‘The Diplomat’ Season 2 Ending Explained: Who’s Behind the Conspiracy?

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Diplomat.The Diplomat is a political thriller centered around British-American relations. Keri Russell stars as Kate Wyler, the American Ambassador to the UK. Her husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell), has spent his long career in a position of power and struggles to stay behind the scenes to let his wife take the lead. Their integration into the UK political scene is a bumpy road as they discover a conspiracy behind who is responsible for blowing up a British aircraft carrier, killing over 40 Royal Navy personnel. Kate initially suspects UK Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) to be involved, but when that suspicion is put to rest, she discovers an even more sinister and complicated truth.

Season 2 of The Diplomat reveals that American Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) is behind the deadly plot to blow up the British aircraft carrier. The British eventually discover the involvement of rogue actors within their own government but remain unaware of the part Penn played. The Wylers, however, learn that Penn is the mastermind behind it and initially regard her as a villain. But, as Kate steps up her bid to replace Penn as Vice President, an unexpected death in the Season 2 finale shakes things up.

Is Grace Penn Good or Evil in ‘The Diplomat’?

While Kate Wyler initially suspects Prime Minister Trowbridge, Vice President Grace Penn is revealed to be the big villain of the entire plot of The Diplomat so far. She masterminds the attack on the British ship that was blamed on both Iran and Russia and is likely involved in the explosion that killed MP Merritt Grove (Simon Chandler) and Kate’s colleague Ronnie (Jess Chanliau). She’s also manipulating the British Prime Minister to have him bury the investigation to keep her role secret.

Penn being behind the plot, nudges Kate to put herself forward as a Vice Presidential candidate to replace her. As Penn questions Kate’s motives, Kate confronts her, leading Penn to explain her actions. As she does so, she seems well-intentioned and totally reasonable. The plot wasn’t supposed to be as deadly as it was, but the plan went awry, and lives were accidentally lost. Penn acknowledges the mistake and accepts the guilt for that without question. She believes it was worth the loss of life as a necessity to keep the United Kingdom united. She fears that if the Scottish were to secede from the UK, which was on the cards, then Scotland would not want to continue acting as a nuclear hub for the US, giving Russia more opportunity to attack the east coast of America. To keep the American nuclear base safely placed on Scottish soil as a deterrent to Russia, she suggests Kate would do the same thing in her position as Vice President. For Penn, such a difficult decision comes with the territory of a high-powered government job.

Kate and Hal Wyler Want the Government to Decide Grace Penn’s Fate

Kate understands from Penn’s reasoning that she’s neither good nor bad, but in an extremely complicated situation. Penn’s role in the attack offers a lot of questions about whether anyone on the show is good or bad or just doing their best work with what they have available to them. Is Penn a villain for masterminding the attack or a hero for saving humankind? Well, both really.

Kate has made it clear that she doesn’t necessarily want the job of Vice President — she’s insecure in her appearance, influence, and abilities, which stands in stark contrast to the way Grace Penn carries herself. Her sense of duty to her country and government takes precedence, and she decides that if the President and his administration no longer want to work with Grace Penn and ask Kate Wyler to step in to take over the role, she will oblige. But first, it needs to be decided if Grace Penn is still going to be the Vice President.

After going back and forth about whether Penn did the right thing, Kate and Hal want the US government to decide her fate. Hal goes with Eidra (Ali Ahn) to make a secure call. He and Kate have agreed to inform the Secretary of State about Penn’s role in the plot, but as Hal never seems to stick to the plan, he decides to go directly to President Rayburn (Michael McKean) instead. Hal is next seen in a panic, trying to call Kate with some extremely important information. Simultaneously, the Vice President’s staff is running towards Penn, signaling something serious has happened. The shock of Hal’s revelation killed President Rayburn, resulting in Vice President Penn being promoted to President of the United States of America.

Where Does the President’s Death Leave Kate Wyler for Season 3?

With the surprise death of President Rayburn in the finale, a lot of doors could open or close for Kate Wyler, and it’s now up to President Grace Penn to decide her fate. As Penn is now President of the United States, and Kate and Hal’s questioning of her is out in the open, there are several options as to where Season 3 could go. Penn could potentially take Kate on as an ally, as while Kate is still unsure of how Penn conducted herself, she understands the job of government. Penn could bring Kate on as her own Vice President, keep her in her position as the American Ambassador to the UK, or give her a new role in the administration. If Kate is willing to work with Penn, knowing what she’s capable of, then she could easily rise through the ranks of the American government.

Or, Penn could work against Kate to phase her out of government and keep her silent. She seems to like Kate overall but also considers her demure and naive. Kate had the courtesy to tell Penn what she knew of her and was in the midst of telling her that she was going to go to the officials with her knowledge before the President died. Kate’s openness either gained Penn’s trust or depleted it further, as she could potentially view Kate’s actions as a betrayal. Kate’s political future is in Grace Penn’s hands now.

Season 2 of The Diplomat is full of unexpected twists and turns. By revealing Grace Penn’s involvement in the British plot and putting her in the role of President, the entire dynamic of the show will change in Season 3. Whether or not Penn decides to take on Kate as an ally or a foe, their relationship has already proven to be a complex addition to the show, and it’s certain to get even more complicated in Season 3.

The Diplomat is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix