Fans of political thrillers may recall a critically acclaimed series called The Diplomat which premiered on Netflix in April of 2023. Despite the combined WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that plagued much of the industry during the months after The Diplomat‘s premiere, the show was quickly picked up for a second season, currently on pace to release on Oct. 31. Given how chaotic the state of real-world political affairs have been since the series premiere, you’d be forgiven if you’re a bit fuzzy on some of the show’s intricate details. Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a comprehensive recap of the events of The Diplomat season one, as well as a brief look ahead at what to expect in the forthcoming installment.
Needless to say, there will be full spoilers for the entire first season of The Diplomat ahead, so please feel free to bookmark this page and return later if you’re not fully caught up on the show. For everyone else, let’s dive right in, and see what we can recall about the compounding personal and international crisis’ faced by Keri Russell’s Kate Wyler in the show’s first eight episodes.
Introducing ‘The Diplomat’
When The Diplomat first kicks off, fans are introduced to an American woman with bold aspirations named Kate Wyler. Wyler is a thrill-seeking career politician, who has served her nation’s intelligence committee in roles across Pakistan, Lebanon and a number of other foreign locales with a hotbed of dangerous political upheaval. After landing her dream job as the ambassador to Afghanistan, she is abruptly pulled from the Middle East and reassigned to a position as US ambassador to the United Kingdom. Despite the slow-moving and boring political sphere of the UK, at least as she sees it, Wyler accepts this “promotion” as it paves a way toward bringing her greater power within the administration of sitting president William Rayburn.
Luckily, things aren’t all tea and crumpets for Wyler’s new role, as she has been specifically chosen to mitigate growing tensions between the United States, the UK and Iran, the latter of which has been accused of blowing up a British aircraft carrier just off the coast of the Persian Gulf. To make things even more hectic, Kate is joined on her journey by her husband, Hal, who is a career ambassador himself, embroiled in scandal for publicly sharing harsh words against President Rayburn’s administration. Though Kate is more than qualified to serve as the ambassador all by herself, she is often overlooked in favor of Hal, which puts a great strain on their already tarnished relationship. The two maladjusted diplomats seem to have no discernible boundaries between their work and personal lives, which leaves them headed directly toward divorce.
Wyler’s Future With the Rayburn Administration
While there are multiple plot lines running throughout the first season of The Diplomat, one major arc of the season sees Wyler being considered for a possible VP pick in the Rayburn administration. During the pilot episode, Rayburn’s Chief of Staff begins secretly probing her for the position because the current Vice President, Grace Penn, is expected to be ousted from office amid a multi-million dollar scandal. The press has already become wise to the story when the pilot episode begins, so the Chief of Staff is constructing a shortlist with Kate at the top. While there are a few complications with placing Wyler in the second-in-command spot, such as her rough-around-the-edges attitude and her penchant for being close to the action, the major problem is her own husband, who is chomping at the bit for a shot at the title.
Meanwhile, Kate and Hal work together to uncover the reality of who bombed the British aircraft carrier, which Iranian officials claim they had nothing to do with. Never a stranger to getting his hands dirty, Hal even organizes his own kidnapping in order to gain a direct line of communication with the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister. As the pair of diplomats inch nearer to a full understanding, their plans are continuously wrecked by the brash and unfiltered behavior of British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, who goes viral for threatening to pepper the nationwide of Iran with hellfire missiles.
Who Was Really Responsible for the Bombing?
Through her contacts with the Iranian government, Kate is able to eventually learn the true identity of the aircraft carrier’s attacker, though the answer only serves to make her more uneasy than ever before. Apparently, the attack was carried out by a Russian mercenary named Roman Lenkov. It remains to be seen whether or not Lenkov was hired by the Kremlin in an official act of aggression from the Russian government, though one thing’s for sure- the incident was unequivocally designed to make Iran look guilty. At first, Wyler suggests that the UK government freeze the bank accounts and assets of wealthy Russian foreign nationals within the nation, as a negotiating tactic to draw Russian officials into a discussion. The hot-headed Prime Minister unilaterally rejects this peaceful concept, as he would rather take to the battlefield and drop bombs.
