The Diplomat (2023) s03e02 Episode Script

1
[Grace] What happened?
Is he dead? What the fuck happened?
Ma'am, President Rayburn died
four minutes ago.
[shocked mumbling]
Madam President.
Who was he talking to?
President Rayburn
was on the phone with Hal.
I killed him. I told him
the false flag attack was your idea.
- Hal!
- What did you think you were doing?
I was warning the commander in chief
he had a rogue deputy.
A terribly flawed woman
is now the president.
And only we know just how flawed.
So I have to be her fucking VP
just so we can keep an eye on her.
You wanted to return Margaret Roylin
to our custody.
We'll take her.
She wants to offer asylum
to Margaret Roylin.
I don't think she should pull the trigger
before we talk to Langley.
Put the offer through.
We'll deal with the rest tomorrow.
The United States
would like to offer you asylum.
- [Hal] You have enemies in this country.
- [Margret] I have enemies everywhere.
Hal Wyler. Ambassador's wife.
Todd Penn. First Lady.
I need to make sure you understand
that my wife is your vice president.
This is going to be a pain point.
I apologize. I know it's complicated.
Hal.
I'd like you to be my vice president.
[astonished silence]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[Hal] Kate?
Frances, is she here?
[Frances] I believe she's upstairs, sir.
[Hal] Katie?
[footsteps ascending stairs]
[exhales]
It should have been you.
I told her, I said,
"You got the wrong Wyler."
We both fucking know what it is.
They're too chickenshit
to put two women in the White House.
Which I don't agree with,
obviously, but I can understand.
That's not about Grace,
that's about the country.
She knows if she picks me,
she gets both of us.
I'm the consolation prize.
That's all it is.
[breathes heavily]
She wanted an answer.
She wanted me on Air Force One.
But I I I wouldn't do it.
I said we needed to talk about it.
[pin clatters]
[sighs] So let's talk about it.
This is an opportunity.
You want to start cleaning up the mess
we left in Afghanistan? Done.
You want to deal with Iran?
I will have a portfolio.
You tell me what to put in it.
I mean, you said you wanted
to keep an eye on her, right?
You will have a desk in my office.
I'll be cutting ribbons in Akron.
You will be in the White House,
watching what she does all the time.
Or tell me to say no, and I'll say no.
I mean it. I will call Billie.
I don't want this unless you want it too.
Just tell me what to say.
[pins clatter]
Say yes.
[door opens]
- [door closes]
- [footsteps approaching]
[lock clanking]
[bustling chatter]
[sirens wail]
[indistinct street chatter]
[security agent] All clear.
[lively chatter]
[rock music playing from speakers]
- [man] One guy.
- No.
- [man] No is not on the table.
- No.
You know what? Fuck off.
- Oh, here it comes.
- It's not rational.
Princeton over there is a fucking pussy
with a baby carrot
where his dick should be.
You're saying no
like you believe it's rational.
My friend, you can only piss
with the dick you're given.
[woman] What about the guy from CenCom?
He doesn't want
to talk clear, hold, and build.
He wants to show up,
admire the problem, and leave.
[man] Sir,
we put a government on its feet.
And the moment it seeks justice
for one of the most notorious butchers
in the country's collective memory,
we take him into protective custody?
So, he's a yes. You?
- How do you feel about baby carrots?
- Whoa.
[Kate] He's concerned it's disingenuous.
I'm concerned we have
one viable secular party in the race,
and if we let the committee,
who's shilling for the Shia coalition,
who's shilling for Iran,
execute Yusuf Hamidi,
we are handing them the election.
Shia vote's not gonna swing Abbar.
Iran doesn't want a secular Iraq.
They want a weak, sectarian Iraq,
and they are prepared to pay for it.
They bought the committee.
They scared the teeth
out of the High Commission.
This is all they need.
Sir, I don't think we came here
to take a trillion-dollar shit
and light it on fire.
Trouble is, you never know
what she's thinking.
- Ambassador.
- Keep him.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you, sir.
Don't gloat. He's having a rough week.
I won't. I'm gonna draft a cable.
- I'll get it to you in the morning.
- [Hal] Okay.
[shutters click open]
Ah. Good.
The Sun isn't the most reputable,
but look.
- She is a striking figure.
- Mm.
Oh, I've procured extras for keepsakes.
- They say anything at the gate?
- About the new president?
About Kate?
- We'll have someone call her detail.
- I'm not doing that.
- Is the ambassador missing?
- She's not.
- She's not here.
- She's with detail. She's fine.
The gate didn't hear from her detail?
Not since I came on duty.
