The Diplomat (2023) s04e06 Episode Script

1
- [reporter 1] Mr. Penn!
- [reporter 2] Mr. Penn!
[overlapping shouting]
- Welcome.
- [Todd] Got a PM yet?
- Soon.
- Bethan Vaughn.
- We like her?
- [Stuart] Love her.
I am so happy to meet you.
- You know this place better than I do.
- I need a job.
So you're
Special envoy.
The management office says
you let them know
you're moving in together.
The thinking was
why not renovate Wychwood?
You're gonna put
a secure phone booth in Wychwood?
State's not paying for it.
I can't ask them to spend that money,
so I can shack up with my girlfriend.
- So tell them we're getting married.
- Are we?
If it's the only way to get
a phone booth in that house.
Since the shooting,
I'm just trying to take care of her.
Which makes her insane.
I can feel your heart rate on my chest
when we're in bed.
- It's like a gerbil.
- Well, then sleep someplace else.
Prime Minister Vaughn got a call
from the Kremlin yesterday.
But when I asked her about it,
she seemed reluctant to engage.
I'm concerned she doesn't trust me.
Because you disclosed information
about the former PM
that led to his downfall.
I don't need you to take my job.
I threatened the prime minister,
and he resigned,
replaced by a really great gal
who doesn't trust people
who practice political extortion,
like your wife,
and my husband, and now me.
Our friends in Moscow have located
their missing submarine.
They have asked to come and retrieve
the bodies of their dead.
I couldn't possibly say no.
So I didn't.
[serious orchestral music playing]
[music fades out]
[Billie] How long do we think it'll be
before they reach the sub?
[Hal] Russia?
- [Billie] A week?
- [Hal] Days.
[Ganon] They have to move divers
and equipment from the Kola Peninsula.
Mobilize a Northern Fleet stealth unit.
- [Hal] Days.
- [Billie] Why'd she say yes?
- [Kate] I think she probably
- [Ganon] She's new.
- She feels we overstepped.
- Sir.
She's trying to redraw the lines.
- I thought we were trading up.
- So did I.
She gave the Kremlin
an engraved invitation,
which makes it clear
the Brits did not take
anything off that sub. We did.
If you'd like to roll out
an "I told you so"
- [Ganon] It was foreseeable.
- And you foresaw it.
I'm not the Oracle of Delphi.
We took their superweapon.
Thank God. If we hadn't,
the Russians would be steaming toward it.
Instead, they're steaming
towards an empty shell.
And when they figure out
why it's empty, they'll retaliate.
- What do we think that'll look like?
- Could be cyberattacks.
They take out our power grid, uh,
bump air traffic control offline.
Worst case, maybe.
The problem is we have no idea.
Russia doesn't do proportionate.
Vaughn needs to call them
and tell them she made a mistake.
- On her first day? Ma'am.
- Changed her mind.
She didn't issue a press release.
It wouldn't be a public flip-flop.
Yes. But she spoke with her cabinet.
[Ganon] We need to offer her something.
- Make it less of a demand and more of a
- [Hal] Mutually beneficial rethink.
Ambassador, let the Prime Minister know
she has two options.
She can either tell the Russians
to stay out of her yard,
or I'll send warships to do it for her.
[footsteps retreating]
- I'll call you.
- Yeah.
[poignant music playing]
[line beeping]
[Kate] Wipe that smile off your face,
or I'll do it for you.
[Hal] No.
- [Kate] Shut your mouth, or I'll shut it.
- Stop.
Keep the Russians out,
or I'll send my warships to do it for you.
- Okay.
- She didn't say ships.
- She said warships.
- You don't bring a tugboat to a gunfight.
Nobody was fighting
until she got involved.
Well, she's drawing a line.
Gosh, it's so subtle I can barely see it.
It is an offer of military support.
Oh okay.
- If the PM needs it.
- What are friends for?
It's plan B.
If she tells the Russians
to fuck off without us, even better.
- That's the message?
- Yeah.
"Prime Minister, President Penn
is offering military support."
Yes.
"To wipe that smile
off your smug fucking face."
Kate, I gotta go.
Wait, stop. Really?
I mean [scoffs] is that something
you feel good about?
I mean, what is she thinking?
How about you focus on,
what's the PM thinking?
The PM who waved the Russians
into the hen house.
