Even though Kate Wyler didn't plan on taking on the role of the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom in Netflix's The Diplomat, she unexpectedly landed the role. The political drama features actress Keri Russell in the leading role of Kate, a resilient and tenacious government official.
While Russell plays the main role, the political narrative and conspiracies are incomplete without supporting characters like Merritt Grove. The character is helmed by actor Simon Chandler as a recurring figure from Season 1.
Grove works as the British MP (Member of Parliament) in The Diplomat and can be described as a morally gray character. He didn't appear much in the series, but his appearance and tragic end will significantly have an impact on key figures in the show and will contribute to tension with the government. Read more to know his storyline.
Who is Simon Chandeler's Merritt Grove in Netflix's The Diplomat?
The Diplomat came out on Netflix in 2023 and took almost no time to reach the top ten list in almost 87 countries, becoming a globally popular political drama. The first season showed Kate Wyler taking on the position of the U.S. ambassador to the UK. Though she didn't ask for the position, she ended up in it and faced diplomatic challenges in the country.
Season 1 concluded with a bombshell twist about the attack on the British Warship. Kate Wyler discovered that it wasn't orchestrated by a foreign enemy, but by the country's very own Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, with whom Merritt Grove was trying to regain public support for their Tory government.
Being on the same side, Grove who's indirectly linked to Kate and Trowbridge worked together to convince the British people to take Iran as their common enemy as the country has been accused of terrorist attacks. However, at the end of Season 1, Merritt Grove meets a tragic end.
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How did Merritt Grove die in The Diplomat?
As mentioned above, Merritt Grove was tragically killed in The Diplomat after a car explosion in the Season 1 finale. This happened when Stuart and Hal (Kate's husband) asked him to stop.
Annoyed by his situation, Grove didn't wait, and soon when he reached his car, it exploded causing his immediate death. Luckily, Season 2 revealed that Hal and Stuart survived the attack.
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Exploring the aftermath of Merritt Grove's death in The Diplomat
Season 2 kicked off right after the explosion that killed Grove, stirring up British politics. The attack resulted in numerous theories, while the Conservative government got a chance to use Grove's death to gain influence on British citizens by framing Iran as the terrorist behind the attack and killing Merritt Grove.
This will not only help them boost their popularity and public support, but will also cleverly distract the citizens from the ongoing tension with the British government by injecting anger and fear among them.
In the first episode of Season 2, Kate tries to figure out if the attack was carried out by an enemy or once again, by Prime Minister Trowbridge for his own benefit. The early episodes of The Diplomat Season 2 also hint at Merrit Grove's dissenting views with the majority of the Tory government officials.
Not only this, but he might have also planned to share crucial information about the conspiracies in the British government with Hal. But before that happens, Merrit Grove is thrown out of the picture forever.
The British MP's sudden death won't sit well with many, especially Kate, who is already trying to find the truth. Season 2 has a bigger conspiracy than the first chapter, and now that Grove is dead, the layers will soon start revealing deeply hidden plans.
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The Diplomat Seasons 1-2 are available to stream only on Netflix.
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