'The Night Manager' Season 2 returns with explosive reveals: 'Every character's heart is on fire'

This nonfiction contains spoilers for the archetypal 3 episodes of “The Night Manager” Season 2.

It wasn’t inevitable that “The Night Manager,” an adaptation of John le Carré’s 1993 spy novel, would person a sequel. Le Carré didn’t constitute 1 and the six-episode series, which aired successful 2016, had a definitive ending.

But aft the show’s debut, fans clambered for more. They loved Tom Hiddleston’s brooding, charismatic Jonathan Pine, a edifice manager wrangled into the spy crippled by British quality serviceman Angela Burr (Olivia Colman). And astatine the bosom of the bid was the parasitic dynamic betwixt Pine and his delightfully malicious foe, an arms trader named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).

The amusement was truthful bully that adjacent the story’s writer wanted it to continue. After the premiere of Season 1 astatine the Berlin International Film Festival, Le Carré sat crossed from Hiddleston, a twinkle successful his eye, and said, “Perhaps determination should beryllium immoderate more.”

“That was the archetypal I’d heard of it oregon thought astir it,” Hiddleston says, speaking implicit Zoom alongside the show’s director, Georgi Banks-Davies, from New York a fewer days earlier the U.S. premiere of “The Night Manager” Season 2 connected Prime Video, which arrived Sunday with 3 episodes, 10 years aft the archetypal season. “But it was truthful bonzer and inspiring to travel from the antheral himself. That’s erstwhile I knew determination mightiness beryllium an opportunity.”

Time passed due to the fact that nary 1 wanted a sequel of little quality. Le Carré died successful 2020, leaving his originative works successful the attraction of his sons, who helm the accumulation institution the Ink Factory. That aforesaid year, screenwriter David Farr, who had penned the archetypal series, had a vision.

“We didn’t privation to unreserved into doing thing that was each benignant and nary substance that didn’t grant the information of it,” Farr says, speaking separately implicit Zoom from London. “There was this large spread of time. But I had this precise wide idea. I saw a achromatic car crossing the Colombian hills successful the past towards a boy. I knew who was successful the car and I knew who the lad was.”

That representation transformed into a country successful the 2nd occurrence of Season 2 wherever a young Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) is waiting for his father, who turns retired to beryllium nary different than Roper. From there, Farr fleshed retired the remainder of the season, arsenic good arsenic the already-announced 3rd season. He was funny successful the narration betwixt fathers and sons, an obsession of Le Carré’s, and successful however Jonathan and Roper would beryllium entangled each these years later.

Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) is revealed to beryllium Roper’s son.

(Des Willie / Prime Video)

“Teddy crystallized precise rapidly successful my head,” Farr says. “All of the crippled came aboriginal — arms smuggling and covert plans for coups successful South America. But the affectional architecture, arsenic I thin to telephone it, came to maine rather quickly. That communicative of fathers and sons, betrayal and emotion is what marks Le Carré from much accepted espionage.”

“There was tremendous extent successful his idea,” Hiddleston adds. “It was a blessed mishap of 10 years having passed. They were 10 immeasurably analyzable years successful the world, which tin lone person been much analyzable for Jonathan Pine with each his experience, each his curiosity, each his pain, each his trauma and each his courage.”

Farr sent scripts to Hiddleston successful 2023 and readying for Season 2 began successful earnest. The squad brought Banks-Davies connected successful aboriginal 2024, impressed with her imaginativeness for the episodes. Hiddleston was particularly attracted to her tendency to item the vulnerability of the characters, each of whom contiguous an exterior that is vastly antithetic than their interior life.

“Every character’s bosom is connected occurrence successful immoderate way, and they each person antithetic masks to conceal that,” Hiddleston says. “But Georgi kept wanting to get underneath it, to excavate it. Explore the fire, research the trauma. She came successful and said, ‘This amusement is astir identity.’ ”

“I’m fascinated with however the enactment of individuality and wherever you beryllium successful the satellite is precise fragile,” Banks-Davies says. “I’m fascinated by the strain connected that line. In the bosom of the show, that was truthful intelligibly there. I’m besides ever searching for what brings america unneurotic successful a time, peculiarly successful the past 10 years, that’s ever much divisive. These characters are each astatine warfare with each other. They’re each lying to each other. They’re deceiving each different for what they want. But what brings them unneurotic … alternatively of pushes them apart?”

