‘The Night Manager’ Episode 3 Review: Still A Slow-Burning Drama

With this week bringing us the third episode of Susanne Bier‘s adaptation of John le Carré‘s novel The Night Manager, we’re chomping at the bit to see the pacing of the series quicken up and see some real conflict between these brilliant characters. With Tom Hiddleston settling in to his undercover character and Hugh Laurie proving to be a real nasty piece of work THE NIGHT MANAGER is set to get tensions rising!

Another day, another glamorous party and this time we’re surrounded by diamonds, beautiful women and some of the most dangerous and influential men in the world for a young girl’s birthday. Roper and Jed dance the night away not before more drama drags the night down as the birthday girl in question is found hanging lifeless in her room. 

In Mallorca, Pine is summoned by Roper, making his way through the stunning mansion; noting luxury and expense at every corner. Roper’s young son thanks Pine for his rescue before Roper sends him away; it’s time for the big boys to have a little chat.  Pouring Pine a large glass of champagne, Roper exudes both power and danger; a king in his castle. It’s a role that Laurie takes on with real ease and excellence, it comes so wonderfully natural to him and it’s even more unsettling than one would have initially imagined. 

With Corcoran by his side, Roper strips down Pine’s chaotic fiction while Jonathan plays his part very well. A little defensive, proud and strong, he plays this new Pine with confidence and we often have to remind ourselves of his real intentions. It’s clear that Corcoran doesn’t trust Pine in the slightest but Roper is keen to keep him around. There are some brilliant shots of the two of them close together, Roper’s powerful hand clasped around Pine’s shoulder; the two of them are set to make a great duo of deception. 

Olivia Colman‘s Burr watches close by as Pine settles in to life in Roper’s company. Golden sands, stunning views, tranquil pools and a twenty four hour security watch. Corcoran’s character is getting stronger and stronger and with each episode Tom Hollander is quickly becoming a standout talent of the series. He’s a little smarmy, plenty sarcastic and entirely dangerous; all with the smooth, classic Eton boy dialect that lulls us into a false sense of security. Bravo, Hollander. You’re really starting to creep us out. 

Pine takes Roper’s son down into town while two heavy set bodyguards follow inches behind them. Burr follows slowly behind, settling in the background with her glorious pregnant belly giving her an ideal undercover edge. Using young Danny as a way to communicate with Burr is a lovely little aide in creating this slick and dangerous world of espionage, helping us to keep an interest despite the perhaps slow pacing. Little Danny does his job in supplying Pine with all the information his could need and we soon find out about one secret room locked away from everyone but Roper.

Burr meets with the grieving father from the very beginning of the episode, having found out he’s willing to supply them with information on Roper. Colman continues to give an unsurprisingly brilliant performance, it’s impossible not to like her and it seems that has rubbed off on her character as she gets this desperately unhappy man on her side; her sights set on getting Corcoran out of Pine’s way. 

Roper and Pine spend more time with each other and the scenes between them are the very best moments of the episode. Everything between them has been carefully thought out by Bier and it’s great to see the effort going into these two characters. Their positioning is slowly evolving. We often see Roper above of Pine, looking down on him but the matching close ups help to keep them on an even-keel. He’s catching up to you, Roper. 

Jed’s vulnerability grows as we see her curled into herself, weeping after a phone call from home. Pine quietly walks in before pretending not to notice her tears. It’s easy to see the cogs of his mind working; how can he use her to get to Roper? Still, we know his preference for vulnerable women and it begs the question; could Jed be his undoing in his under cover work? Will he use her to get closer to Roper or will he feel compelled to save her from a life of corruption?

Jed and Pine wander down the beachfront together, her chiffon dress dragging beautifully along through the water. She confronts him about her tears and makes it clear he should not mention it to anyone. She strips off, the blue dress falling around her ankles as she elegantly strides into the water; Pine staring out at her. This image plays in his mind as he tries to sleep that night and it’s clear there’s more conflict for him to face where Jed is concerned. 

Danny proves to get a great way for Pine to get to grips with Roper’s business as he uses the kid’s phone as a way to get in touch with Burr and her team. Pine’s meddling is starting to stir up trouble for Roper as Jed’s bubble of ignorance to his work life is burst; leading to a cold front for Roper. Pine begins to snoop in Jed and Roper’s room, finding a picture of a young blond child in the bedside draw. 

He makes his way down to the Roper’s alarmed room, noticing he’s not the only one to have visited it; finding a single blond hair precociously laying on his desk. Jed walks in on Pine nonchalantly placing flowers in her room. He confronts her on her own snooping of Roper’s secret room before she hides him for Corcoran. 

Roper is in Madrid, all sharp suits and sunglasses; a big meeting is about to take place. They’re aware of the Limpit organisation but Roper seems unfazed, ensuring those worried that they’re keeping a close eye on their informants. He calls Jed and they fight over their own secrets. He knows about Jed’s child, her secret child. It’s good to see Roper sweat a little, see him lose that cool exterior and finally catch a glimpse of actual human emotion. 

The pacing still feels slightly slow and we’re chomping at the bit to see some more action, some kind of further development. At the very end of the episode, we see Roper offer Pine another identity, Andrew Birch, and it’s a great relief that we’ll see Pine make an official partner in Roper; replacing Corcoran. It’s with great hope then that we can expect some real drama start to unfold but for now we’re still stuck in that hazy mist of plot beginnings. 

Verdict

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