If they had any concerns
about her safety
I don't give a fuck
about their lack of concern
Hi.
I was about to brief you
and your husband on the next steps.
[Kate] Great.
[Nora] Vetting you
for vice president is going to be
an extremely complicated process.
- I've been vetted before.
- Not like this.
We have a 15-person legal team
starting today.
You get a call from the council's office,
day or night, answer it.
- What about Kate?
- Uh, she'll be vetted too.
No. What's her portfolio?
We'll have an ongoing dialogue
with the first gentleman
to divvy up events.
[Hal] No, not as second lady.
As a foreign policy expert
knocking around the White House.
[Nora] Of course. Um
The Museum of American Diplomacy.
They, um They have a building.
But they don't have funds to do anything
with it. They need a champion.
Mm.
Do you have any idea
what my wife did in Baghdad or Kabul?
Don't.
She should be brokering
an 83-part peace plan for Yemen.
We'll reflect that
You should make her
goddamn Secretary of State!
That's Miguel Ganon's job.
So make her my chief of staff.
You can do that, can't you?
That's my job.
Is it?
Trust me, we are both surprised.
Enough. Take us
through the questionnaire.
Kate.
Stop.
We will find a role for you, okay?
Not the bullshit curly was on about,
something real.
We'll set the foreign policy agenda
for the next decade.
You need to fill out
Billie's questionnaire,
and then you need to talk to her
about your role.
- Not mine.
- I got the role.
The president chose you
because you are apolitical
and can help with foreign policy.
Also, because you look good in photos.
That on its own might be enough.
If you want it to be more than that,
if you want to own a region
or join the War Council,
you need to negotiate that as a condition
of your acceptance right now.
I have to go pack up my office.
I want org charts
for NSC and State with names.
- Okay.
- [inhales deeply]
And, uh, a call with Billie Appiah.
We're gonna need to go to the embassy.
I set up 15 minutes on Friday
to discuss the confirmation process.
No, now.
It's the first day
of the Grace Penn presidency.
Her chief of staff is booked.
Then I want you to email her
and tell her I'm turning down the job.
Shred.
[inhales slowly]
[sighs]
Shred.
I have to tell the Brits.
That you're leaving?
They'll want a reason.
They can't know
about Hal before it's public.
Shred.
Call them from DC.
I'm just gonna pick up and go?
It happens.
- It's disrespectful.
- [door knocks]
- Hi.
- Ah. Phone, emergency comms, ID, laptop.
She backed it up. We need someone
to wipe it before we turn it in.
Yep.
- What else?
- Performance reviews.
I can handle most of them
but the top level.
Send me the list.
Do you want a meeting
with the country team or town hall?
To say what?
Goodbye.
We'll do a note. I'll draft it.
Now, what am I forgetting?
- The lobby.
- Right. Uh
Past ambassadors have their names engraved
in the lobby wall before departure.
- We're doing that today?
- [Neil] No.
If we get a picture of you in the spot,
we can photoshop the name in later.
You want a photo of me
in front of an empty wall?
I do.
Why don't you just take a picture
of the wall and photoshop me in later?
[door closes]
[Kate] Eidra's my height.
You can take her picture
then just swap in my face.
Roylin is dead.
[shocked silence]
[somber music rises]
[Eidra] Theo found the body.
No note.
- A lot of people wanted her dead. Was she
- No signs of coercion.
The only people she had contact with
were me, my team, and your husband.
- Hal?
- We offered her asylum.
Why?
Do the Brits know?
I haven't quite figured out how to say
a British citizen killed herself
in a CIA safe house
she wasn't supposed to be in.
- Are you?
- Gonna get fired? Probably.
State will tell you
to stay away from this,
and any decent lawyer will agree.
But if you stand by me on this,
it could make a difference.
- Eidra
- I don't like asking for help at all.
But you've built solid
relationships here.
I'm leaving.
I fly out tonight.
Grace Penn asked
you to be vice president.
She asked Hal.
I'll be
I'll go with him.
To be
Second lady.
I'm sorry, I have to go prep.
[helicopter whirring]
[indistinct chatter]
- Hey, you wanna take a look at this cable?
- Hey! You want me to?
Shut the door.
Sit down.
That's supposed to be
on his desk in 15 minutes.
[sighs]
Anything you wanna tell me?
No.
No. [chuckles nervously] Why?
Just asking.
Don't do that. It's not fair.
- What?
- I'm not your asset. I'm your friend.
I don't want to feel like you're analyzing
my micro-movements every time we talk.
I'm not.
Okay. Sorry.
- I'm being a little
- Defensive?
Carole, come on.
I walked in the door defensive?
No.
