The Diplomat (2023) s03e06 Episode Script

1
[pensive music playing]
[Kate] Ladies and gentlemen,
it is my pleasure
to introduce Callum Ellis.
- I'm something of a negotiator at large.
- Who fucks my wife.
You are not being cheated on.
You and I agreed. We are no
longer partnered in that manner.
I have to have some sense of where
to begin the cleanup of this shit stain
that you have no problem wiping
across the American flag.
You chose this.
You chose the vice presidency!
I know that.
Hal Wyler. Ambassador's wife.
Todd Penn. First lady.
[whispers] Holy fucking shit.
Some Chechen Lenkov colonel
says he knows the truth
about the HMS Courageous,
which is that America
was behind the attack.
What are you doing tonight?
Wanna have a drink with me?
- You're getting on a plane now.
- Why?
If she's briefing the president,
she needs to understand the situation.
The United States was responsible
for the British carrier attack.
If Lenkov knew and he told his staff
that's game over.
Prep Air Force Two
to get off the ground in 20 minutes.
- He needs to get back to Washington.
- The president's not in Washington.
Amagansett.
[music halts]
[steady orchestral music playing]
[birds squawk in distance]
[no audible dialogue]
[helicopter whirring]
[woman] We'll take the bags
to your cottage.
- Let me know if there's anything you need.
- [Kate] Thank you.
Ms. Park?
- Take your phone out of your pocket.
- I did.
- What?
- [Hal] I already did.
- Hey! Morning.
- Hello.
Come in. [chuckles] Come on in.
[Hal] Gorgeous spot.
Well, robber barons,
they knew how to shop.
You were swimming? It's freezing out.
- The pool, it's like a bathtub.
- Mr. Wyler?
People think I'm an asshole
when I say I heat it dead of winter,
but it's geothermal.
Costs nothing.
Just gotta check in with the boss.
You bring a suit?
- A swimsuit?
- No, I didn't.
They'll send one to your cottage.
It's right down the beach.
We got a box of them. Happens. [chuckles]
- I'm just gonna check in with the crew.
- They don't want you.
- They'd ask.
- [door slams]
We have fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.
Want some?
They make it every day. I
I can't drink it, because I take statins.
Grapefruit fucks with statins.
Grace, at this point,
is ready to hurl at the sight of it,
but she doesn't want
to micromanage the staff.
So if we don't find a customer,
it goes right down the drain.
It makes her fucking nuts. The waste.
- Don't you want to just
- What?
Tell them yourself?
No. It's not my staff.
It's the president's.
It's a real homewrecker
the humble grapefruit.
[clears throat]
Thank you.
- I swim 50 laps twice a day.
- Hmm.
Helps dissipate
that choking feeling you get
when the epicenter of the world's
a foot and a half away
and you still can't get there.
Oh, no, I I'm good.
I I'm just
If they need me, I'm here.
Sherri has been all over me
ever since Hal took office.
She's gonna want to get some shots of us,
you know, sharing a laugh.
- Who?
- Sherri, the official photographer.
- Ah.
- Yeah.
No one will ever try
and keep you away from her.
[both chuckle]
Great.
Well, I have to apologize. We
probably ruined a a relaxing weekend.
- Oh.
- [footsteps approaching]
- Mr. Penn, I'm so sorry to interrupt.
- Now they want you.
Oh. Um
[Kate clears throat]
[sighs]
[exhales]
How'd it go?
She's in the speechless phase.
You believe her?
How does she know it's not
disinformation, Russian source, tall tale?
Why is that more credible
than any other shit pot theory?
Because it's true.
- True things sound true.
- Thank you, Lao Tzu.
- [Billie] Ma'am
- What exactly sounds true?
- I killed 41 British sailors? I didn't.
- They're not saying that.
[Grace] Then what are they saying?
We've reached the point of the debacle
where somebody should say
what we're saying.
A Russian colonel knows,
and he's telling the CIA.
There's a not insignificant chance
it's coming out.
If it does it's catastrophic.
Tell Trowbridge an American was involved,
just like his citizens were involved.
And the two of you, together
- Need to tell the world.
- Oh, for fuck's sake.
It has come to our attention
that some nameless person, or persons,
of American and British extraction
were involved in the planning
of the attack on HMS Courageous.
[Hal] It's devastating.
We've launched the biggest investigation
in the history of the world.
