‘The Diplomat’ Finale Recap: One Last Betrayal

There are many shades of betrayal to try in Schrödinger's Wife. We have Trowbridge's grievances at whatever Todd thinks is going on between Grace and Hal, Hal's utter annoyance at Kate's inability to simply enjoy her new relationship, Stuart's difficulty understanding what Billie knew about Rayburn (and when she knew it), and Kate's horror at Grace and Hal's betrayal (yet again!) of Trowbridge when She realizes that they were the ones who escaped with the incredibly dangerous Poseidon Drone. Ugh!

The only people having a relatively normal time at the UK-US summit held at Checkers (the official residence of the Prime Minister, which the Prime Minister can use as a country getaway or for large-scale entertainment) are Austin Dennison and his wife (!!), Tema Asidu-Dennison (Tracy Ifeachor, deceased Pitt). Somehow they've been married for a month and Kate still hasn't heard a word about it? Their backstory is also really beautiful: it's a second chance at love after previously being married to other people. Dennison is such a decent person and a true friend to Kate. It's wonderful, but as a fan of the plot twist, I can't help but feel a little wistful about how much crazier this episode would have been if the Wylers had been completely broken up and Kate had been with Dennison. I'm not saying it suffers from any lack of insanity, but if we're going to be hanging on a huge nuclear drone-shaped cliff for the next 12-15 months waiting for season four, why not go all maximalist?

This is the third season finale in a row for Diplomat where Hal Wyler is the sun around which the wild creatures revolve. His actions so far have led to a deadly car bombing in central London, the death of the US President, and now the theft of Poseidon. While Kate struggles to realize that she is the common denominator in her rocky romantic relationship, now might be a good time for Hal to consider what internationally significant dangers his usually good intentions are bringing into the world. I'm laughing at myself now; this will never happen!

Elsewhere in the White House couples, Todd Penn sees marital betrayal where it doesn't exist, while Kate doesn't see political and personal betrayal where it does, and only notices it after Todd confesses to her his insecurities about Grace and Hal's apparently strong working relationship. I love that this episode finally gives us the degree of Grace and Todd content that I was expecting; although I haven't thought of CJ Cragg or Josh Lyman once this season, there's still a bit of shine from West wing the radiance of Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford, to whom I will always be irresistible. I'd like to see more real conversations between them, like the one we have at the beginning of the episode – they're funny, cozy, sexy, angry, all in the space of one scene.

Let's stop here for a minute because I have questions about this scene, especially the part where Todd, trying to get Grace to hang up the phone, buries his nose all over her body, muttering sweet nothings: comparing it to fresh focaccia. A! Fresh! Focaccia! What? Far be it from me to shame anyone, especially over something so soft and adorable, but I want to know some details. How many baked goods did you consider before settling on focaccia? Did they all taste good or did they have some sweet options? Did all the candidates for the weirdest healthy sexual metaphor fall into the yeast dough category, or did chemical leaveners get some representation? How many takes did this scene take? Jenny and Whitford are professionals with a capital P, but I imagine the focaccia line might get even them laughing particularly loudly and uncontrollably. It is also the second scene of the season in which a male love interest declares a strong and specific oral fixation on his partner. In episode four, Dennison declared his desire to lick Kate until she screams (and don't think we're still not baffled by the failure of that plan), and now we have focaccia.

The Penns' near-sex scene leading into the season's big sex scene between the Trowbridges is quite something. It's great to have Pandora Colleen back as Lydia Trowbridge and I hope we get to spend more time with her next season. It's fun to see married couples play the role of married couples, and Colin makes the most of his minimal screen time by putting in a word vigorous with a degree of boredom and impatience immeasurable by any existing device.

After this betrayal of sorts, we have a relative palate cleanser: Prime Minister Trowbridge versus President Penn. They hold two rounds of formal negotiations, with the third being an excruciatingly awkward gourmet dinner for both delegations. What interests me most is how quickly and completely Trowbridge's lead over Grace evaporated. Even before he runs out of the room in the first round, she manages to piss him off, mainly by using his own beliefs about etiquette against him. It's bad enough that he trumpeted Rayburn's involvement with H.M.S. Brave bomb at all, but do it in her country house? This isn't cricket, is it, Nicol? Tsk-tsk, naughty boy, we are very disappointed with you.

In fact, round two is a bigger twist, a bolder gambit in every way, and not just because it builds on an important example of the adage that asking for forgiveness is better than waiting for permission. Grace convincingly shows that she's shocked by Trowbridge's initial refusal to accept help in retrieving the Russian submarine and Poseidon drone, but I think she and Hal always counted on Kate to step in and offer a solution that everyone could live with. Sealing the submarine and its dangerous weapons in concrete elegantly solves several problems at once: the danger of radiation leakage will be contained, and no one will have access to Poseidon. Well, they won't have access to this particular Poseidon – who even knows what stockpiles the Russians are willing to stock? – but they are going to win now and take care of the rest later.

Well done everyone! The dynamic duo of Kate and Hal achieved another Hail Mary pass and, by the looks of it, a romantic reconciliation. I'm a little confused as to what made her ask him to take her back and have come to the conclusion that there is nothing special that could cause such a change of heart. Instead, I think the combination of her fight and Hal's post-fight conversations with Callum “why can't you be happy?” The outburst of anger, Dennison's incredibly generous view of the Wyler relationship, and the call to be patient with herself and Hal all combined to point Kate in that direction. Perhaps the clinching moment was a particular gambit – there's nothing sexier for these two than a successful moment in international relations – even Callum noticed Kate's face when Hal winked at her across the table and she looked down, smiling and blushing. (Now that I think about it a little more, it's possible that Hal describing Callum as having a totally ah-mazing “gorgeous, gallows-tied dick” might have helped, too. Having a partner who makes you laugh, especially when you're mad at each other, is important.)

For Kate, the moment of joy is shattered by her deduction that Hal and Grace must have hatched a plan within a plan (sub-plan?) to steal the Poseidon before the submarine could be sealed in concrete – a brutal and mind-bending experience. If anything, Todd Penn thinks too small, being jealous of Hal and Grace's working relationship. Why worry about a non-existent broken marriage vow when international betrayal is right in front of him?

However, in my opinion, the deepest betrayals are the ones that Stewart tries to survive. The President he considered so decent, so worthy of Stuart's decision to sacrifice time with his dying father, is now known around the world as the architect of a plot that resulted in the deaths of 41 members of the British Navy? Did his closest friend lie to him about this for months and possibly force him to be questioned under oath as a result? Who is telling him the truth? Is is anyone telling him the truth? How can he continue to work for these people? He probably needs a lawyer, but as Aidra points out, that could ruin his career and livelihood! Everything is a mess! Everyone except Eidra, who asks him not to leave and climbs into his arms. One item from my Season 3 wishlist has finally arrived! I'll take it.

• The large country house that stands in for Checkers in this episode looks more like Balmoral with its dark gray stone siding. real checkers – a beautiful pile of red brick – was given to Britain in 1917 by Conservative MP Arthur Leigh and his wife Ruth. You can hear Trowbridge explaining his story in background conversation during the unusual dinner scene in this episode.

• Yes, I'm still thinking about focaccia. It's incredibly easy to make and so delicious that everyone will think you spent hours working on it. Recipe by Claire Saffitz. this is my reserve.