The Diplomat season 2 ending spoilers follow.
When The Diplomat first exploded onto Netflix in 2023, few could have predicted just how much the show would blow up, just as no one could have predicted the actual explosion that would rock Kate Wyler and her team in the final minutes of season one.
Right after we discovered that the prime minister seemingly ordered that attack against a British aircraft carrier, the one Kate's spent the whole season investigating, a second attack suddenly hit in the form of a vicious car-bomb explosion.
And that was it. The credits rolled then, leaving us wondering who might get to return in season two. Obviously, Kate's husband Hal made it out, as did deputy chief of mission Stuart Hayford, but office clerk Ronnie snuffed it in an unfortunate reminder of the Bury Your Gays trope.
Killing off the only notable queer character in the show was disappointing, if not surprising, but what is shocking now is how season two somehow outdoes that cliffhanger with something even more bonkers. Truly, this is the most silly and audacious way season two could have possibly ended and, honestly, we're here for it.
The Diplomat season 2 ending explained
Throughout the majority of season two, Kate believes Nicol Trowbridge is a traitor to his country. That is, until she discovers he's entirely innocent, completely unaware of the attack. Instead, others in his cabinet are responsible, including Margaret Roylin, a former campaign manager of the Conservative Party.
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But then a twist within a twist reveals that she did this on the order of Vice President Grace Penn, who finally arrives in the flesh five episodes in. Allison Janney's scene-stealing character didn't mean for anyone to die, but die they did, so she plans to step down and let Kate campaign for the VP role in her place.
Wyler doesn't even want the job, but Hal manages to persuade her that this could be in her best interests.
She and Penn go back and forth, respecting the hell out of each other one minute and hating each other the next until everything boils over in one last confrontation on the lawn where Kate pretends she's letting go of her ambitions to be Vice President. Grace sees through it though, calling Wyler out for "gaslighting" her.
Yep, mothers be mothering in an epic mother-off that couldn't mother harder if it tried. Or can it?
Hal suddenly screams to get Kate on the phone, clearly distraught by something that's just happened. Something that he did...
"Kate, I didn't talk to [Miguel] Ganon. I talked to the President."
That wasn't the plan, but Hal loves to go rogue. Usually, it pays off because he's charming and hot, but his chaos has suddenly backfired in the worst way possible.
"Kate, he got really upset," Hal continues, stumbling over his words. You just know it's serious when Hal's flustered.
"What does that mean?" Kate asks.
And then what seems like an entire army of secret service officers flood out of the house and race across the lawn to where Kate and Grace are standing.
"He died, Katie. The President is dead. Grace Penn is President."
Cut to Kate shocked and out of breath with the camera zooming in on Grace as the realisation hits her, changing their lives forever. Dramatic music (even labelled as such by the subtitles) plays us out into the credits.
And there we have it. Hal effectively offed the President just as Kate scuppered any chance of Grace supporting her own bid to take over when the President steps down or snuffs it.
Even putting aside the fact that Hal somehow killed the President with a phone call (!!!), this soapy, ridiculous twist barrels in out of nowhere, ending the season in a very different, even more explosive way than the actual car-bomb explosion in season one.
Rather than try to outdo that cliffhanger with even bigger life-and-death stakes, the writers deftly avoid that comparison by homing in on the melodrama fans come to this show for instead. Campy theatrics and thrilling power plays are why we tune in, so choosing to end season two on this note is the smartest move The Diplomat could have made.
Penn will be damned if she lets the titular diplomat suddenly take the role of Vice President now that she has a say in the matter, which means fireworks are coming in The Diplomat season three.
If you thought Keri Russell and Allison Janney were fun to watch this time around, heaven help us (and the entire Western world) as their characters get ready to clash in an epic yet ridiculous power struggle when The Diplomat returns for season three.
The Diplomat seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
