The diplomat

The other army

Season 2

Episode 4

Editor's Rating

4 stars

****

Photo: Netflix

Is it possible that the work of the American ambassador and her various allies will return to normal after the various physical and behavioral disasters of recent episodes? Kate and Hal seem to work pretty well together; Stuart has found the means to seriously recant his near-sabotage of Kate's vice-presidential running mate; and Kate, Hal, and Eidra devise a less-than-ideal but quite sophisticated plan to reveal new details of Roylin's plan to Dennison and Trowbridge while testing his reaction to signs of guilt And Get rid of Roylin. You know what? While we're at it, we should plan a road trip to the highlands. Rugged landscapes, frighteningly narrow streets and a buffet of delicious Scottish burrs may just be the icing on this episode's cake!

Even for a show that's essentially about people talking in rooms, talking as they go from one room to another, and then talking to other people about what they said in previous conversations in previous rooms, “The Other Army” is notable for the quality it draws attention to its conversations in rooms. They're feeling a little less rushed and more process-oriented than they've been lately, or maybe I'm just noticing that more, especially since this is an episode where most of the conversation is about planning another, far more consequential conversation goes.

In Kate's reconciliation conversation with Stuart, her office feels like a sanctuary, which is just right for two people who acknowledge that not each of them did their best and calmly reflect on their ability to work well together. Kate is particularly insightful about the challenges of playing Stuart's role in the past, the awkwardness of stepping into Hal's role, and dealing with the reality that each role is terrible in its own way . I'm glad that Stuart is back in the inner circle and that Kate is invested enough in their relationship to create this quiet moment for the two of them.

We see something similar after Kate's conversation with Scottish Prime Minister Jemma Doud. She really admired Doud and is baffled that it ended up going wrong, especially because it was an interesting and substantive way to start their working relationship. What is she? do in this job, Kate wonders aloud. It sucks to meet a political colleague who you think could be an ally and friend and then find yourself willing to be a villain's lackey. Can they ever bend the villains to their will, or are they “just friends with villains”? This isn't as navel-gazing as it might seem; In fact, it's a reasonable counterargument to Hal's impassioned assertion last season that in diplomacy you have to talk to everyone. I like it The diplomat questions and pulls strings in its own claims and assumptions, and I absorb as much of it as it incorporates.

This episode also makes the most of the CIA safe house where Margaret Roylin still…resides? Detained but not detained? The gray area in which Eidra operates by taking custody of Roylin after she comes over grows darker and larger with each passing hour, so the use of Roylin's bedroom, the house's living room, and its kitchen perhaps metastasizes the situation reflects. Once Kate convinces Eidra to bring Hal into the picture as an intelligence firewall between them and Roylin, we're far from anything remotely resembling security or a house, so the conversation naturally takes place outside on an airstrip.

Once Hal is convinced of Roylin's version of the story and her belief that certain details can be set aside for the moment, Roylin tells Kate and Eidra more of the story and explains why the job went so horribly wrong. This seems to boil down to poor timing and sloppiness on Lenkov's part and naivety on Roylin and Grove's part. She takes responsibility for hiring Lenkov, admits the bombing to Stendig and insists that Trowbridge had nothing to do with it. She again claims that she has serious fears for Austin's safety and wants him to be read out so he can stop making fun of the situation. It is clear that all the details that Roylin shared with Hal and is not Sharing with Kate and Eidra is pretty earth-shattering.

Hal, Kate and Eidra decide that the best opportunity to ensure that Dennison gets Roylin's side of the story and to test their hypothesis that Trowbridge was involved will be at the retreat they will be attending in Scotland. Sure, that involves tapping Trowbridge's phone to monitor his next move for signs of guilt or innocence, but what's a somewhat top-secret and risky espionage between friends?