We'll keep you posted.
So lay out a trail of breadcrumbs
leading directly to me.
No, it leads to years of investigation.
- A worldwide manhunt for me.
- The birds ate the crumbs in the story.
You can't follow a trail of breadcrumbs.
They disappear.
- That's the point of the story.
- [Billie] Okay.
We don't need to say Americans right now.
Margaret Roylin planned it.
She had it executed by Boris and Natasha,
and she confessed.
- Trowbridge has to say that to the public.
- The point here is American involvement.
Which is coming out
if we announce it or not.
The second Trowbridge gives up Roylin,
the whole world loses their mind.
British perpetrator.
Britain attacked itself.
A year from now, when some little thing
emerges about an American,
the whole thing is old news.
- Trowbridge won't do it.
- Then we'll do it for him.
Ma'am, that's unwise.
I need a second to think.
Thank you, Ambassador.
Naming Roylin makes a lot of sense.
You shut the fuck up, Hal.
I'm the name, and I'm the face.
And we should say so.
- Oh. No. No, no.
- No.
I suggested
that a situation needed handling.
Roylin hired Russian mafiosos.
That's what happened.
I don't care.
You're not telling that to the public.
When all the facts are on the table,
I don't look so bad.
- Respectfully
- You look very bad.
[pensive music playing]
[indistinct radio chatter]
Thanks.
Hey, did Hal tell you?
[Kate] No. He's meeting with staff
in the cottage.
- We'd like to get Trowbridge out here.
- Here here?
- Yeah. Off the record, unmarked plane.
- Okay.
It'll come from you and the White House
at the same time.
The message is controlled urgency.
Great.
No, it's an exploding shit box,
but it's better than the alternatives.
Personal invite
to the president's private home?
Solid confidence-building measure.
Exactly. We're foregrounding trust.
Cloak-and-dagger stuff helps too.
Maybe amp it up a bit.
- Jam cell signals, fly them at night.
- Do it.
As soon as he's here, we'll read him in.
Leader to leader.
Then they tell the world together?
Well we're not telling the world
what she's telling him.
What they tell the world is its own kettle
of toxic fish, but first things first.
What is she telling him?
That she started it.
[tense music playing]
- [Nora] Ambassador.
- [Hal] How'd it go?
Can we, for a second?
- Talk to the Brits?
- Not yet.
- That's the priority.
- I will, right after we talk.
Billie know you haven't connected
with No. 10?
I will connect with them
right after I speak with my husband.
- The embassy and White House need to
- She's confessing
- No.
- to Nicol Trowbridge?
Part one, she reads him in
before some Russian troglodyte does.
When he sees how fucking
motivated she is to play ball
Oh my God.
When she offers the trade deal
they have been desperate for
ever since Brexit, he will take
her secret to the fucking grave.
- No, he won't.
- Part two, he publicly blames Roylin.
It will unleash a shitstorm
of epic proportions,
which he will walk away from,
'cause we are rescuing his economy.
He's gonna walk out like a fucking hero.
He'll clutch it
like a like a knife to her throat.
- Kate.
- He will extract unthinkable compromises.
- We all know it's risky. Okay?
- It's suicidal.
No, suicide was Grace's first idea.
She wanted to do a mea culpa
on national television.
- What?
- Oh yeah, to the whole world.
Makes the new plan
look a whole lot better, doesn't it?
- Now she's just telling Trowbridge.
- These are not the only two options.
- Okay, what else? Go ahead.
- Some other American. We don't know who.
- You pitched that. They hated it.
- Then something else!
I need you to imagine that we had
a complete conversation about this,
even though you weren't in the middle.
It's so fucking stupid,
I can't imagine it.
We all know it's a gamble, okay?
We have to make it worth his while,
and hopefully he will hold it together.
- Bulletproof.
- It's not.
But it's what the president picked.
And Billie.
You know what two women
in a room really love?
When they make a decision,
and the one guy standing there tells them
he's not sure
they've thought it all the way through.
You want to talk to her yourself.
- Because it's so dumb.
- You know what'd happen if I pulled that?
- You do this all the time!
- Yeah, and then the screed begins.
"Most foreign policy failures are
process failures, Hal. Process failures!"
You know what? Go fuck yourself.
"When a principal makes a decision,
you shut your mouth and move on."
Three people, other than her,
know all the facts.
