The critically acclaimed The Diplomat has been discussed widely to be one of the best political shows from last year. Season one received great reviews, and it was wholeheartedly accepted by the audience to fill in the void left by House of Cards, another path-breaking Netflix original. The Diplomat centers around Kate Wyler, a newly appointed US Ambassador, who arrives in Great Britian and her husband Hal Wyler, an ex-diplomat. Their marriage is going through a rough patch, and at the same time she is stationed in London after the UK has faced one of the worst terrorist attacks. The investigation has begun, and amidst that, Kate is looking for an ally that will help her find her footing. The investigation needs to be executed in a calm manner, but everything around her is chaotic. Amidst all of this, Kate learns she is being considered for the post of Vice President of the USA, which puts her plan to divorce her husband on hold. There are many characters that surround Kate and Hal Wyler and help them form an informed decision as diplomatic tensions escalate.Â
Spoilers Ahead
Kate Wyler
The amazing Keri Russell, as Kate Wyler, is the new American ambassador to the UK, and she is looking forward to working with one of the critical allies of her country. She was thrown right into the deep end as the UK was facing one of the worst crises when their navy ship was bombed. The UK PM Trowbridge is desperate to blame foreign powers for the attack, while Kate wants to remain calm and help him find answers. Apart from that, her marriage to Hal Wyler, an ex-diplomat has been on the rocks, and she is considering getting a divorce. Her husband is keen on making the marriage work because he lets her know about the President of the United States of America wanting her to be his new Vice President.
Kate is not happy with Hal taking all the decisions for her, which is one of the reasons behind her planning to leave him. She finds an ally in Austin Dennison, the Foreign Secretary to UK PM Trowbridge, and there is a strange attraction between the two. Matters get worse when Kate assumes the UK PM is the conspirator of the bombing on the British vessel. She is not trusting of anyone who is close to PM Trowbridge and wants to get back to Hal after he is gravely injured in a bomb blast in London that killed an MP. Kate is still searching for the culprit and soon she plays host to the current Vice President Grace Penn, who arrives in London after matters between both countries get worse. Kate is confused if she should take up the Vice President post, as the offer is still on the table, or let Grace Penn continue her job.
Hal Wyler
British actor Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler is Kate Wyler’s husband and confidante. He is an ex-diplomat who was removed from his job for unruly behavior. His life as a diplomat is brought up through stories shared by Kate, who considered him to be ruthless. As a spouse, he is extremely supportive and helps Kate with her job because of his experience. However, he is also seen as a manipulative person who is using his wife’s position of power to help him gain an interesting portfolio in the White House. Hal and Kate are not on good terms now, but he is not keen on getting divorced as much as she is. He is the one who lobbied for Kate, making her the frontrunner for the post of Vice President of the United States of America. It is hard to decide if he is supporting his wife because he believes in her caliber or just to gain power and influence if she chooses to take up one of the most coveted jobs in the country.
Hal and Kate’s relationship is complicated, as she’d decided on divorcing him and giving up the VP job until a bomb blast in London in which Hal got injured changed the dynamics of the relationship. He joins her cause to find out who carried out the bombing as well as the British vessel attack. Hal hasn’t forgotten to encourage her to consider the Vice President job. He is very close to letting her know why Grace Penn is not right for the job, but he chooses to keep quiet, keeping in mind Kate is an ethical person and might choose protocol over logic. Hal is a complicated man, but he never forgets to lean on Kate and voice how much he needs her by his side.
Stuart
Ato Essandoh is Stuart, the deputy chief of mission to Kate Wyler, a man who is supposed to shadow her at all times. His relationship is strictly professional with Kate, yet they form a good bond over their time in London. Stuart and Eidra, the CIA station head in the UK, start a relationship that only gets complicated over a period. While Stuart is an old-school person, Eidra is not willing to jeopardize her post for the sake of love and a relationship. Stuart is one of the people with Hal Wyer who is seriously injured in the bomb blast, but he recovers slowly. Stuart has a different take on Kate after he is out of the hospital and rejoins the embassy. He is slowly recovering from the death of his colleague Ronnie, who succumbed to the injuries caused during the blast. Stuart wants to follow the rule book once he comes to know about PM Trowbridge and his possible involvement in the bombings. Stuart feels Kate might not be the right person for the job of Vice President, and he is vocal about it to his boss.