The caller play opens 4 years aft the events of Season 1 arsenic Jonathan and Angela conscionable successful Syria. There, she identifies the dormant assemblage of Roper — a uncover that suggests his quality won’t truly beryllium portion of Season 2. After his death, Pine settles into a requisite beingness successful London arsenic Alex Goodwin, a subordinate of an unexciting quality portion called the Night Owls.

Angela (Olivia Colman) and Jonathan (Tom Hiddleston) conscionable successful Syria, 4 years aft the events of Season 1.

(Des Willie / Prime Video)

“He’s fractional dormant and helium lacks clarity and definition,” Hiddleston says. “His meaning and intent person been blunted and dulled. He is lone live astatine his top peril, and the person his feet are to the fire, the much helium feels similar himself. He’s addicted to risk, but besides courageous successful chasing down the truth.”

That archetypal occurrence is simply a clever fake-out. Soon, Jonathan is connected the way of a conspiracy successful Colombia, wherever the British authorities appears to beryllium progressive successful an arms woody with Teddy. It rapidly becomes the globe-trotting, thrill-seeking amusement that captivated fans successful Season 1. There are caller characters, including Sally (Hayley Squires), Jonathan’s Night Owls’ partner, and Roxana Bolaños (Camila Morrone), a young shipping magnate successful league with Teddy, and vibrant locations. Jonathan infiltrates Teddy’s organization, posing arsenic a cavalier, affluent businessman named Matthew Ellis. He believes Teddy is the existent threat. But successful the last moments of Episode 3 there’s different gut-punching fake-out: Roper lives.

“The thought was: We indispensable bash the classical happening that stories do, which is to suffer the begetter successful bid that helium indispensable look again,” Farr says. He confirms determination was ne'er an volition to marque “The Night Manager” Season 2 without Laurie. “What makes it enactment is this feeling that you are disconnected connected thing wholly new,” Farr says. “But that’s not what I privation this amusement to be.”

Hiddleston compares it to the communicative of St. George and the dragon. “They specify each other,” helium says. “At the extremity of the archetypal series, Jonathan Pine delivers the dragon of Richard Roper to his captors. But aft that, helium is lost. The dragon slayer is mislaid without the beingness of the dragon to specify him. And, similarly, Roper is obsessed with Pine.”

Jonathan realizes the information arsenic helium sneaks up to a hilltop edifice to perceive successful connected a meeting. Banks-Davies opted to sprout the full bid connected location, and she kept a taut, speedy gait during filming due to the fact that she wanted the formed to consciousness the hostility each the mode through. She and Hiddleston had a shared motto connected set: “There’s nary clip for unreal.” Thanks to her cautious scene-setting, Roper’s accomplishment and Jonathan’s absorption were changeable successful lone 10 minutes.

“I felt everything we talked astir for months and everything we’d changeable up until that constituent and everything we’d been done was successful that moment,” Banks-Davies says. “There are truthful galore emotions going on, truthful overmuch being expressed, and it’s conscionable delivered similar that. But it was hard to get america there.”

Farr adds, “It is the astir important infinitesimal successful the amusement successful presumption of everything that past follows connected from that.” He wrote into the publication that Roper’s dependable would beryllium heard earlier Laurie was seen connected camera. “It’s much frightening erstwhile thing is not instantly afloat understood and seen,” helium says. “You perceive it and you think, ‘Oh, God, I cognize that [voice].’ ”

Hiddleston wanted to play a scope of emotions successful seconds. He describes it arsenic a “moment of full vitality.” Right earlier the cameras rolled, Banks-Davies told Hiddleston, “The dragon is alive.”

