Tag Archives: Jess Chanliau

The Diplomat: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fantastic follow-up from the first season that had me on the edge of my seat at times and ended on one of the most bonkers moments I have seen all year.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

A coffin draped in the USA flag.

The Diplomat Review –

My background is in International Relations, and it does not come up here as much as I would like, other than the occasional The Hitman’s Bodyguard jaunt. Well, today, I get to dive back into a series that plays on a lot of those themes, so much so that we get a deep dive into Australian defence policy that I never thought I would see on the big screen.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Season One, Ambassador Katherine “Kate” Wyler (Keri Russell) and Austin Dennison, UK Foreign Secretary (David Gyasi), discovered that while they know which terrorist undertook the attack on the British Aircraft Carrier. It was not the Russians who paid for the attack but Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear), the UK Prime Minister. What do you do when you discover the head of one of your most trusted allies might have undertaken a false flag operation, killing thirty of their own military personnel? A secret that not only could sink at least one government but could fracture alliances, and destabilise the world. Who do you trust when your main allies could be the ones not only stirring the pot but could be targeting you as well? Now, from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Diplomat: Season 1 – TV Review

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5

TL;DR – This is a delightfully amusing show for one delving into such topical stories. Like if The West Wing met Utopia by way of The Crown.   

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series

A British funeral

The Diplomat Review –

In a former life, I got very much down the rabbit hole of the world of international affairs. While that is now deep in the past, it is nice to dip your toes back into what could have been from time to time. I thought I would do this when I saw a new show about being the new Ambassador from the USA to the UK. I am not quite sure what I was expecting when I sat down to watch, but I am not sure that a show that is equal parts drama and farce was one of them.

So to set the scene, after years of being the deputy chief of Mission for her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell), Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is getting ready to step up and be the next Ambassador to Afghanistan. However, there was no ambassador in London, which was a problem when an external actor attacked the Aircraft carrier HMS Courageous. So without warning, Kate is dropped into the thick of it as most people see this as an Iranian attack to avenge the Americans for taking an oil tanker earlier in the month. However, while Kate is trying to find her feet, what she is not aware of, but what White House Chief of Staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah) has given Stuart Heyford (Ato Essandoh), Deputy Chief of Mission, has given the heads up about is that Kate is on a shortlist to replace the Vice President who is about to get turfed in a scandal. Kate would be good for the job if not for the fact that her marriage is about to implode. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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