Season 3 of “The Diplomat,” Debora Cahn’s feast of political intrigue and personal drama, has landed on Netflix. If you thought the last two seasons were a headrush, you’re “read in” and ready. But before we jump into this cross-pollination of Sorkin-esque walk-and-talks and Rhimes-ian emotional bombshells, let’s get you caught up on the world-shaking events so far:
In “The Diplomat” Season 1, Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) wanted a meaningful job in Kabul. She got the splashy one in London. Kate is barely in her first pantsuit before she’s juggling international crises, a prickly marriage, and enough political landmines to make the numbers MI5, MI6, and 007 multiply. Rufus Sewell is Hal Wyler, the well-meaning but egomaniacal husband and fuse lighter, and Ato Essandoh’s Stuart Hayford is the Alfred to Kate’s Batman—impeccable, incredulous, and endearing. The first season is a political thriller and a top-tier nighttime soap with a master’s degree in crisis management. When a British warship explodes, fingers point at Iran, but the real puppet masters might be Russian mercenaries. Enter Austin Dennison (David Gyasi), the sharp British Foreign Secretary, and Ali Ahn as Eidra Park, the CIA station chief who walks between spotlights and shadows to keep the secrets of two nations from imploding.
By Season 2, “The Diplomat” preys on our connections to the characters, and the volatile situations get worse. We pick up right after a season-one-ending car bomb explosion, which leaves Hal and Stuart fighting for their lives and Kate navigating a diplomatic and emotional minefield. Every handshake is a potential trap. Kate and Dennison chase the truth behind the attack, caught between the mercurial Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) and the arrival of U.S. Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney), who brings her own political firepower and seething secrets. Meanwhile, Celia Imrie’s Margaret Roylin pulls strings with elegance. Complicating things further, Kate and Dennison are on a slow-burning romantic collision course. With alliances fracturing from Downing Street to the White House, love lines fraying, and the fate of global peace at risk, every episode brings another twist.
So far, “The Diplomat” is a scandalous international circus of secrets, survival, and political stunts. Today, Season 3 is queued up to go wild within the walls of power once again. Yet, most of the events of the 8-episode run are spoilers. There are no quiet moments, even when you think you’re being given a reprieve. Ambassador Kate has finally said the quiet part out loud: She wants to be Vice President. Her next step, accusing the current VP Grace Penn of homegrown terrorism, was strategic with only a touch of patriotism. Except, the truth behind his Vice President is a heart-stopper for President Rayburn (Michael McKean). Grace is suddenly the leader of the free world. That blunder doesn’t slow Kate and Hal’s relentless ambition. If chaos were a ladder, they’re already climbing to the top. The pair just isn’t as smart or “in the know” as they think. Lucky for us, they’re about to get educated, and it’s highly entertaining.
This season is centered on the power struggle between Kate and Hal. That tug-of-war is reflected in multiple pairings throughout the series: the Prime Minister versus the President, intelligence versus détente, and love versus career. In each case, it’s as enthralling as it is ugly, as hilarious as it is disastrous. Although we’ve spent three seasons with Kate, we rarely see what she truly feels; she wears an array of masks that obfuscate what’s underneath. This device gives us a leading character whose unmasking is a rollercoaster of emotions and motivations. This is good writing, creating a character with verve and dimension.
Alongside Kate’s interior conflicts, the first four episodes of this season go fast, spurred by mayhem and machinations. It’s hard to look away. But halfway through, at the beginning of Episode 5, we get a time jump that leaves us questioning how we got there. Those questions about the missing three months get answered. Yet, despite the scandalous messiness, the characters feel less astute than in the past, and the internal rationales are sometimes dubious. While new relationships seem forced rather than developed. Except for Kate’s growing bond with Bradley Whitford’s First Gentleman, Todd Penn. Todd is the standout of the season, and that’s among some thrilling character work all around.
Once again, creator and showrunner Debora Cahn (“The West Wing”, “Homeland”) squeezes the most salacious juice out of political intrigue and emotional fallout. The wit, power plays, and addictive drama don’t disappoint. Especially when domestic troubles—as in family issues—are mixed with the diplomacy, it’s gleeful. Surprisingly, President Penn and the First Gentleman have a real marriage, which might be the first time we’ve seen one in this series.
The third season of “The Diplomat” is D-rated—that’s not a letter grade but thematic alliteration. Season 3 is fueled by duplicity, disillusionment, diplomatic disaster, doomed romance, and domestic discontent on every level of society and politics. It’s one disaster after another, and that’s what makes the series engrossingly dynamic. Yet somehow it still finds humor in the failures of détente between states and lovers. It’s easy to see why “The Diplomat” is Emmy-nominated; this show deserves the praise.
Whole season screened for review. Now on Netflix.
