Diksha SundriyalTom Hiddleston returns as Jonathan Pine, who is pulled back into the world of espionage in the second season of ‘The Night Manager.’ The Prime Video series picks up ten years after the events of the first season, after making a quick pit stop somewhere in the middle to show Pine, and the audience, what became of Richard Roper. The sophomore season begins with Pine inhabiting a new identity so that he can have a chance at a normal life, working behind a desk. However, after a familiar face shows up, he is compelled to jump into the business of saving the world from evil men who deal in arms. What makes his journey even more complicated is the loss of a trusted friend. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rex Mayhew’s Tragic Fate Kickstarts Pine’s New Mission
While Jonathan Pine may have been on the field, working as a mole in Richard Roper’s operation, numerous people were working behind the scenes to ensure that his sacrifices were worthwhile. Rex Mayhew was one of them. Working in the Foreign Office, he was Angela Burr’s ardent supporter, who helped her see through the entire mission, ensuring that Pine wasn’t stranded in Roper’s operation for nothing. When the case is solved and Roper, apparently, meets a fate he deserved, Rex comes to the rescue again and gives Pine a chance to return to normal life. Being a part of Roper’s operation meant that Pine not only witnessed but was also involved in shady deals that ended up claiming lots of lives.
With the villain gone, it also meant that Pine, who had been outed as the mole, would be in danger of being targeted by Roper’s friends. So, when he returned home, Jonathan Pine was erased from the system, and Alex Goodwin was born. With this new identity, Pine continued to work for the Night Owls, a surveillance unit, where none of his colleagues were aware of his past. It was supposed to be a desk job, and for several years, it remains so, until Pine chances upon something that reminded of his days with Roper. When he updates Rex about it, he is told to leave the matter and continue living the life he has chosen for himself. But Pine, being Pine, cannot help himself and continues to follow the lead, ending up at a startling discovery.
He immediately calls Rex, who asks him for a meeting the next morning, saying that he wants to show Pine something. However, before Pine can make it to Rex’s house, he notices an ambulance heading towards it. It turns out that Rex has killed himself. Official explanation is that he took a bunch of pills and downed them with liquor in his barn when his wife was away. However, Pine has been around long enough to know that the timing is too suspicious, and what happened to Rex wasn’t suicide, but murder. This convinces him that he is on the right path and must continue working the case. This is the only way he can find out what truly happened to his friend.
Rex’s Death Confirms Douglas Hodge’s Exit From The Night Manager
The world of ‘The Night Manager’ is dangerous, with the characters going up against seemingly unbeatable enemies that can kill them on a whim. Having worked the job for a good part of his life, Rex Mayhew knew what he was up against, which is why, perhaps, he called Jonathan Pine. There is a chance that he realised he had flown too close to the sun and may not be able to finish the job by himself. The mystery of what he’d found out and what he wanted to share with Pine dies with him, but there is a chance that it had something to do with Richard Roper.
Considering that Pine had talked about it with him a few days ago, it would make sense that Rex had made a connection or found something that would push both their investigations in a new direction. It is also possible that he discovered something about Mayra Cavendish, the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, who was found to have met with Adam Holywell, a broker working with a mercenary connected to Roper. She does ask Pine if Rex has been “feeling alright,” while also subtly questioning him to figure out how close he is to Rex and how privy he is to his boss’ work.
At the same time, Rex, too, gives a weird speech about the work in the secret services, and how there comes a time when one has to pick between being a blind soldier or someone who takes a view. In both cases, the intel would have made Rex a problem for the villains, which is why they had him killed. Whatever happened to him will eventually come to light as Pine delves deeper into the world of a new arms dealer, Teddy Dos Santos. This also means that Hodge will most likely not return in future episodes, unless we get flashbacks of Pine’s past decade.
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