Just when I was convinced that The Diplomat was not trying to be the new West Wing, guess what kind of vibes the first episodes of season three gave off? Uh-huh, West Wing vibes, all the more obvious as Allison Janney's Grace Penn is now the President, and her husband is played by fellow ex-West Wing actor Bradley Whitford (boyish Josh's hair's now white – feel old yet?). The first major plot point is about who's going to be Penn's Vice President, and the whole "who sunk the ship?" plot of the first two seasons is shoved firmly in the background.
Soon, though, we're back from the US to the UK and from national to international intrigue. Which is something of a bummer. In spite of being an anglophile (or probably because of it), I prefer The Diplomat when it concerns itself with American rather than British politics. As long as we are on American soil, the show carries itself with more assurance. There may still be preposterous developments (they do not back-track from the revelation in season two, which is pretty hard to swallow), but you feel the home field advantage.
Thankfully, though, even when we're back in the UK, the repartee remains suitably snappy. The writing this season is far more consistently good than in the first two seasons, so even though I've had my misgivings I'm in for future seasons. It's time to give this show its own blogging tag.
But honestly, what is this shape-shifter of a show? Right now, I'd say it's leaning away from soapy thriller and more towards marital drama. It happens to also involve politics, as the central couple – Kate and Hal – are both ambitious politicans who, just to complicate matters, are entirely convinced by the other's statesmanlike qualities. They support each other, but also use each other, until this viewer at least has little clue about what's going on. But it's a pleasant kind of cluelessness.
The characters are sometimes as mysterious as the show's ambitions. I still don't know what Kate actually feels for her husband. In the first season, she was all for ditching him. Something shifted during season two, but then he had just been in a car bombing. This season, the relationship is incessantly on-off. Hal still loves his wife – I think – but he may love politics more, and there are signs that his patience with her private antics is wearing thin, as is her patience with his political schemes.
Fun as all this is to watch, characterisation is not the strong point of this series. It's carried by witty writing and good performances but, when it comes to most of its characters, you can state two opposite things about them, and either of them could be true. Grace Penn has the making of a great President. Grace Penn has the making of a dangerous President. Nicol Trowbridge is a fool. Or perhaps he is a crafty knave. Maybe he secretly loves Kate – or not-so-secretly hates Kate. Dennison is the voice of reason. Dennison is a stuffed shirt, ready to betray his boss at any time (the only thing that makes him credible as a Tory politician). Eidra is still in love with Stuart, or merely exasperated by Stuart... I could go on and on.
As long as we get plenty of one-liners and high-octane marital squabbling, though (and more Janney and Whitford, please!), I'm on board, and not only because Sewell remains impossibly handsome and charismatic as Hal. The next soapy thriller development seems to be just around the corner, but I'm ready to take it. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Who cares – it's watchable.
