🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐 

Disaster is averted during the US president’s high-stakes visit to the UK, and Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) handles herself so well that she goes from being eyed for the vice presidency to pretty much having it offered to her on a silver platter. 

The issue: She’s not exactly a fan of silver platters and all the ceremonial formalities they come with. Plus, she’s anxious to escape the burden of her marriage to fellow foreign diplomat Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), a schmoozy political superstar with a tendency to butt into his wife’s work. But divorce wouldn’t be a good look for a fresh new veep. Read on to find out what happens in Episode 4 of Debora Cahn’s Netflix drama, The Diplomat. 

Has Kate made a decision about whether she wants to be vice president? 

Kate’s flat-out rejection of the role seems to have fallen on deaf ears. At the forefront of her reasoning is that she can’t take another minute with Hal. She needs to off-load him and finalize that divorce. Hal’s perspective is different. He says they “walk a bumpy road.” When they attend a gala celebrating 50 years of the British-American Business Alliance, Hal is keenly aware of the optics. He asks Kate to dance, since it’s captured on camera.  

Stuart (Kate’s deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy, played by Ato Essandoh) is relentlessly working to convince Kate to take the VP role. He asks if Hal is the only thing holding her back. Kate says the truth is she knows Hal wants to be president, or even vice president, and is bound to continue his meddling habits. “With a certain amount of preparation, I’m sure he can be contained,” Stuart says. Kate isn’t so sure.

Stuart later suggests that divorce is acceptable these days too. Kate doubts that. After all, she thinks the real reason she’s even being considered for the post is to give the president a direct line to Hal. When Stuart confirms that President Rayburn (Michael McKean) and White House chief of staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah) don’t know about the impending divorce, Kate realizes that everyone must be expecting a two-in-one package. 

What’s the current state of the relationship between the US and UK? 

The state of affairs between the two nations hasn’t been great, ever since the British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) lied to Rayburn about the bombed British warship sinking so the US would send help. While Rayburn thinks of it as a rescue mission, with the UK openly pointing fingers at Iran, it looks like the US is provoking an attack against Iran. There’s even talk of the UK asking its nationals to leave Iran — a move that clearly signals war is imminent. 

Kate knows Iran is not to blame, but her sourcing involves some sketchy business from Hal. The surefire solution would be to figure out who the actual culprit is behind the HMS Courageous attack. CIA chief Eidra Park (Ali Ahn) assures Kate every available channel is being scoured for intelligence. The only one being blocked is Iran, since Kate requested it in an impassioned moment in order to protect her own source. But so far, nothing surfaces that even remotely starts to move the needle. It’s time to send some secret messages to show the US knows Iran isn’t at fault.

How does the US reach the Iranians without making it look suspicious?

Since the US has no formal diplomatic ties to Iran, more creative means need to be taken to communicate. A carefully worded statement about Iran’s allies is planted at the Aspen Security Forum.

Soon, the Iranian defense minister goes on a Twitter rant about how the British foreign secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi) is meeting with the Iranian ambassador, a sign the hidden message was received. But Kate finds out she wasn’t copied by the UK on the whole matter, so she calls Dennison up. When she agreed to help him get through to Trowbridge, she expected to be looped in on everything. 

Dennison is elusive on the phone, so she stages an in-person run-in, spilling a tin of Altoids so she can get a few words in his ear. As they pick up the mints, Kate tells Dennison he needs to officially summon the ambassador and both of them need to be in the room. 

What does the British public know about all this?

In the meantime, Trowbridge is up to his usual ways and uses the gala to announce that the US has revoked its “rescue mission.” He bills himself as the hero for immediately leaving the event to tend to the British troops aboard the ship. “With fire for fire, we shall define our island home,” he says dramatically. “And if our friends turn tail, we shall do it alone.”

Does Kate get into the meeting between the UK and Iran?

Entering through a back door during a UNGNA event, Kate manages to get into the room for the “private” meeting between Dennison and Iranian ambassador Hajjar. Even though Dennison thinks this is “bad judgment” on her part, once Hajjar arrives, Dennison defends Kate’s presence, telling the Iranian ambassador she’s the only reason there hasn’t been a retaliatory strike. 

So who actually bombed the HMS Courageous?

Hajjar writes down the name of Russian mercenary Roman Lenkov on a piece of paper and then burns it. He says Lenkov isn’t just directly linked to the attack, but he also provided funding. Basically, the Russians have framed Iran for the attack. 

Immediately after revealing this info to both Kate and Dennison, Hajjar becomes visibly nervous. Telling one person is a secret, he says; two is publication. Dennison assures him precautions will be taken.

What do they do with this new info about the Russians?

After getting exactly the info they need, Hajjar suddenly — and dramatically — chokes and collapses, apparently poisoned. Obviously, immediate medical attention is needed, but Kate can’t be seen in this room, so she dodges out the back entrance in the midst of the chaos and then fakes a casual re-entry through the front door.

She realizes that Hajjar is not breathing and whispers to Dennison that they have to make sure the death isn’t officially on record as happening there, but should be declared at the hospital. 

We later see Eidra along the banks of the River Thames hugging a friend, Mitzka, who has just returned from Romania. From the outside it looks like an innocent reunion of friends, but as they embrace, Eidra tells Mitzka it’s Lenkov’s guys in Russia and the info can’t come from the US or the UK.

How does Kate react to the Iranian ambassador’s death?

All she was going in for was a name — which she got, along with a front-row seat to the death of someone she can’t be associated with. It’s all too much. 

As Dennison and Kate debrief later over drinks later, she bursts out in laughter over the fact that the UK has been attacked by the Russians. She knows it’s “really bad,” and it’s also terrible how bad it could look if Hajjar’s death is traced back to them. Both assure each other they didn’t play any part in his death. Yet, Kate’s hysterical state soon leads Dennison to joke about it too, as the two share laughs — as well as a mildly flirty moment — after he accidentally spills his drink on Kate. 

Whoa! So do Kate and Dennison hook up?

After a pregnant pause during which Dennison wipes away the spill on Kate’s blazer, we cut away to Kate walking back home where Hal goofily announces he bought a new hat. It’s a very formal, bowler hat — maybe he is capable of just being the Second Gentleman on the sidelines.

They exchange a wordless glance. But Hal reads Kate’s clue and follows her up into the bedroom, where, for the first time, we see them actually get intimate. 

So, is the marriage back on? The chemistry sure is….

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