In John le Carré's novel, Major Lance Corkoran, the right-hand man of Richard Roper, is portrayed as a figure of great importance for various reasons—his unwavering loyalty and ruthlessness, most notably, but perhaps his most crucial role within Roper's operations is his signature on the documents. None of Roper's shady deals can be traced back to him, but an endless succession of prison sentences awaits "Corky," whose dirty fingerprints are all over the paper trail. Corky's commitment to causing harm in the world is absolute—he is a dedicated minion, with a more readily apparent zest for evil than his nefarious boss. For an outsider like Jonathan Pine to rise above him within the organization is a stretch, and it's questionable whether the narrative can pull it off convincingly in such a short timeframe.
However, this episode offers a compelling argument for Corky as the most unsettling presence on the show, given his instant and unshakable skepticism toward Pine from the start. Some of this may be professional jealousy, a fear that the "second-worst man in the world" might pair up better with the first, despite Corky's longstanding relationship with Roper. But much of it is pure instinct, a bad guy's uncanny ability to perceive the legitimacy of one of his own, and Pine's narrative seems too convenient by half.
You might recognize the actor who plays Corky, Tom Hollander, from his performances in costume pieces like Pride & Prejudice or Pirates of the Caribbean—or, if you dig deep for good television, the lovable British sitcom Rev, which he co-created and which also stars The Night Manager's Olivia Colman. But the pertinent entry on Hollander's résumé is In the Loop, Armando Iannucci's lacerating political satire. As Corky, Hollander pulls off a reversal on his In the Loop character, a government functionary who sparks an international incident by allowing the word "unforeseeable" to escape his lips in a press interview. Corky is more like Peter Capaldi's ornately vulgar politico, a creature of delicious malevolence.
While asserting his toughness is important, Pine must be careful not to antagonize Corky, for fear of blowing up the operation. This puts him in a defensive position, which Corky exploits ruthlessly. He asks Pine to bring him back "one of those darling serrated knives" on his trip to town. When Pine announces that he's going for a walk along the beach, he advises him to "fill [his] pockets with stone, walk into the sea, and keep going." And when it comes to Roper's beautiful wife, Jed, who dangles her legs provocatively in the pool, he makes himself clear: "If you lay one hand on that precious fruit, like the Belgians in the Congo, I'll chop it off—and I don't mean the hand."
Jed doesn't make such restraint easy. With Pine now penned in the gilded cage along with her, their mutual attraction becomes an immediate and palpable tension and danger. She parades herself in front of him shamelessly, and true intimacy follows: "I don't care who sees me naked," she says. "I do care who sees me crying." The previous episode established Jed's tragic confinement as Roper's girlfriend, terrorized into a life of leisure at his side. Though we haven't seen Jed and Roper spend much time alone, her misery seems of little concern to him, just as the miseries of those on the receiving end of his illegally traded arms are not under consideration. She's a prize he's happy to display and abuse at his convenience.
The episode makes a strong theme out of women suffering at the hands of powerful men. The opening has Roper and company at a decadent birthday party in Madrid.
Returning to Mallorca, Sandy Langbourne (played by Alistair Petrie), a pivotal business partner to Roper, brazenly indulges in a tryst with the nanny, paying little heed to preventing his wife Caroline (Natasha Little) from uncovering the truth. As Pine listens with a sympathetic ear, she casually reveals that the men are hatching a plan for an arms deal with Apostol's Lebanese acquaintance, providing Operation Limpet with the much-needed sting opportunity. "I just want to be honest with someone in this world," Caroline declares. While Roper may struggle to see through Pine's ruse, Caroline and Jed discern an ally and offer him valuable intel. Yet perhaps even more insightful is the contribution of little Danny, whose innocent innocence is a rare oasis in the Roper compound.
In a comical scene, Danny divulges to Pine all about his father's secret study, the unique key required to unlock it, and the alarm system that would set off if he were to open the door for any reason. Earlier, Danny fails to notice the peculiar conversation Pine was having with a tourist about the "ancient Egyptians," too absorbed in his pistachio ice cream. The child's sweetness, openness, and innocence make him perhaps the only person on the Roper estate who has escaped his father's influence.
