Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ throws Kate Wyler into an even tighter bind as a sudden change takes place in the administration. The second season ended with President Rayburn dying of a heart attack. This means that Vice President Grace Penn has just been promoted, which isn’t great news for Kate, because while Rayburn was alive, Kate was being pitted as the next VP. With Grace in the White House, people closer to her also come into the picture, which is where her husband, Todd, comes in. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Todd Penn Presents a Different Side of Political Life
Through Kate Wyler, the audience gets to see the intricacies of the government’s workings and what it takes to maintain the balance of friendship and rivalry between the two countries. In the third season, Kate takes a significant step further up the ladder when Hal is appointed the Vice President, and she becomes the Second Lady. Unwilling to give up her true calling as an ambassador, Kate decides to juggle the two jobs, but since being the ambassador takes precedence, she is almost always in the room when important decisions are made. This would have been taken away from her if she had resorted to simply the role of the Second Lady, and through Todd Penn, we get to see the life that would have been hers.
Married to the President of the United States, Todd Penn is closest to the most powerful person in the country, but at the same time, he feels utterly useless. He is a biologist, but he had to take a sabbatical from his job as his wife’s political career soared, especially since her sudden promotion from the VP to the President. Now, while Grace makes some of the most important decisions in the world, Todd is resigned to a life of mundanity. While he is always with Grace, they get less and less time together, as she is consumed with her work, leaving him to his own devices. While she is trapped in a room with other world leaders, he is made to roam the grounds of the building and do photo ops.
Todd’s presence also allows a deeper insight into Grace’s character. We see her as she is away from all the political discourse, while also explaining the choices she has made or continues to make. Because Todd knows his wife better than most people around her, he is also the one to note the things that may have passed the scrutiny of others. In fact, at the end of the season, it is he who points out the conspiratorial camaraderie between Grace and Hal, which later leads Kate to make a shocking discovery that threatens to upend the world as she knows it.
Bradley Whitford Brings Todd’s Keen Instincts to Life
The role of Todd Penn in ‘The Diplomat’ is played by veteran actor Bradley Whitford. This is not the three-time Emmy winner and two-time Screen Actors Guild Awards winner’s first foray into a show about politics. He has previously played Josh Lyman, the Deputy Chief-of-Staff, in ‘The West Wing,’ where he also shared the screen with Allison Janney. Reuniting with her on ‘The Diplomat’ was one of the main draws for Whitford to join the Netflix series. In an interview with Radio Times, he called it an “exquisite privilege” to be able to work alongside Janney. “I knew [the role] was playing Allison’s husband, and it was a show I already loved, and I was absolutely beyond thrilled. After all these years, to be able to put all this history we have in this sort of funky, weird relationship is really, really fun,” he said.
Janney, too, shared her excitement of working with Whitford again, calling him “not only an excellent human being, but also a wonderful actor.” She revealed that Whitford would make the crew laugh and would keep everyone happy on the set. Whitford has carried this strong work ethic and high likability factor throughout his career. Some of his more recent works include his roles in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘The Madness,’ and ‘Trophy Wife.’ He has also appeared in ‘Get Out,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!‘ and ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters,’ to name a few. With the release of ‘The Diplomat’ Season 3, he is also preparing for the release of his new projects, which include Netflix’s ‘Death by Lightning’ and the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s ‘Reminders of Him.’
Read More: The Diplomat: Is Nicol Trowbridge Based on a Real British PM?
You must be logged in to post a comment.