‘The Diplomat’ season 2 once again makes geopolitics ridiculously bingeable and sexy
Last year, as it premiered, The Diplomat quickly became one of the best shows on Netflix. With season 2, it’s not a stretch to count this political thriller by Deborah Cahn amongst one of the best returning series of the year as well.
Starring Keri Russell as the titular diplomat, Kate Wyler, the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Rufus Sewell as her husband Hal Wyler, a former U.S. ambassador, The Diplomat season 2 manages to make geopolitics bingeable and somehow ridiculously sexy once again.
The Diplomat season 1 ended with a bang, literally. Kate (Russell) was in Paris with U.K. Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi) to seek the French government’s support for the arrest of Russian mercenary Roman Lenkov, believed to be the one behind the destruction of the British carrier ship, HMS Courageous. She learned that the explosion was meant to be an assassination, and suspects the only person to benefit from Lenkov being silenced is the one who hired him, possibly the U.K. Prime Minister, Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear). As she confides in Dennison, a car explosion occurs back home in London, threatening the lives of MP Merritt Grove (Simon Chandler), Hal Wyler (Sewell), U.S. embassy deputy chief of mission Stuart Heyford (Ato Assandoh), and U.S. embassy officer Ronnie Buckhurst (Jess Chanliau).
The Diplomat season 2 picks up right where season 1 left off, with Kate and Austin being briefed by their respective teams and herded back to London. The fates of Hal and the others involved are gradually revealed. From the promos, we learned that Hal Wyler is alive; a little injured, but well. Other casualties have a major impact on this season’s events, however.
The promos also revealed two other key players with prominent roles in The Diplomat season 2. The first is Margaret Roylin (Celia Imrie), the U.K. PM’s sinister adviser who is key to untangling this whole mess. There’s also U.S. Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney)—the woman whose job Kate is supposedly up for if Hal and White House Chief of Staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah) have any say in the matter. Penn arrives towards the end of the season in episode 5, but her impact is no laughing matter.
It’s of course sad that The Diplomat’s second season is a truncated one, with only six episodes instead of eight, but I only say this because The Diplomat offers such a high-value binge that more episodes would go down the gullet just as smoothly. And yet, even just with six episodes, the season delivers a succinct and effective denouement to the Roman Lenkov plot, furthers the arcs of characters like Heyford and CIA Station Chief Eidra Park (Ali Ahn), and brings up new issues for our favorite “Geopolitical Barbie.” The pacing is excellent, the tension is tight, and the end of each episode makes you desperately want the next one.
There are two things The Diplomat gets absolutely right. First, the way it handles its politics. I’m not saying it’s all accurate; we humor it, of course. But you’ve got to admire the way the series handles the conversations between powerful heads of state and those running the show. It’s sharp, no-nonsense, and devoid of drama, and instead of being punchy, it feels organic and quite human, letting silences or the actors’ body language do the talking where words might feel pretentious.
There are some interesting characters to play with here, especially Russell’s Kate and Sewell’s Hal, who continue to pull you in with their chemistry and effortless charm. The series continues to let them make colossal errors of judgment and then leaves them to clean up their messes because that’s where they shine the most.
Other than those two, this season’s highlights for me have been Rory Kinnear as the very sus U.K. PM Nicol Trowbridge, who steals everyone’s thunder in every scene. His confrontation with Roylin is the high point of the season. The other highlight is Allison Janney, who cuts a formidable figure as U.S. Veep Grace Penn. The scenes between her and Russell’s Kate are delicious; they manage to touch upon their rivalry, mutual admiration, and the need for girls supporting girls in a male-dominated world, while also being subtly cutthroat about politics as Kate considers, for the first time, the position of Vice President seriously. I had certain expectations from the face-off after the teaser, but the series surprised me with its refreshing take on two women in positions of power being frenemies.
Secondly, I also have to mention Kate and Hal’s marriage. I love these two together and how the series tackles their love-hate relationship. It’s a dysfunctional one, sure, but there’s something about the familiarity of companionship like theirs that makes you root for them. I missed things getting heated up between the Foreign Secretary and Kate, but Hal’s mild jealousy over the knowledge that before he got blown up, his wife was going to have sex with Dennison, was just sexy! You can’t help but root for the man, who only ever wants his wife to think highly of him. The confrontation between Hal and Kate about his morality, Kate having to help Hal with his shoes, and being told that she doesn’t like Hal when he is being good … what an incredible portrait of a complex marriage.
Pun intended, but the end of The Diplomat season 2 is just as explosive as the end of season 1. The ending will leave you impatient for season 3, for which the series has already been renewed. The Diplomat is great at making geopolitics seem clandestine and sexy instead of droll and heavy, and gets us invested in Kate’s campaign to be Vice President. I’d happily donate my hours to watching more episodes if they decide to do a longer season (as long as they keep the pacing intact). Kate Wyler has my vote.
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