The US and UK have long been trusted allies on the world stage — but all this implodes with a single explosion at the end of The Diplomat’s Season 1 finale. That volatile cliff-hanger left the political and personal fates of all the characters hanging in the air — and Season 2 launches right back into the chaos. 

The political thriller from creator Debora Cahn (The West Wing, Homeland) stars Keri Russell (who earned an Emmy nomination for the first season) as Kate Wyler, the US ambassador to the UK. Kate and British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi) are in still Paris, where they had gone to convince the French Minister of the Interior Brielle Fournier (Micky Sébastian) to help them capture Roman Lenkov, the Russian mercenary they believe is behind the deadly attack on the British warship HMS Courageous –– since they have a tip he’ll be on French soil. 

Kate had learned during her one-on-one time with Fournier that the British planned on killing Lenkov, which comes as a surprise to her — as well as Dennison when she tells him — since they thought it was a capture so they could interrogate him. Kate and Dennison start piecing details together, and all signs point to the British prime minister, Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear), as being the one who hired Lenkov to blow up his own nation’s warship.

Just as that realization strikes, they learn of an explosion back in London’s Notting Hill, targeting a meeting between Kate’s husband, Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) — also a US ambassador, who’s currently off duty — and British MP Merritt Grove (Simon Chandler), with ties to the Tory party. The UK embassy’s deputy chief of mission, Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh), and aide Ronnie Buckhurst (Jess Chanliau), were trying to stop the meeting when Grove’s car exploded with all four of them in the line of fire.

And with that dire uncertainty, the six-episode second season begins …

Who died in the London explosion?

The sophomore season kicks off with Kate desperately trying to find out the status of her husband. She soon learns that between Hal, Stuart, Ronnie, and Grove, there’s one dead and three injured. Dennison slips her a note, revealing Grove as the deceased. But the three Americans remain in critical condition in surgery. 

Dennison catches Kate’s ear to let her know that the Tory party has received donations from Russian sources, meaning that if you’re Prime Minister Trowbridge and need something from Lenkov, then Grove is your go-to guy. Their theory all makes sense. 

In a flippant moment while Kate’s on the phone, she fumbles and says she’s at the British embassy in Beirut, when she’s actually in Paris. Whether that’s a Freudian slip to her past post in the Lebanon office –– or a reaction to the fact that the explosive situation suddenly feels more like the more substantive, less ceremonial work she was hoping to do –– is uncertain. But it’s worth noting that it happens while she’s dressed in a red ball gown: very out of her element. To get back into her sartorial comfort zone, she borrows a British male aide’s suit and rips off the crimson dress in frustration, a sign she’s hit a breaking point. 

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What does Kate do now that she thinks British Prime Minister Trowbridge is behind the attack?

Bolting to the hospital, Kate is focused on finding CIA Chief Eidra Park (Ali Ahn). She lets Eidra in on her suspicions about Trowbridge, alerting her that the Americans aren’t safe in the British hospital since “the call is coming from inside the house.” Eidra locks down the hospital wing to Americans only, even excluding their own British staff. 

The two duck into a hospital room to discuss the situation further. Worried about being bugged, Kate uses a white board to share what she learned in Paris, telling Eidra to investigate Trowbridge. That is a tall order. The last time the US surveilled a prime minister, “It almost ended NATO,” Eidra says, cleverly pointing to the latter half of the pre-printed “AM/PM” on the whiteboard to disguise who they’re talking about.

Meanwhile, Trowbridge is furious about the attack — and that his former advisor Margaret “Meg” Roylin (Celia Imrie) is missing. Despite being the leader of the UK, we also get a glimpse that Trowbridge’s wife, Lydia (Pandora Colin), wears the pants in their relationship. 

Later, Mrs. Trowbridge lets Dennison in on her husband’s mindset by sharing how they met. She was his lecturer in a political thought theory class. “He’s a collaborator,” she says, explaining that she used to be the one he turned to, but then they started using Roylin since it caused less ruckus.

Does Hal survive the surgery?

Kate is alerted that Hal is out of surgery, and in perhaps her most vulnerable moment so far, she bursts into tears and climbs into the hospital bed with her husband. Despite their marital strife and see-sawing divorce plans, Kate melts into his arms, realizing he’s dodged another close call.

When Hal’s alert, their pillow talk turns to business again, debriefing on who knew about his meeting with Grove and how the attack could have been planted. That’s when Kate realizes — she herself told Roylin when she called her for intel on Grove. 

Eidra’s brought into Hal’s hospital room, urging Kate to think about exactly what Roylin said to her. Kate remembers that she called Grove a “batty old guy.” But they’re suddenly called into a COBRA meeting with all the heads of the British agencies.

