Tom Hiddleston's Spy Thriller Just Leveled the Playing Field Between Its 2 Most Powerful Characters

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Night Manager Season 2 Episode 4.

Slick spycraft aside, the dramatic hook driving The Night Manager's suspense is the power imbalance between hero and villain. Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) faces an uphill battle once he's pitted against Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), an arms dealer who's accumulated a kingdom's worth of riches and acolytes through violence. Pine's past with the British army lends him undeniable skills, but how can a grieving civilian who speed-runs through his informal espionage training measure up against someone who can execute his every whim without repercussions?

Against all odds, Pine evolves into the figurative David to Roper's Goliath; he topples an untouchable menace and lives to (not) tell the harrowing tale. Unfortunately, the Pine of Season 2 experiences a rude awakening once he discovers the smirking menace he thought he'd defeated has instead lived to scheme another day. In Episode 4's deliciously climactic final scene, Roper experiences a similar case of déjà vu upon learning the identity of the saboteur who's yet again destroying his carefully laid plans. Unlike 10 years ago, the unlikely duo's upcoming rematch positions them on equal footing.

Jonathan Pine Isn't the Underdog Anymore in 'The Night Manager' Season 2

Admittedly, Pine opens Season 2 at another disadvantage. Now an official and celebrated MI6 agent, he catches wind of Teddy Dos Santos' (Diego Calva) proclaimed ties to Roper. After a rogue mission ends in deadly failure, he scrambles to catch up by leading a tiny, united team in a last-minute operation. Once he uncovers Roper's death as the fake masquerade it is, Pine holds a distinct advantage over his foe: years of experience under his belt and some of the agency's best assets in his corner. They've taken numerous hits, especially given the corruption running rampant inside British intelligence, but they've also undermined aspects of Roper's long-established plan and, for a time, pulled the wool over Teddy's wary-yet-willing eyes.

That said, his impulsivity tends to be his Achilles heel. He refuses to let Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) work at the pace she needs to undermine their MI6 enemies; he won't risk Roper's survival rendering their past efforts "meaningless," and he's too terrified, overwhelmed, and furious to fairly judge her hopeless choice as anything more complex than betrayal and abandonment. Because he lacks patience, Episode 4's escalating danger forces Pine to reveal his hand too early — but it also means everyone's cards are on the table. Even though having Roper in his sightlines once again is an unfathomable blow, the ugly truth might be exactly what Pine needs to refine his raw fury into pure, single-minded focus. Between his slippery intelligence, determined grit, caring heart, and barely-buried trauma, the man can work miracles.

Richard Roper Is Still a Force To Be Reckoned With in 'The Night Manager' Season 2

Roper, having avoided death by resorting to his natural charm, lounges somewhere between a relatively decent position and being disempowered. He isn't rebuilding his criminal dominion from complete scratch thanks to reliable old connections and Teddy's devotion, but the man who considers himself a conqueror has been reduced to a captive — first in a miserable makeshift prison for six years, followed by another four trapped in Colombia, where he plays nice with local businessmen when he isn't hiding himself away. Roper understands the benefits of patience. Yet a man that prideful whiles his days away by restlessly biding his time, craving the instant his freedom and assorted comforts are restored to their excessive former glory — with the added bonus of claiming an entire country for himself.

Learning that Pine has been strategically ruining Roper's re-ascent is almost poetic: the main orchestrator of his downfall, the asset in whom he spotted enough similarities to mentor and mold. Of course, the fraudulent investor who tricked Teddy goes by the name of Jonathan Pine. Who else could become such a persistent thorn in his side? It's too early to gauge whether Roper's world has been as undone as Pine's was in the last episode, but by the way his jaw and face clench, we can assume that glimpsing his enemy's face again, even on a piece of paper, leaves the would-be king of the world stunned, infuriated — and maybe, just maybe, a little proud.

After 10 Years, Pine and Roper Are Evenly Matched in 'The Night Manager' Season 2

A decade after their first stand-off, Pine and Roper both move through the world like ghosts. To stretch the metaphor further, they've spent those long years haunting one another's thoughts. Their situation has evolved into a fight to the death, except they almost feel too intertwined to exist on their own; as Burr tells Pine, "You were the one he was obsessed with." Whatever happens in the season's final two episodes and beyond, one thing's certain: these two finally trading matched blows on a level playing field should terrify everyone within their vicinity. Greedy and petulant, Roper is a magician who specializes in deflection and devastation. He's no longer the only one; Pine's exposure to the world's darkest corners has forged him into a blade as merciless as the man he's destined to hunt.