I think it only makes sense
that all three people weigh in.
Doesn't matter what you think.
She kicked you out of the room.
[somber music playing]
[phone rings]
- What the fuck was that?
- I'm really sorry.
[Stuart] I thought you were dead.
I had to deal with some stuff.
Yeah, you were on a plane to Amagansett,
which I didn't know about until I heard
it from your desk bunnies in an elevator.
Can we do one minute of work?
- This is not a friendly call.
- Yeah, no shit.
- It wasn't a friendly drink either.
- Stuart.
The ambassador needs
to get on a secure line with the PM.
Call Randall and set it up for right now.
Got a pen?
I think I can fit that much
into my little brain.
She's gonna invite him here.
We are sourcing a private plane.
He'll need an alias passport,
so you should get in touch with
the customs DHS guy in London,
whose name is Khash,
and be at the airport when he takes off.
Dennison may or may not come with him.
Randall may come with.
They'll also need alias passports.
Don't ask for them unless they're coming.
- Are you sure you don't need a pen?
- I have a pen.
- His name is Khash. K-H-A-S-H.
- And Randall.
- R-A-N
- I know how to spell Randall.
[Grace] I shouldn't have told you.
I'd really appreciate it
if you would just drop it.
[Todd] I already did.
[Kate breathes deeply]
What did he say? Trowbridge.
He said okay.
- Okay what?
- Okay, I will get on your aeroplane.
Do you think he's worried?
- Doesn't matter what I think, does it?
- For fuck's sake.
When thinking happens,
I'm asked to leave the room.
I swear to God.
I didn't speak with the president.
- I just called the PM.
- That's big of you.
- I'm trying to be nice.
- Maybe put a bit more muscle into it?
[Kate sighs]
You did what you could.
It's not my place to get involved.
Thanks.
- I mean you have a place.
- You were right.
- When it's done, it's done.
- Yeah.
- [Todd] Motherfucker!
- [Grace] What?
- [Todd] Goddamn it! [moans]
- [Grace] What did you do?
[Todd] Nothing.
[Grace] Jesus Christ,
put something on that.
- [Todd] Ow!
- [Grace] Get out. Out, out, out.
- [chuckles]
- Oh my God.
- What happened?
- [Todd] Aw
- The The mollusk won.
- Give me the knife.
- I don't have it.
- Yes, you do.
I don't have it. I do not have the knife.
For fuck's sake,
stand still and turn your body toward me.
Oh.
[footsteps retreat]
Wait til you see these guys.
They're They're monsters.
- You okay there?
- Oh, totally. Totally.
Jackie! Jack!
[Todd chuckles]
- Here they come.
- Oh, wow.
I mean, come on, right?
- [Jackie] Bon appétit.
- [Hal] Thank you, Jackie.
Shinnecocks, the redheaded stepchild
in a world of overhyped, overcoddled
Blue Points and Peconic jewels,
which taste like nothing.
These have just the right amount of funk.
Sea funk.
- Give me the towel.
- It's fine.
- It's filthy. Give it to me.
- Ow!
Ow!
- Ow!
- [Grace] Press and hold.
- Do not eat.
- [Todd] Ow.
- There's blood on them.
- Hmm.
[Todd] Ow. I got it.
Okay. [sighs] So All right. You ready?
I don't know. [chuckles]
We got lemon, we got mignonette,
we got cocktail sauce
with and without fresh horseradish.
But first you gotta go commando.
Try it with nothing at all. [slurps]
Mm.
Yeah.
- Oh shit. Are you allergic?
- No.
- What?
- I just gave a tone poem to the bivalve.
- They don't eat 'em.
- No, no, no. We do.
They look great.
I'm just giving my drink a second.
Is that
- Oh, you bled on them!
- [Todd] Really?
- Todd.
- No, it's probably cocktail sauce.
- It is not.
- Oh shit. Sorry.
- Could you check them?
- It's just one.
- Yeah, I don't see it anywhere else.
- Just there.
- [Todd] Where?
- It's okay, it's just on the ice.
- Get your hands away.
- We won't eat the ice.
Guests are afraid
you're gonna give them hepatitis.
- No. [chuckles]
- No, we don't
- I don't have hepatitis.
- You know what? I'm gonna try one.
This one too! Jesus fucking Christ.
- I'll try one from the other side.
- No, don't touch them, please.
- Grace.
