- In the finale of The Diplomat season 3, Kate faces yet another geopolitical dilemma: what to do about the Russian submarine in parked in U.K. waters that may or may not have a nuclear weapon onboard.
- She and her husband Hal try to work out a plan, but ultimately, one of them betrays the other.
- The finale leaves Kate not only questioning what to do with the relations between the U.K. and U.S., but also with her husband.
Art imitates life as one geopolitical crisis follows another in Netflix series The Diplomat. In season 3, we pick up after American ambassador to the U.K. Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) and her husband Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) discover that Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) was responsible for the blowing up of aircraft carrier HMS Courageous, which killed 41 British sailors. But with the sudden death of U.S. President Rayburn (Michael McKean), Penn becomes the next president—meaning it is now more likely for her to escape accountability. This becomes even more likely as the two people who know about her crimes, the Wylers, gun for the vice presidency.
In the lead-up to the finale, Kate gets blindsided as Hal gets offered the position of VP, and accepts. She then chooses to keep her position as ambassador to the U.K., meaning she's also choosing to live thousands of miles apart from her husband who is sworn into office in D.C. She does, in fact, take up a lover: an MI6 agent named Callum Ellis (Aidan Turner). Aside from all this turmoil in their personal lives, things at work aren't great either as the U.K. loses its trust in the U.S. Though President Penn confesses the country was responsible for the attack on the HMS Courageous (throwing the late President Rayburn under the bus, instead of confessing to her crimes, upon Kate's advice), this doesn't make him trust Penn any more than her predecessor.
Lots to unpack here. It's tough enough to keep up with current events, and keeping up with fictional ones might seem overwhelming. But don't worry, we've got you covered. Here's a breakdown of everything that happens in The Diplomat season 3 finale.
The Brits and Americans hold an emergency summit.
In season 3 episode 7 of The Diplomat, Callum informs Kate that he's received word from Russian sources that the disabled Russian submarine in U.K. waters carries a nuclear weapon called Poseidon that could potentially lead to a lethal fallout. Kate, of course, informs her husband who informs the President. This leads to the arrangement of an emergency summit at Chequers Court, the countryside home of the U.K. Prime Minister.
The Brits had planned to ask China for help to get the Russian sub out of their waters, but the U.S. wants to intervene because they don't want the powerful Asian nation to get ahold of Poseidon. However, when the President tells Prime Minister Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) that U.S. wants t0 help, he calls bull. Having lost his faith in the Americans, he walks out on the President because he doesn't buy this story about the doomsday weapon. This leads to higher tensions in an already tense environment.
Lovers in trouble.
We see more of the President and first gentleman Todd Penn's (Bradley Whitford) relationship. Things even get a little bit steamy between the Penns (which might feel a bit weird to West Wing fans who know them as CJ and Josh). But just when things seem to be going right, Mr. Penn brings up some lingering feelings of jealousy as his wife seems to be too close for his comfort to the VP.
Meanwhile, Hal and Kate have already established that their marriage will be one of convenience. But even with this arrangement, it seems that Kate keeps inevitably sabotaging her personal relationships over professional matters.
In order to salvage U.S. and U.K. relations, and to convince the Prime Minister to believe in the Poseidon problem, she asks her lover to tell the PM that he was the one who told the Americans about it. That he had Russian sources that came to him about this potential nuclear disaster. This move would, of course, jeopardize Callum's career (as he shared intelligence to the U.S. before giving it to the U.K.), and endanger the lives of his Russian sources. He says no.
Kate and Hal hatch a plan.
Though tensions are running high, the PM wants to torture his American guests by inviting them to an awkward formal dinner together. Everyone tries to play nice at the long dining table, and fails as sarcastic remarks and subtly hostile exchanges fill the air. Some of the tension is relieved, however, when Callum pulls Kate aside to tell him that he's willing to make the sacrifice and tell the PM about his involvement in giving the Americans intelligence on Poseidon.
Kate tells Hal the good news, but Hal calls Kate out for not wanting to let herself be happy by sabotaging another one of her personal relationships. He refuses to let Callum ruin his life, and tells Kate to think of another plan. She and Hal then present a plan to the President, suggesting that they send a U.S. sub to take photos of the Russian sub and its modified hull as proof of the existence of Poseidon to show the PM. The President refuses, given that having an American submersible in U.K. waters without permission might be seen as an act of war. But then Hal asks Kate to leave him with the President, so that he can convince her to go along with the plan.