You walked in with underwear
sticking out the bottom of your trousers.
Oh my God. Oh my God.
Oh my God. Oh my God.
- Sorry, I'm here to use the SCIF.
- Yeah, all yours.
- Calling Billie.
- [Kate] Great.
Congratulations.
- I haven't said yes yet.
- Isn't that what we're doing right now?
I hope so. Just got a
couple of questions.
You're going from unemployed
to first in the line of succession?
Are you telling me you have terms?
You knew about Grace Penn
and the carrier attack,
and you didn't tell the president.
Yes, I have terms.
- You should have told him.
- I didn't 'cause I thought it'd kill him.
You kept information from the president,
and you drummed up a scandal
to dump his VP.
You don't wanna play chicken
with me, Billie.
What do you want?
A job for Kate.
A real one.
She was gonna reopen
relations with Kabul.
Middle East is out.
All it takes to drag us into war
is someone blowing up the second lady.
She can rebuild the Iran deal.
Or start a treaty. Or both.
Make her nuclear czar.
Nonproliferation is a problem
for Tennessee and New Mexico.
- We can't call her a nuclear anything.
- Call it something else.
Still there?
It's Reuters and CNN.
Mm.
Weaver is a leaky faucet. I want Balakin.
I'll be right back.
- How'd it go?
- Great. Fantastic.
You got War Council?
What? No.
We were scheduled for an OIG assessment.
You don't want an assessment
without a chief of station to back you.
- Can you cancel?
- We can request a delay.
Have them start
with the consulate in Belfast.
Um
[spluttering] Sorry.
I'm gonna need a few minutes.
China has a special envoy to Europe.
Sounds like a charm offensive,
but know where he spends his time?
Russia and Ukraine.
[quietly] Job's a cover story
and a blank check.
You can take on
reconstruction in Ukraine.
- You can
- NATO.
NATO.
We've been trashing the biggest
peacetime alliance in human history.
You'll bring it back to life.
- What about second lady?
- Do both.
Who's gonna say no
to a meeting with the second lady?
[Hal breathes deeply]
- Told you it was gonna be okay.
- I thought you were full of shit.
It's gonna be okay.
[sighs]
Churchill said Britain is the only nation
that likes being told bad news,
so here it is.
I have submitted my letter of resignation
as Ambassador to the Court of St. James.
That's great.
If Churchill is too on the nose, I have
something from Disraeli, but it's long.
Can you, uh
Yeah.
I wrote your performance review.
I told them to keep you here
until the new guy's on his feet.
And then get you out.
Make you an ambassador.
That's
- Wow.
- It'll be someplace small to start out.
You don't want your first time
to be in a place like this. [chuckles]
[chuckles]
Ma'am I don't know what to say.
There's another option.
Okay.
The president is appointing me
special envoy to Europe
right after Hal's sworn in.
That's
Congratulations.
I couldn't ask you to come with me
as second lady, but this
[gasps]
Wow.
[laughs] Yeah.
Special envoy?
The title is vague, but that's the point.
I mean Europe doesn't
stop after Germany.
It's a blank check.
As in funding?
No, I mean, um
Well, we're still figuring that out,
but it is what we make it.
So, oversight is State or White House?
I don't know.
Um
You're my first stop.
We gotta come up
with a list of questions.
I mean, that sounds incredible.
That's a no. [deflated chuckle]
- No, ma'am. I'm so sorry.
- No, no, no, no! Pfft.
Don't be. Don't be.
You as special envoy,
you are gonna do great things.
But as your deputy,
if I don't know
how we're being funded or staffed
Mm-hmm.
[clicks tongue]
I could be an ambassador.
It's what I've been working toward
for 20 years.
Yeah.
Me too.
Ma'am.
Is this what you want?
Yeah.
[Stuart] What have you seen?
[Eidra] An Airbus.
Two Dreamliners.
I'm not going to DC.
She asked.
I said no.
I am going to help you through this.
I won't let you be the punching bag.
That's why you said no?
It's not why, but yeah.
It's partly why.
Okay, lay it on me.
I should have asked you.
Making unilateral decisions
on a relationship
in which you are also a voting party.
Stuart.
You are the sweetest person
I have ever met.
I thought it was an act
when I first met you.
I was worried that I was
not the right person for a guy who was
so kind and good-hearted and
oblivious.
It was nice for a second there.
I can't keep protecting you from me.
You don't have to.
You're right, it's an act.
I can be an ice-hearted motherfucker
when I need to be.
Oh my God.
She is not leaving the building
without a blow-by-blow statement
on her role
in every inflection point with Roylin.
Ganon doesn't want to fuck
with a new second lady.
