Hold on to your hats, 'The Diplomat' fans, because Season 3's ending is a rollercoaster you won't see coming! After two seasons of jaw-dropping cliffhangers, you might think the writers had exhausted their bag of tricks. But trust me, they've pulled out all the stops for a finale that will leave you breathless. Season 1 and 2 left us on the edge of our seats, revealing the U.S.'s involvement in the HMS Courageous attack and the true mastermind, Vice President Grace Penn. But Season 3? It cranks up the tension to a whole new level.
In Episode 8, titled "Schrodinger’s Wife," the series takes a bold leap, potentially changing the fate of a beloved character and setting the stage for major repercussions. Get ready, because things are about to get complicated.
So, how does Season 3 of 'The Diplomat' wrap up, and what does it mean for Season 4? Let's dive in.
The season finale sees Nichol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) throwing a wrench in the works by implicating both the United States and the late President Rayburn (Michael McKean) in the HMS Courageous attack. After a joint press conference, Kate, Hal, and the team scramble to manage the fallout, carefully keeping Penn, the real culprit, out of the spotlight.
The two nations, the U.S. and the U.K., find themselves at the negotiation table, attempting to mend fences. The U.S. initially plans to use intel about a Russian nuclear-powered submarine near England. However, Trowbridge reveals he already knows about the sub. What he doesn't know is that the sub carries the Poseidon, a nuclear-powered drone capable of wiping the U.K. off the map.
Here's where it gets controversial: Instead of allowing the U.K. to seek help from China, Penn offers U.S. assistance, which Trowbridge promptly rejects. This forces Kate to turn to her British spy boyfriend, Callum (Aidan Turner), whose source has been feeding information about the danger. Kate pleads with Callum to reveal the truth to Trowbridge, putting his career, freedom, and his source's safety at risk.
The Americans, without the U.K.'s permission (which Penn notes could be seen as "an act of war"), send a U.S. sub into British waters to photograph the sunken Russian ship. This provides the evidence needed to convince Trowbridge of the imminent threat. He eventually admits he was wrong but refuses U.S. help.
Trowbridge declares, "I will not hand over an apocalypse weapon to an unchecked superpower that still delusionally calls itself a democracy." Kate then suggests a solution: bury the sub and the Poseidon in concrete on the ocean floor, much like the Runit Dome on the Marshall Islands, a Cold War radioactive waste containment site. Trowbridge agrees, seeing it as the only way to neutralize the threat.
And this is the part most people miss: In a private conversation, Callum tells Kate the Poseidon is gone, possibly in Russia's hands. Radiation levels around the sub have dropped by 62 percent since the meeting. Kate quickly realizes Hal and Penn are likely responsible for taking the weapon, an act that could trigger a Russian attack on the U.K.
As the season ends, Hal informs Penn that Kate knows, and things are about to get messy. Todd Penn (Bradley Whitford) nonchalantly asks, "Nothing to worry about, right?" as unsettling music plays and shots of Hal and Penn looking guilty roll into the credits.
In short, the U.S. appears to have stolen a "doomsday" weapon and is letting it look like Russia has it. Season 4 is shaping up to be explosive, hopefully only figuratively speaking!
What do you think? Is the U.S.'s actions justified? Could this situation have been handled better? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
You can catch 'The Diplomat' Season 3 on Netflix, which offers subscription plans starting at $7.99/month for the standard plan with ads, up to $24.99/month for ad-free streaming in 4K UHD quality.