The long-awaited reveal and showdown between Roylin and Trowbridge in the final scene works because it is perfectly placed as the pivotal point of the entire season, and because there was narrative and character work done between Trowbridge and Kate in the episode's earlier scenes. It's impossible to forget what an idiot Trowbridge can be, but his exuberance at the Fourth of July party appeased him a little in my eyes. Back in Scotland, sitting in a library with his daily red ministerial mailbox and holding court with Kate and his chief of staff, Trowbridge encounters verbal flourishes about things like woolly muffs and three definitions of “dunning” (“relentlessly irritating; chalk on teeth”)” “When a Mechanical Device Ages and Produces an Almost Inaudible Whine”) are colorful and occasionally entertaining, but also remind us that he is an incredibly powerful middle-aged man who is happiest when complaining and/or trying to harm others to bully.

Who comforts the grieving parents of fallen sailors and then takes care of themselves? Who triumphs over the biggest challenge of their political career and then can't stop complaining about the cabinet member who just failed to unseat them? Pooh. Now consider the possibility that this is also the man who may have played a role in procuring the Lenkov Group's services, and then heard him say things like, “Someone needs to talk to the families – they can't do that.” .” Say 'Thanks for killing that man,' I've got the damn UN all over me!” If necessary, take a minute to use the free vomiting basin included with this summary.

I like that the entire lead-up to the final scene serves as a reminder that Kate isn't just designed to frantically deal with crises and waver over her relationships with Hal and Dennison. When asked to do so, she is a skilled and skilled operator, going against Trowbridge's earlier assessment that she would be useful in disarming them. This man is such an easy target that all she had to do was call him smart and successful and his whole face lit up with “She likes me!!!” joy.

We see another version of a Pavlovian reaction to an authoritarian woman when she is confronted with Roylin's quasi-maternal faintheartedness. After he tells her how successful he's managed to be in her absence, his brain catches up with his mouth and makes him close his mouth, and as Roylin had instructed seconds before, he sits down, takes a drink Sip water and wait to hear what she has to say. I would like to see a closely read article analyzing Roylin's numerous narrations of her various confessions. A big part of what makes Celia Imrie's performance such a pleasure is the way she balances where to emphasize and where to downplay certain elements, and how the writers frame her each time. For Trowbridge, Roylin framed her rationale for organizing the attack as requiring a strategy that would neutralize the threat of Scottish secession and “to attract attention and give you a reason to take the lead”. Who knows what Roylin expected her mentee's reaction to be, but I imagine he flew into a blind rage and lunged forward to try to strangle her while screaming, “You're a fucking monster,” what her bingo card for the day didn't say evening. On the bright side, his horror is proof that Nicol Trowbridge is capable of proper human emotion. Trying to kill Roylin is clearly bad; Giving Dennison an unassailable reason to storm into the room and pin Trowbridge against the wall is good; Roylin's violent, rather bloody blow to the back of the head makes for one hell of a tantalizing cliffhanger.

• Stuart gets the funniest lines in the episode, a helpful reminder that I get my money's worth The diplomat Works best when given a boost by small, everyday moments of silliness. It wouldn't have been appropriate in recent episodes to subscribe to his sentiment that he's “looking down on Eidra from a great height as my right as a gentleman is being despised”, but here it's a signal that Stuart isn't confident. is mistaken when he tells Billie, Kate and Eidra that he is in the right mood to be back at work.

• The second funniest moment is between Hal and Dennison in their back and forth about Dennison joining the Wylers and becoming Prime Minister of Scotland. Hal puts an end to Dennison's continued refusal by reminding him that he knows, and Dennison knows, and Hal knows that Dennison knows: “The day I was blown up here in your blessed city, Were you planning on fucking my wife.” Dennison's “See You in Scotland” is perfect, 18/10, no grades.

• Is there a certain level of “what the hell is wrong with you?” feeling that everyone who works in the embassy must exhibit at some point? It seems so, and in this episode it's Eidra's turn to take care of this particular hot potato. Lure Stuart into a trap to get to the bottom of Billie's concern for him after he tried to torpedo Kate's chances as vice president? What?! Eidra's eventual apology is an unusually shaky and inelegant stop-gap moment for her, but it seems sincere.