- They can make a new batch.
- It's really not necessary.
- [Grace] Won't take a minute.
Pardon me.
[tray clatters into trash]
[dishes rattle]
[Grace sighs]
[footsteps approach]
[Todd clears throat]
- [sighs]
- Are we having fun?
- [Kate chuckles]
- [Hal sniffles]
How was everyone's day at the office?
There was a law in the books
at some point, maybe early 18th century,
that you were not permitted
to serve oysters
to prisoners in prison
more than twice a week.
- [snorts] Really?
- Or the prisoners would mutiny.
Why? Because the oysters wouldn't keep?
- No.
- [Grace] They were not a delicacy.
They were so damn plentiful,
it was punishment.
Lobsters.
Not oysters.
Really?
Yep.
[under breath] Lobsters.
She didn't answer the question. Note.
Neither did either of you.
- What was the question?
- Todd.
- How was your day at the office?
- Babe.
[Todd] I like to take the temperature
of the room.
Maybe what I heard was inaccurate,
but she's been known to catastrophize.
- Today was not a catastrophe.
- I didn't say it was.
- I may have said it was a whopper.
- A whopper.
- But manageable.
- Yeah.
And you concur?
I
was not in the room.
- So
- Manageable bumps in the road.
Have you cleaned that?
If you were handling shellfish
Yeah, maybe some alcohol.
[Kate] Or peroxide?
Apparently soap and water's the best.
- At the end of the day.
- Oh, maybe.
You think it was catastrophic.
Does she catastrophize?
Sometimes.
- Really?
- It has been known to happen.
[clears throat]
- I was not in the room.
- Neither was I.
It doesn't mean I don't have an opinion.
- So you think today was
- Cat-a-fucking-strophic.
I really want you to stop.
I really want to know
what the second lady and ambassador
to the court of the lunatic in question
thinks of the three-part plan.
- What's the third part?
- Her impeachment.
- [Grace] Okay.
- Am I wrong?
It's a two-part plan. Not three.
She privately reads in Trowbridge,
then they publicly name the Brits
who actually did it.
Ambassador Wyler,
is the logical chain of events
that unfolds
from parts one and two
of the not three-part plan
my wife's impeachment?
Probably.
Thank you.
- Impeached.
- [Kate] Or not.
- This isn't a decision we need to revisit.
- You don't.
I don't know. Todd's calling it suicide.
And the crackerjack you thought
should replace me seems to agree.
- You told Todd?
- Why, yes, I did.
- What are you doing?
- I'm sorry.
- Did you know what she thought?
- You know what?
I don't need to weigh in.
It's not my place.
- Thank you.
- You told her to leave the room.
We appreciate
the ambassador's perspective,
which is one among many,
and we made a decision.
Mr. Penn asked me a question.
I should have changed the subject.
- Todd's the problem?
- Who's with Todd? Is he by himself?
Can you keep Todd company for a moment?
Can you? I want to hear what she thinks.
- Go sit with Todd.
- No!
Then stand there
quietly and let her talk.
It's an honorable move,
telling Trowbridge privately
and assuming
he'll keep the information secret.
If you were dealing with a
rational actor, that would matter.
But you're not
dealing with a rational actor.
This comes out,
it's far worse for him than for me.
[Hal] She's a leader
who made a tough call.
Nicol is so inept that
the Vice President of the United States
and his own adviser agreed
he couldn't be trusted
to click the gate closed
on his nuclear arsenal.
Does he want that coming out?
Protecting the president
and himself are the same thing.
- He has a survival instinct.
- But he acts impulsively, emotionally.
And sometimes he's a rational individual
who credits the president
with keeping him in office
when he was ready to resign.
Maybe he recognizes the windfall
of astonishing proportions
that is the goodwill
of the Penn administration.
Yes. That's a reasonable argument.
I don't need to weigh in.
- You've all been through this.
- We have, yeah.
And I'm here as a spouse.
You're here as an ambassador.
You're allowed to talk.
But if enough of us agree,
I'm okay having an outlier.
- You should be.
- Risk is part of the calculation.
Hal is often the outlier.
It makes him valuable.
He thinks outside the box.
You, not he, are the outlier.
- Am I?
- Hal's not an outlier. He agrees.
- Shall we?
- Let's.
- Thank you.
- What is she talking about?
Drop it.
- She know what you think?
- We should get back to Todd.
