“The Diplomat” Season 3 hits Netflix this week and since it’s been a year since Season 2, you might need a little help jogging your memory on where we left things with Kate Wyler and her crew.
Season 2 of the series wrapped up in November 2024 and, earlier this year, the Netflix series scored an early season 4 renewal. When last we saw Kate (Keri Russell), she had finally warmed up to the idea of becoming Vice President, only to have the rug pulled out from under her in a wild way.
Here’s what you need to remember.
How did ‘The Diplomat’ Season 2 end?
At the end of last season, Kate finally found out who was truly behind the attack on the British military ship HMS Courageous. It was Margaret Roylin (Celia Imrie), who did it behind the back of the Prime Minister, so as not to implicate him in any way.
The thing is, Roylin didn’t come up with the idea on her own. It was suggested to her by none other than Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney). After Kate and Hal (Rufus Sewell) let Penn know that they know her secret, she’s prepared to step down as VP, at least until the possibility of becoming nuclear czar comes up.
Of course, placing someone who convinced a nation to attack itself in charge of nukes is not wise. So, Kate and Hal decide to rat out Penn to the Secretary of Defense — or at least, Kate does. Hal, doing his typical Hal thing, decides instead to take the news straight to the president.
The news comes as quite the shock — one big enough to literally give the president a heart attack.
In the final moments of the episode, we see Kate get a call from a panicked Hal informing her that the president is dead, while Secret Service agents swarm Grace, who is visibly confused.
With the president’s death, Grace Penn will now take over the office of the presidency.
Why did Grace Penn tell Roylin to facilitate an attack on her own country?
The short version is, Penn was trying to preserve US access to a nuclear base in Scotland. Had the UK not undergone a unifying tragedy, Scotland might have seceded, and future military strategy for the US would’ve been compromised.
So what happens now?
Well, we’ll find out in Season 3. Kate and Hal certainly didn’t make a friend out of Grace Penn, and now that she’s president, she could take one or both of them out of play.
