The Diplomat Recap: The Job Has A Morally Repugnant Element

As a seasoned observer of human dynamics, I must say that this narrative is brimming with complex characters and their intricate relationships. Stuart Heywood, a man who has seen his fair share of war and loss, seems to be grappling with intense anger towards Kate for her actions – or inactions, as it were. He’s a soldier at heart, and the chaos of the situation is causing him great distress. His frustration is palpable, and I can’t help but empathize with his struggle to find solace amidst the turmoil.

The aftershocks of the deadly bombing in Notting Hill continue to reverberate throughout the American embassy and the British government; the deadly explosion hasn’t just destroyed people and property, it’s blown apart assumptions, forcing us to see just about everyone and every one of their choices from different angles than we’re used to. Kate’s emerging cowboy tendencies, Trowbridge’s ruthlessness and immaturity, Eidra’s laser focus on intelligence gathering and analysis, Dennison’s rectitude, Roylin’s geopolitics whisperer schtick — all are heightened and more immediately consequential than before.

In certain instances, stress tests can highlight the resilience in characters and their bonds, as demonstrated during Merritt Grove’s state funeral at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The blend of solemn ceremony – the downpour, scriptures from Ephesians and T.S. Eliot, hymns – along with the bold Afternoon of 1,000 Margaret Roylins and Eidra and Kate’s strategic use of Hal and his comedic “oops, I’m clumsy” act with a walking stick to throw off Trowbridge, effectively shields the real Roylin. The end result is that her absence becomes insignificant in the grand scheme of things, as she seamlessly blends into the crowd attending a colleague’s public funeral. Additionally, this setup safeguards Roylin and thwarts any potential harmful encounters, since the church is filled with women who share similar appearances. If villains are present, they are left guessing, making it harder for them to identify their target.

After hastily transporting Roylin from St. Paul’s and temporarily accommodating her in the CIA section of the U.S. embassy, Eidra and Kate now find themselves facing fresh challenges: bringing Austin into the loop, soliciting his assistance; gathering as much intel as possible from Roylin’s unexpected visit; maintaining Trowbridge’s ignorance while we investigate his connection to the Lenkov Group; and persuading a reluctant Stuart to join their cause once he returns to work.

In terms of cooperation, Austin is the most approachable for both Kate and Eidra. Despite his inclination to involve law enforcement regarding Roylin, his primary goal that they all agree on is crucial: to prevent Lenkov’s assassination and arrest him instead. He hesitates a bit about postponing an inquiry into Trowbridge’s suspected involvement in the HMS Courageous bombing, but ultimately agrees. Roylin is cunning and elusive, so if Eidra hides her temporarily in a safe house to gain more information, Austin can tolerate it.

Roylin is both willing and excited at times to untangle the complex web related to the bombings, and firmly believes that several individuals identified as British citizens, such as Merrit Grove, but explicitly not Trowbridge, hired Lenkov to target the Courageous. This was a crucial aspect of the geopolitical puzzle disclosed last season, although it initially appeared to merely demonstrate Trowbridge’s vanity and concerns about his legacy. The potential for Scottish independence to trigger two catastrophes encourages us to reconsider that angle as well.

In a particularly intense scene, Roylin expresses her concern for Dennison’s safety, cautioning him that his investigations into who hired Lenkov could be too obvious and potentially dangerous, given the same individuals who killed Grove might be involved. However, given her past actions in manipulating Trowbridge’s rise to Prime Minister, it’s hard for Dennison to trust Roylin’s intentions or the sincerity of her assistance. It’s likely that he’s not wrong. David Gyasi skillfully conveys strong emotions (such as anger) with subtle facial expressions and a soft voice, which are crucial to his character and symbolize the protective armor Dennison uses to endure being Trowbridge’s Foreign Secretary. This includes his frequent wearing of three-piece suits and polished public schoolboy elocution, elements that contribute to Dennison’s survival tactic.

He’s also the best person to ask Roylin directly about how well-informed she always seems to be about what he and Kate are up to. She sniffs that “it’s been my job for over 40 years to know what goes on at Whitehall” and simply cannot understand why he refuses her help when he so plainly needs it. For such an insightful person, Roylin is oddly incapable of grasping what heroic restraint he’s exercising. Roylin continues very primly to explain some portion of what she knows and how, including the casual revelation that her phone is no doubt bugged by the London bombers, and so Kate mentioning Hal’s upcoming meeting with Grove may well have sealed his fate. I’m sorry, what? If that’s the case, why on Earth didn’t she advise Kate to reach her on one of her burner phones or say, “One moment, darling, this connection is bad, let me call you back?” Doesn’t she feel some responsibility to not put one of her Whitehall colleagues at risk of assassination?

It seems Roylin is shielding Trowbridge, yet some question whether she’s actually helping or potentially making his downfall even more dramatic. Despite claiming innocence in hiring Lenkov, she seemed to avoid her protégé at Grove’s funeral, raising suspicion. Trowbridge himself remains tight-lipped about the situation, but his reactions when he saw her suggest a mix of feelings, possibly anger, relief, or confusion. Following his confrontation with Kate, where he referred to her as a derogatory term and expressed indifference towards her future contact, it appears he’s experiencing intense, wounded anger.

Speaking of wounded anger, Stuart Heywood is the person expressing the strongest and most righteous version of that feeling. He probably shouldn’t have come back to work quite so early in his recovery, but as he whispers to Alysse, “I lie on my couch and think about Ronnie and have a panic attack”, so what else is he going to do? If coming back to work was his plan for taking a break from memories of Ronnie, though, he’s going to need to head back to the drawing board. If he’s not urging Kate to spend some time with Ronnie’s photo and the book of condolence, he’s coming this close to ordering Eidra to get Roylin out of the embassy ASAP. Eidra’s description of herself and Kate’s actions as “the CIA Station Chief and the Ambassador doing their jobs of investigating intelligence from a walk-in, and cultivating relationships in the national interest” holds no water with Stuart, who describes Kate’s behavior as “running with scissors right into my staff, and me.”

The situation continued to deteriorate during the drive to the ceremony where Ronnie’s coffin was being loaded onto a military plane for transportation back to the U.S. Stuart was furious, suspecting that Kate’s contact with Roylin might have triggered the bombing. If Kate had listened to his advice and left the public event on her first day as an ambassador at his suggestion, perhaps this chain of events could have been avoided. While it may seem overly simplistic, this is another example of a decision made by Kate that can be interpreted as using available resources wisely or disregarding advice from others. Who does such behavior remind you of?

In this episode, Hal, who typically takes center stage in conversations, appears relatively calm until the final scene. He and Kate find themselves engaging in a dialogue reminiscent of her conversation with Stuart, which also ends on a sour note. Both characters hold valid and invalid points to varying degrees.

Tea, Scones, and Intrigue

In another instance, Austin Dennson found yet another chance to act valiantly, gracefully distancing himself from a romantic entanglement with Kate. He assured her that her marriage remained secure and things were in their proper place – Bravo, Captain Wentworth!

Stuart’s scathing portrayal of Kate and Hal as “incredibly hip – they negotiate with terrorists, embrace warlords, and sip llama blood” offers a hilarious yet poignant mix.

• In a delightfully evocative moment, Roylin describes Grove, who’d gotten cold feet about working with Lenkov a bit too late in the game, as having been “a great wobbling jelly”. I’m going to have to start working that into my everyday speech.

2024-10-31 17:54

The Diplomat Recap: The Job Has A Morally Repugnant Element

Tea, Scones, and Intrigue

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