Because I don't know what you're doing watching the third season of "The Diplomat" without having watched the first two, spoilers for those first two seasons lie ahead. Please step carefully.
Recent events in world politics mean that "The Diplomat" now operates in an alternate universe where there are still some standards as to how major US politicians and officials conduct themselves. No matter what the outrageous twists and turns the writers come up with this season, it all feels perfectly plausible in light of what's actually going on with the current administration. And boy did they fit a lot of twists and turns into the eight episodes that make up this season.
Initially, there are several major changes in the status quo, with Grace Penn becoming the U.S. President, which means the Vice Presidency is up for grabs, and Bradley Whitford gets to join the cast as Todd Penn, the delightful First Gentleman. Kate also gets a new love interest in Callum Ellis (Aidan Turner), a British spy, and we spend a lot more time with Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah), the no-nonsense White House Chief of Staff, and Nora Koriem (Rosaline Elbay), the VP's Chief of Staff. Kate and Hal's marriage is tested as it has never been tested before. And while the whole messy affair with the aircraft carrier attack is no longer the most pressing problem in the show, of course the potential for scandal remains high and everyone's trying to figure out who takes the blame.
I really enjoy the way that "The Diplomat" has become such an ensemble show, and it's now less about solving a particular crisis, and more about seeing what happens when you have Allison Janney and Rory Kinnear facing off against each other in a scene, or how Bradley Whitford has somehow ended up in the position of the show's best comic relief. We get a lot of Rufus Sewell as Hal this year, which means that the storylines with Hal and Kate feel fully front and center and supercharged in a way they haven't always been previously. "The Diplomat" is at its best when the Wylers are at each other's throats. And at the same time, I can't help rooting for them as a couple.
Though the quality level remains high, It feels like the writing has taken a step down this year, not only because the premise of "The Diplomat" has shifted from its original form into something else, but also because it's clear that the show has become beholden to certain expectations. We have to end on a big cliffhanger, for instance. It's also noticeable that the show does a few tricky things to keep every member of our main cast involved in the big storylines and in close proximity with each other, most notably Stuart Hayford and Eidra Park. "The Diplomat" has proven very capable of juggling all of its characters and ensuring that everyone gets something interesting to do, but there's also a lot less of a sense of narrative momentum with the big mystery of the first season mostly resolved. The character drama mostly makes up for it, but sometimes they could have used a little more oomph.
The reliance on big twists also makes it harder to trust when the writers are being sincere about certain storytelling choices. Aidan Turner is a nice addition to the cast this year, but I was waiting for something terrible to happen to his character from the moment he was introduced. I don't think the show is ever going to top the season two finale in any case. Also, I don't think that the binge model is doing them any favors. I very deliberately didn't watch more than one episode in a sitting, and it still didn't feel like I had enough time to fully absorb most of the events.
However, these are pretty minor complaints for one of the best series currently running on any platform. The production has never looked better, taking advantage of some gorgeous UK locations. All the actors remain fully at the top of their game, even if they aren't around for long - Rory Kinnear makes his few appearances really count. And Keri Russell as Kate Wyler remains the kind of heroine who I'll happily watch until the end, even without Hal if it comes to that. On a show like "The Diplomat," I'm not ruling anything out.
---
No comments:
Post a Comment