‘The Diplomat’ Season 2 Finale, ExplainedCourtesy Netflix
Another thrilling season of The Diplomat has come to an end! All season 2 episodes of Netflix’s nail-biting political drama are out now, but if you haven’t seen the last episode just yet, buckle up and brace yourself.

The last time we saw American Ambassador to the U.K. Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), she was on the verge of a breakthrough. Kate thought she’d finally pinned down the identity of the person who hired Russian mercenary Roman Lenkov (Sam Douglas) and orchestrated the bombing of the British warship Courageous at the start of season 1. Her primary suspect was none other than Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear), the U.K.’s Prime Minister. But as she was piecing things together, another explosion shook things up: a car bomb went off in the heart of London.

Season 2 began with the aftermath of the bombing. British MP Merritt Grove (Simon Chandler) died just as he seemed close to revealing the ship-bombing plot to Kate’s husband, Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell). Ronnie Buckhurst (Jess Chanliau), one of Kate’s employees, also died from the explosion. Meanwhile, Hal and Kate’s deputy chief Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh) were both critically injured. This raised even more suspicions on Trowbridge…and season 2 delivered answers.

Courtesy Netflix

Did Trowbridge really do it?

Throughout the season, all signs pointed towards the U.K.’s Prime Minister. Shortly after the car bombing, Lenkov was also killed before he could spill the beans. But new revelations disproved Kate’s theory. Ultimately, Trowbridge’s longtime advisor Margaret Roylin (Celia Imrie) told her the whole truth behind the ship-bombing plot in exchange for refuge.

Roylin told Kate, Hal, and CIA agent Eidra Park (Ali Ahn) that Trowbridge was clueless and had no part in the orchestration. It was actually MP Grove, Roylin and another accomplice named Stendig who hired Lenkov to bomb the ship, the idea being to unite the U.K. and stop Scotland from seceding. Hal bought the story but Kate and Eidra did not, so they decided to get Roylin and Trowbridge in the same room.

When Trowbridge was briefed on the situation, he reacted violently after Roylin confessed. He strangled Roylin and knocked her so hard to the ground that her head began to bleed.

Alex Bailey / Netflix

Was the case actually closed, then?

By episode 5, everything seemed to be tied up into a neat little bow. Roylin confessed, and U.S. Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janey) flew in to help clean up the mess after Kate and her team accused Trowbridge of being part of the bombing plot. The VP also convinced the Prime Minister to bury the fact that the terrorist attacks came from within British ranks. Kate, impressed by the way Penn handled the entire situation, told her to fight to keep her job. (Even as the president eyed Kate for the position.)

Things seemed to be ending on a nice note for once, but Hal came in with the huge plot-twist: VP Grace Penn was aactually behind the idea to bomb Courageous. Though it was Roylin, Grove, and Stendig who executed the plan, it was the Vice President of the U.S. who planned what was supposed to be a minor false flag attack. This was all a plot to stop the Scottish from seceding and to keep their submarine base open.

As Penn herself later explained to Kate, if the Scottish gained their independence from the U.K., they would close the submarine base. This would’ve been a problem for the U.S. because Russia would have a wide-open route for a submarine to go straight for New York City. Russia could also escalate its military activity, and the threat of a nuclear war would loom larger. The VP admitted the casualties that occurred due to her plan were a mistake. She owned up to the 43 deaths because of her decision but justified them by saying they were the cost of saving “40,000 or 40 million” lives from a possible nuclear war.

Alex Bailey / Netflix

A shocking death changed everything.

When Hal got the truth about the Vice President, he and Kate decided to inform the Secretary of State. Hal and Eidra went to make the secure call while Kate entertained the VP, but once Hal was in the secure call room, he changed his mind. Instead of calling the Secretary of State, he went straight to the head honcho: President Rayburn…and this backfired in a big way.

While Kate and the VP got into a heated discussion, Stuart interrupted and said her husband wanted to speak with her on the phone about something urgent. As she picked up the phone, she noticed Secret Service agents running. That’s when Hal told her he changed his mind about their initial plan and the President got really upset by the news he delivered, presumably causing a heart attack. Then he said, “He died, Kate. The president is dead. Grace Penn is president.”

Courtesy Netflix

So what will happen next?

There you have it folks! President Rayburn is dead and Grace Penn is the new President of the United States—all because of Hal’s actions. This may spell trouble for Kate, given everything she knows and her not-so-cordial relationship with the now-former VP.

We’ll all just have to tune in on The Diplomat season 3, which has already been confirmed by Netflix.