Four hours and 22 minutes into the series, The Night Manager (BBC1) finally delivered the scene it badly needed. Namely the money shot of the old adversaries Jonathan Pine and Richard Roper meeting, at a cosy hilltop restaurant, for the first time in nine years. The encounter was so bristling with tension, history and a weird toxic bromance that I wondered if they were going to drop their steak knives and snog.

The evil arms trafficker Roper (Hugh Laurie) told the British intelligence agent Pine (Tom Hiddleston) that he had an inexplicable affection for him. “You dream of me every night, just as I dream of you,” he said. Guys, guys, get a room.

It’s a pity we had to wait so long for the two main draws to spar because their dynamic, a sort of Harry and Voldemort face-off in light chinos, is the source of The Night Manager’s main energy, one that previous episodes have sorely lacked.

But here the dialogue crackled, Roper goading Pine about his father, offering him $50 million to deliver Roxana to him and walk away, and telling him that conscience and shame are the shackles of the slave. “Conscience is what makes us human,” Pine replied rather pompously, I thought. Oh, I know he’s the good guy, but he can be awfully self-righteous, can’t he?

Anyway Pine didn’t show much conscience when he admitted to Roxana (Camila Morrone) that he had lied, then commenced a mutual hate frottage with her. If this, along with their heavy panting, was supposed to show the fizzing sexual chemistry between them, I must say that I’m not convinced. Pine always looks like he’d rather steam press his trousers than take them off to have sex.

It was a strong and well-written episode, though, even if I didn’t believe for a second that the loose cannon Teddy (Diego Calva) would have passed up the opportunity to shoot Pine dead during that cliffside drama when Pine played him a recording proving the father he reveres, Roper, cares little for him, much prefers his other son Danny and has used him “like a dog”.

Instead Teddy broke down crying like a baby in Pine’s arms when he pressed his weak spot, telling him his loving sister was waiting for him. Are we supposed to believe, on this basis, that Teddy will now help Pine to stop the arms shipment, which will help start the rebel war? “You really did win his heart, didn’t you?” said Sally (Hayley Squires), who is being so woefully underused she must have been grateful for even a line as duff as that. No, in the real world, crazy Teddy would have shot Pine like a dog.

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Speaking of which, this is exactly what Roper did to his three beloved hounds, one by one — bang, bang, bang. Was it an act of love because he fears things are unravelling? When he was captured all those years ago his treasured dogs got gassed to death. Maybe he was protecting them from a similar fate or maybe he was just annoyed that one had been carrying a recording device on its collar.

Roper certainly hasn’t grown soft in his old age. He told Roxana that if she deceived him, he would send her back to her mother in Miami “in 31 shoeboxes, one box a day for a month. I’m sure we can keep you alive for a week”. Ah well. He can’t feed her “piece by screaming piece” to his dogs any more so I suppose a man’s got to improvise.
★★★★☆
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