Eidra
Ali Ahn is Eidra, the CIA station head in the UK. The UK is a critical ally of the USA in Europe, and she goes out of her way to make sure the relationship between the two countries remains stable. There are times when both countries don’t trust each other, but to the media; they are supposed to be allies. Eidra is a crucial person in keeping that steady. She is a workaholic who is constantly updating Kate about her suspects on who might have bombed the British vessel. Eidra is also in a relationship with Stuart, but both plan to keep it discreet so that their work lives do not clash with their personal rendezvous. Eidra, however, is keen to find out what led to the bombings and if she should take PM Trowbridge’s accusations towards Iran and later Russia seriously.
Eidra breaks up with Stuart, and not long after that, the latter is gravely injured in the London blast. Eidra is in the loop with Kate Wyler, who lets her know about her suspecting UK PM Trowbridge of conspiring the terrorist attacks. Eidra agrees with Kate on many matters; she has a superior officer she needs to inform who would let her know how to take things forward, especially in this case. Eidra, just like Kate, is not trusting of anyone who is from the UK government.
PM Trowbridge
Rory Kinnear plays an over-the-top, dramatic, UK PM Trowbridge. Right from the start of the show, PM Nicol Trowbridge is on his toes since the terrorist attacks killed many British navy officers. He is keen on blaming Iran first, and later Russia, and wants to start war with either one of these nations. Kate is sent to pacify him and maybe make him consider not seeking conflict. It is easy to establish that PM Trowbridge lacks the political shrewdness to make the right decision to keep himself in power. He lets Meg Roylin make important political decisions for him, indicating that he is not as powerful as he lets himself to be. Even after the London bombings, he is kept in the dark by Kate Wyler and Austin Dennison because they believe the PM is of a volatile nature. The lack of political maturity almost costs him his job, which is why Kate believes he carried out the bombing of the British navy vessel and the bombings in London to use as an excuse to declare war and kill the person who carried out these attacks. These would improve his public ratings which would be ideal for winning him a second term as well.
Austin Dennison
David Gyasi, as Austin Dennison, the foreign secretary to PM Trowbridge, has ambitions to become the head of state as well. He is not a fan of PM Trowbridge, but he is keen to get to the bottom of the matter after the British navy vessel was bombed. Just like Kate, he is not ready to believe in the involvement of Iran or Russia and feels there is a bigger conspiracy in hand. Austin strikes up a friendship with Kate, and there is mild flirtation shared as well since the latter is on the verge of ending her marriage. Things go south when the London bombings take place. Austin is back in action to determine who caused extensive damage to the UK and why. Austin so far wants to believe Kate and her intuition. He believes in her theory PM Trowbridge had a role in conspiring against the nation, which is basically treason. He is willing to go after him at the cost of his career.
Grace Penn
Allison Janney joins the show as Vice President Grace Penn, who has to make a quick trip to London on escalating matters in the UK regarding Meg Roylin, an active radical person who confessed to some unspeakable crimes. Vice President charms her way into PM Trowbridge’s mind and convinces him to bury the truth as it might cost him his job because of Meg Roylin, a close confidante of his. Grace Penn is aware Kate Wyler is up for her job, and she encourages her to be a visually appealing person as well. She pretends to take Kate under her wing and groom her, but her real plan is to make Kate look incompetent. Her plan works as Kate begins to question her candidacy, as Grace comes across as someone who has experience serving the people as she has been elected.
Grace is very good at her job, but there are some secrets that she is harboring, and it might cost her her life and integrity. Her husband is about to be named in a scandal, and that is being sold to her as a reason for her stepping down from the post of the Vice President. The real story behind Kate replacing Grace cannot be revealed, as it would open Pandora’s box, which could lead to a spat between the UK and the USA.