She's trying to reset the relationship.
- With us?
- Yeah.
Mission accomplished.
Look, it's her first day in office.
She made a bad call.
Tell her to fix it.
Hi.
- All done?
- Yeah.
Must have been a doozy.
I'm sorry.
Earlier tonight, I was
- Verbal?
- Yeah.
Eh, it happens.
But inappropriate.
You're not the first person I ever met
who has mixed feelings about my wife.
I am a person
who has mixed feelings about my wife.
You're kind, but that was inexcusable.
Well, in that case, you're not excused.
Staff is gone for the night,
but is there anything I can
Alcohol.
[Todd] Thanks.
To political extortion.
[Todd exhales slowly]
I didn't topple a foreign government.
I'm sure you didn't.
I said some things that had
an uncomfortably close proximity
to a foreign leader toppling himself.
That proximity
- Is keeping you up at night.
- It is.
- Turning your stomach.
- Yeah.
But that's not extortion.
No.
Uh, whatever it was or wasn't,
it was me,
not the president.
Maybe a drop of Hal?
No.
I said things I wish I didn't.
- It was not the president or Hal.
- Okay.
I really don't want you
to think it is, because
I know he's a lot to take
and he's been a lot to take for you.
- Nah.
- It's not him.
Okay, all you.
[Todd chuckles softly]
If it got back to the president
that I accused her of political extortion,
I would be dismissed from my post.
- And maybe I should be. [chuckles]
- It's not getting back to the president.
You think I'm gonna tell her?
Well, no.
But I mean,
why not?
You're on the phone,
she asks how it's going,
and you I don't know.
Maybe you have
a responsibility to tell her
if the ambassador's sufficiently stupid
to call her extortionate
to her spouse.
I don't think it's my patriotic duty
to get you fired.
Well, maybe you're not a patriot.
Maybe. [breathy chuckle]
Grace is, uh, different
since the shooting.
Well, it it takes time.
She's the leader of the free world.
And it's taking a lot of time.
Is she
I don't know.
Brittle is not the word. Uh
There's a lot less nuance
in the way she feels, or at least speaks.
Sometimes, Hal--
I would love to blame Hal. [chuckles]
I really would. In fact, I did.
- He likes a big move.
- I don't think this is him.
He brings it out in people,
and the two of them--
- They hit the gas. Nobody hits the brakes.
- Yeah.
This is different.
You noticed it before the shooting.
You said it to me.
Maybe the shooting exacerbated it.
Like I've said about your husband,
this is not about your husband.
Sorry.
I know my wife.
And she's
- What?
- I don't know.
I I don't have a way in.
To her.
[somber music rises]
I don't know what's going on in there.
[music fades]
I need Howard on the trip.
Hey.
[Stuart] Gotta run.
Stopping by Winfield.
Frances needs to talk.
I need Howard on the Italy trip.
- Okay.
- Not according to Gary.
Well, tell him it's not on our budget,
it's on yours.
He knows that.
But he still owns the housing list,
and he claims there is no room at the inn.
- Okay.
- Stop saying okay.
There's plenty of room.
Tell him Neil can stay home.
Howard's running
the IC Deputies Committee.
He needs a place to sleep.
Well, if you marry Howard,
he can stay in your room.
That way, we can still bring Neil.
Do we have something on our mind?
Well, that's not my favorite tone.
If you can control it, maybe swap it out.
I owe you an apology.
You do not appreciate
me proposing marriage
so that I can get
a secure phone booth at Wychwood.
And a gun safe.
Gun safety is important to me.
Whereas I don't give a shit
about it at all.
I know it's important to you too.
I'm not fighting the gun safe.
So what are you fighting?
The proposal?
Was it a proposal?
It was a legitimate solution to a problem.
It's not something
I should be joking about.
Were you joking?
You weren't.
Joking has thought behind it, intentionality.
We're talking about a lifelong commitment.
You tripped over a piece of red tape
and skinned your knee on it.
For some people, marriage is less loaded.
You are not one of those people.
In your mind, a proposal
is a holy affair
that takes place
on a beach at sunset with a mariachi band.
You have no idea
what I think about marriage.
We've never discussed it,
except when you told me you're divorced.
- Which was a great start.
- Was it?
You wanna know
what I think about marriage?
I would love to know.
