The third episode of “The Night Manager” was all about Shan testing the waters before he could jump in. He forms a bond with Taha, and the kid voluntarily starts speaking about his own family, the good and the bad, in a rather somber tone. Taha is not mad at his parents; he is just not happy with his current situation. Shelly is becoming lenient by loosening his grip on the life he is leading. By letting Shan in, Shelly is becoming more accommodating and trusting towards the people around him. Brij, on the other hand, tries to prove Shan to be a mole who can be dangerous for their empire. Though Brij’s instincts are right, Shan and Lipika catch on to his ploy and distract him so that he can stop focusing on Shan once and for all. Brij is a shrewd man who is the right person to be sitting next to Shelly to guide him and make him understand who to trust. This does not prove that Shelly is not smart. His instincts are always right too, but this time he is carried away by Shan for rescuing his only child, and he is forever indebted to him.
A group of rich school students are driving at high speed when they are chased down by the Narcotics Control Bureau. The kids don’t have anything on them, and the NCB plants a packet of drugs on the kids. One of the kids turns out to be the son of the lawyer who represents Shelly. His name is Jeevi, and he is one of the most sought-after lawyers in the city. It is understood that the lawyer’s kid has been caught trying to nab Jeevi and obtain information on Shelly and Brij Pal. Lipika and her team are responsible for the arrest of Jeevi’s son when the NCB had planted the drugs just to get to Jeevi at the earliest. He is given the option of letting his son stay in jail or informing the agency about Shelly and Brij, the business relationship they share, and how much power Brij has in him to control Shelly from here on. Needless to say, Jeevi agrees to speak to the agency and rat out the men in power. Is this the beginning of the end for Shailendra Rungta and Brij Pal?
Shan finds himself eerily attracted to Kaveri, but he cannot let her distract him from the big plan he has to begin working on. Shan and Taha, on the other hand, are closer than ever, and Taha makes sure to keep Shan always around him as a brother he never had. Shelly, on the other hand, is struggling to find funds for his business as his previous Turkish businessman refused to make a deal with him. Their only option is to find out if the Saudi businessman would be interested in helping with the funding they are looking for. Shelly is keen on getting the Saudi businessmen on board and throws a kid’s party by inviting all his friends and family, hoping to get the Saudis in his kitty. Shelly and his business partners have never been so desperate to get a business deal done, especially for Shelly, who has been a shark in this field for years. Shan, on the other hand, gets hold of Taha’s phone to get his mission going and starts taking pictures of things that are of the utmost importance to him and Lipika. In the hunt to procure more information, he runs into Kaveri, who is crying her heart out. This is a scenario Shan never thought he would get into, and Kaveri, on the other hand, feels naked in front of him, showing her vulnerable side. Kaveri is hiding a secret, which is evident from how she speaks; Shelly is unaware of her past. Shan is using Taha’s phone because he knows the kid’s phone will never be tracked and has the least amount of security threat installed on it. Shelly would want his son to have a normal life, not one with guns blazing and constant clashes. Shan, though he feels sad to let Taha down, has no option but to conduct his work as instructed for the operation to be a success.
Kaveri and Shan have an awkward moment together when she reveals she hates to be seen crying by people she hardly knows. It makes her feel exposed. Kaveri is in the dark about what Shelly does, but there is more to their marriage than they make it out to be, which is why she ends up crying all alone under different circumstances. As Shan puts his operation into motion, Taha and Shan plan to prepare an elaborate dinner for Taha’s family and friends. Shan purposely messes with the microwave oven in the kitchen, which catches on fire, forcing the home security team to switch off the electricity for a while. This was the only way Shan could gain access to Shelly’s study and gather intel for Lipika. Shan manages to find a way into the study, takes pictures of all the important documents on Taha’s phone, and sends them to Lipika for her to peruse, in case she comes across any vital information. Shan is not aware at this point of the scale of money that Shelly makes or how this business is carried out. All he is aware of is the importance of making sure all the intel he has gathered needs to reach his boss. On the way out, he is confronted by Kaveri, who asks him what he is doing in the bedroom and the study. Out of desperation, he reveals that her husband is not a shipping magnate but an illegal arms dealer who provides guns and ammunition in war-torn countries. Kaveri is taken aback by the information she has heard from Shan. It is surprising to comprehend that Kaveri was not aware of the business her husband was in, and that she blindly followed him wherever he took her and Taha.
