The Night Manager series 2: Episode 1 unpacked including suspicious death of series 1 favourite
The spy thriller returned nine years after series 1
The Night Manager series 2 started with an explosive episode 1 – quite literally – as Tom Hiddleston returned with a new name and a new enemy.
Jonathan Pine had several fake pseudonyms in series 1, and returned to our screens this week living under the secret identity of Alex Goodwin. In later episodes, he’ll assume another new identity as a reckless Hong Kong playboy. But, for the purposes of clarity, we’ll be referring to him as Jonathan Pine throughout.
In episode one, he was working in present day London, telling neighbours he worked nights in a bank. But he was actually director of the Night Owls, a nocturnal surveillance unit paid to watch persons suspected of criminal activity. However, his relatively safe existence as Alex Goodwin was shattered when, during surveillance, he saw an old face from his former life with Richard Roper. And arms broker Jaco Brouwer would soon lead Jonathan to another big player in the criminal underworld…
Here’s episode one of The Night Manager series 2 unpacked. And by that we mean the important bits you might have blinked and missed!
***Warning: spoilers from The Night Manager series 2 episode 1 ahead***
What is The Night Manager series 2 about?
The Night Manager series 2 rejoins Jonathan Pine nine years after we last saw him take down arms dealer Richard Roper. Now living as Alex Goodwin – a low-level MI6 officer running a quiet surveillance unit in London – his life is uneventful. Until a chance sighting of an old Roper mercenary alerts him to “Richard Roper’s true disciple”. Enter Colombian businessman Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva in The Night Manager series 2 cast).
Jonathan Pine also meets Roxana Bolaños, a businesswoman who subsequently (and reluctantly) helps him infiltrate Teddy’s Colombian arms operation. In future episodes, Jonathan travels to Colombia, where he is “plunged deep into a deadly plot involving arms and training of a guerrilla army”.
To win the trust of Teddy Dos Santos, Jonathan disguises himself as a reckless Hong Kong playboy. But as he gets closer to Teddy, he uncovers another figure pulling the strings – Gilberto Hanson, a terrifying local arms dealer whose reach extends to the heart of London’s intelligence community.
Oh, and there’s corruption in MI6. Will hero Jonathan Pine be able to expose the conspiracy? Our best bet? Of course he will! And it’s bound to be alot of fun (for viewers) on the way!
Who was Richard Roper and what happened to him?
At the beginning of The Night Manager series 2, we saw Jonathan Pine and series 1 fave Angela Burr in Syria identifying Richard Roper’s dead body. If you need a reminder of who Richard Roper was, then read our series 1 recap. But, long story short, he was a charismatic but ruthless and amoral arms dealer.
“Napalm-loving” Richard had a small team of people he trusted, including Tom Hollander’s Major Lance ‘Corky’ Corkoran, his second-in-command and front man. There was also his rather beautiful but fragile girlfriend Elizabeth Debicki as Jemima ‘Jed’ Marshall.
Former soldier-turned-hotel manager Jonathan Pine infiltrated Richard’s gang – and was able to bring him down pretty much single-handedly. But there were casualties on the way, including the death of Corky.
In The Night Manager series 1 ending, Richard Roper’s empire crashed around his ears. But before he could be arrested, disgruntled Syrian criminals imposed their own rough justice. They took charge of the police van and drove it away. Four years later, Dickie Roper’s body was found executed.
Who is Teddy Dos Santos?
Step forward Teddy Dos Santos, Richard Roper’s “true disciple”. Colombian ‘businessman’ Teddy Dos Santos is a “new player” in arms dealing, and had connections to Richard. Working out of Colombia, Teddy runs a huge arms operation, as well as training a guerrilla army. Like Trickie Dickie before him, Teddy does it all under a fake veneer of charity and good intentions.
In fact, Teddy is working for the even more terrifying Gilberto Hanson, a terrifying local arms dealer whose reach extends to the heart of London’s intelligence community.
We meet Teddy for the first time in The Night Manager episode 1, and he proves he’s a deadly adversary. When Jonathan and the Night Owls followed Jaco Brouwer – a fixer for South American cartels – to a meeting point in Spain, they planted a listening device in Jaco’s bag.
But Teddy quickly proved he wasn’t stupid. Having discovered the bug, he killed the Night Owls – Tony, Graham, and Waleed.He shot Jaco dead for good measure, too. For a creative flair, he planted an explosive device in his hotel room, which very nearly took Jonathan out too.
Who was Rex Mayhew and who killed him?
Jonathan Pine’s old friends and mentor Rex Mayhew didn’t last the whole of episode 1 as The Night Manager series 2. Although it was made to look like he took his own life with a lethal dose of pills, he was actually murdered. Basil (a new character played by Paul Chahidi) told Jonathan: “It seems Rex had a stash of pills [wife] Celia knew nothing about. Took them in the shed with a bottle of Macallan. Do you have any idea why he would take his own life? Was there something he wasn’t telling us? Debt. An affair?”
Of course, Jonathan knew straight away that Rex would not take his own life. Before he died, Rex told his wife he’d “found something”. Minutes later, he was dead. But not before leaving an important coded message for Jonathan.
In the notes of his phone, Rex had saved a folder called “The Chief”. In the folder there were photos of Teddy Dos Santos, with the words: “Why is Mayra in business with this man?” There were also some pretty nasty photos of violence, dead bodies, and armed men.
Mayra (Indira Varma) works for the government, and oversees the Night Owls. Frankly, she shouldn’t have anything to do with a Colombian arms dealer. We’d seen her earlier with Adam Holywell, described as a “middle man”. So clearly up to no good…
Jonathan put it succinctly when he said: “Rex Mayhew was murdered and River House [MI6] is involved.”
What else happened in The Night Manager series 2 episode 1?
Viewers met Roxana Bolaños, a businesswoman and shipping broker working out of Miami. She worked with Rex Mayhew, which means she is useful to Jonathan Pine.
In future episodes, she reluctantly helps Jonathan infiltrate Teddy’s gang. And, we’ll bet our life savings (52p) that she becomes Jonathan’s love interest. If she’s good enough for Leo DiCaprio!?
Jonathan also reconnected with Richard Roper’s son Daniel ‘Danny’ Roper (played by Noah Jupe), now living in London and attending school. He’s negative and cynical and having a tough time growing up and trying to work out who he is, due to the absence of his father.
Jonathan was hoping Danny would know something about his dad’s relationship with Teddy. But, instead, Danny became upset with Jonathan about being absent from his life for 10 years. But we don’t think it’s the last we’ll see of Danny.
Read more: Top-tier dramas returning in 2026: From Doctor Foster to Sherwood and The Night Manager
