The Diplomat Recap: The Twist Ties That Bind

"The most important moment of "Last Dance at the Country Club" is not its final, Casablanca-inflected image but a brief, devastatingly telling exchange between Kate and Stuart. After learning that she has no idea what their budget would be like, or who they'd be reporting to, he turns down her offer to leave Embassy London to join her on her next adventure, as Special Envoy to Europe, saying, "I can be an ambassador, though. It's what I've been working toward for 20 years." Kate's quiet, wistful "Yeah, me, too" makes me want to cry."

"I get it: duty to the nation before personal ambition, the muscle memory of actions transformed into habit over the course of a decade-plus relationship. It all has legitimate weight here. But why? Why hasn't Hal said, "Look, I can tell this is causing you grief, I'm going to turn her down"? He says he doesn't want it unless she does, too, that he'll do what she asks, but he must know by now that Kate isn't going to ask him to turn down the opportunity to serve as vice president. It's too important a role, at too thorny a time, under too dangerous a president, not to say yes. But it hurts her, and he knows that."

"If he's not going to pass on becoming VP, Hal should be running around to secure a substantive, significant role for Kate. He practically shouts at Nora, Grace's former and his soon-to-be chief of staff, that Kate "should be brokering an 83-point peace plan for Yemen, she should be secretary of State!" Kate points out that whatever he wants out of this job, he will have to negotiate for,"

Kate prepares to leave with Hal for Washington while grappling with the emotional cost of his rising political role. A tense exchange with Stuart reveals his long-held ambition to be an ambassador and Kate's parallel, unfulfilled desire. Hal accepts the vice presidency despite Kate's distress, creating a conflict between duty and personal aspiration. The situation raises questions about mutual sacrifice and whether Hal will use his position to secure a major, substantive role for Kate. Hal loudly asserts she deserves high-impact work, while Kate reminds him that any such outcome will require negotiation and effort.

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