- What do you think?
- We're being rude to Todd.
- We good?
- She should know what you actually think.
- What does he actually think?
- [Hal] I'm sorry.
Kate and I developed a working style
not appropriate for our circumstances.
Has nothing to do with our marriage.
Ambassador, this is the best
in a sea of appalling options.
That's a conclusion I reach with
plenty of input, including now yours.
Ma'am, you can ignore everyone,
but if you made a choice
because you think
three of these four people like it,
you should know Hal is lying.
Lying?
- Lying was perhaps overstated.
- I think you need to step out of the room.
The VP probably thinks
you're looking for support.
- That might be prudent.
- [Hal] Boundaries are no longer intact.
- Your counsel is no longer needed.
- I'm not claiming
[indistinct arguing]
[sighs]
- grossly inappropriate.
- Nothing nefarious
- But I
- You should step out
- Stop!
- Thank you.
- I want her out of the room.
- Shh!
What does he really think?
He is a very good man,
and he wants only the best
for you and the nation.
And he's had a bad week,
and that is my fault.
Kate, spit it out.
From his perspective, it makes sense.
You tell the PM,
he keeps your secret. Great.
If he doesn't, Hal is president.
You know what's tough about that?
True things sound true.
[pensive music playing]
[door closes]
- [footsteps approach]
- [sighs]
[music fades]
God, I'm drinking faster
than I thought I was. [chuckles softly]
It happens.
I don't lie to you.
- You don't have to ex
- I don't. It's too consequential.
Our relationship would be better
if I blew more smoke up your ass,
but I'm not going to
because it fucking matters.
I get it.
[sighs]
Look, it's not easy for her, right?
- It's gonna get easier. But right now
- Yeah.
It's, um You know, it's an adjustment.
Yeah. God knows Todd's still adjusting.
[sighs]
Wives think they know
what their husbands are thinking.
- Sorry to say that's not always the case.
- I take it with every grain of salt.
That's not enough.
I need to know
you're not gonna take any of it.
The idea that I would set you up
so I can take your job?
Okay, let me put this simply.
Trowbridge outs you.
We're not gonna get
a neat transition of government.
We're gonna get a partisan bloodbath
and a legislative drought.
At the end, I'm not the bright new hope.
I'm backwash.
[footsteps approaching]
I'm sorry.
I don't mean to cut him off at the knees.
But if it was part of the decision-making,
I thought you should know.
Your detail's gonna take you
to the airbase.
They're gonna get you on a plane
back to London.
The Brits know I'm here. I can't leave.
- We'll communicate there was an emergency.
- This is the emergency.
Four people in the world know about this.
- I'm one of them.
- We got it.
You are talking about widening the circle
based on advice that wasn't candid.
Kate, we heard what you said,
and we're giving it real consideration.
We're gonna go through it again.
Make sure we land in a sensible place.
That's great. Let me be part of it.
I can't fathom what it's like
being married to that man.
But when there is a conflict
between a principal and their partner,
and we are in crisis,
which we most certainly are,
I ask the spouse to leave.
I am not here as his spouse.
I am here as your ambassador.
An ambassador doesn't call the VP a liar
in front of the president.
Only his wife does that.
The cars are ready.
You packed up?
Ma'am?
I need another minute.
I gotta say goodbye to Hal.
[message sent alert]
I put together a list of contacts
for the source
and their whereabouts the last few weeks.
- Do we have a
- [phone vibrates]
[phone vibrates]
[phone vibrates]
Everything okay?
This was casting a wide net. We'll
narrow it over the next couple days.
[phone vibrates]
- [Hal inhales, sighs]
- I'll be right back.
The ones we're most concerned about
are the first three.
Ma'am, he is so sorry.
He He just can't step away right now.
Totally understand.
I'll talk to him when they're done.
- It might be a long night.
- That's okay.
They're on with the NSC.
The secure line here is a nightmare.
The signal's tricky.
They think it has to do with the tides.
No problem. I don't mind.
He asked that you not wait.
You sure you want to do this?
I will get him to call you.
[door closes]
Eidra's assessment
is the walk-in can be contained.
[Eidra] He wants to defect.
He's cooperative and motivated.
- And incentivized to keep his mouth shut.
- [no audible dialogue]
But he was not
Lenkov's closest lieutenant.
We have to assume he is not the only one
who heard the story.