As the first season of The Diplomat draws nearer to its end, Wyler and Prime Minister Trowbridge manage to meet in the middle, with a plan to financially back freedom fighters in Libya, who are facing off against Lenkov’s troops. Just before this plan begins to take shape, Kate and her partner, UK Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison, score a sit-down with the ambassador to Russia. The ambassador feigns aggravation at the pair, while secretly directing them to meet with a foreign operative, who ultimately reveals Lenkov’s whereabouts, signaling that the Russian military is not willing to stand behind the mercenary if he is arrested on foreign soil. Since the ambassador claims that Lenkov is hiding in Cap d’Antibes, France, Kate and Dennison take a quick trip across the English Channel to directly coordinate with the French Interior Minister.
Who Hired Lenkov?
After struggling through a number of international meetings to arrange for Lenkov’s arrest, the diplomats finally find a way to pull off the operation that works for everyone. Though Trowbridge was initially apprehensive of the entire plan, he eventually agrees to follow through as long as the British Special Forces were given international privilege to complete the mission. Though this is highly unusual, Wyler and Dennison are able to grease the wheels of international law to make it happen, and the plan moves into motion in the season one finale. In a shocking turn of events, Wyler is informed that the British Special Forces have been instructed to assassinate Lenkov, rather than arrest him. Neither the French authorities nor the US government have agreed to these terms, and Dennison seems to be left completely in the dark as well, meaning Prime Minister Trowbridge authorized the change of plans personally.
Kate seems to be the only one to put the pieces together in real-time, as she ultimately concludes that Trowbridge himself hired Lenkov to blow up the aircraft carrier, setting the events of the entire series into motion. This makes perfect sense, as the Prime Minister has been itching to enter into a heated armed conflict since he was first introduced, and many of his political talking points seemed to have been choreographed by foreign agents. While the British head of state being compromised should be the most shocking incident in the series, Kate and company are ultimately sidelined with more personal tragedy before they can call off the assassination.
How Does ‘The Diplomat’ Season 1 End?
As the entire Lenkov SNAFU plays out, Kate learns that her husband is arranging a one-on-one meeting with a member of parliament named Merritt Grove. She believes that Hal is doing this to leverage himself into a hands-on White House role, which would further complicate her status with the Rayburn administration. After demanding that Hal not take the meeting, Kate asks her US embassy contact Stuart Hayford to shut the whole affair down. As a result, Stuart and his aide Ronnie rush to catch Grove before it’s too late, and wind up right next to his car, just as Hal arrives. Right when the four begin to discuss their terms, Grove starts his car, causing a massive explosion.
Ultimately, The Diplomat season one concludes on a massive cliffhanger, leaving audiences with numerous questions. Did all four parties perish in the car explosion? Who planted the bomb, and why? Does Trowbridge successfully pull off his assassination of Lenkov? For over a year, all we could base our theories on was the final shot of Kate’s horrified face as she heard the news of the bombing before the season faded to black.
What Can We Expect in ‘The Diplomat’ Season 2?
Luckily, the trailer for The Diplomat‘s second season already clears up a few major questions about the entire affair, paving the way for the show to flesh out these plot threads and introduce new and exciting ideas. It appears as though Hal survived the explosion with significant injuries, though the other three parties have perished. Furthermore, it looks like Trowbridge is plowing ahead with plans to take on the Russians, maligning them for having allegedly “attacked us at sea and at home.” With danger lurking around every corner, and the threat of World War 3 looming over the entire political sphere, Kate Wyler and her trusted associates must work together to uncover corruption within the Trowbridge administration and beyond.
Those excited to catch The Diplomat season two on Oct. 31 have even more to look forward to in the future, as the series has already been renewed for a third season. Maybe this means we should be bracing ourselves for yet another shocking cliffhanger!
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