From how unexpectedly tactile they were from the start - forehead kisses, lingering touches - to that seriously heated pool scene in episode two, the tension between Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) and Teddy Santos/ Roper (Diego Calva) felt impossible to ignore in The Night Manager.
Now, the show’s creator and writer David Farr has revealed whether the connection many of us sensed while watching was imagined - or something far more than meets the eye.
Speaking about Pine’s season one relationship with Jed, played by Elizabeth Debicki, Farr explained: "Pine is a very strange and opaque figure even to himself, right? What was Jed to him in season one? Was he really in love with her? I’m not sure. He definitely was in the moment, but rather as an actor is when they play a role in a play. Then the play ends and the actor has to extricate themselves. Spies have that too. Spies enter worlds where they have to play real, but the problem is – and this is one of le Carré’s great themes as well - you get lost in the maze of that. You don’t know who you are. You don’t know what real love is versus feigned love."
He added that Pine’s dynamic with Teddy was not so different, saying to Variety: "He is at one level using Teddy in his operation. But two things can happen at once. I think there is a genuine physical attraction, which is new for Pine, and I stand by it."
That attraction is perhaps most evident in episode two, when Teddy "rescues" Pine after he falls into the pool, drugged and disoriented from the cocktail Teddy and his crew had fed him to lower his guard. As Pine drifts in and out of consciousness, Teddy lays his head in his lap, strokes his face and hair, cradling him almost like a baby - an intimacy that lingers long after the scene ends.
Farr continued: "There is a very particular way of him diving in that pool, and holding onto his shirt as he’s looking down at him in his arms like he’s Mary looking at Jesus. It’s a very Catholic erotic moment."
According to Farr, that physical attraction remained throughout the season, though it subtly shifted with Roper’s arrival, as Pine’s feelings became entwined with a need to protect, and ultimately "save" Teddy.
"I think he genuinely falls in love with Teddy, but in a slightly different way," Farr added.
Season two came to an end last night (Sunday 1st February) with a dramatic finale that saw not one, but two major characters killed off, leaving fans with more questions than answers. A third season has already been confirmed, meaning we can expect plenty more drama - and perhaps a few more secret romances - where that came from.
The Night Manager seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
