The Night Manager viewers livid with ‘horrible mishandling of queer storyline’ after season 2 finale

Warning: spoilers ahead for The Night Manager season 2 finale.

The Night Manager viewers are demanding to know ‘what the writers were thinking’ following a devastating turn of events in the season 2 finale.

Last night, the BBC spy thriller’s second outing came to a rather bloody end, nearly a decade after season 1’s dramatic climax left us all hungry for more.

In a high-action twist, Tom Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine watched on with horror as his meticulous plan unravelled, leading to a 10-minute showdown in the Colombian forest between Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) and the arms dealer’s father, Hugh Laurie’s Richard Roper.

It emerged that Roper had been one step ahead of them all along as Pine and his team attempted to orchestrate his demise, resulting in Roper shooting his own son dead for conspiring against him.

‘When you were a baby, you had the face of an angel… I forgive your immortal soul, but not your mortal one,’ he tells him before firing a bullet into his head, much to Pine’s distress.

‘Just so you know, Jonathan, my offer was real; we could have done so much together,’ the not-so-dead-after-all antagonist then tells Pine.

In those few seconds, Pine’s world crumbles, having shared a deep connection with Teddy, one so special that it led the arms dealer to be willing to betray his dad.

Throughout season two, Pine and Teddy had several emotionally charged interactions, from a pool caress to a steamy dance.

While nothing ever went further physically, writer David Farr wanted viewers to know that everything meant exactly what they thought it did, exclusively telling Metro: ‘I think their love… people have talked a lot about what kind of love it is. Is it homoerotic? I think there is attraction, but I think like in a lot of relationships, it goes in some sense beyond just attraction into something that is about a real, genuine care.’

As such, fans of their sizzling chemistry are raging that another queer love story has come to a premature end with such unnecessary brutality.

Taking to X, audiences raged that the ‘unthinkable’ had happened, with some even declaring they are ‘done’ with the show ahead of its third instalment.

@eIevenriver vented: ‘#TheNightManager just did the unthinkable, you really have to hand it to them. Yes, Jonathan Pine is bi, we’ll confirm that Teddy is his lover but no we will not let them kiss, we will kill Teddy like we killed all other queer characters. What on earth were they thinking?’

They added that it made for ‘the bleakest hour of television [they’ve] seen in ages’.

@DavidOpie branded the ending ‘horrendous’ and lambasted the writers for their ‘horrible mishandling of the queer storyline’.

In his review for Digital Spy, the journalist added that Teddy’s death was ‘predictable’ in continuation of ‘the archaic laws of TV’ in which the ‘deviant’ LGBTQ+ character has to die.

‘You’d think things might be a little better in 2026, but no. Just when it looked like The Night Manager had progressed in the decade between seasons, the show took us right back to 2016 (or earlier) with a classic example of the “Bury Your Gays” trope,’ he added of the ‘offensive’ viewing.

Meanwhile, @RosalilyBea stated that the finale was ‘utter tripe’ after becoming invested for the full six-episode run, and despite @Seen_Been praising the cast’s performances, they also desperately ‘wished it had been different for once’.

@_thru_my_nights also believes Teddy’s death was wasted potential, believing there would’ve been ‘so much more to explore’ with his past trauma and beliefs, not to mention his connection with Pine, in the upcoming third act.

‘The way I knew Teddy was not gonna make it and I started deluding myself into thinking they’re just close like brothers or something so it won’t hurt as much’, penned a crushed @crxftmanor.

Others are also trying to salvage some comfort from Teddy’s final moments, given how Pine instinctively leapt to his defence, albeit unsuccessfully, as he was immediately tackled to the ground.

‘I think Teddy did felt loved. Right before his death Pine jumped forward to save him. He failed and for a moment the world stood still, then Roper shot him. Teddy saw what Pine was trying to do [sic]’, reasoned @G54977170.

While plenty do ‘understand’ why Teddy’s death was key for the plot heading into the last series, it’s still a bitter pill to swallow, especially given how Pine’s season one love interest did not suffer the same fate.

The first season saw him grow close to Roper’s girlfriend, Jemima ‘Jed’ Marshall (Elizabeth Debicki), and they slept together in episode four.

While Jed almost lost her life after Roper uncovered her part in helping Pine infiltrate his illegal affairs, she finished the season alive, fleeing back to America with Pine promising to visit her.

Of course, a stark contrast to the grisly way Teddy’s story ended this year.

So, as we continue processing last night’s events and the reign of Roper once more, what can we expect next in Pine’s story?

Farr tells us that Pine is ‘really lost’ now, which ‘opens up a very interesting and challenging space about season three in terms of what that’s done to him as a character’.

Still, despite the mixed reactions to how season two concluded, he’s hopeful that the ending as a whole will ‘satisfy at least some people’.

The Night Manager seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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