I think love is not enough.
I think you gotta be brutal.
You gotta talk about money
and kids
and retirement,
and if you believe in God,
and how much sex you wanna have,
and what cheating means,
and how you wanna die.
You have to want it,
because it's hard.
And it goes on for a long time.
I think that even the suggestion
that it might someday be on the table
should come with a mariachi band.
I think that it should involve at least
the intentionality it takes to think,
"This might go down better
in a field of flowers."
"Let's see if I can find one."
I think it should involve at least
the forethought it takes
to look up in the sky
and see the sun and think,
"I'm not sure this is
the right time for the conversation."
[serious guitar music playing]
[Hal] It doesn't need to be
this many pages.
[Grace] And it also needs to be
a little more aggressive.
Kate had a question about Todd.
[music fades]
What did he do?
She wants to up his clearance
so she can read him in.
On?
Things going on in the UK.
- Russia?
- [Billie] Russia, the sub.
Tell them to take a breath.
- She thinks he could be helpful.
- How?
How specifically?
She says, without knowing the subtext,
he's hearing a bunch of stuff
he doesn't follow.
A lot of which means
the opposite of what it sounds like.
- If he's going to be involved
- [sighs] Is he?
That's the idea, right?
Clearance.
Top secret?
- Compartmented?
- Really?
Okay, here we go.
Thank you.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[exhales]
- Morning.
- Morning, hi.
Sorry, one sec.
No, take your time.
The White House is giving you
a higher security clearance.
- [Todd] Is that
- [car starts]
I'm not trying to horn in.
No, I asked them to.
If you're gonna do this,
you should really do it.
I don't know that I'm
seeing everything
as clearly as I'd like to.
And there's a lot going on here.
Your insight could be valuable.
I'm not sure the president would agree.
It would be valuable to me.
[Stuart] Thank you.
- Good morning.
- Morning.
- We're leaving.
- I will see you there. I got a thing.
- [curious strings playing]
- Good morning, Mr. Hayford.
May I take your coat?
Oh, I'm fine.
This'll be pretty quick, right?
If we could
Please.
[music fades out]
Everything okay?
'Cause with the first gentleman in town,
I need to get to the embassy.
My father took part in the Allied advance
through Belgium during the war.
His unit was attached
to the US 9th Armored.
A gentleman by the name of Herschel Pollen
from Richmond, Virginia,
watched a live grenade roll
right to my father's feet.
Mr. Pollen snatched it up, tossed it away.
It exploded inches from his hand.
He lost the limb.
He saved my father's life.
That's very moving.
I am fond of Americans.
Thank you.
I am fond of the ambassador.
I was not when she arrived.
I felt she was unsuited to the task.
[Stuart sighs]
I did too.
None of us understood.
And now I see.
It's a sleight of hand.
Not deceitful.
But disarming.
She presents her own
rumpled humanity, and what is
a decent person to do but meet it?
Frances, I have to--
She and the first gentleman were
in the study last night.
The door was ajar.
I did not intend to eavesdrop.
I'm sure you didn't.
She said she'd blackmailed
Prime Minister Trowbridge.
I hope I'm mistaken.
But since he's now
the former Prime Minister,
I'm concerned I may not be.
[curious music playing]
[Todd] It might be a tight squeeze
with the desk.
- How about a big old
- Hey. Hi.
So, uh, some developments.
He's gonna stay a while.
Fantastic. How long?
I don't know.
Can we chat for a sec?
I gotta get upstairs.
I know this feels like a clown show.
- But I think it's an opportunity.
- Great, I'm--
He's a direct line to the president
who's been tricky to read.
- Maybe I could--
- Go with me on this.
I'm on board.
I got a whole other question.
- Ms. Park, in the SCIF.
- Later?
Yeah, yeah.
[music ends]
- Oops. Sorry.
- Sorry, sir. I'm sorry.
- No, no, no. I'm sorry.
- Uh, welcome, officially.
I hear we'll be seeing you more often.
If you'll have me.
Well, I just gotta drop my stuff,
and then we will get you sorted,
as the Brits say. [chuckles]
First order of business is
probably a badge.
- That's okay. Let's clear my morning.
- Actually, Ms. Park is waiting.
For the ambassador.
And Mr. Penn in the SCIF.
Classified briefings happen
in the CIA SCIF.