Kaveri and Shan are interrupted by Brij. Kaveri covers for Shan by making up an excuse about his presence there. Kaveri manages to save Shan from Brij’s wrath, maybe because she has feelings for him, and she probably does not want to let go of him as of now, wanting to keep him closer to her and hoping to find out more about Shelly. Kaveri’s past is yet to be revealed, and her intentions behind saving Shan from Brij will be unclear unless the audiences know what Kaveri wants from this marriage. Brij is still not completely believing anything Shan says or does, and he does not hesitate to threaten to kill him.
At the party hosted for the Saudi businessman by Shelly, the said Saudi refuses to come to the party, as stated by Jeevi, Shelly’s lawyer. Jeevi states that Brij’s alcoholism and lifestyle are the main causes of the said Saudi businessman’s unwillingness to make a deal with them. Brij is gay, and he does not hide his sexuality from the world. This does not bother Shelly, Jayu, Jeevi, or anybody close to them, but since his lifestyle might severely affect their future business deals, Shelly will have to make sure to control Brij or have a man-to-man talk with him about the same. Business is something Shelly will not let anybody mess with, and Brij, being his closest confidant, also becomes the victim of this mantra.
Shan, though, starts conversing with Jayu’s wife, who is tired of her husband’s constant infidelity and of pretending not to know about it. This time Jayu is sleeping with the babysitter, which his wife knows, but she is a silent spectator to this charade. Shan helps her understand she should not be taking this behavior from Jayu forever. She deserves to be in a happy marriage, not surrounded by luxuries, and in return, all Jayu can do is to stay loyal. Shan is aiming at the wheels in the personal lives of people related to Shelly and starts churning to make sure slowly, and steadily, things fall apart and there will be no other way to piece it back.
Shelly requested that Brij join him in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the next day after the meeting. Brij is taken aback by this decision because he has always been by Shelly’s side. Brij, being a friend, sticks to the plan and reaches Riyadh a day after the meeting. Brij is still hurt by the fact that Shelly kept him away from the actual meeting. Shelly requests him to not be himself for a night till the deal is finalized. Though Brij promises, things go south within a few hours when Brij is caught receiving a massage from a male employee of the hotel. Brij is arrested, and the male employee accuses Brij of forcing himself on him. Shelly is livid to know Brij couldn’t stick to the protocol he had requested. Shelly starts wondering if he is trusting the wrong person after all. After all these years, Brij managed to mess up, with the full awareness that small mistakes such as these can lead to this deal falling through. The deal with the said Saudi businessmen falls through, and Shelly must make a quick plan to salvage the deal at any cost. Why is Shelly desperate to forge this business? Lipika finds out from the intel sent by Shan that Shelly and his business associates have reached a point of bankruptcy, and they cannot afford to lose this deal with the Saudis, even if it means keeping Brij away from it.
Shelly would do anything at this point to make sure his business does not sink to the bottom of the sea, and he wants the money to sustain himself and his family. Lipika is elated to have found this information, which will help tighten the screw on them. Shan is not aware of the progress that has been made when it comes to Lipika and her quest to bring down Shelly, but he knows something has changed. Jayu’s wife catches him sleeping with their babysitter, and she has had it with him and decides to leave him for good. She also reveals that she knows what they are into, and it is not philanthropy. Jayu, Shelly, and Kaveri are shocked to hear such proclamations made by Jayu’s wife. She says they have blood on their hands, which makes Shelly also wonder if she should be allowed to leave the island or end her marriage to Jayu at all. There is a possibility she will not be allowed to leave Jayu because she knows too much, and, in the future, she might become a liability.
After much speculation and thinking, Shelly decides to make Shan his business partner and sideline Brij from the business. Brij was a sharp man, but his one lewd behavior almost made Shelly lose everything he had worked for. Brij had to be asked to make way for Shan, who is younger and has much more control over his emotions than Brij. Shan is surprised to be offered a job as big as Brij’s, and he feels he will have to step into bigger shoes. Him taking over Brij’s seat would also mean Shan getting closer to more vital information about the company, Shelly, and his illegal arms dealing business. Shan takes up the offer, knowing this will not only make him as powerful as Shelly, but this position would mean he would have easy access to many accounts without being questioned by anybody part of the business. Hopefully, there will be a better explanation of why Shelly chose Shan over Jayu, even though Jayu has stayed with him longer than Shan has. Is this a ploy to get closer to Shan because, as the Godfather states, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”? Shelly cannot be considered naive at this point. He still probably does not fully trust Shan, but keeping him by his side will help him understand who the real Shan is—who has been rechristened Abhimanyu as per the new passport provided by Shelly. Shelly has a bigger plan with Shan by his side, and it will be interesting to see how Shan and Shelly get along.
