The Diplomat, season 2, continues with the same plot line that began in season 1. It’s of global concern who bombed a British naval vessel and killed over 40 British sailors. American Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) investigates several possibilities with tense, behind the scenes action.
The Diplomat season 1 ended with a car bombing that killed one of Kate’s staff and injured her husband Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) and Stuart Heyford (Ato Essandoh). The last two recovered slowly, but did recover.
The staffer who died was Ronnie (Jess Chanliau), the non-binary appearing character from season 1. I wasn’t happy the series fell into the trope of eliminating the only LGBTQ character when it came time for someone to die. It was disappointing in such an otherwise well written series.
Kate had been anxious to throw Hal out, but stuck by him when he was injured. The two of them might have a terrible marriage, but they were a well oiled team in terms of political and diplomatic intrigue. Hal is the ambitious one, hungry for power. He pushes Kate in secret ways to advance her career, and therefore his own influence.
Kate’s CIA contact Eidra Park (Ali Ahn) was her closest ally in working out the details of what really happened. Kate also mostly trusted British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi). The investigation took many twists and turns before a clear answer developed. In the meantime, plenty of incorrect scenarios were tested for truth. The series is full of tense, secret meetings, brilliant dialog, and plausible storylines about how diplomatic and political leaders behave behind the scenes.
The PM Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) actually had a couple of Russians assassinated because he thought the Russians did it. Meanwhile, Kate was sure the English had done it themselves.
Eidra was holding Margaret Roylin (Celia Imrie) in a safe house because she had answers. She wasn’t sharing them in a helpful way.
There was also the continuing plotline about the Americans back home wanting to replace the Vice President with Kate.
When Kate and her people thought they finally had the answer and were ready to make some bold moves, the Vice President showed up at a conference in Scotland where all the key players had gathered. The VP Grace Penn (Allison Janney) didn’t show up until near the end of the season, but she’s going to be a key character in season 3, which already has the green light. She blew holes in Kate’s theories about what happened and why.
Kate met Grace Penn with a paperclip holding her pants up. Their conversations were careful and guarded because Grace knew Kate wanted her job. Grace impressed Kate, and surprised her with the depth of responsibility and influence that a vice president holds.
The Diplomat was created and written by Debora Cahn. Debora Cahn is a genius with complex dialog, international diplomacy minutia, and expertly revealed plot twists. There were no women directors in season 2.
Because season 1 ended on such a cliffhanger, I waited eagerly for the final moments of episode 6 to arrive to see what the big cliffhanger for season 2 would be. It’s a doozy! Season 3 should be even more high stakes than what we’ve already had. I can’t wait to see it.
Seasons 1 and 2 of this outstanding series are both available now on Netflix.
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