In an effort to reflect her alter ego’s higher-office ambitions, Keri Russell‘s titular Diplomat character, Kate Wyler, underwent a bit of a glow-up near the end of the Netflix drama’s second season (now streaming). Curiously, the makeover — similar to the one that occurred in the Season 1 finale — once again found the series obscuring their star’s trademark long hair instead of exploiting it.

According to series creator Debora Cahn, that was absolutely by design.

“Everything that happens in that [Season 2] makeover is Kate’s version of what will help [give her credibility as a vice presidential contender],” the EP explains to TVLine. “It’s not necessarily the right makeover for that person, but it’s the makeover that she believes she needs to do. She believes she needs to look more grown up, so she puts her hair up.

“She’s come up with the idea of what will make her look more professional,” Cahn adds of the notoriously glam-averse Kate, before pointing out that Kate’s politically motivated revamp is very much a work in progress. “It’s not suddenly like, ‘Oh, a makeover has happened and now we have a perfect image,’” Cahn stresses. “We still don’t have a perfect image, because this is Kate’s first stab at making that kind of change. She does it but she doesn’t do it great.”

Kate’s appearance overall sparks “huge discussions” behind-the-scenes, per Cahn. Given the “very limited color palate” that comprises Kate’s dark tailored suit-dominated wardrobe, simply “going from a black suit to a gray suit was a huge move,” Cahn shares. “And, certainly, the amount of conversation that went into her light blue suit was mind-boggling.

“We think about all of those things very carefully,” Cahn notes, “because we use those [subtle shifts] to really mark when Kate is going through a change.”