I'll take it to him.
He'll talk to number 10.
I'll talk to Dennison,
who feels a deep kinship with me
for reasons that need no explanation.
Stuart Kate could
help me through this.
Because Trowbridge loves her
and Dennison wants to fuck her.
Nobody gives a shit about Ganon,
and nobody gives a shit about you.
Don't worry.
They don't give a shit about me either.
[purposeful string music playing]
Do you think you can hold your hand out
like you're gesturing to the name?
[clears throat]
Lower.
Just a little bit to the left so you're
not blocking the imaginary "r" in Wyler.
[footsteps receding]
- How'd it go?
- Great.
Ma'am. I said you shouldn't talk
to the Brits today,
but someone's got to tell them
about Roylin. And if you don't
Then it's you.
No, it's Eidra.
[music stops]
[indistinct chatter]
- [Trowbridge] Ambassador?
- Sir.
I was hoping to get a moment
of your time. I have some news.
We're needed in the Commons.
Can we schedule something
Margaret Roylin died yesterday evening.
She killed herself.
She was under constant supervision.
Her body was found quickly, but
[Trowbridge] First met her at Shepherd's.
She paid the boy to cock up my order.
Wanted to see if I was a soft body
or if I knew how to raise a stink.
Her first test.
Did your lot do this?
No. They didn't.
I wanted to kill her.
[scoffs] I tried.
She survived me.
She survived the end of Empire.
Thatcherites, New Labour.
Fucking cunt was to outlive us all.
Perhaps we continue this inside?
Why didn't you return her?
I told you to yesterday.
That was the intention.
I should have, before the swearing-in.
That's That's my mistake.
It certainly is.
What do you intend to do about it?
I am leaving London.
Hayford will serve as chargé
until the president can appoint a new
- You're leaving?
- [Trowbridge] Oh, for heaven's sake.
Tell your president I understand the
logic of firing you for gross negligence.
I appreciate the gesture,
but it's not what I fucking want.
That is not why I'm leaving.
Then why?
It's a new administration.
There will be a job shuffle.
Deputy secretary, or?
- No. [clears throat]
- The NSC?
There will be an announcement
in a few days.
So, soil the bed and disappear.
I expected more from you,
though I honestly don't know why.
Sir, it has been an honor
[scoffs] Best of luck. And may the road
rise up to kick you in the tits.
He has every right
to be upset, as you do.
- I am so sorry.
- It's okay.
[laughs in disbelief] It is
definitely not okay.
We had her in a safe house.
- We had one job.
- Kate.
Are you all right?
[scoffs]
[exhales] Sorry, I didn't sleep much.
[sighs]
When do you leave?
Tonight.
I am not going to work at State.
I am going to be my husband's wife.
'Cause that's what you
Want?
Apparently.
It's what I keep choosing.
In a few days,
you'll read about Hal in the paper,
and this will all make more sense.
- Will it?
- I think so.
I hope so.
Sir.
It has been
Yes.
Indeed, it has.
[sighs]
Hey.
Carole knows.
Because the underwear I couldn't find
this morning was in my pant leg
and apparently journeyed down
to my ankle over the course of the day.
- Okay.
- Really?
I mean, I think it's okay.
She's not going to tell anyone.
The only one she tells anything to is me.
But if if you're worried
Danny called.
[inhales deeply]
They want me in Vienna.
We're starting secret talks with Syria.
They had a prisoner swap.
No one thought
it was gonna move the needle, but
- It did.
- Yeah.
That's great.
It's not going to move fast, Kate.
- No, it's not.
- I'm not coming back here.
I'm going with you.
No, you're not.
- I like Austria.
- No, you don't.
- I have an open mind.
- You don't.
I'll work in the consular section.
I will help hikers find out
if the hills really are alive.
You're not going to blow up your career.
You should be doing my job.
I'm not having you stamp fucking visas.
Is this a fling?
- No.
- Is this what you do?
Are you fucking me
because you go from post to post,
teaching the young and idealistic
how to fight for democracy
by schooling them with your magic penis?
- Jesus Christ.
- Yes or no?
- No.
- If you're done, say it.
Say, "Sweetheart, this was fun,
but I'm done and I want to move on."
- That's not what I want, Kate.
- What do you want?
It's not rocket science, okay?
We would be a tandem couple like
everyone else in the fucking service.
I would stamp visas so no one knows
I'm actually working for the Iran team,
which could use new blood.
They just got lapped by a computer virus.
You'd get three years.
I'd get three years.
We'd go where you had a great job.
We'd go where I had a great job.
Simplest math problem in the world.