Did Dennison, ironically, save Kate and Hal's marriage?
From season 2, we know that Kate had a thing with British foreign secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi). This did not come to full fruition, and was a short-lived, unspoken affair they never acted on. In the final episode of season 3, Kate is surprised to learn that Dennison has married his girlfriend of four months, Thema Aseidu (Tracy Ifeachor). Since then, she's been avoiding a potentially-awkward conversation with her sort-of-ex.
But after she's sent out of the room by the President and VP, she encounters Dennison alone. They have a conversation in which Dennison ends up confiding in Kate, telling her that he and Thema knew each other way back when, before he had even married his wife. He also tells her that his previous wife had killed herself—a revelation which brings the two closer again. This is when Dennison tells Kate that he's glad she and Hal didn't give up, and that he admires the strength of their relationship despite all their marital troubles. (Little does he know about what's really going on.) When Dennison leaves, Hal comes out and tells Kate that the President has agreed to their plan.
Kate then goes to tell Callum that he no longer has to blow his career for the sake of U.S. and U.K. relations, which he is extremely happy to hear. Expecting to celebrate with some sexy time with Kate, we see the diplomat become hesitant. It seems that the conversation with Dennison may have gotten through to her, and she's thinking twice about her British beau.
Stuart threatens to quit.
In the middle of all this mess, Kate's deputy chief of mission Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh) begins to question his role in the administration. Now aware of the fact that the U.S. was responsible for the recent U.K. tragedies, he begins ruminating over possibly resigning in protest of what "Rayburn" did. This riles up CIA chief Eidra Park (Ali Ahn), who previously had an intimate relationship with Stuart. She confronts Stuart in his room and tells him that she doesn't want him throwing his life and career away.
Stuart then tells Eidra to ask him to stay. At first she refuses to give in, not wanting to admit that there's still something going on between them. But ultimately, she says the magic words. "I want you to stay." They kiss, and end up sleeping together. This sets up a budding renewal of their romantic relationship for the next season.
Kate's plan saves the day... sort of.
The Americans and Brits convene at the table once more, and President Penn presents the photos one of their underwater drones have taken to the Prime Minister. She tells him that this is enough ammunition to discredit her at the U.N., but she's handing it to him as proof that she's willing to risk a lot in order to guarantee the U.K.'s safety. But the PM still turns this peace offering down. The Prime Minister says he doesn't want the U.S. gaining access to Poseidon, either.
This is when Hal tells Kate to suggest "Runit Dome." This is a reference to a concrete structure in the Marshall Islands that's been used to bury radioactive waste and contaminated soil from U.S. nuclear testing in the 1970s. Kate goes to the PM and lays out this alternative plan, for the U.S. to help bury the radioactive sub and weapon in the sea, where no country can wield its power. This convinces the PM, and he shakes the President's hand to confirm that they've partially restored their working relationship.
Poseidon goes missing.
Because of this successful summit, Kate is also reconsidering her marriage. It seems that Hal's heart is in the right place, and even allowed her to take credit for the Runit Dome plan. She then tells Hal that she wants to go back to D.C. with him to work on their relationship.
But just when you think things are looking up, they take a turn for the worse. Just as she's about to tell Callum that it's basically over between them, he breaks more urgent news. The Russians seem to have located their submarine, and taken Poseidon. Callum says that radiation levels around the sub have dropped significantly, which means someone's taken the nuclear weapon. Kate, of course, goes to tell Hal. But before they can tell everyone else, a photo op with British officials take place.
Hal betrays Kate in the worst way possible.
Todd approaches Kate as their spouses have their photos taken, and tells her about his concerns regarding Grace and Hal's closeness. Kate responds saying that she's not worried that there's anything more going on there beyond a great professional relationship. As she says this, she begins to notice their whispering and now-more-evident chemistry. She realizes that the two may not be having an affair with each other, but Hal's committed an even bigger betrayal by fully aligning himself with the President and her agenda.
It becomes clear that Hal has laid a secret plot without his wife's knowledge. The U.S. underwater drone didn't just take photos of the Russian sub, but actually took Poseidon, too. This was what Hal threw in to sweeten the deal and convince the President to go along with Kate's plan. Of course, this is an act of betrayal not just towards Kate but towards the U.K. Once again, the Americans have covertly betrayed their long-time allies, and Kate is thrown into another troubling moral and geopolitical dilemma. And this definitely complicates her marriage, yet again.
