Being a spy is surely risky business, and not everyone is suited for the job. Certainly the average hospitality worker isn't ideal for criminal infiltration, but Tom Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine isn't just The Night Manager. After being offered the opportunity to infiltrate the criminal organization fronted by Richard Onslow Roper, the murderer of a former lover of Pine's and international high-end weapons dealer, Pine agrees to go undercover to infiltrate the ranks of Roper's organization and gain his trust. To do so, Pine must put up an act and pretend to have a far more troubled past than he really has — but does Pine take a little too easily to being a criminal?
After being sent to a small town in rural England to live briefly in a beaten-down cottage, Pine wastes no time establishing himself as the premiere criminal in town — even if he has to put a rope around their neck of a local drug dealer to do so. Pine's violent outbursts seem to threaten his cover, not because they aren't convincing but because they may be too good. Is putting Pine in a position of power safe, or will the British Intelligence agencies that put him there regret enabling his violent habits?
Jonathan Pine's efforts at being a criminal are handled mostly by the intelligence agencies trying to bring Roper down. They provide him with a criminal past and a variety of alias' to make Pine appear as though he's a career criminal ready to change lives at any given moment. They also provide him with one amazing wardrobe. James Bond may be suave, but small-town crime Jonathan Pine, or Jack Lindon as he's known in the town, is the most handsome spy you're likely to see onscreen all year. Pine's criminal personality is a far cry from the helpful night manager that fans met in episode 1 — So who is the real Jonathan Pine? Little is known about Pine's history as a solider but his training is apparent in the way he fights. Is Jonathan Pine a solider pretending to be a night manager, or is Jonathan Pine a night manager pretending to be a solider?
During a set-up to make Pine look like a hero for saving Roper's son, Pine goes above and beyond his instructions and actually injures the criminals hired to fake a kidnapping. While this seems to solidify the reality of the situation to Roper and his crew, the agents that hired him seem to be very surprised that Pine went off-script. Pine's primary mission is to take down Richard Roper, but if Pine has trouble staying on-script this early in his plot then who is to say that he won't go further off-script in the future? Pine's bad habits may upset his superiors, but fans likely won't mind — Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine never looks better than when he's making trouble.
Image: Des Willie (2)/AMC
