The Diplomat Season 2 Suffers From a Lack of Time

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After an explosive cliffhanger, Netflix’s The Diplomat Season 2 returns as Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) continues to find herself in the middle of the whirlwind conspiracy that enveloped the first season and left her considering whether Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) had a hand in the attack on his country’s own vessel. While this outing is an enjoyable amuse-bouche, once you find yourself even partially invested in the story once again, it’s over. Thus, the series is on track to never meet its full potential—and subsequently suffers from a variety of other issues—because it’s lacking one vital thing: time.

What should be a dramatic and heart-wrenching opener, given that the story picks up immediately off of the car bombing with multiple characters’ lives hanging in the balance, falls flat. After only eight episodes filled with plot movement, action, and quite a large roster of characters to be introduced to, we still hardly know this world or the series regulars, so the emotional connection just isn’t there—for the audience and the characters, truthfully. In the aftermath, The Diplomat Season 2 also fails to use this opportunity to dig into and expand the characters and their relationships except for Kate’s rocky marriage with Hal (Rufus Sewell).

If not for how this car bombing ties to the ongoing conspiracy that was originally made to look like a declaration of war from Iran but is looking more like an inside job by the first season’s end, which is very intriguing, this would have been an all-around disappointment. The exploration of the conspiracy is where The Diplomat shines the brightest, especially in regards to developing Russell’s Kate Wyler.

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Picking up full steam ahead isn’t necessarily the best move after waiting roughly a year and a half, which is only made worse by how incredibly short these seasons are. Unless you’ve watched the first season all over again, as I did, you’ll likely be a bit lost, not only in the developments surrounding the conspiracy but also in who these characters are and how they are supposed to be feeling toward one another. (In other words, how the series tells us they feel because there’s not enough time to actually show us or develop the relationships fully on-screen except for a select few).

The highlight of the season is undoubtedly Allison Janney as Vice President Grace Penn. As we learned previously, Grace is on the verge of resigning from office because her husband embezzled money and it’s about to come back to bite her. Once word is out, her reputation will be in shambles and it will ruin her future chances of running for President, which is why Kate is being groomed to step in as VP when the time comes. While I cannot get into detail, Janney brings such an interesting energy to the series, and Grace’s interactions with Kate elevate the series entirely, as neither woman behaves how you would expect under the circumstances.

Unfortunately, as exciting as it is to watch, there are two major issues. First, as I have already said (but it cannot be overstated), there just isn’t enough time to explore the characters, their dynamics, or this story. Second, and more importantly, the series can’t seem to decide what it wants to be. The conspiracy and Kate’s potential vice presidency feel like two distinct shows that, despite overlapping, don’t mesh well. A similar example is the late Designated Survivor starring Kiefer Sutherland and Maggie Q, which was also torn between the big mystery and politics but completely failed to do either in a satisfactory manner even after shifting everything about the show (including showrunners) multiple times.

Ultimately, while The Diplomat is an interesting watch, it is lacking all-around. The series is suffering from everything that isn’t working about streaming, from the shortened seasons to the long breaks in between, making it impossible to become invested in the goings-on. If this were on a traditional path with a relatively decent episode count, it would no doubt be a hit and the distinction between the two ongoing stories might be a little less jarring.

However, even with a story that isn’t hitting every note, a good roster of characters can keep things going until the series finds its footing. Regrettably, The Diplomat doesn’t even have that working in its favor. While Kate and Hal are relatively well-developed, their romance is another story, hitting a variety of emotional beats—good and especially bad—that are difficult to follow, so it’s hard to determine whether this is a romance we want to be rooting for. The series is also dreadfully misusing Eidra (played by Ali Ahn from Agatha All Along), while Stuart (Ato Essandoh) has a lot of potential with simply not enough focus to become the incredible character he could be. Given the time constraints, the supporting characters will never be able to stand on their own in this world, which is a shame.

Frankly, The Diplomat could stand to take some notes from CBS’ Madam Secretary, which revolves around Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni) wading through diplomacy and politics and still manages to balance a lovely ensemble of characters who each have their own unique relationships with her and each other.

While many of The Diplomat’s issues are caused by outer, greater forces (like the terrible state of streaming and television right now), some improvements could be made to prove that The Diplomat is something we should be spending our time on.

Jay Snow is a freelance writer. He has published many places on the internet. For more of his thoughts on television and to see his other work (or to simply watch him gush again and again over his love for the original Charmed) follow him @snowyjay.

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