If you don't want it, have the ball sack
to say you don't want it!
[Nora] Floodlights at Anders are bright.
Try not to squint for the photos.
- [Hal] Who are we expecting?
- Reuters and CNN.
- And they know about
- [Nora] Nothing.
We took the VP seal off the plane.
That's protocol, but it still says
United States of America across the body,
so the hold will be
at the top of the air stairs.
[inhales] Actually, let's have you come
out first. Give them some solo shots.
They should get us together, right?
[Nora] If she comes out right behind you,
we get both. I'll tell you when to go.
Can I jump in with a question?
I don't mean to interrupt, but, uh
[sighs] what if
she's not on the plane?
- Would anybody bat an eye?
- I mean, no, but
As a hypothetical, what if she stayed
in London as ambassador?
Is that coming from State? I
[Stuart] At the moment,
it's coming from me.
There is merit to her staying
until he's confirmed.
- But the White House feels that
- After the confirmation.
What if she just stayed here?
You are speaking for the White House,
I'm speaking for the embassy.
I mean, having steady leadership
- Stuart
- Having her leadership
You're asking if she can stay
in London permanently.
She can fly to DC for the big things.
I mean, how often do you really need her?
Twice a month? Once?
The Office of Second Lady
may not be a hive of activity,
but it is a bit more involved than that.
What else? Tell me.
We'll make a calendar. Board it out.
[Nora] America ousted its monarchs.
It left a vacuum.
If you don't fill it
with a little pomp and circumstance,
if you don't show the people what it
means to be a proud American family,
some neo-fascist crawls out of
the woodwork and takes the empty throne.
That's the job. You want to board it out?
Well, most American couples
have two careers.
You can't survive on one salary
in this economy.
So if she is modeling the
American family, let her keep her job.
Reflect the family
Americans actually have.
She's not losing her job. She's
going to be special envoy to Europe.
I'm sorry?
If she wants to stay and be ambassador,
we can make it work.
But the White House wants her
to be special envoy to Europe.
- That might require a conversation.
- It's Billie's idea.
Look, she can go to DC,
lead policy for all of Europe, or she can
stay in a shrinking island kingdom
that diddled its economy and rabble-roused
its way to global irrelevance.
The only reason she'd choose ambassador
in London over special envoy in DC
is if she wanted
to be 3,000 miles away from me.
That's right.
I think we're good.
- Yeah.
- [clears throat]
Is that what you want?
To be 3,000 miles apart?
No.
[poignant piano music playing]
You want a divorce?
[music ends]
Uh, that's a stupid question.
You've answered it a hundred times.
I mean, you most certainly do.
That's not what we're doing.
We had a secret relationship
for 14 months.
We could have a secret divorce.
A separation.
Make it official in a couple years
when I'm a has-been.
Yeah, Stuart's right.
Stay here.
Show up for photo ops.
I'm going with you, and I am begging you.
Please don't ask me
to make you feel better about it.
I don't have it in me.
[soft rock playing over speakers]
[indistinct bar chatter]
Draft is on your desk.
I'm not adding extra words just to make it
seem like you spent a lot of time on it.
I would like you to marry me.
You want to do that?
[bustling bar chatter]
[music halts]
[lights buzz]
[Frances] The ambassador's luggage can go
straight in the car.
But before anything is loaded,
please be sure
it's been tagged
[phone ringing]
On my way to the car. Will it wait?
Well, um, I remember
You talked to the Brits?
- Yeah.
- Thanks.
I don't think it helped.
Tell the director it all came from me.
It did.
Exactly. I had you offer Roylin asylum.
I had you rush over
before the swearing-in.
They won't blame the second lady.
They can't.
Honey, from the Winfield bees.
Thank you, Pensy.
With much labor, they
make such sweetness.
May you always remember your time here.
Might I?
Oh, of course. [chuckles softly]
[car engine starts up]
You will be missed.
[Kate] Eidra!
Are we okay?
Yeah.
Let me tell you, floor statements,
special orders, transcripts
[Hal continues indistinctly]
[emotional orchestral music playing]
Ma'am.
[music swells]
[music fades out]
[Kate] Byron.
I've done this
for a number of ambassadors.
You were different.
[Hal] I'm gonna try to lure you to DC.
I hope we get to host you
back at Winfield.
Thanks for taking such good care of her.
[sighs nostalgically]
[chuckles happily]
[chuckles tearfully]
[somber music rises]
[Stuart sighs]
[music swells]
[no audible dialogue]
[plane engine whirring]
[plane engine roars on take off]
- [resolute final note plays]
- [music fades]
[poignant orchestral music playing]
[music fades out]