We have arrived at The Diplomat season 4 finale, and the stakes couldn't be higher. All the cards are on the table for the Penn-Wyler administration now that Grace knows Kate lied to her about delivering the threat to Vaughn. Being so, Grace has effectively put them in the doghouse and forced Todd to speak with the Prime Minister. How will the team move forward with trust severed?
The Diplomat season 4 episode 8 opens with Kate walking alone through the Italian countryside before returning home and talking with Hal. He informs her that she won't be pulled from her position due to the negative optics. She will go to the G7 conference but won't speak. Todd will speak in her place. Hal accuses Kate of staging a fake reckoning for their marriage to soften the blow.
She admits the timing was strategic but the content was not. He tells her that instead of forgiving him all the time, she should have left him. Billie meets with Stuart and Eidra, and she and Eidra confront Stuart about the possibility he's going to act in retaliation. He admits he was writing a cable in the State Department dissent channel. They don't take him seriously.
Todd slips up and basically invokes the threat of war
Hal and Kate meet with Todd to go over his speaking points, and they learn that Grace has already deployed the warships. The panic sets in, but Todd isn't willing to hear suggestions on how to deliver the message from either Kate or Hal. He's stern with them both, and Grace enters the room to pull Hal out as if nothing's wrong. They arrive at the conference amid protestors outside.
Kate and Todd arrive for their meeting with Robyn Palmer, and Todd leads the conversation against the foreign secretary's pushback. Kate's itching to jump in, but she stays silent. Because he's drowning, she urges him to stop talking and leaps up citing "sharp womanly pains" and proposes a break. Robyn ends the meeting, though. Todd asks Kate what he did, and she explains that he suggested one NATO nation might fire on another NATO nation, which would end NATO.
Todd panics and asks for Grace to be pulled from her meeting because he ended NATO (he didn't yet, but it's not looking good). Kate gets pulled to be introduced to the chancellor's wife, an opportunity she takes advantage of to leave Todd's situation. Rolf isn't actually from the German delegation and she's not meeting the chancellor's wife. Prime Minister Vaughn pulled her for a secret meeting.
Kate explains why she didn't speak to the foreign minister and what position she was put in by the president. Vaughn asks Kate to simply answer her questions with nods, but she asks to speak instead. Later, Grace meets with Todd, Kate, Hal, and Billie to discuss the shooting war Todd accidentally proposed. Kate admits that Vaughn had her extracted by MI6 for a chat. She reveals the PM is putting assets in the water to protect her territory and maintain loyalty to her agreement with Russia.
Grace realizes that Todd really stepped in it and Vaughn has proposed that the G7 could turn into the G6 with the possible expulsion of the US. Kate asks Grace point blank if they plan on shooting at the British Navy, but Grace wants Hal to step in to talk with Vaughn now. Grace instructs him to tell the PM it's the US or the Russians and she has to pick a side.
President Penn retaliates against Stuart
Kate and Stuart talk about the situation, and Kate openly worries that Hal's officially over her. Stuart proposes sitting in on her conversation with Hal to force him to listen to her. He steps in as a mediator and speaks for Kate. Stuart propose that Hal tell Russia that the Poseidon isn't there. Hal's first question is how Stuart knows the weapon isn't there. Not the time, Hal!
Hal worries that if Russia knew, they would kick off a cyberattack, but Kate counters on why that wouldn't matter. Stuart asks Hal to take a moment for Kate's argument to sink in, but he leaves the room. Kate rushes after him and calls him unrecognizable. He throws his "seat at the table" in her face and compares her behavior to a mosquito. He walks away as tears well in her eyes.
Stuart opens up about writing a cable in the dissent channel, and while Kate doesn't laugh, she doesn't give him much hope that it's a worthy endeavor. Still, she tells him to send the cable because if nothing else, it will be an important record if war breaks out. After a photo op, Hal pulls Vaughn aside to apologize about Todd's messaging. He asks her to retract the permission she granted Russia for passage through her territory. He also threatens firing on ships. She silently walks away.
After Vaughn's conversation with Hal, she called an emergancy session to invoke Article 4. Everyone's in panic, sending Ganon and Billie to talk with Grace and help her realize the gravity of the situation. They're raising concerns with her, and Grace wants to know who's dissenting. She's concerned about the wrong things.
Hal comes to Kate and admits that he doesn't know what he wants, but he's not sure it's "this" anymore. Does he mean their relationship or the vice presidency? The conference begins and Eidra pulls Kate aside to reveal that Grace recalled Stuart. Kate brings this news to Hal, who's taken aback by Grace's decision. When Hal gets pulled away by Billie, Kate manages to get Grace's attention.
Kate makes a bold decision that starts a movement
She asks about Stuart being recalled and wonders aloud if anyone who disagrees with her getting fired is policy now. Grace simply says, "Watch yourself." The conference begins, and Kate follows Stuart outside. She hangs up his phone and drops the news on him. While Ganon agreed with his cable, Grace recalled him. He's angry, and Kate's explanations and assurance aren't helping. Kate promises to Eidra that she will turn this around.
Kate's waiting for Grace when she returns home. She once again tries to appeal to Grace and help her see the situation at hand because of her choices. Their conversation, as expected, goes nowhere. Hal wants to talk sense into Grace, but Kate warns him that if he does, he will be fired. The next day, Hal and Kate have changed their tune and act in favor of Grace as a means of survival.
During the actual conference, Grace interrupts to make a statement explaining the situation with the submarine and her decisions about firing on any interference. No one dissents or moves to kick the US out of the G7. The rest of Grace's team looks defeated. Kate takes off her earpiece. She kneels by Hal and whispers, "You didn't know. Remember that" in his ear. She kisses him and tells him she loves him "so much." With that, she stands in front of Grace and resigns.
She publicly says that she no longer supports the Penn administration. After Kate walks out, Billie follows suit with her own public resignation. Ganon's next. Kate walks outside and she's surprised to see Billie and Ganon right behind her. All three of them are equally surprised when the door opens again and Hal strides right up to them. Kate approaches the media and announces the Vice President's statement.
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