We used to have a SCIF,
but, um, there was a leak.
Of water.
But the metaphor didn't go over well.
I spoke to the president
about what Vaughn told the Russians.
She found it
bracing.
- Sure.
- As we all did.
The president would like me
to communicate two options to Vaughn.
One,
she should please tell the Russians
she changed her mind.
Okay.
She's revoking her permission for passage.
[Eidra] Reasonable.
That's plan A
and I think everyone's favorite.
And plan B?
[inhales deeply]
We would send in our own ships
to block them.
- [Eidra] Block
- The Russians.
- A blockade?
- Yes.
We do that
if the Russians don't respect the no
or if the Brits don't say the no?
I guess either way.
How did she put it?
"Let the PM know she can either tell
the Russians to stay out,
or I'll send warships in
to do it for her."
Warships?
Yes.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no, jump in.
No, I I was just making sure I heard you.
She said warships?
- Yep.
- Not ship-ships?
- No.
- [Eidra] Okay.
The law of the sea,
which thanks to the vice president
we have now ratified,
allows for what we call
"innocent passage."
[Kate] Do
warships
innocently pass?
Sure, as long as they're not there
to do things that disrupt the peace.
Like a naval blockade.
- Yeah.
- Of Russian destroyers.
Maybe she said "our ships," and you
you heard "warships."
Is that possible?
No.
Hi.
We have 12 minutes till the NEC briefing.
I have big plans for those 12 minutes.
Kate was pretty freaked out
about the warships.
She wants Ganon to walk it in?
No, she's just, uh,
concerned we're invading.
It's a chest-thumper, not a war plan.
Yeah, that's what I told her.
Drawing a red line.
Sometimes a red line's a trip wire.
Kate's worried or you are?
Are you?
You could have the NSC run
some more tabletop exercises.
Voice any concerns we skipped over.
Help the president make the right call.
She made her call.
You were there.
Kate hasn't talked to the PM.
Paint's still wet.
- You could talk to Grace.
- I can't, actually.
Last week, I brought in
half the Domestic Policy Council
to debate the Labor-HHS budget deal.
While we were in the room,
the president went
to joint leadership and said yes.
I found out about a $200 billion decision
from a push notification.
Honestly, I don't know
if she intended to humiliate me or
simply forgot I was part of the process.
- If you think she's escalating too fast--
- She is.
So talk to her.
She listens to you.
Not me.
Not anymore.
"Keep 'em out, or I'll do it for you."
Catchy, right?
She's got some stones on her.
[Kate] Yes.
Is that a good idea?
Well, complicated.
Huh. Risky.
Sounds like.
To me.
Bright lines can be clarifying.
Or they kick off a war with Russia
in the UK's backyard
where Russians shoot at us,
and if they miss, they hit Britain.
Yeah.
So [exhales sharply]
What do you do with a message like that?
- As?
- Ambassador or envoy.
I mean, as messages go,
I don't love it.
I guess the nice part
about being us is you don't have to.
You just
have to say it.
Yeah. Our primary job is
to relay the message.
But if you think something is going
to land badly on your host country,
the other part of our job is
to make that clear to the president.
Oh good. Well, you should.
I tried.
Didn't get anywhere.
I have a bad track record
of relitigating things with her.
Yeah, she doesn't love it.
Yeah.
But you haven't weighed in at all.
So that wouldn't be relitigating.
I'm not sure that's our move.
But you're here, right?
Yeah.
- This is why.
- Is it?
- No?
- No, it's not.
Oh okay.
Maybe as a last resort,
but not a first resort.
Extenuating circumstances.
Granted, but still.
Totally understand.
- What else you got?
- [sighs]
Plenty. Plenty of things.
You know, this won't be
our only meeting with the PM.
So to start [inhales deeply]
just a respectful ask
for her to reverse her opinion,
which is a lot to swallow, but I, um
think we can get there
between the two of us.
And leave it at that.
So we don't even mention plan B.
The warships?
Hopefully not.
Not ever.
Not if we can help it.
If we relayed every message word for word,
we'd all be dead already.
[door knocking]
Excuse me, sir. Mr. Hayford.
- Excuse me.
- Sure.
[Kate clears, throat, sighs]
Todd's jumping in the deep end.
- Have a seat.
- You okay?
Yeah.
Frances.
