As the third episode of The Diplomat begins, Gillian (Sarah Paul) hangs out with her friend Sadie (Esther Hall) as they celebrate their birthdays. Sadie checks her family app so she can keep track of her kids’ locations. Gillian takes her phone and uses her dating app. She sends a message to a much younger man named Mateo. Sadie asks Gillian to give the phone back, but Mateo is interested in meeting tonight. Sadie ends up taking Mateo back to her motel room and having sex with him. After the intro, Alba Ortiz (Serena Manteghi) jokes about Laura’s upcoming vetting. She thinks Laura (Sophie Rundle) will be fine unless her boyfriend forgot to delete the photos of her tied up.

Sam Henderson (Steven Cree) meets with Mariona Cabell (Laia Costa) who tells him that Hartmann is jumpy and wants to delay the wedding. Sam says that is bad timing because the wedding is their only chance to grab the Irish target. Mariona suggests reining Laura in, but Sam believes that would make her even worse. Sam says he can’t blow his cover and they can’t find Amy Callaghan. He questions whether Fabian had anything to do with the jet ski. If they want the meeting to go ahead, they need to come up with a better story. Sadie wakes up and suspects Mateo is sneaking off although he claims he’ll message her. She thinks they both knew it was a one-night thing.

Mateo says otherwise. He kisses her before leaving. Gillian watches him go before rushing over to get the scoop from Sadie. They quickly realize that her bag is gone so Mateo must’ve taken it. Laura gets a call from Mariona who says Hartmann would like to meet her. He has information about Jay Sutherland but requests that she doesn’t involve the police. Laura puts Alba in charge so she can leave. Carl (Dylan Brady) tells Alba that Gillian and Sadie are there for an emergency passport. Sadie tells her what has happened before saying she has already canceled all of her cards. She doesn’t want to tell the truth about how she lost the bag though.

After learning where they’re staying, Alba steps out of the room. She knows Carl has a mate who works at the motel so she’d like to check into it more since Sadie seems to be covering it up. Fabian (Philipp Boos) thanks Laura for coming on short notice. He explains that they might’ve found someone who knows something about Jay Sutherland. Fabian tells her more about Lola (Mireia Vilapuig). She doesn’t want to say anything unless she has assurances that it won’t come back to her. Fabian knows where she works and offers to text Laura the details. Since she isn’t familiar with the area, Fabian says he can come with her. Alba returns to Sadie and tells her that their friend at the motel might be able to help.

She knows Sadie met a man last night. Although she says there is no judgment, it would make things easier if she told the truth. Sadie refuses to admit Mateo (Alex Bausa) might’ve taken the purse. Alba suggests getting in touch with him to put her mind at rest. Sadie doesn’t have his number and he already deleted his profile on the dating app. Alba urges her to report it at the police station to prevent him from robbing more victims. Sadie gets upset with Alba and says she just wants an emergency passport. She asks Gillian to stay while Alba sorts out the passports. Gillian tells Alba it is a cheating scum bag of an ex-husband.

Once they arrive, Fabian tells Laura that he grew up in this neighborhood. When Alba arrives, Laura tells her she wants her to interpret what Lola says. Lola explains that her ex-boyfriend is a bouncer who gets crazy and drunk. He came back one night and said something, but Lola is worried this will come back to her. He told her that he’d kill her like he killed the kid on the yacht. Lola refuses to tell the police because she is worried he’ll come after her. Laura insists this is her chance to escape him for good. Gillian reminds Sadie that she has nothing to be embarrassed about, but Sadie would prefer to forget it ever happened.

Sadie receives devastating news when she receives a message from the guy last night. Fabian tells Laura that she doesn’t know the bouncer. He suspects the bouncer, Dante (Alejandro Cuenca), would work for an agency. Once Fabian leaves, Alba suggests he was checking Laura out. Alba gets a call about Sadie and has to meet with her. Once she gets to the motel, she learns that the bloke filmed them having sex and put the video on a porn site. He is asking for 5,000 Euros to take it down. Sadie blames herself for being gullible and says she has to pay him. Alba urges her to tell the police and suggests he is using shame to prevent her from reporting it. She warns Sadie that it could go on and on even if she pays him.

