Hiddleston does much of the heavy lifting, maintaining a lean almost studious presence on screen. The story moves slowly, but that restraint allows jeopardy to linger. By the end of episode two the series finally feels as though it’s stretching its legs and maybe even breaking into a gentle trot.
For UK audiences Night Manager series one sold itself partly on a starry cast: Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Laurie? Series two therefore has a lot to live up to, made more difficult because Laurie’s character who has were led to believe been killed off, and, so far at least, Colman only makes a short appearance in the first episode.
Still, Hiddleston does a lot of the heavy lifting, maintaining his characteristic post-graduate leanness both in physique and facial expressions. Whilst he’s good on screen the story moves slowly. This allows for the twists and jeopardy to land with more weight and to linger, though you’ll need to get past the episode one exposition. Things feel like they’re gaining momentum by the time we get to the swimming pool and the considerable pile of narcotics.
Series 1 felt far grittier. This is a refined slow burn which may well be absolutely ideal for the dark nippy winter months. As to whether it rewards remains to be seen.