- [Hal] Mm.
- We're dealing with an ongoing threat.
[phone vibrates]
You okay?
- Can you get Hal?
- Sure.
But tell him you need
to talk to him, not me.
- Why?
- We had a spat. Normal.
- Is it?
- It happens all the time.
- I don't wanna get in your personal life.
- Agreed.
But I think you are repeatedly
involving me in your personal life.
- I know.
- I'm really trying to back right out.
I have to leave.
I need to talk to him before I go.
Where are you going?
They asked me to leave.
They are kicking me out.
- Who's they?
- Hal.
Is he using they/them pronouns?
[inhales deeply]
Hal, Billie, and
You know.
The president?
She is about to do something
that is apocalyptically dumb.
She doesn't have to, because I have
an idea that is far less damaging.
Hal would agree if he would speak to me.
- Why don't I get Nora?
- Nora has his permission to shut me out.
And frankly, she's never
been more excited in her life.
Eidra armed men are trying
to escort me off the property.
I need two minutes with Hal.
I'm asking as a friend.
No, you're asking as an ambassador
with an opinion
about presidential strategy.
If you want to tell me what it is,
as chief of station,
I'm prepared to weigh in.
I can't do that.
Then as a friend,
I'm gonna say when the commander-in-chief
tells you to get the fuck out
of her beach house, you go.
Jesus. Will you just give me a break
and take my word for it?
Ma'am, the last time I did that,
a woman died in my custody.
[Kate sighs]
- I'd like to say goodbye to Mr. Penn.
- Ma'am, we need to get to the car.
I'm sorry. It's common courtesy.
You're a guest in someone's home.
He'll understand.
As an official spouse,
I'm here to tell you
that he does not appreciate
being treated like a lawn ornament.
Give me half a second, please.
It's a beautiful night.
Go look at the view.
Todd!
Todd!
[Bonaventura] Shit.
We have a delay.
- Ambassador?
- [Bonaventura] Ma'am!
Ma'am!
[gasps]
- Warm!
- Hi.
Ma'am, step out of the pool, please.
They're trying to kick me out.
I need to talk to you for five minutes.
Sir, I'm sorry.
The ambassador needs to get to London.
[Todd] Yeah. I got that.
The president can't tell Nicol Trowbridge
that it was her.
- No shit. I've been telling her that.
- She can say it was Rayburn.
He's dead. Blame him.
[Todd] Grace! Gracie!
[indistinct distant chatter]
He served his country. I'm not
blithely shitting on his good name.
- How could you suggest
- We appreciate your input
How about you let the president
reach the end of her sentence?
- Can we run that up the flagpole once?
- Stop!
She is not the problem right now.
She came up with a plan
to end your career,
which she kickstarted by ending mine.
- You ask me? She's been the problem.
- President Rayburn has
- She's the president.
- I am absolutely aware.
She's the president.
President Rayburn is the most respected
pile of fertilizer on the planet.
I love the man, clearly.
I walked away from my entire
life for him, but he's gone.
It doesn't matter.
The presidency is a unitary entity.
Is she fucking kidding me?
Blaming Rayburn is no different
from blaming Grace.
She will pay just as much, just as hard,
and the real story will remain out there
like an unexploded landmine.
Why does she work for you?
Fucking Mimsy out there
is actually trying to protect you.
- They tried to boot her off the property.
- Todd.
How many times do you have
to watch Billie Appiah shove you
in front of a moving train?
It was not her idea. It was mine.
She is supposed to tell you when
you're behaving like a suicide bomber.
- You and I are not objective. She is.
- No. She isn't.
Bill Rayburn was her mentor,
her father figure,
and the Vajra Bodhisattva.
She's anything but objective.
[door slams]
Is it a bad idea?
No.
[sighs]
[door knocking]
[Grace] What?
[door closes]
[keyboard clacking]
[door slams]
[faucet running]
[water stops]
[Grace] Uh
I'm still in here.
- What?
- I'm still in here.
Sorry. I wasn't paying attention.
[Grace] You think?
[Todd] Jesus Christ.
[sighs]
[pensive music playing]
[Eidra] Forty-eight hours ago,
a Russian walk-in at Embassy London
claimed he had information
about who had ordered the attack
on HMS Courageous.
He said that he knew that members
of the British government were involved.
The source also claimed
there was American involvement.