Is she sick?
No, no, no.
- She's fine.
- She had breast cancer twice.
She made me get a British mammogram.
[exhales]
She
overheard something.
- Okay.
- And it made her worried.
She's fairly certain she misheard.
I'm sure she did.
But she said you haven't been eating
very much and some nausea.
Oh God, I'm not pregnant.
- No.
- I'll tell her.
Ma'am, she spoke to me
because she is concerned maybe you
I don't know.
Need some help.
And if you do, I'm here to help.
Getting me pregnant?
Ma'am.
Did you blackmail Nicol Trowbridge?
[Grace] Hey, babe.
Hi.
How's it going?
Uh, great. New clearance.
Fancy.
Got a briefing. Heard about the ships.
Which?
The warships?
Well, did you say "warships"
or "our ships"?
I mean, the havoc you can wreak
with miscommunication.
Babe?
Yes, babe.
Did you say warships
to block the Russians?
- Yes.
- Okay.
Bright line.
Could be clarifying.
Yeah.
Could get us into war with Russia.
You've had one briefing?
Yeah, I'm just getting
the lay of the land.
- You're not the national security advisor.
- I'm aware of that.
- What exactly am I doing here?
- What?
Am I supposed to have opinions?
On your first day? No.
London isn't the right place.
The ambassador is a career diplomat
and the second lady.
She's got it covered.
Babe, I swear to God.
Let me go somewhere else and be useful.
- I like you in London. I want you there.
- Because I have a built-in babysitter?
Because it's where I got shot.
I like the idea of you walking around
saying they don't fucking scare me.
Which they do.
Okay.
So what is my role?
Is this about a title?
- No.
- You're special envoy, officially.
If you were here, I would
I would knight you with a sword.
Don't talk to me like that.
I'm asking you a question.
- I'm sorry.
- I'm here.
I am listening.
Am I your
What?
Ears?
Enforcer?
I don't know.
I'd love you to figure it out.
I can't spoon-feed it.
I love you.
I really do.
You're my extremely special envoy
who listens and learns and
kicks ass and fucks me sideways.
Do everything. You're good at everything.
You used to know that.
And I'm worried you've forgotten.
Okay.
[ominous piano music playing]
Hi.
- May I?
- One minute.
She asked me to come down.
I know.
[music fades]
- He's here.
- [Eidra] No!
Okay.
[papers rustling]
This is the sun.
It is setting.
This is a field of flowers.
Baby ♪
["Adore" by Prince playing]
Until the end I ♪
Will you consider
starting a conversation
about looking at our relationship
as something that
could lead to
a marriage?
I will.
We can give it a year.
And after that,
we part ways
or pull the trigger.
Not pull the trigger,
part ways, or
become officially engaged.
Tellin' you just how fine you look ♪
All of my cool attitude you took ♪
My body was next ♪
You made love to me ♪
Like you were afraid ♪
Was you afraid of me? ♪
[volume increase]
Was I your every fantasy? ♪
Kate blackmailed Trowbridge.
That's why he resigned.
What?!
- [music halts]
- [fire crackles]
[door knocking]
Yeah?
Sorry to interrupt.
No, come in.
So, uh
Grace thinks special envoy is the move.
Great. Congratulations.
[chuckles] You're gonna be sick of me
really fast.
No, there's a lot we can do together.
This is gonna be a good partnership.
It is. It really is.
So the PM.
I will introduce you as the president's
special envoy to the United Kingdom.
- You don't have to make a thing out of it.
- It's good.
Sends a message.
The president means business.
She does.
- She does.
- Mm-hmm.
You should maybe say
how much business she means.
Absolutely.
Before,
you said you were gonna tell her plan A,
save plan B for another time.
I'm no great fan of plan B, but
it's what she said.
So
Probably should say it.
[poignant music playing]
[Kate] Morning.
Good morning.
[Frances breathes deeply]
Mr. Penn asked me to let you know
that he'll be down after a shower.
[Frances sighs]
- Morning.
- [Frances] Good morning.
[Stuart clears throat]
I can wait for the first gentleman,
unless you want your own briefing.
I'm assuming with the clearance he has,
pretty much everything's on the table.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
You touched Frances.
- Sorry?
- You touched her with your hand.
Is that
- Was she uncomfortable?
- That something you do a lot?
