Kate is freezing her husband out — and with good reason. After her public humiliation, she dives into the bureaucratic machinery of her new reality: she’s now the Second Lady of the United States. But unlike what she imagined, the title doesn’t come with real power. On the contrary, she loses prestige, control, and the spotlight.

Hal, meanwhile, is doing everything he can to reposition Kate — through flashbacks of how they fell in love in Kabul and desperate attempts to protect her from political irrelevance. And honestly, it’s impossible to hate him. Rufus Sewell oozes charisma, and his character, as manipulative as he may be, still seems genuinely in love with Kate — both personally and professionally. She, however, no longer knows what she wants.

In the past, she was the one who sacrificed everything for him. Now, she can barely tolerate his presence. Still, Hal manages to secure a new high-profile role for Kate, and the gesture moves her. But the relief is short-lived: Meg Roylin, who was under U.S. custody, kills herself — and yet another international crisis lands squarely in the lap of the “brilliant” ambassador who leaves behind nothing but chaos and corpses.

Eidra, disappointed by Kate’s lack of empathy and attention, realizes she’ll likely be the next one out of the CIA, while London once again becomes the stage for renewed diplomatic tensions.

In the end, just as Kate is about to board the plane to Washington with Hal, she changes her mind. She decides to maintain the façade of their marriage but stay in London — where chaos seems to be her natural habitat. Hal leaves alone.

And we’re left with the feeling that The Diplomat could easily be renamed The Incompetent. Because, truthfully, Kate is the embodiment of disaster with a diplomatic badge. But she’s the one the series bets on — and that’s why we keep watching.