Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ picks up in the aftermath of a bomb blast that sends ripples down Kate Wyler’s personal and professional life. At the time, she is in Paris, making a shocking discovery that leads her to take her next few steps very carefully. As the theory about British PM Nicol Trowbridge being responsible for the destruction of HMS Courageous gains more ground, Kate also has to deal with the fact that a phone call she made led to her husband almost dying, her chief aid struggling for his life on the operation table, and one of his young employees meeting a tragic end. As her resolve to get to the bottom of the truth strengthens, she discovers that things are never as simple as they seem. SPOILERS AHEAD
The Truth About the Blasts Comes to Light
In the previous season, Kate and Dennison came to the conclusion that Trowbridge must be behind the HMS Courageous incident to gain more support for himself and keep Scotland from pushing for secession. They turn out to be wrong, and shockingly, Kate discovers that the idea to blow up the ship came from the US Vice President, Grace Penn. Keeping the UK together is a huge priority for the US due to the nuclear warheads they have stationed in Scotland. If the UK broke down into four independent countries, not only would it make the US’ standing in Europe weaker, but they would also lose access to the secret base in Scotland.
Penn’s idea was to keep the damage minimal but enough to distract the citizens of the UK so that they were also focused on fighting the enemy rather than fighting within themselves. She pitched this idea to Margaret Roylin, who went ahead with the plan without letting Trowbridge get any wind of it. But then, things got out of hand. No one involved in the incident could have the truth come out, but it did. Someone within the ranks of her government found out, and it was decided that Penn should be removed from her post, albeit quietly. Things were kept so hush-hush that even the US President didn’t know what his VP had done. His Chief of Staff, Billie Appiah, was one of the few people who knew the truth and was let in on the plan to act upon it.
Will Trowbridge Start the Investigation? Will He Resign?
To the world the reason for Penn’s ousting was blamed on the scandal featuring her husband, in which his corrupt practices come to light. This is the reason Kate is given in Season 1 when she discovers that she is being considered for VP. While things seem tied up on Penn’s end, her UK counterparts seem to have lost control. The car bomb and the killing of Roman Lenkov lead the VP to go to the UK and fix things herself. And sure enough, she hits the mark. Shortly before her arrival, Trowbridge discovers the truth and is shocked by the betrayal of his trust advisor, Roylin. It jars him so much that he allies with Austin Dennison, whom he detests. It is decided that the country deserves the truth, but instead of letting it all out at once, they will slowly deliver it in installments over the year. This would also give them time to investigate the matter and root out any and every person who was involved in this conspiracy.
At first, it seems that Trowbridge has made up his mind, but then Penn subtly plants another idea in his head. Giving the truth to people would cause a lot of problems for Trowbridge. Not to forget, he blamed Russia for the debacle, and if he accepted his mistake, it would give Russia a reason to justify its further attacks, as the UK would have lost its credibility to make statements against it. Moreover, the involvement of Trowbridge’s trusted advisor in what is treason would raise questions about Trowbridge’s capability as a leader, which means he would have to resign. Penn lets him know that bringing the truth to light will help neither him nor their ally, the US. And thus, Trowbridge decides he will reconsider his decision.
At home, his wife tries to knock some sense back into him, telling him to resign and set up an inquiry into the matter. When Dennison backs her advice, Trowbridge says he will do it, but then, his actions speak otherwise. He is told to let Tom, a trusted person in the inner circle, take over the investigation. This would be the first step, which would be followed by Trowbridge’s resignation. But when the time comes to actually execute the plan, he backs off, saying that it is not the right time. This clearly shows that he has accepted Penn’s advice and is more focused on keeping his power rather than letting the truth destroy him. However, this doesn’t mean that the truth will be hidden forever.
By now, a lot of people, including Kate, have found out the whole truth of the matter. She, for one, seems adamant about making the people in question pay for it. In Trowbridge’s government, Dennison will refuse to let up, and he might continue looking into the matter. He has tried to get Trowbridge out of office before, and there is a good chance that he might try it again. However, considering the sudden turn of events in the final scene of the season, it seems that the truth will have to stay hidden for a bit longer than expected.
How Did the President Die?
