Netflix’s original series The Diplomat ,season one episode three entitled “Lambs in the Dark,” starts with Keri Russell’s Kate Wyler as she tries to stop the President from making things worse between Britain and Iran. This is due to an attack on a British Navy ship believed to have been ordered by Iran. In her mind, she believes that getting the President to believe her is going to be a tough challenge. This is shown to be true by how the President does not like to listen to any type of advice. However, thanks to the help of others and her husband Rufus Sewell’s Hal Wyler, the President does end up believing her. Unfortunately, the Prime Minster of Britian tells a white lie to further involve the United States by saying that the ship is sinking. This demonstrates how sneaky people in politics can be. Not to mention that they are ready to say whatever they have to get what they want.
Additionally, the viewer sees Ali Ahn’s Eidra Graham as she finds out Kate did not tell her about a secret call her or her husband made. This is due to her being a C.I.A agent in charge of intelligence. In her mind, she was proven right in not trusting Kate as she failed to mention a secret call that could lead to problems down the line. Deep down she does not know why Kate even came to deal with the situation if she was just going to make things worse. Surprisingly enough, she quickly changes her mind about Kate as she tells Eidra that it was her husband that made the call. Also, that she did not know about it and if she did, would not have let him do it. The interesting part about this is how she realizes that Kate was right when she told her not to trust Hal as he does things in secret. Having seen this firsthand she apologizes to her and by the look on her face she is fully committed to helping Kate. This series does a fantastic job at demonstrating how one should not judge a book by its cover.
Toward the end of the episode, Kate and the chief of staff finally see eye to eye as she too changes her opinion about Kate. This is a result of Kate being able to get Eidra to her side and support her when it comes to not trusting the lie about the sinking ship. This leads to her revealing to Kate that she was last on a list to become the next Vice President instead of being the number one choice. However, now there is no doubt that she is truly the best choice for the job. In her mind, she only saw her as a placeholder while she helped to find a new, better candidate. Now having seen everything she has done and how well she managed the crisis, she sees why she was highly recommended from her other sources. Deep down she probably thought Kate was overestimated by everyone with her job as a diplomat. Now she sees that she was underestimated as no one could have convinced the man-child that is the President to not get involved in the crisis. However, somehow, she found a way despite everyone already expecting things to get worse.
At the end of the episode, the viewer sees the President completely trust Kate in her advice to return to the United States. The surprising part about this is how there is a humorous moment where everyone is treating her as if she will take the job when she says she will not. In her mind, she sees that the job will be too much for her to handle. Deep down she knows she can, and, in some way, she enjoys being able to handle tough situations. This is due to her seemingly not having any control over her own life.
Rating: 9.5/10