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Keri Russell is a television star who commands the screen in almost anything she is in. However, her role as Ambassador Kate Wyler is easily her best. Russell reigns supreme in the second season ofThe Diplomat, a show so smart, so funny, and so damn entertaining that it should be required viewing for any student in any screenwriting course.
Debora Cahn’sThe Diplomatis simply the smartest show on television! The writing is masterful, the dialogue is addictive, and the performances are compelling on almost every level. Perhaps no other series on television works on so many different levels so effortlessly. The characters are complex, the themes are timely, and the plot is suspenseful and strategic.
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Netflix’sThe DiplomatSeason 2 Review and Synopsis
When we last saw Kate, she derailed her attempt to sleep with Dennison (David Gyasi) by concluding that Towbridge (The Rings of Power’sRory Kinnear) hired Lenkov. Kate is then notified that her husband, Hal (a terrific Rufus Sewell), along with Stuart (Evil’sAto Essandoh) and Ronnie (Jess Chanliau), were involved in a car bomb explosion while working on an asset.
Where the first season establishes the inner workings of an international incident, the second is an extension. However, the intricate plot and differing ideologies make the mystery so engaging. For instance, Hal is a political animal, Stuart is a bureaucrat, and Ali Ahn’s Eidra sees the world through risk assessment. Combined with high-stakes plots, this builds intrigue.
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Netflix’sThe Diplomatis the Smartest Show On Television!
That also makes the narrative seem urgent and compelling. Things become even more complicated when the Vice President (Allison Janney) shows up to calm the political waters, layering another subplot of political maneuvering that reveals character motivations like a dense artichoke, pulling back each leaf, revealing an unknown fascinating layer.
Cahn (Homeland) has written every episode ofThe Diplomat, which becomes more compelling with each episode, making the series a highly bingeable watch. The series has a deep bench of directors, including Alex Graves (Game of Thrones), Simon Cellan Jones (Arthur the King), and Andrew Bernstein (Ozark), and all the episodes work fluidly.
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Is Netflix’sThe DiplomatSeason 2 Worth Watching?
That is no small accomplishment when egos get involved, but Cahn has the team working harmoniously. What I mean by that is that the series works as a political thriller, workplace drama, or relationship comedy. As the context changes, so do the characters’ motivations, which are slowly revealed, makingThe Diplomatconsistently surprising.
However,The Diplomatis worth watching because of the series’ political thriller sensibilities, storyline, and chemistry between Russell’s Kate and Sewell’s Hal. Cahn’s experience writing forThe West Wingpays off handsomely here, balancing drama and comic relief, mainly from these interactions. You’ve never seen so much subterfuge within one marriage.
Russell is mesmerizing in the role, one of the best male or female characters in a mainstream streaming series in years. Sewell is a scene stealer: charming, brilliant, and often hilarious, with a jaw-dropping finale sequence in “Dreadnought” that encapsulates what the series essentially is: compulsively satisfying, ominously hilarious, and brilliantly multifaceted.
Yet, the episodes fly by, never talking down, and they make geopolitics relatable. Each twist can be seen differently, lending a new shade of moral ambiguity. With writing and performances this good and a stellar guest turn by Janney that promises greater things to come,The Diplomatis a razor-sharp series well worth your time, which is saying a lot these days.
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All six episodes ofThe Diplomatwere screened for this review. You can stream the series exclusively on Netflix on October 31.
The Diplomat Season 2 Review — Russell Reigns Supreme in the Smartest Show on Television!
M.N. Miller
Film & Television Critic
Articles Published :336
M.N. Miller is a film and television critic and a proud member of the Las Vegas Film Critic Society, Critics Choice Association, and a 🍅 Rotten Tomatoes/Tomato meter approved. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Mansfield University and a Master’s from Chamberlain University. However, he still puts on his pants one leg at a time, and that’s when he usually stumbles over. When not writing about film or television, he patiently waits for the next Pearl Jam album and chooses to pass the time by scratching his wife’s back on Sunday afternoons while she watches endless reruns of California Dreams. M.N. Miller was proclaimed the smartest reviewer alive by actor Jason Isaacs but chose to ignore his obvious sarcasm. You can also find his work on Hidden Remote, InSession Film, Ready Steady Cut, Geek Vibes Nation, and Nerd Alert.
