A twist in the Season 2 finale of The Diplomat reveals an unexpected truth about the bombing of the British warship HMS Courageous. Everyone suspected UK Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) to have hatched the plot, but it is left known only at the end that this was a U.S. Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) operation.
This was part of a larger, dubious plan to block Scottish independence while preserving important nuclear deterrents against the Russian menace. That news in conjunction with the devastating murder of the U.S. President presents the platform for this explosive political turn of events in which Grace Penn was designated as the new President by the end of that season.
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More so, with the story unfolding, Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) and her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell) find themselves dealing with more after-shocks of that political bombshell amidst the resulting mesh of personal and diplomatic complications.
Who was behind the bombing of the ship named HMS Courageous on The Diplomat?
Much of The Diplomat Season 2 has the audience in suspense, searching for who would initiate the assassination bombing of the HMS Courageous. A good lead is Prime Minister Trowbridge, whose motive is also tied to the growing threat of Scottish independence on political stability.
However, Kate Wyler, along with CIA agent Eidra Park (Ali Ahn), digs further in and discovers that the hired Russian mercenary, who was actually Roman Lenkov (Sam Douglas), had already been hired by a leading figure in the Conservative Party, Margaret Roylin (Celia Imrie).
The truth, however, is far worse: the bombing was orchestrated by the Vice President of the United States, Grace Penn, as mentioned before in this season of The Diplomat. This was to prevent a secession vote in Scotland from contaminating the strategic nuclear submarine base off the coast of Scotland.
With drama, Grace gives her reasons for the bombing when she says that it was necessary to prevent Russia from using Scotland's secession from the UK to threaten global security. The decision to cause widespread nuclear devastation is cold but pragmatic and responsible in saving millions from its ravages, an instance of the complex moral decisions being played out in the series.
Who dies in the explosion on The Diplomat?
The loss of 41 British sailors when HMS Courageous is bombed in Season 2 is a loss that pervades the series. The impact of the explosion on Britain's politics resonates instantaneously with U.S. politics as well.
As the investigation progresses, Kate and Hal's relations with such high-ranking players as Grace Penn undergo a lot of stress, especially when they learn what role she played in the fatal scheme. It is the attack that adds to the political mess concerning the stability of the UK, such as a prime minister in Trowbridge who could not quite deal with the fact that his most trusted advisor Margaret Roylin had been in the plot.
But it is the assassination of U.S. President William Rayburn (Michael McKean) that dramatically changes the balance of power on The Diplomat.
After the report from Hal on the bombing, President Rayburn suffers a heart attack and dies. This unexpected death sends Grace Penn to the presidency. Such a shocking development not only changes the direction of the series but also marks the start of an intense political plot twist in the following season.
What happens at the end of The Diplomat Season 2?
The season 2 conclusion for The Diplomat makes many sweeping changes that indeed would help mold the next season: Grace Penn finally becomes president of the United States while making her former ally turn adversary in Kate Wyler.
Kate's position as Ambassador to the UK starts becoming precarious, especially when Grace decides to keep her in the dark about certain developments. Meanwhile, Hal faces the weight of his decisions, and their already fragile marriage faces new tensions.
Besides these personal challenges, the political implications of Grace's actions are yet to be felt. The Vice Presidency now is an opportunity, and Kate, who had rejected such ambitions in the past, starts to consider this new role. The season ends with Kate stepping out into the political eyeball, which she has resisted all her life throughout the series.
The bombshell revelation of The Diplomat Season 2 final episode rocks the personal lives of its main characters and the rest of the world. And that is now set for everything, as Grace Penn now sits in the Oval Office leading a continuation of this drama of political chaos.
Catch up with The Diplomat Season 2, exclusive to Netflix.
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