Why The Night Manager’s shock final episode took us so much by surprise

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The Night Manager season 2 finale spoilers follow.

It seems like an episode starting with Diego Calva in the shower should be great. However, The Night Manager often throws you off course, and in this week’s season finale, the audience ultimately felt shortchanged.

Roper shot his own son point blank in the head.

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The Night Manager is a thrilling spy series full of danger and suspense. People die in this world, and with a third season on the way, we can expect even more shocking losses.

Why did it have to be Teddy? It felt inevitable. He was the show’s LGBTQ+ love interest, and sadly, TV still often relies on the tired trope of making queer characters the ones who die – especially those who are different or unconventional.

It wasn’t surprising when the show killed off Teddy. Fans had been predicting it ever since he started pursuing Pine back in the second episode of season two.

Even though the new season of The Night Manager seemed to be moving forward in time, it unexpectedly returned to the same issues as the original, specifically repeating a harmful and overused plot device where LGBTQ+ characters are killed off. It felt like no progress had been made despite the ten-year gap.

It’s predictable and offensive, but hey, at least the worst of it is over, right? Right?

Now that Teddy is gone and Pine is badly injured, Angela is forced to return home to recover and rethink her strategy against Roper. This sets the stage for season three, where she and Pine will have to operate secretly if they want to succeed.

Except, wait a sec. Something’s going on outside.

Angela heard her dog barking and went outside to check it out. Her child followed, wanting to know what was happening. A nervous feeling filled the air, but it seemed impossible… could it really be happening?

Yep, Angela is dead, presumably from a bullet to the chest.

It’s a horrific sight for her kid, sure, but forget about that. What about us?

Forget for a moment the shocking scene of Olivia Colman’s character lying there. Let’s focus on the powerful story arc she’s experienced.

Removing Angela from the story with an off-screen death feels like a last-ditch effort, suggesting the writers doubted Teddy’s death alone would generate enough impact.

It’s hard to deny there’s a certain boldness to this move. We often criticize TV shows for not having real consequences, where characters never truly face danger. However, actually following through with such a shocking twist doesn’t make it any less distasteful or feel cheap.

It feels wrong that the show killed off its main queer character and then its most important female character. This is particularly frustrating because their deaths seem to exist only to further the complicated relationship between the two privileged, white male leads.

Gay men and women in their middle years deserve to be fully realized characters, not just tools to move someone else’s story forward. In fact, they often make the most compelling parts of any narrative, as we’ve clearly seen this season with the storylines of Teddy and Angela.

Despite having a smaller role this season, Colman’s scene with Mayra was particularly impressive, and Diego Calva consistently delivers strong performances.

We’re likely heading into a third and final season where Pine and Roper will pursue revenge for the recent deaths, inevitably creating more conflict in the process. However, it’s also possible the story might end here.

Throughout this episode, the character Roper repeats the idea that nothing is too valuable to give up. However, if The Night Manager keeps getting rid of its strongest characters in ways that don’t really matter to the story, we think the show itself isn’t worth watching anymore and we might stop watching it altogether.

New episodes of The Night Manager season 2 are available on BBC One and iPlayer every Sunday evening. You can watch The One Show on weekdays at 7pm.

The latest issue of Living Legends is now available, and it’s dedicated to the incredible Dolly Parton! You can purchase ‘Dolly at 80’ at newsstands or online for only £8.99.

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2026-02-02 01:20