Laura speaks to Tom (Ladi Emeruwa) on the phone and tells him how she is so busy. She insists she wouldn’t cancel lightly. Sadie goes to the police. She is told they’ll do what they can, but policing the Internet is almost impossible. No other women have reported him and they have no proof that they were filmed against their consent. They ask Sadie not to pay the blackmail money. Back at the office, Alba complains about it to Laura. She suggests looking up to see if any other women have reported bag thefts. Inspector Castells says they’re going to pick up the bouncer tomorrow. His property is raided and he is taken into custody.

Police find Jay’s watch during the raid. Colin Sutherland (Danny Sapani) flies in before being greeted by Laura. Inspector Castells (Isak Ferriz) tells him that they’ve arrested the bouncer and he has confessed to accidentally killing Jay in a fight. Colin doesn’t like that he was only charged with manslaughter. The suspect admits he panicked and threw the jet ski in the water with Jay’s body. Laura knows it feels anticlimactic, but she says at least Colin and his family have the truth. Later, Sam says the Ambassador is glad justice has prevailed for Jay’s family. They turn their attention to Sadie’s case.

Alba suggests taking away the guy’s power by removing the stigma. Sadie ignores a call from Gillian. Laura receives flowers. Alba tells her that she found a woman with the same exact story as Sadie. The woman paid him and went back to the UK hoping to forget about it but she couldn’t. She sent them a picture of the man’s dating profile. When they check it, they see that he works at Los Tres Delfines. Laura finds him on the company’s website. Alba says she’ll call Garcia (Marta Codina). As they leave, they run into Gillian who says Sadie is missing. She thinks can use the stalker app to find out where she is.

They rush to meet with her while Gillian confirms the man in the picture is Mateo. Once they learn that Mateo didn’t show up to work, they suspect he might be meeting Sadie. When Mateo arrives, he screams for Sadie to hurry up and give him the money. She asks why he did it. Mateo says she enjoyed it. They struggle for the purse before Mateo’s bike falls and he is arrested by police. Gillian and the others arrive. Sadie says Mateo texted her and threatened to send the video to her contacts if she didn’t pay him. Garcia says they checked his phone and found videos of other women and texts extorting them.

Sadie agrees to come to the station to make a final statement. Later, Laura learns that Mateo could face up to 14 years because the evidence is stacked against him. Laura isn’t worried about missing the vetting review. Then, she tells Alba that she had been with six men. She can’t hang out with Alba. When the call ends, she meets Fabian. They talk about his relationship with Mariona. Fabian says he used to work with her father. She is brilliant, but they’re not together. They talk about Jay’s case and Colin. Laura admits she loves the job, but her boyfriend thinks she should clock off earlier. Fabian doesn’t understand the work-life balance concept.

Sam tells Mariona that they can get Kingfisher back on track now that everything is tied up. She reveals the wedding date has been set. They should have confirmation from the Irish soon and his mood is good. Sam is surprised to learn he is having dinner with Laura. Mariona suggests he get Laura to talk to Lola. Sam doesn’t think she should’ve done that. He also wants to know why they’re having dinner together. Sam says it is dangerous because she has no idea what he is involved in. Mariona reminds him that she has no idea what he is involved in either. Fabian and Laura get a cab together. Once they reach his place, Laura kisses him and asks if she can come up.

He agrees and they end up sleeping together. As she prepares to leave, she ignores a call from Tom. Laura tells Fabian she had a lovely evening. He says the same. Once she gets home, she is surprised to see Tom waiting for her. He questions why she never answers her bloody phone.

 

The Diplomat Review

The third episode of The Diplomat was probably the best thanks to the interesting story of Sadie and her sexual exploitation. The storyline was fairly unique and it was easy enough to connect with the character. On the other hand, some aspects of the series are better than others. The investigation into Jay’s death has begun to crawl as it has barely been touched on in the last two episodes.

Whatever is going on between Sam and Mariona is confusing although it seems like it was intended to be this way. Laura’s storyline is crammed full of clichés so most of what has happened could’ve been predicted from the beginning. At times, the series is a little too over-the-top and rah-rah women to the point that it can be difficult to believe.

It feels like more time and energy should’ve been dedicated to the Jay Sutherland case, but this was still a more enjoyable episode overall. If the series can sustain this level of quality, it may prove to be a justifiable binge at just six episodes. The 3rd episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Diplomat are available on Reel Mockery here.

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