The stark contrast between the book and the series is a telling tale. While Le Carré spares our intrepid hero and Roper's embattled mistress, he affirms the systemic corruption of River House, which allows elite criminals like Roper to operate freely and actively obstructs Burr's attempt to bring him to justice. Alas, the series outpaced my reading of the novel, but from a plotting standpoint, that's a deeply pessimistic conclusion.
In contrast, David Farr and Susanne Bier's adaptation is virtually all silver linings. Corky gets killed. Burr redeems herself from professional embarrassment and finally gets her man. A second big arms deal literally explodes. Roper gets taken away - not by the bribable authorities, but by the vicious buyers who just lost $300 million on the deal. Burr's foil at River House is brought to justice. Pine and Jed may not live happily ever after, but after Jed reunites with her son, that seems in the cards too. And for the cherry on top, here's the final exchange of the series:
"Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" asks the Hotel Nefertiti staffer.
"No, thank you. Nothing at all," replies Pine.
Given the choice between sinking into Le Carré's sour ambiguities and delivering the super-happy, fist-pumping ending we probably desired, the makers of The Night Manager have opted for the latter. If the calculation was that viewers would find a just ending hugely satisfying, then the show has succeeded on that front. Corky was a venal sleaze who deserved to die. Roper is an arrogant villain who deserved to get cut down to size. Burr and Pine are people of integrity who risked their reputations and their lives on a dangerous mission, so they deserved to be rewarded. Jed was terrorized and abused, so she deserved a reunion with her son, who's now a stranger to her. But in the words of William Munny, Clint Eastwood's character in Unforgiven, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." Le Carré glares skeptically at the likelihood of just outcomes in a corrupt world; Farr and Bier want to leave us on a high note.
The sixth episode is a tense, rousing final hour, but it confirms my suspicion that The Night Manager isn't as smart and sophisticated as it appeared to be at the beginning. Last week, I questioned the seriousness of its intersection with real-world conflict, and this week, its departure with reality is complete. (Though again, not unsatisfying.) It opens with Burr getting dressed down by her River House superiors for blowing the border raid on Roper's trucks. That marks the end of her operation - and should mark the end of her career - because she no longer has the resources to lay another trap for Roper. It also leaves Pine exposed, without any hope for extraction - or does it?
A single call from Pine in Cairo rekindles her mission, with the stipulation that she and her American companion must navigate the task undercover. (They're probably footing the bill for that luxurious hotel room.) While it may seem a bit far-fetched, there's a thrilling satisfaction in seeing Burr in the field, actively participating in the elusive pursuit of her years-long obsession. And it's exhilarating to witness Pine assert her dominance over Roper, even after his cover is blown. When Pine uses her smartphone to blow up the weapons trucks, it's a spectacle to behold. And when the buyers realize Roper doesn't have the $300 million for a refund, also due to Pine's intervention, it's a triumph.
But is it right? Is it clever? Is it just? The Night Manager rushes toward a happy ending at the expense of its own integrity. Pine gets her revenge on Freddie Hamid and Richard Roper, and perhaps no longer has to worry about Sophie Alekan haunting her dreams. It seems completely out of character for Burr, a woman devoted to the rule of law, to advocate for mob justice in having Roper carted away by men certain to execute him. Both are left seemingly sated by everything that has happened, with all loose ends tied up and nothing left to trouble them — not even the death of a lover that called Pine to action, not even the lingering taste of revenge for either her or Burr. If The Night Manager is Tom Hiddleston's audition for James Bond, then its creators have catered to him by reworking le Carré's book into a dry run, ensuring he's perfectly suited for the role.