- I'm not sure.
- I am. Never.
I won't let it happen again.
You told Eidra.
Sit. [sighs]
[door closes]
Ma'am, the chief of station
needed to know--
Shut up.
I'm gonna tell him some things.
Really all the things, so stop me
if it starts to sound like treason.
The Russian sub
that ran aground off this coast
was carrying a weapon called the Poseidon.
It's considered an apocalypse weapon.
Are you sure you wanna--
We took it. Stole it.
Which the Russians don't know.
And the Brits didn't
until Hal told Trowbridge,
which made him angry and erratic.
And so I blackmailed him.
I'm not done.
[door knocking]
Question for you.
There's a meeting
about to appear on your schedule
with the delegation from Chile.
- No backs.
- Happy to do it.
You're a happy warrior.
It's like water in the desert.
The UK.
Did the ambassador
and special envoy talk to the PM?
Not yet. Soon.
You don't actually wanna send warships
to Britain, right?
I don't wanna send warships anywhere,
but the Russians are steaming
toward evidence
that could launch us
into an armed conflict in the North Sea.
DOD analysis on this was shallow.
I think they thought
it was a talking point.
If this is really on the table,
they should red-team the hell out of it.
Just let the smart people ask
the tough questions.
Anything else?
I don't think the threat of warships
in the North Sea is a threat.
I think she may do it.
- Talk to her.
- I've done a lot of that.
- Tell her it's 12 miles from Newcastle.
- She knows.
Tell her she thinks she's not planning
kinetic action, but you pull out a gun--
She knows.
She saw what Rayburn did.
She saw him order a head fake
that turned into a bloodbath--
Rayburn didn't order the attack.
Grace Penn did.
And then she blamed the dead president?
That part was my idea.
I'm about to go bully a foreign leader,
and I think
that's an acceptable strategic move,
because the president wants it,
and we need it,
and it'll get the job done.
But maybe I'm wrong.
[poignant music playing]
Maybe these aren't mistakes anymore.
Maybe they're not
small steps over the line.
What if this is a culture
of consistent lawlessness,
and it's seeped into the water,
and I'm part of it,
and I can't see it anymore?
You're hearing all of this,
all in one go,
and you see things clearly.
Is it reckless, dangerous intimidation
that violates the sovereignty
and safety of our closest ally?
Yeah.
- There are pros and cons.
- There aren't.
Is he right?
So don't make it.
[music becomes curious]
Don't make the threat.
Tomorrow morning when I go talk to the PM,
the president's husband
is gonna be sitting next to me.
It doesn't matter
if I won't deliver the message. He will.
So keep him the fuck out of there.
Go tonight.
[Todd] Hello, hello.
Ready to go?
[music fades out]
Anyone?
[dramatic orchestral music playing]
[Stuart] Do you have plans tonight, sir?
Memorizing org charts.
[music fades out]
The London Symphony Orchestra is doing
a special performance.
Bartók.
Hold me back.
The king's gonna be there,
and the palace wants to throw you
a formal dinner,
but it's nice to do
a casual introduction before that.
Yeah, we can do that.
Great, so you'll be at the embassy
for the country team meeting,
then lunch at the Chelsea Physic Garden,
and the symphony in the evening.
And the ambassador will meet us there
for the Bartók?
She won't be able to join us, sadly.
She needs to prep for the G7.
A lot of paperwork.
Brutal.
Yeah. Brutal.
[gentle piano music playing]
Come in.
Thanks for making the trip.
[Kate] Of course.
This is your constituency?
[Vaughn] Yes, but not why I'm here.
I have two boys.
Stellon turned five
the day before yesterday.
I'm about to leave for G7.
He made it clear if I wasn't home tonight,
I'd be replaced.
Feel free to plant me somewhere,
so you two can talk privately.
I thought perhaps in here.
It's not the tidiest,
but it's the one
with the reliable heating.
I'd say, "Make yourself comfortable,"
but I think "Don't judge us" is
more appropriate.
Mine's worse.
You're a kind and competent liar.
The ambassador and I will be
down the hall, door at the end.
Can I have a Jammie Dodger?
No.
You have an incredible home.
My husband's.
In the family for generations.
It's lovely.
I hate this house.
Behemoth.
Nothing works.
But I'm fairly attached to him,
and the house is a part of him.