Initially, we suspected this was
a Russian counterintelligence plot
aimed at sowing division
between our two countries.
But out of an abundance of caution,
we looked into the claim.
The source appears to be legitimate.
We were unable
to rule out American involvement.
Thank you.
I'm grateful to be here,
but unable to rule it out
is hardly damning.
Once London shared their findings,
we did a deeper dive, cross-checking
Margaret Roylin's interaction
with American officials
and non-governmental
but politically engaged parties.
Margaret Roylin orchestrated the attack,
but we believe she did so
in the wake of a conversation
with an American official.
We believe that official
was President Rayburn.
[somber string music playing]
[Kate] Come on in.
Billie and Hal are just tweaking language
before the press conference.
This is the most recent draft.
[music fades]
I told them Trowbridge gets credit
for the investigation.
He'll be the one to say Roylin's name.
Give him any win we can.
Thank you.
We had no idea.
I had no idea.
- Nicol is still absorbing all of it.
- Mm-hmm.
I tried to assure him
it's in our interest.
Absolutely.
This trade deal will rescue your economy.
Things will be different
between our governments going forward.
You understand what I'm saying.
Nicol expects this trade deal
to be the first step
of a new era.
What exactly does that mean?
The United Kingdom
has played your trusty second
for the best part of a century.
We've endured that indignity
to guarantee our security.
And yet
your former president birthed a plan
to attack a British warship.
Our Prime Minister is now concealing
unusually explosive information
on your behalf, telling the entire world
that a former member of our government
built the debacle whole cloth.
So the wrath that is due
to both our governments
will land only on mine.
Our cooperation does not merely earn us
a free trade agreement.
It earns us an enthusiastic yes
to every request we make
in the humanly foreseeable future.
I am so sorry if that's how
the president's remarks were understood.
And I know that she will do anything
and everything in her power
to make this right.
But that's a lot.
Bill Rayburn telling Margaret Roylin to
launch a false flag operation is a lot.
- I know.
- You don't.
Nicol is humiliated.
He will extract not one,
but ten pounds of flesh.
We are sorry.
We are truly sorry.
This was an epic, horrific mistake.
But if we reset the world order
every time the United States fucked up
- Kate.
- I am doing everything I can.
But there is a limit.
You know that.
I do know that.
[phone vibrates]
New draft should be with us
in ten minutes. Minor changes.
The message is unity.
No daylight between them.
"This travesty was hatched
by my former adviser, Margaret Roylin."
Yeah, Nicol's not gonna want to own her.
This is his language that he sent to us.
Yeah, but can't he just say
former government official?
She was behind the curtain for 15 years.
- Everybody knows that.
- No.
Everybody in the UK knows that.
He can't refer to her as some woman
who worked down the hall.
Former adviser to the administration.
Do they say "administration"?
The government.
This travesty was hatched
by Margaret Roylin,
former adviser to the government.
Then Grace can come in
with the Lenkov part.
No. Trowbridge needs to explain
that Roylin went to Lenkov.
- I can't have that coming out of Grace.
- How'd it go?
- It's a lot to swallow.
- No shit.
Language for the press conference.
- Travesty?
- Yeah.
- Sounds light.
- That's what I said.
[Hal] That's what they gave us.
Given the circumstances,
we can't be making tweaks
to his every word.
This deadly attack
was orchestrated by Margaret Roylin.
- Better.
- Are they taking questions?
[both] No.
[tense purposeful music playing]
[man] Ladies and gentlemen,
the President of the United States
and the Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom.
[Grace] Good afternoon.
Thank you for joining us today.
It's an honor to have
Prime Minister Trowbridge here.
[clears throat]
We'd like to share some information
that recently came to our attention.
Earlier this year,
the bombing
of the HMS Courageous aircraft carrier
stole from us 41 young British lives.
Our intelligence services determined
that the savage attack was perpetrated
by Russian mercenary Roman Lenkov.
As a known arm of the Kremlin,
his actions were presumed
to be the will of the Russian state.
However, new information has led us
to a different,
sadly, no less disturbing conclusion.
This deadly attack
[clears throat]
This deadly attack was orchestrated
at the behest
of former United States President
William Rayburn.
- [vengeful orchestral music playing]
- What the mother fuck?
No, he did not.
- [man 1] Madam President.
- [man 2] Prime Minister.
[overlapping questioning]
[music continues]
[music fades out]