Warning: contains spoilers for Season 1 of The Diplomat.
Netflix's The Diplomat has hooked viewers with its twisty political plot and an incredible central performance from Keri Russell, who has starred in everything from Felicity to The Americans to Cocaine Bear.
The first season of the political thriller may only be eight episodes long, but so much happens within such a short space of time. Plus, the season finale includes a plethora of shocking revelations—not to mention explosions—leaving fans desperate for answers. Here's what you need to know about the ending of The Diplomat Season 1.
What is The Diplomat about?
In The Diplomat, Russell plays Kate Wyler, a US ambassador who has worked fearlessly throughout her career to broker peace in countries afflicted by war and unrest. In an unexpected move, Kate is selected to become the US ambassador to the UK, a role she is wholly unprepared for. She's immediately thrown in at the deep end after the HMS Courageous, a British aircraft carrier, is attacked off the coast of Iran, leaving multiple Navy personnel dead. Kate is sent to the UK to show her country's support, while building upon the longstanding international relationship between the two countries.
As she tries to navigate relations between the US and the UK, Kate's personal life is thrown further into turmoil. Having already decided to divorce her husband, fellow ambassador Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), Kate finds herself in a flirtation with the UK's Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi). Behind-the-scenes, Kate is being considered as the next vice president, unbeknownst to her. But any candidate for VP would need to remain married, making Kate's situation all the more complicated. To make matters worse, Hal is vehemently career driven. Despite being blacklisted by the president for making some inappropriate remarks, he can't help but meddle in his wife's new role, as well as trying to secure a hot new job for himself.
Throughout the season, Kate finds herself at odds with the British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear). Tensions arise when Trowbridge seemingly blames Iran for the attack on the British aircraft carrier, in spite of evidence to the contrary. After convincing him that Iran wasn't responsible, Kate receives intel from a Russian spy confirming that Roman Lenkov, the leader of a Russian mercenary group, was hired to carry out the attack. This gesture leads Kate to believe that Russia wasn't involved, especially when they offer up Lenkov's location to allow for his capture.
What happens in the Season 1 finale?
Kate most certainly has her work cut out for her in the final episode of The Diplomat. After President Rayburn (Michael McKean) and Secretary of State Miguel Ganon (Miguel Sandoval) call off a retaliatory attack on the Russian Lenkov Group in Libya, Trowbridge is exceedingly angry. The new plan is to arrest Lenkov while he is on vacation in France, and although Trowbridge initially disagrees with this plan, he quickly relents.
In order to organize Lenkov's capture, Kate must travel to Paris with the British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (her crush!), where they can ask the French minister of the interior, Brielle Fournier (Micky Sébastian), for permission for British Special Forces to arrest Lenkov on French soil. She initially refuses, but Dennison reassures Kate that Fournier will reconsider.
Meanwhile, Kate's husband Hal is giving a speech at Chatham House, where he impresses a Tory member of parliament called Merritt Grove (Simon Chandler). Grove hopes that Hal can connect him to someone in the White House. With his wife out of town, Hal agrees to meet with Grove later that night, thinking that it may be beneficial to his own career. When Kate finds out, she's livid, and tries to reschedule the meeting with Grove, especially when her husband reveals that he offered to connect the MP with the White House Chief of Staff, Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah). Kate realizes that her husband is trying to leverage his own career out of the situation, which she sees as another nail in the coffin of their marriage. Deputy Chief of Mission Stuart Heyford (Ato Essandoh) and assistant Ronnie (Jess Chanliau) tell Kate that they'll handle Hal by attending the meeting with Grove instead.
In Paris, Kate attends an event at the Louvre, surprising everyone by wearing a long red dress, a bold move for someone who previously said they would only wear black. Kate has the opportunity to privately speak to Fournier, who gives permission for British Special Forces to complete their Lenkov mission. However, she also makes it clear that she's surprised the US would be involved in and "strongly lobby for an extrajudicial assassination." Kate realizes that the Brits never intended to take Lenkov alive, and she wonders if Dennison has been lying to her the entire time.
Kate takes off her heels and storms out of the Louvre, with Dennison following. She explains what Fournier has just revealed to her, but he is just as shocked as he is. They're finally able to figure out the mystery of who attacked the British aircraft carrier, which set this entire chain of events in motion. They decipher that the only person who would want Lenkov killed, rather than in custody, would be the person responsible for hiring him in the first place. As Prime Minister Trowbridge had quietly sanctioned the assassination, he must have hired Lenkov to carry out the attack on the British people. As for motive, Trowbridge is facing defeat in an upcoming referendum regarding Scottish independence, and fears that if he loses Scotland, his reputation goes with it. Presumably, he believes that by ordering the death of a terrorist, he will win favor with the British public.
Back in London, Stuart and Ronnie arrive late to Hal's meeting with Grove. Hal is also running late, and calls Stuart to ask for more time with the MP. However, upon learning that he might not be meeting Hal after all, Grove leaves the restaurant. On the street, Hal approaches, as Stuart tries to stop Grove from leaving. However, Grove reaches for the handle of his car door, which sets off a huge explosion.
In Paris, Kate is swarmed by her security detail who deliver the news about what has just happened in London. With tears in her eyes, the episode ends, leaving viewers with the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers.
Does anyone die in the finale?
Unfortunately, it's unclear whether anyone at the site of the explosion, including Hal and Stuart, has survived. While Kate's expression at the very end of the episode doesn't seem hopeful, nothing is written in stone just yet. Speaking to Tudum, Rufus Sewell, who portrays Hal in the show, said, "I hope we all survive. What can I say? I mean, I loved the dramatic turn. And I just have to hope a) that there’ll be a second season, and b) that everyone will be OK. But the drama needs to be real."
If you're currently cursing The Diplomat's incredible cliffhanger, then you have showrunner Debora Cahn to thank for that. "I wanted it to make people want more," she told Tudum in an interview about the finale. "I wanted to bring together all of the different dynamics of the political relationships and the personal relationships in one event that splits apart all at the same time." We have our fingers crossed that a second season is on the way, so we can finally find who survived that explosion.
Amy Mackelden is a freelance writer, editor, and disability activist. Her bylines include Harper's BAZAAR, Nicki Swift, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Independent, Bustle, Healthline, and HelloGiggles. She co-edited The Emma Press Anthology of Illness, and previously spent all of her money on Kylie Cosmetics.
