, who is then pushed back into action when he meets with old mercenaries.
The Emmy-winning show, which debuted in 2016, has a star-studded cast – with David Harewood, Tom Hollander and Tobias Menzies featuring alongside Laurie, Hiddleston and Coleman.
The Night Manager series two’s third episode saw Jonathan Pine gain Teddy’s trust and find the proof he needed to connect the Cartagena shipment to covert British intelligence interests.
But then things started to go wrong and, just when he thought he had the upper hand, Pine got a shock blast from the past…
SPOILER WARNING – Do not continue reading if you haven’t watched The Night Manager series two episode three
Pine discovered the mysterious Gilberto Hanson was none other than Richard Roper himself!
The Night Manager’s executive producer revealed the show “always intended” the shock twist at the end of Sunday night’s episode.
The latest instalment of the hit BBC drama starring Tom Hiddleston saw the return of the villain played by Hugh Laurie in the first series.
Speaking to the Press Association, Stephen Garrett, 68, said that showrunners “played on ambiguity” surrounding Laurie’s return to the show, and said: “He was never not going to be in it.
“It was a question of, how do we bring him back in the most exciting way possible?”
The first episode of the latest season saw intelligence officer Angela Burr (Olivia Coleman) confirming the identity of a body believed to be Laurie’s character, arms dealer Richard Roper, in a flashback scene set four years after the events of the first series.
Garrett said: “His end was sort of ambiguous. He’s bundled into a truck. He clearly owes some very bad people 300 million dollars, so it’s not looking good for him, but you don’t see anybody kind of shoot him or hang him or push him off a cliff.”
On Sunday night, viewers saw Hiddleston’s character, Jonathan Pine, follow Roper’s criminal son Teddy (Diego Calva) to a hidden location.
It was then revealed that Teddy was working with Laurie’s character, who was alive and living under the name Gilberto Hanson.
Garrett said: “We really feared the cat would come out of the bag. We had so many kind of close shaves.
“But I’m really thrilled we got away with it because I think for viewers, it’s just incredibly pleasurable to have these surprises.
“At the end of the day, you just want to entertain people. Hopefully, that’s what we’ve done.”
When asked if he could tease any more secrets which will be revealed, Garrett said: “That’s a secret.
“Are there things that will hopefully surprise and delight the audience? Yeah, absolutely. What are they? Well, you’re just going to have to keep watching.”
Hugh Laurie explains all about Roper’s return…
Where do we find Richard Roper?
For a large chunk of the intervening years, he was a prisoner, essentially a hostage to the shadowy cartel to whom he owed a great deal of money. Initially they were going to simply kill him, but Roper’s a good talker and he’s quick on his feet, and he was able to bargain with them.
The captive can sometimes gain the upper hand over the captor, even though he doesn’t have the key to the door. He’s got himself back onto the playing field and reactivated a lot of his contacts and formed a plan that will allow him to pay off his debt and therefore survive because if he doesn’t, they will surely get him. But also to rebuild his empire, and once again, conquer all.
He’s a conqueror really, a pirate, and he will never stop dreaming of the treasure of taking people, territory, and control.
What would you say is his specific ambition in this season, what is he after?
Clearing the books, settling his creditors, and building a new force in the world. We’re looking at a character of utter ruthlessness, who is prepared to do almost anything to achieve those gains of power and territory and status. Status of a very peculiar kind, because Roper does not dream of public glory, or 30-foot bronze statues. Roper enjoys the mystique, being off stage. Roper doesn’t have that weakness, but he does have a weakness for power. He does have a weakness for control. And he has it on a grand scale, building a vast empire, but he also has it on a small individual scale of obtaining victories against specific people, and Pine is his principal objective. He was beaten by Pine once, and Roper is not a man to forgive or forget easily.
Could you talk about the relationship between Roper and his son Teddy, and what it’s been like to work with Diego Calva?
It’s been wonderful working with Diego. My only criticism is that he’s absurdly good-looking, and no actor wants to share a frame with an absurdly good-looking person. He’s incredibly smart and funny while committed and very thoughtful. His instincts are terrific, he’s phenomenal.
The relationship between Roper and Teddy is a mysterious one. Teddy is the result of a liaison, and it’s one that has been hidden from the world. This is Roper’s secret, and it’s a secret that he ruthlessly exploits for his own purposes. He has acted as his protector and guardian but watching from afar. But it’s something that he’s cultivated for his own ends, which is as chilling a strategy as you can imagine.
A father exploiting his own child is gruesome, but then Roper is gruesome.
Richard Roper feels like a dream role for an actor. Just how much of a joy has it been to bring this character to life across these two seasons?
I’ll be honest, I love Richard Roper. I probably shouldn’t, but I do. Though maybe the responsibility of every actor is, at some level, to love the character they play, even if the character they’re playing is self-loathing, you’ve got to love the self-loathing. If you ever take on a character and you look down on them, you sell the character short, you undermine the energy that they present to the rest of the story.
So no, I’m not going to apologise for loving the worst man in the world. I’m repulsed, but sneakily, I love him too.
The latest episode of the Night Manager is on at 9pm and can also be watched on BBC iPlayer.
