The return of Netflix’s political thriller The Diplomat is among the few TV exhibits from the streaming large that I principally counted down the times for ever since that explosive Season 1 finale. And now that it’s right here — and, unsurprisingly, already dominating Netflix’s US High 10 chart — I’m blissful to report that it not solely lives as much as the usual it set throughout Season 1, however I’d even argue this season will go down as top-of-the-line Netflix TV collection of 2024.
In the event you’re keen to droop a certain quantity of disbelief (The Diplomat, in spite of everything, is a drama and never a documentary) the present from creator Debora Cahn provides fairly an entertaining trip. I do know I shouldn’t should level out that caveat, however after I see takes like this one — from a curmudgeon at Forbes who thought the ending of the brand new season didn’t ring true or no matter — I really feel that it’s value declaring the above truth as soon as extra. The Diplomat is a TV present, and a rattling good one.
Listed here are 5 the explanation why I truly suppose it’s among the many better of Netflix’s TV releases this 12 months. I’ve completed the brand new season, by the way in which, so be forewarned: There are *spoilers* forward.
The Diplomat looks like a cross between Homeland and The West Wing
The Diplomat’s influences rank amongst among the biggest political TV exhibits of the trendy period, and that’s not accidentally. Cahn truly minimize her tooth on, look ahead to it, each Homeland and The West Wing. Which is to say: In the event you have been a fan of each exhibits, Season 2 of The Diplomat must be particularly proper up your alley.
The story this season, with American ambassador to the UK Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) racing to unravel what seems to be a lethal false flag assault, makes the present really feel like an espionage thriller tucked inside a walk-and-talk-style political drama. Allison Janney’s Vice President Grace Penn — the veep who Kate is definitely being groomed to switch, through her posting in London — additionally comes throughout the pond for a satisfyingly dramatic go to with Kate.
Lengthy story quick, there’s a purpose each the viewers and critics’ scores for The Diplomat’s new season are larger this time round.
The facet characters are simply as attention-grabbing as the primary forged
One more reason for the largely optimistic response to the brand new season of The Diplomat has to do, I believe, with the attention-grabbing facet characters — all of whom have been completely forged and who haven’t any hassle maintaining your curiosity when the present’s leads are off doing one thing else.
I may watch Russell’s Kate and Ali Ahn’s CIA station chief Eidra Park all day. Park, actually, is such a mannequin of unshakeable competence that I truly want she was an intelligence skilled in actual life. Rory Kinnear’s smug UK Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge is a cyclone of impulsivity, and Kinnear performs him as such a live-wire that you haven’t any hassle believing he’s accountable for the false flag assault on a UK ship that Kate is investigating — an assault which can also be related to the London bombing on the finish of Season 1.
Different pleasurable facet characters embrace Ato Essandoh’s deputy chief of mission Stuart Heyford, a dependable subordinate for Kate who spends the primary few episodes of this season recovering from the bombing that wounded him along with Kate’s husband Hal (Rufus Sewell). An especially likable character, Stuart can also be Eidra’s romantic curiosity — a pairing you can’t assist however root for.
This season pulled a nice head pretend
I discussed the false flag assault above, which is very core to the plot this season. I do know I’m not the one one who was form of satisfied that Trowbridge was as much as no good and virtually definitely had one thing to cover — seems, it was truly rogue parts in his authorities who wished to provide the UK a “unifying occasion,” within the type of an assault they may blame on Russia in an effort to cease the momentum of Scotland wanting to interrupt away from the empire. The PM didn’t know a factor about it, opposite to Kate’s suspicions.
Conservative get together operative Margaret Roylin, a Trowbridge confidante, is definitely the one who pushed the concept of a false flag assault with the goal of rallying the nation across the PM. She enlisted two far-right members of parliament within the scheme. However, come to search out out, the concept didn’t originate with the conniving Roylin. The concept for the plan truly got here from …
ALLISON JANNEY!!!
That’s proper. Not solely is Janney’s presence a welcome addition to Season 2 of The Diplomat, however she make nice use of her paltry display time this season by stealing scenes and turning out to be a low key troublemaker.
As Vice President Grace Penn, Janney’s portrayal has all of the gravitas that West Wing followers got here to like. Moderately than the White Home press secretary, although, right here she performs a veep who’s on the verge of being pushed out of workplace on account of a scandal involving her husband. Kate, as we’ve famous, is the White Home’s potential substitute for her, which makes Grace’s go to to London within the wake of the bombing all of the extra awkward.
Grace is there to shore up the alliance and to softly steer the UK’s response to the supposed Russian assault. Kate, although, finally figures out that Madame Vice President was truly the one who set all this in movement — however our favourite diplomat will get greater than she bargained for when she confronts Grace.
The latter, who makes use of a big map of the world as a prop in her response to Kate’s accusation, considerably condescendingly factors out to the ambassador that every one kinds of dangerous issues would comply with from Scotland breaking away from the UK. That democracy is definitely going out of vogue worldwide, and holding the world order collectively typically requires disagreeable selections to be made.
And that brings us to the season’s surprising finale.
The cliffhanger
Season 1 of The Diplomat delivered a whammy of ultimate episode, with the bombing that left a number of characters’ fates up within the air, however the sophomore season took issues to a complete new degree with its last episode.
Mainly, Kate and Grace go for a stroll whereas Hal tries desperately to succeed in his spouse by cellphone. It seems that Hal — a seasoned former diplomat himself — has gotten maintain of POTUS and instructed him that Grace is definitely the one who conceived the false flag assault. At which level, POTUS has a coronary heart assault from the shock information and dies proper there on the spot. The very last thing we see earlier than the credit roll is a military of safety personnel making a mad sprint for Grace, who’s now the president by default, whereas a dumbstruck Kate has simply been instructed by her husband what occurred.
Was it an over-the-top, sort of outlandish ending? Certain. Am I dying to see what occurs subsequent? Clearly! For my part, The Diplomat is true up there with among the finest Netflix TV collection of the previous couple years, and Season 3 goes to be absolute journey. Amongst my last ideas:
Will Grace, as POTUS, faucet Kate as to be her veep — a form of maintain your enemies nearer sort of factor? That might be a terrific flip of occasions, despite the fact that it might additionally sort of undercut the title of the present. It might additionally make for a fair juicier sequence of occasions if Grace’s husband’s scandal nonetheless comes up, Grace has to depart workplace, and … Kate strikes as much as the Oval Workplace?
If I needed to guess, I believe Grace will title Kate as the brand new Secretary of State. This present is titled The Diplomat, in spite of everything.