Which I suppose means I hate him too.
Yeah, I have one of those.
Can yours read social cues?
Some, intermittently.
- Bloody hell. It's a trial, isn't it?
- It really is.
I think under other circumstances,
we'd be good friends.
I wish we weren't starting at a sprint.
You're in my home,
my children are asleep upstairs,
and I just gave you
a piercing insight into my marriage.
Why don't we assume we're friends?
Come on, take off your coat.
Let's see if we can fix this.
[Kate sighs]
She's upset.
- The president?
- Mm.
A little concerned.
She'd be more comfortable
if you told Russia you'd prefer they not.
- Come get their dead.
- Yes.
Russia lost something.
It washed up here.
They asked for safe passage. I granted it.
Your country's not involved.
The Poseidon's not there,
and when they see that--
When they see
it didn't drift off with the tide.
We took it,
and we are asking as a courtesy to us
that you do us a solid
and keep our secret.
In the world of courtesies,
you would've mentioned you were taking it.
Mention it to Nicol Trowbridge?
Nicol was our problem.
Mine.
And Austin's,
who respected you, which is why you're
in my home in the middle of the night.
I appreciate that.
I'm not thrilled to let the Russian Navy
futz around my seabed
but neither I,
nor my government,
felt we had a choice.
You had a lot of choices.
The Kremlin believes
their most powerful weapon is
off my coast.
With or without permission,
they're coming to get it.
I can say yes,
and they come with goodwill.
I can say no, and they come secretly.
When they arrive, they'll find it's gone.
And assume that you took it.
You didn't tell them we took it?
No.
Why didn't you?
I didn't think they'd believe
our closest allies would do that to us
without our consent.
[Vaughn pours a drink]
What if we went and got them?
The dead.
Respectfully extracted by the US Navy.
Or yours, or ours together,
which is how we should be doing things.
And then we tell them
that for the safety of Europe,
we're entombing the sub.
They're not going to forget
about the Poseidon.
They can't ask for it back
without admitting it was down there.
Which they won't.
It's not bad, is it?
It's not.
[sighs] I really do wish we were friends.
Maybe we are.
I'm going to say no to your fine idea.
I'm afraid that'll ruin it.
- Don't.
- We don't trust you.
How could we?
Those were extenuating circumstances.
No, they weren't.
An alliance is nothing but a promise,
and you have broken yours
again and again and again.
So you're trusting the Kremlin?
Your last president bombed
our aircraft carrier.
Your current president nicked
the Poseidon out of a broken tin tube
that could have exploded,
and you helped her topple our government.
We have made some terrible mistakes.
I understand mistakes.
I've made them myself.
But the fundamental character
of your country has sufficiently changed
that we have no idea
what you will do next.
Russia, if nothing else, is predictable.
They want what they want,
and they're coming to get it.
You have to tell them no.
We can protect you.
I know that you can.
But once you get what you want,
I have no reason to believe that you will.
Anything else you'd like me to consider?
No.
[gentle piano music playing]
[music ends]
Hi.
Sorry, I'm in your space.
It was the only room that was warm.
You're fine.
Ugh, you missed quite a night.
Bartók.
We ended up on stage,
congratulating the conductor.
We, in this case, is,
as they say, the king and I.
Sorry, I just need to use the secure link.
- What's going on?
- [phone vibrating]
Hi. Yeah.
I am joining right now.
You can stay, but shut the door.
[Kate sighs]
- [Grace] She there?
- [Billie] Yeah.
- Excuse me.
- Oh God, there's two of you.
- I met with the PM tonight.
- You did?
- What did she say?
- Sorry, hang on.
You, uh You met with her?
I went without you. I just got back.
- Why'd you do that?
- Excuse me?
Might be an appropriate time to ask
the first gentleman to step out.
- He's special envoy to the UK.
- What?
- Yeah.
- [Ganon] Special envoy?
Can we all, on either side of the ocean,
just zip it for a moment?
Jesus.
Go ahead.
I spoke with the PM.
You make it clear she can clean up
her house, or I will?
[ominous music rises]
Yes.
- How'd she take it?
- I don't care.
Is she calling the Kremlin
and telling them to stay the hell out?
[music rises]
[music halts]
Yes, ma'am. She is.
[dramatic orchestral music playing]
[music fades out]