Jonathan Pine was beyond horrified when he witnessed a meeting between Roper and his son Teddy Dos Santos. Most definitely two of the most evil characters we've seen together on screen for a while.

Once we'd collectively picked up our jaws from the ground, theories naturally began to form. How on earth could he be alive, after we'd seen his 'corpse' laid out on a slab in episode 1? We might have felt duped, but can you  imagine how Jonathan felt!?

Here's what we know about Richard Roper's resurrection, including our top theories on how he can be alive, and what this means for our hero Jonathan.

***Warning: spoilers for The Night Manager series 2 episode 3 ahead***

[caption id="attachment_31094" align="alignnone" width="1720"] Richard Roper's 'dead' body being identified in The Night Manager episode 1 (Credit: BBC)[/caption]

The Night Manager episode 3: Who is Richard Roper?

Fans of The Night Manager series 1 will know that Richard Roper was described as the "worst man in the world". Hugh Laurie's Richard 'Dickie' Onslow Roper was a charismatic but ruthless and amoral arms dealer. We found out very little about his motives, apart from money and power. Although he did have one weak spot – his son Daniel.

Now we know he has another son from a different dalliance. Teddy Dos Santos is the product of his relationship with a Mexican woman back in his youthful, wild-oat-sowing past.

In series 1, hotel manager and former army officer Jonathan Pine started working for British intelligence in order to infiltrate Roper's criminal network. He subsequently helped bring down "napalm-loving" Richard Roper's empire.

However, as Operation Limpit officers arrested Roper, Syrian criminals imposed their own rough justice on the arms dealer - being left furious at losing out on a big deal. They took charge of the police van and drove it away. As the van disappeared in a cloud of dust, Angela Burr spoke for all of us when she said: "He deserved it."

Did he die?

In The Night Manager episode 1, set four years after the end of series 1, viewers saw Jonathan Pine and Angela Burr in Syria supposedly identifying Richard Roper's body. We learnt that he'd been executed, although we saw no wounds.

Although Hugh Laurie appeared very briefly as the lifeless corpse, viewers believed it was the last we'd see of Hugh Laurie's character. Until now.

[caption id="attachment_31091" align="alignnone" width="1720"] Jonathan Pine got the shock of his life when he saw Richard Roper alive (Credit: BBC One)[/caption]

Gilberto Hanson's identity revealed to be Richard Roper

In The Night Manager episode 3, Jonathan Pine got closer to Teddy Dos Santos (and Roxana, but that's a whole other story). It became apparent that Teddy was likely working alongside another figure pulling the strings – Gilberto Hanson. Jonathan uncovered the news that Gilberto Hanson is a "terrifying local arms dealer whose reach extends to the heart of London's intelligence community".

However, when Jonathan Pine's undercover team looked into Gilberto, they found he'd "died several years ago in a helicopter crash". Errr, what four years ago, when Richard Roper was also declared dead?!

Learning that Teddy had a scheduled meeting with 'Gilberto', Jonathan followed him in an attempt to spy on them. And he got a LOT more than he bargained for when the so-called arms dealer Gilberto Hanson turned out to be none other than Richard Roper.

The Night Manager episode 3: How can Richard Roper be alive?

Obviously Richard Roper never really died. Unless, of course, he has an identical twin brother. But this isn't a Channel 5 soap we're talking about. This is a serious BBC drama!

So Richard could have paid off Syrian authorities to convince British intelligence he was dead. Or, even worse, it's a cover-up sanctioned by British intelligence.

The latter is by far the most likely explanation. It pains us to say that Olivia Colman's character Angela Burr may well have tricked Jonathan Pine. But why? We'll have to wait until next week's episode 4 (Sunday, January 18, 2026) to find out more about that.

Anyone who has watched the trailer for The Night Manager series 2 will have seen a glimpse of a heated exchange play out between Angela and Jonathan. We see Jonathan hiss: "You lied to me." To which she replied: "I had no choice."

She goes on to say: "This is our chance. To nail the London investors, the politicians, the whole rotten bunch.

There's also the possibility that Roper was recruited by British intelligence in exchange for his freedom from the Syrians. Could he be working against his own son to bring him down? Unlikely, but we wouldn't put it past Tricky Dickie who would do anything to save his own skin.

[caption id="attachment_31090" align="alignnone" width="1720"] Richard Roper resurrected with a nice tan in The Night Manager episode 3 (Credit: BBC One)[/caption]

What else happened in The Night Manager episode 2?

• We began to realise that Teddy has his own mental health struggles. Daddy issues, perhaps? But we didn't have a great outpouring of sympathy. After all, we also discovered that Teddy is "creating an army of orphans". Men for hire to the highest bidder. Not such a charitable foundation he heads up, then.
• Viewers also learnt that the shipment Pine was tracking was being used to transport under-the-counter weapons to Britain.

Read more: Filming locations of The Night Manager series 2 include Colombia, and beautiful 'hidden gem' Spanish city

The Night Manager series 2 continues with episode 4 on Sunday, January 18, 2025 at 9pm on BBC One.