[For The Night Manager – “Part Four” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]
AMC Summary:
Part Four. Pine becomes part of Roper’s inner circle; Burr questions the safety of her source.
This Night Manager – “Part Four” would be better titled “They Finally Do It” … but instead we have the gloriously descriptive, “Part Four”. Our title works for two reasons, Pine finally sticks it to Jed and, in the main plot line, Roper finally does his arms deal. Technically, though it’s actually Andrew Birch who does the deal, signs the papers, and provides the retinal scan. This is also the episode where they finally reveal to us just how despicable Roper really is. of course, we’ve heard how he’s the “worst man in the world” but thanks to Angela Burr’s storytelling in “Part Four” we truly get the picture.
Speaking of “picture” this show integrates current cellphone technology into the story in a perfunctory manner. Why more spy stories don’t do this these days makes no sense. Of course spies would be using their phones all the time! It’s the most realistic thing about “The Night Manager” and gives it a sense of “now” that works. The episode opens with Roper explaining to Pine how he’s the straw man in the arms deal. He’ll play Andrew Birch and all the contract signing and dealing will be done in his name. Then Danny and Jed come in so Roper can say goodbye to his son as he goes back to be with his mother, location classified.
Speaking of classified, Burr has a secret meeting with Harry, an MI6 agent from her old days working there. Harry says Halo is Dromgoole, the head of MI6, and Felix is Langley in London. They’re falsifying MOD certificates with Harry’s help. This is corruption and fraud. So, a contrite Harry gives her helpful documents that she and Steadman analyze with their team. Through these docs, Angela finds out Roper and Langbourne are on a plane to Instanbul with a man named Andrew Birch. Burr then realizes that Pine may now be Andrew Birch.
Jed then confronts Pine, asking if he’s Andrew Birch, Thomas Quince, or Johnathan Pine. He says he can’t tell her. For some reason this mystery gets Jed really hot. So, they go up to his room and do it. Question now is whether Andrew Birch is a sentimental schmuck like Pine with his lady in Cairo or more like the douchebag he was as Thomas Quince in Devon – just lovin and leavin them. Or perhaps Birch is a new brand of blue-eyed babe. He certainly seems comfortable in Roper’s world now.
Meanwhile Roper talks with Langbourne about how Halo and Felix at MI6 are getting skittish. In fact, they’re extremely agitated because they now know Burr has Harry’s documents implicating them in the deal. Halo and Felix assume it was Apostel that snitched. So, guess who’s found dead at the end of the episode? Yes, Apostel’s a goner. This means we need to worry about Burr now. Our pregnant hero faces imminent danger from all sides.
The next day during the contract signing part of the deal the sellers do a biometric iris scan of Andrew Birch and take a look at his bank account, which miraculously contains three hundred million dollars. Pine’s come a long way from being “The Night Manager” now.
Part two of the deal takes place late at night on a cargo ship. The sellers then do another retinal scan on Birch and the purchase gets authorized. They give Birch/Pine special vodka and convey the arms from their cargo ship onto Roper’s trucks. The next day Roper, Langbourne, and Birch will fly out to the buyer with enough weapons to start a war.
Monitoring from her office Burr tells a coworker about when she first learned about Richard Roper. Burr calls it “School Sports Day,” an event she attended in Baghdad while stationed there. At an outdoor park families were playing sports and celebrating with picnics when someone released Sarin gas at the event. This tortured and killed 112 children and 58 adults. Burr saw Richard Roper at “School Sports Day” taking it all in and then he started selling Sarin soon after. So, she knows Roper got the idea from seeing that horror. What she saw as a tragedy he saw as a great way to make lots of money. This was the origin for Burr’s obsession with nailing him.
Late that night Jed calls Pine “just to know he’s there” but instead of cooing back, he tells her to get off the line. Pine knows Burr’s team is listening. The next morning Angela says Pine’s in too deep. Pine retorts that Burr can’t nail Roper without him. She’s certain to get him, though, as long as the operation goes forward. Angela still insists Pine has to flee the operation but Instead he notifies Roper that being monitored by police. So, Roper calls for a full evacuation, everybody on the road in ten minutes. Pine leaves with Roper, off the grid now and officially pisses off Burr who’s mad pregnant at this point. Anyone familiar with pregnancy rage knows that the real action hasn’t even started yet on “The Night Manager” so stay tuned for the inevitable blitzkreig.
–Katherine Recap
