Warning! SPOILERS about The Diplomat season 1, episode 8 ahead.
Ambassador Kate Wyler had surprisingly much to uncover in The Diplomat season 1 finale, and the Netflix political thriller’s ending solved as many mysteries as it created. Throughout The Diplomat season 1, Kate had to balance the professional challenges she faced due to the attack on the HMS Courageous and the personal ones devised by her husband Hal’s machinations to help her secure the vice presidency, whether she wanted the position or not. The Diplomat episode 8’s cliffhanger ending provided a surprising explanation for the blind spots about the attack that propelled Kate in the midst of the action, but it also left some important questions unanswered.
Besides the ins and outs of the British aircraft carrier’s attack, The Diplomat season 1 also focused a lot on the diplomat couple Kate and Hal. Their relationship was instrumental to Kate’s professional successes but also some of her failings, at least how Kate saw it, given how their approaches to some challenges differed altogether. The Diplomat season 1 finale clicked in place all the inconsistencies that still weren’t solved while also creating anticipation about a potential season 2, mainly because the fate of some central characters was unknown by The Diplomat episode 8’s ending.
Hal's Speech At Chatham House Was Meant To Support Kate's Work
Hal’s motives always looked ambiguous in The Diplomat season 1 because the Netflix political drama tended to side with Kate’s perspective, and she often viewed him as such, and also because many of his reckless, potentially successful actions came at a cost. Hal’s old friend Lewis Quainton even suggested in The Diplomat season 1 that Hal might be refusing his offer because he was aiming to be appointed secretary of state, given the president’s displeasure with Ganon, and Hal’s pleased reaction indeed hinted at him potentially being happy with such an outcome. However, the purpose of Hal’s speech at Chatham House was to wholly support Kate’s work.
Indeed, Hal’s Chatham House speech revolved around talking with anyone, no matter their rank, to get to peace. The intrinsic political nature of that speech would have only made Kate look better when her vice presidency would be announced, and given that Kate listened to both Iran officials and Russian ones to find a solution to the attack on the HMS Courageous, it was also in line with Kate’s actions as ambassador. Moreover, considering The Diplomat season 1 finale’s car bombing targeted MP Merritt Grove, he must have known about the prime minister’s involvement, making that meeting about the investigation, not Hal’s potential bid as secretary of state.
Kate Wearing The Red Dress Signaled Her Marriage Ended In The Diplomat
Keri Russell’s Kate spent The Diplomat season 1 reiterating her wish for Hal to depart and leave her to work in peace. After all, she still hadn’t forgotten nor forgiven Hal’s heroics in Afghanistan, which bought time but robbed 300 U.S.-collaborating Afghans of their transport out of the country. That, along with the hefty price most of Hal’s reckless actions required to be paid, didn’t make Kate trust Hal again. However, their conjoint success with the Russia plan convinced Kate to give Hal another chance and let her think about the VP idea free of worries about having to stay married to become vice president.
Kate deciding to wear the red dress at the gala loudly signaled that she was done with trying to save her and Hal’s marriage and giving her husband yet another chance. While that wouldn’t have necessarily meant acting on her ambiguous reciprocated feelings for Austin Dennison, wearing something so out of character for what she usually went for was supposed to declare that she was ready for a fresh start. After all, even if her realization was based on the wrong assumptions in this case, The Diplomat season 1 gave Kate plenty of reasons not to trust Hal at face value.
The Diplomat's Car Bombing Brings Kate & Hal Back To The Start
Kate finally deciding on her marriage to Hal will undoubtedly face a setback given the car bombing in The Diplomat season 1 finale’s ending. The final scene likely saw her security team reaching her to bring her to safety and tell her about the bombing, and, with Hal’s life potentially in danger, the ambassador will probably be ready to retract her decision. After all, their last life-changing event established Hal as the reckless guy in her mind, but the car bombing actively endangered Hal’s life, and even if Kate was ready not to live with him anymore, she was definitely not prepared for him to die.
Trowbridge Explains Everything That Didn't Make Sense About The Attack
British PM Nicol Trowbridge being behind the attack was among the most shocking revelations of The Diplomat season 1 finale, but his involvement was the only possible thing that could have explained the attack’s inconsistencies. After all, Kate and her team only uncovered that Iran wasn’t behind the attack for sure and that Russia would have been happy with the real, usually Russia-affiliated culprit being arrested as retribution but never found the instigator. Given that Trowbridge also had a motive to rally the country around, needing the Tories to win the by-election so that the UK didn’t lose Scotland, an attack would have been the perfect opportunity for that.
Grove Wanting To Meet Hal Proved Some Tories Knew About Trowbridge
Kate perfectly explained to Austin why only whoever was behind the attack would have wanted Lenkov dead in The Diplomat season 1 finale’s ending scenes. Still, she and Austin being kept in the darkness of the true purpose of the operation against Lenkov wouldn’t necessarily mean no Tory MPs knew about Trowbridge’s goals. Grove’s urgency to speak with Hal proved he was probably privy to the same intelligence French interior minister Fournier shared with Kate, cementing Trowbridge as the villain behind both the car bombing and the attack on HMS Courageous in The Diplomat season 1.
What The Diplomat Season 1 Ending Means For Season 2
The Diplomat season 2 has yet to be announced, even if Netflix’s previous political thriller, The Night Agent, lucked out in being renewed less than a week after its release. Netflix’s multi-year deal with The Diplomat creator Debora Cahn might hint at renewal if The Diplomat season 1 to perform well. Still, whether there will be a season 2 is unknown.
Nevertheless, if The Diplomat season 2 were to happen, it should reveal whether Stuart, Ronnie, and Hal survived the car bombing. Given their distance from the car and their importance to the story, it’s unlikely that The Diplomat season 1 killed them off, but the cliffhanger ending indeed hinted at their danger. Moreover, Kate and Austin will have to find a way to stop Trowbridge now that his involvement is confirmed. If The Diplomat season 2 happens, it will surely have much action and mystery in store.