When Grace Penn arrives at Winfield and manipulates Trowbridge, Kate is highly impressed by her. She even starts to wonder why Grace is being pushed out of office and even suggests that she should fight to keep her place. But then, Hal tells her the real reason for Grace leaving office, and Kate realizes that she should take becoming the VP thing more seriously. However, Grace has regained her confidence, especially with Trowbridge supporting her following their meeting. She sees a chance to keep her job, which is ruined by Kate. Even when Trowbridge explains why she did what she did, Kate comes to the conclusion that it is time she left office.
The only way to get Grace out and ensure Kate’s election as the VP is to expose Grace’s secret. Kate believes that they should tell Secretary of State Miguel Ganon about it. This would not only do the job but also put Hal in Ganon’s good graces, considering the fact that Hal called him a war criminal, among other things. There is a mutual dislike between them, but Hal can curry favor with him by passing on this information and might get back the career he’d lost due to his crude remarks. Hal is ecstatic about the idea, but then Hal, being Hal, does something entirely unexpected and not in a good way.
Due to his dislike and distrust for the other man, Hal thinks that if he tells Ganon about Grace, the Secretary of State will take credit for the information and sideline Hal. So, he decides to completely bypass him and calls the President instead. Now, discovering that your VP has not only committed treason but has also laid the grounds for a possible war by attacking your longstanding ally who might turn against you does not go down well with a person. The President is so shocked by this discovery that his health takes a steep fall. The panic must have caused a heart attack, due to which he dies while Hal is still on the call with him. This means that the VP will now have to take over as President, which means that Hal has managed to kill the President of the USA with just his words while giving Grace more power rather than completely stripping her of it.
What Does Grace Penn Becoming President Mean for Kate?
While Hal is busy ruining Kate’s best-laid plans, she is with Grace Penn at Winfield. Following their conversation the previous night, Grace believes that Kate understands the reasoning behind her decision and will back out of the race. However, Kate makes it clear that if she is offered the job, she will take it. This leads the women to have an argument, where Grace tries to change Kate’s mind, saying that she is not adept for the job, which Kate tells her that while she knows she would have probably done the same thing if she were VP, Grace still needs to pay for her actions. Before the argument can be resolved, Kate gets a call from Hal, who breaks the news of the President’s sudden demise to her while also pointing out that Grace is the President now. At the same time, the Secret Service rushes to secure Grace, confirming the news for Kate. What does this mean for her?
It is one thing to make an enemy of the relatively powerless VP who is already on her way out of the office. It is an entirely different thing when the same woman becomes one of the most powerful people in the world while still holding a grudge against you. Because Kate wouldn’t be an elected official, becoming VP meant that the seat had to be empty, hence the push to get Grace thrown out. Now, the seat is empty, so to speak, as the VP has now become the President. One of her first tasks as soon as she assumes office would be to appoint the new VP. Had Kate not tried to double-cross Grace, she most likely would have considered Kate as an option, especially after Kate showed support to Grace, encouraging her to fight for her position. Now, however, things have soured between them. Moreover, Kate knows Grace’s secret, which could undo everything for her. With all this in mind, it seems entirely unlikely that Grace would choose Kate as her VP. But things might get even worse than this.
Now that Grace is the President, she will try her best to completely bury the incident surrounding HMS Courageous. Trowbridge will have her support to keep things quiet on his end, which will increase Dennison’s problem. At the same time, Grace would also want to do away with everyone who knows the truth, which means people like Kate, Hal, and Billie might lose their jobs or worse. But then, Grace knows better than that. She is smart enough to know that it’s better to keep one’s enemies closer. Moreover, for the short time that we have known her and seen her in action, it is clear that she is more focused on getting things done for the sake of the country.
From finding out the truth to discovering the reasoning behind her actions, we see a considerable shift in the portrayal of her character, which shows that perhaps she is not as bad as Kate believes her to be. Perhaps Grace will be above holding petty grudges and now, with real power in her hands, set her mind to getting things done her own way, though that also raises a lot of red flags, considering her history. At this point, we don’t know enough about Grace and her intentions to fully decipher the course of her actions in the future, which leaves Kate’s fate hanging in the balance.
Read More: The Diplomat: Who Was Behind the Blast? Is Trowbridge Guilty?