While they’re in the meeting, Neil gets Hal’s sign-off on a release about the explosion for the embassy website, and Hal lingers on a photo of Kate and Dennison together in Paris. Clearly there’s some sexual tension and chemistry between his wife and the foreign secretary.

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How do Kate and Trowbridge interact now?

At the COBRA meeting, Kate is taken by Trowbridge’s show of sympathy, casting doubt on her thinking that he’s at fault. 

Trowbridge still thinks the Russians are to blame. But it turns out the forensic lab indicates that the explosives from Grove’s car bomb were British-made. Kate and Dennison believe they may have connected the right dots.

Dennison calls Kate in, and Eidra insists on joining. He alerts them that they can’t find Roylin — her cell phone is in her cottage, but she isn’t. She’s also not at her cousin’s place, where she often goes. Trowbridge is growing agitated that she can’t be found.

Riding back from the meeting, Eidra and Kate decide to get out of the car and walk so they can talk in confidence. They can’t quite figure out why Trowbridge has the entire government looking for Roylin if he orchestrated the attack, unless he’s so sinister he’s trying to kill her too. 

Kate again urges Eidra to investigate Trowbridge, but Eidra doubles down on the fact that the UK and US have a deal, and they can’t. Eidra then says she needs to put some distance between the CIA’s work and Kate. The stakes are so high that one of them could lose their job — and it should be Eidra, so it can happen quietly. 

Does Stuart survive the attack?

While Hal seems to have made the quickest recovery of the Americans injured in the explosion, Stuart and Ronnie’s fates are still up in the air. White House Chief of Staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah) and Kate have an awkward phone conversation that shows how heart-wrenching the situation is for both of them. Kate asks Billie how long she’s known Stuart. It’s been 23 years.

Back in Hal’s hospital room, Eidra is interrogating him when Kate joins them. They’re questioning where Dennison’s loyalties lie — and Hal makes it clear he doesn’t trust the foreign secretary, and asks Kate if she does.

They’re interrupted with news that Stuart’s surgeon has an update. Kate says she’ll go since “He’s my guy.” But Hal pulls her back and tells her to let Eidra go, telling Kate, “He’s her guy.” 

Only now does Kate realize Eidra and Stuart have been dating — and she gleefully shrieks when Eidra reenters the room. But Eidra’s tone is sullen. Stuart’s surgery went well, but he is still unconscious.

Soon Stuart wakes and the doctor checks his memory. He’s crystal clear on who Eidra is, even revealing her nickname is Pi since “she’s small, but she goes on forever.” He’s also very aware they’ve had a fight and he’s “in the doghouse.” What his memory has distorted is the explosion itself. He thinks it was a car crash.

And does Ronnie survive the explosion?

This is where things turn tragic. After nearly 11 hours in surgery, Ronnie is dead.

The death changes everything. Not only is it an American casualty, but Kate feels a punch in the gut, especially since Ronnie was so innocent — and just 28 years old.

She’s soon on the phone with US Secretary of State Miguel Ganon (Miguel Sandoval), talking through how to break the news to Ronnie’s family. They decide Kate will make the call and Ganon will follow up, since Kate says the family will want to remember having talked to Ganon.

Despite Ganon and Hal’s strained relationship, he asks Kate how he is doing. She says, “He’s OK. You and I both tried to kill him. It’s hard to do,” to which Ganon replies, “That’s the God’s honest truth.” It is a moment of bonding between the two within the tragedy.

As Kate shares her guilt about Ronnie’s loss and Hal’s survival, Ganon surprisingly defends Hal: “He’s the bane of my existence, but he’s never wanted anything other than life-altering solutions for a bunch of people he’s never met.”

Kate goes on to make the difficult call to Mrs. Buckhurst to tell her Ronnie is dead.

Now that there’s an American death, where the heck is Margaret Roylin?

Whether it’s his faulty memory or denial, Stuart is insistent Ronnie wasn’t near Grove’s car and was inside the restaurant when the bomb went off — a sign that piecing together what happened may be more difficult than imagined.

A call then comes into Ward 2, where the Americans are being treated. The caller asks for Kate, claiming their name is Anne Legendre Armstrong. 

Here’s the thing: Armstrong is the only other female US ambassador to the UK before Kate … but she’s been dead for 15 years.

A call from the beyond? Just as the camera fades, we see Roylin on the other end of the line. Of all people, she’s calling Kate while she’s on the lam … and things are about to get a lot more complicated. 

Watch The Diplomat Season 2 Trailer