The Diplomat Recap: Little Birds All The Way Down

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The latest episode, “Birdwatchers,” doesn’t have a lot of action, but the events that *do* occur are incredibly important. It jumps forward in time, reveals a significant relationship—and the fallout from it—and features a crucial piece of information discovered through sheer luck.

Let’s start with the most pressing issue: the overwhelming and often useless information flooding in through the international asylum exchange program. This situation is so frustrating that Eidra almost wishes she’d lost her job after Roylin’s death. She’s experienced a lot, but the sheer amount of unbelievable and worthless intelligence her team is receiving has her considering a meeting with Hal to see if she’s been sidelined long enough to be reassigned to meaningful work. One particularly ridiculous claim she’s heard is that Americans were involved in the attack on the HMS *Courageous*.

It was almost certain this information would become public knowledge. If Lenkov knew the U.K. and U.S. were both involved in ordering the attack, he likely wouldn’t have kept it secret. Now that Kate and Hal know a credible source – Andreev, who appears trustworthy enough for the CIA – has raised concerns, they understand time is running out. If Andreev doesn’t get a satisfactory response from the U.S. Embassy in London, he’ll almost certainly share this information with others, and the U.S. government will lose all ability to manage the situation.

Kate and Hal are both struggling to maintain control in their work and family lives, and things aren’t going smoothly – as usual. The story jumps ahead four months, and we quickly see Kate has developed a connection with Callum Ellis, a charming and witty bird expert (played by Aidan Turner). While it’s not unexpected that Kate would be attracted to someone new, it *is* surprising to see her flirting with Callum at a formal event hosted at Winfield House, especially since she’s involved with British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison.

Hal and Kate had a short, relatively normal conversation where he expressed his shock that things didn’t work out with Dennison. Kate felt the same way, calling it a complete failure. She then revealed that Dennison is already dating someone else, and while she describes this new person as ‘great,’ Hal understands that’s a polite way of saying they’re unexciting. Hal believes their brief, passionate moment at Dennison’s house was the beginning and end of any potential relationship.

Hal is genuinely surprised – and even shocked – to see that Kate has followed through on a plan they discussed earlier. He arrives at Winfield with an air of importance, clearly used to being given special treatment. But his composure falters when he sees Kate looking comfortable and happy with Callum, her hand resting on his back. Kate is equally stunned to see Hal. Their arrangement – a public marriage masking a private divorce – is proving much more complicated than either of them expected, and they seem ill-equipped to handle it.

It’s true that both Hal and Grace are being somewhat unreasonable and harsh, though they each have valid points. Hal did agree to be Grace’s Vice President, accepting her terms. He’s also correct that Kate needs to disclose her relationship with Callum to the CIA. While I see this mainly as a human resources problem, I wonder if Hal would be as concerned if Callum wasn’t also working with Kate on a sensitive international project – locating and potentially rescuing people from a sunken Russian nuclear submarine.

The argument escalates rapidly, causing Kate—still wearing her party dress—to rush downstairs to the library, where she breaks down crying. It’s understandable to question whether Kate’s affair with Callum is irresponsible, considering the delicate work they do. And it’s definitely not okay for Hal to push Kate so hard with his insults and taunts that she ends up heartbroken and in tears.

Honestly, it’s getting really frustrating to watch Hal and Kate’s relationship like this. It’s just so… childish and unpleasant! I keep wondering if they’ve even talked about what they *expect* from this arrangement, or if they’ll revisit things later on. And I’m starting to think even a divorce wouldn’t fix this constant drama. I really wish they’d either figure things out or just move past the worst of it quickly. They’re fascinating people, and their relationship *could* be interesting, but we don’t need to see the same arguments rehashed every single week. It’s exhausting!

You know, even in “Birdwatchers,” you get little hints of how great these two could be together. There’s still a real connection there, a genuine appreciation for what each other does. It comes out even when they’re just going through the motions – like in that magazine interview. He jokes about her career meaning she’s basically married to the government, and she playfully deflects with a self-deprecating comment about liking a secure pension. What’s really interesting is how they seem to balance the political side of things with their personal connection, and they both admit it actually makes them *better* at everything they do.

We’ll never know if the team could have maintained their momentum for much longer, because they receive confirmation from Eidra that her information about the attack on the *Courageous* is accurate. This sends them rushing to Amagansett to discuss it with Grace and Billie – and Todd will be there too! Eidra is now aware of two sensitive situations: Hal and Kate’s complicated marriage and divorce, and Grace’s connection to the attack. She’s starting to understand how the issues between Hal and Kate are influencing how they react to the attack. Given Hal’s reluctance to include Kate in their discussion about the situation while they’re traveling, I believe Stuart and Nora should also be informed about Hal and Kate’s relationship. Eidra should be added to a group text with both of them so they can share information and develop a unified, and hopefully effective, plan!

Intrigue and Crumpets

There was recently some tension between the U.S. and Denmark because Kate asked Hal to publicly oppose restrictions on oil drilling in the North Sea. It appears that issue has been resolved – the Danish ambassador seems very pleased to have been invited to the conservation event at Winfield. I’m still hoping Kate and Birgitte Nyborg will have a chance to meet in the near future.

Kate is furious with Stuart for secretly organizing Hal’s surprise visit – which turned out to be for their anniversary, and wasn’t exactly a hit. Stuart defends himself by saying the event took a huge effort, involving 260 people. He then suggests Kate might want to consider the expense of her own security detail when she’s traveling abroad, given her anger about the cost of the surprise.

Callum’s project is really significant, and it’s great to see him making progress. Getting countries around the North Sea to share their sensor data is a huge accomplishment. With the recent attack on the Courageous, things are likely to escalate, and I’m interested to see how that will connect with Callum’s work – it’s not a question of if, but how.

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2025-10-18 01:56