The Diplomat (Season 4)–Women Leaders: Moving On?
In the continuing Netflix drama, The Diplomat (season 4) we continue to see the dissolution of a marriage between two highly ambitious and brilliant diplomats, Kate Wyler, Ambassador to the United Kingdom, (played by Keri Russell) and her husband, Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell). The backdrop is the escalating tensions between Russia and the US. The UK is a probable sacrificial lamb in the conflict of bombastic nuclear threats on the part of the US president, Alice Penn (Alison Janney) and her acolyte, Hal.
Power-politics with a misogynistic, somewhat unhinged husband, does not encourage Ambassador Wyler’s delicate balancing act to avoid a potential war. And Todd Penn, the First Husband (Bradley Whitford of “Handmaid’s Tale”), is sometimes the voice of reason, siding with Kate, and then unexpectedly shifting to bend the knee to his wife. And to underscore how gender changes the formula of leadership and power, the new UK Prime Minister, is Bethan Vaughan (Jodie Whittaker of “Doctor Who”).
What makes this season particularly well-written, is how the first woman president reflects on her fear, emotional turmoil, and the anxiety over her husband as a soulmate and “second fiddle”. (Are there echoes of the Clintons here–a brilliant professional team for geopolitical achievements but a marriage deeply flawed and painful?) Alice Penn is profoundly vulnerable after a horrific, chaotic incident. The emotional impact causes her to be desperate to demonstrate “masculine” strength, which she interprets as the power to declare war. This intensified struggle mirrors the increasing pressures on the Wylers’ marriage and the viability of juggling power and relationship. And UK Prime Minister Vaughan may mix up the gender-based complexity demanded of a woman leader even further.
While the writing, surprising plot points, and eviscerating analysis of geopolitics are the extraordinary strengths of this season of The Diplomat, the vicious cycle of emotional abuse, apologies, and then aggressive, furious sex have grown repetitive and tiresome. Will Kate Wyler finally understand that her marriage to Hal is self-destructive–both for the ugliness that Hal brings out and for her willingness as a participant? And what about Hal’s character arc? Will he be able to short-circuit his abusiveness and perhaps mitigate his thirst for power in order to allow both of them to be in a safe and rewarding relationship?
Hal brutally derides Kate during a savage argument:
“I have a seat at the table. This, behaving like a mosquito, is what you do when you don’t.”
The direction of the marriages, the geopolitics, and especially the dissection of leadership and its ramifications for women need to be brought full center in the next season. Although there are no easy answers, I hope the writers change direction to avoid stale repetitive behavior and plots.
Availability: Netflix
Note: See May 28, 2023 review of The Diplomat, season one —“The Diplomat: Tact Needed”