“After each the work, that’s each I needed to hear,” helium says. “This infinitesimal volition beryllium memorable to him and he’ll beryllium capable to callback it successful his caput for the remainder of his life. He is wide awake, and world is re-forming astir him. His consciousness of the past 10 years, his consciousness of what helium tin spot and who helium tin trust, the mode he’s tried to germinate his ain individuality — the entity is falling. There is simply a substance of shock, grief, disenchantment, disillusionment, astonishment and possibly adjacent relief.”

As soon arsenic Jonathan arrives successful Colombia and meets Teddy, a calculating live-wire dealing with his ain consciousness of isolation, helium becomes much himself. Hiddleston expresses him arsenic a quality hopeless to consciousness the edge. Despite his layered duplicity, Jonathan understands and defines himself by courting risk.

Teddy (Diego Calva), Jonathan (Tom Hiddleston) and Roxana (Camila Marrone) get close. “This is simply a quality who pushes his assemblage to the bounds and sacrifices tremendous parts of himself astatine large idiosyncratic outgo to his assemblage and soul,” Hiddleston says of Jonathan. (Des Willie/Prime Video)

“This is simply a quality who pushes his assemblage to the bounds and sacrifices tremendous parts of himself astatine large idiosyncratic outgo to his assemblage and soul,” Hiddleston says. “He goes done a batch of pain, but besides there’s large courageousness and resilience and tremendous vulnerability. That’s what I relish the most, these are heightened scenarios that don’t originate arsenic readily and successful my mean life.”

“I could consciousness that shooting moments similar this,” Banks-Davies adds. “Like, ‘It’s close there. Are we going to get it?’ Our full amusement exists successful that abstraction betwixt information and death.”

Roper’s beingness sends a ripple effect crossed the remaining 3 episodes. As overmuch arsenic Jonathan and Teddy are successful opposition, they are parallel spirits, some with analyzable relationships to Roper. Hiddleston describes them arsenic “a reflector to each other,” though they can’t rather fig retired what to beryllium to each other. And neither knows who the different idiosyncratic truly is.

“It is interesting, isn’t it, that my archetypal representation of him was 7 years aged and that stays successful him each the mode through,” Farr says. “This consciousness of this lad who is seeking thing — an affirmation, a spot successful the world. And he’s done unspeakable things, arsenic helium says to Pine successful Episode 3. All of that was contiguous successful that archetypal representation I had.”

Hiddleston adds, “There is simply a competition, too, due to the fact that Roper is the begetter figure, and they some request him successful precise antithetic ways. Teddy is simply a caller benignant of adversary due to the fact that he’s a contemporary. He’s got this resourcefulness and this ruthlessness, but besides this precise unfastened vulnerability, which helium uses arsenic a weapon. They admit each different and spot each other.”

The characters’ dynamic is astatine the basal of what drew Banks-Davies to the series. “It’s not astir wherever they were born, it’s not astir their economical presumption oregon their religion oregon their taste identity,” she says. “It’s astir 2 men who are mislaid and unsocial and solitary, and spot a kinship successful that. They are pulled unneurotic connected this journey.”

Season 2, which volition merchandise episodes play aft the archetypal drop, volition pb straight into Season 3, though nary 1 progressive volition spill connected erstwhile it tin beryllium expected. Hopefully they volition get successful little than a decade.

“It won’t beryllium arsenic long, I promise,” Farr says. “I can’t archer you precisely when, due to the fact that I don’t know. But decidedly obscurity arsenic long.”

“That was the thrill for us, of knowing that erstwhile we began to archer this story, we knew we had 12 episodes to archer it inside, alternatively than conscionable six,” Hiddleston says. “So we tin beryllium somewhat braver and much rebellious and much analyzable successful the architecture of that narrative. And not everything has to beryllium tied up neatly successful a bow. There’s inactive miles to spell earlier we sleep, to get from Robert Frost, and that’s exciting. It’s breathtaking for however this play ends, and it’s breathtaking for wherever we spell next.”