As the fifth episode of The Diplomat begins, Amanda (Lindsey Coulson) and Richard (Richard Ridings) go on a sightseeing tour only to learn that their card is missing. He says they’ll have to get normal tickets and it’ll come out of her pocket. A man watching the security cameras sees a traffic cop beating Richard with his baton. He sends backup to help and asks for an ambulance. Alba (Serena Manteghi) calls Laura (Sophie Rundle) to complain about her hangover and to tell her about Richard’s incident. The traffic cop is being treated for a concussion while Richard had a heart attack and is on a ventilator. Laura asks her to find out more about Richard’s case before Fabian (Philipp Boos) visits.

Once he comes in, Fabian says he wants to explain to her what is going on with the bouncer. He claims he knew nothing about the story being a fabrication and thought it was completely true. He says Mariona’s dad knows some of the people at the party on the yacht. Fabian suspects he got his daughter to create a story in order to protect them. He didn’t know the bouncer was being set up to take the fall, but Fabian claims he doesn’t need protecting anyway. He comes right out and says he really wants to sleep with her again. Laura breaks the news that she has a boyfriend. Fabian tells her why her boyfriend is lucky and that he doesn’t always have people around him as smart as she is.

Fabian wants to know if it was better with him than with her boyfriend because he thinks they have something. She won’t tell him so Fabian kisses her. As he leaves, he gets a call and says he hopes they’ve found her. He wants to make sure there are no more mistakes or witnesses this time. Colin Sutherland (Danny Sapani) watches him from a distance. Amy Callaghan (Eubha Akilade) is shown with Jay’s watch. Amanda tells Laura and Carl (Dylan Brady) what happened with the tickets. Richard gave the machine a thump before the police officer came over and confronted him. Richard tried to speak to him in Spanish, but the officer became angry and pretended not to understand.

Amanda insists no one deserves that sort of treatment. Laura tells her that the police said Richard became aggressive. Amanda admits to hitting the police officer with her shoe and injuring his ear. Laura reveals the police are considering pressing charges against Amanda and her husband. Amanda explains why she is glad they never had children. Back at the office, Carl complains that Amanda was judging him for being a non-white, gay man. They talk about the couple being Baptist and what they believe in. Laura wants to speak to Inspector Castells (Isak Ferriz). When Mariona (Laia Costa) is released, she calls Sam (Steven Cree) to tell him what she told the police.

She says they don’t have anything else because the bouncer must’ve stopped talking after he received their warning. Laura gets a call from Amy who hangs up without saying anything. Sam asks Mariona if the wedding is still on. She complains that he doesn’t have time for anything except having sex and planning. Mariona hasn’t heard of a date change, but it won’t take place at El Faro. When they begin talking about Amy, Sam admits it might be better for Mariona if Fabian finds her. Sam reminds her that Owen is a vicious man who could bring down the peace process in Ireland. When Amy leaves the store, she is followed by two men who confirm it is her. Laura runs into Colin who just got an update from Inspector Castells.

Castells tells her that Colin saw her outside with Fabian this morning. Laura tells him what Fabian said about the incident being linked to Mariona’s father. Castells asks her not to pass on anything he says to Fabian. He confirms they took Amanda and Richard’s passports because they could still be charged with assaulting an officer. He says the officer is well-liked and does work for charity. Laura learns that they called the man a Gorkha. She returns to the office to tell Alba and Carl about that. The incident was witnessed by two British school girls so they’ll need to speak to them. Mariona meets Fabian at El Faro. He knew Castells would be a problem, but Mariona claims he isn’t a problem. When she was asked about Lola, she told him that crazy people come to her office all the time making threats and allegations.

Mariona doesn’t think they have anything else. Fabian is thinking about the Irish issue now that her cover-up had collapsed. He asks her to lay low until they have settled the matter of Amy Callaghan. Once she asks how he is going to settle it, Fabian says Van der Meers has a strong preference. She agrees because a change of scenery might do her some good. Amy is confronted by the two men. Laura talks to Alba about her falling out with Castells. She says he got really defensive over the cop. Alba claims all cops are bastards even if they aren’t on an individual level. Laura tells her about Colin seeing her with Fabian this morning. She says Tom wants her to go with him to New York.

He is coming back tomorrow and wants an answer. The British school girls say Richard was bashing the machine when the cop approached him and they started arguing. They tell them what was said and repeat the Gorkha statement. The cop was shouting back, but they didn’t understand him because they don’t speak Catalan. The one girl says the British guy was more in the wrong although she felt sorry for his wife. She reveals she recorded the incident. Alba asks her to send it to her because she speaks Catalan and the footage could be very helpful. The girl wants to speak to her dad before sending the video. Back at the office, Carl says the judge will be charging Amanda.

Richard is off the ventilator. Laura gets a text from Tom who says New York is in the bag. Laura gets the video later that night. She shows it to the others in the morning. They hear the get back to India statement, but Alba admits the cop, Oscar Parera (Ricky Gill), is saying some heavy stuff as well. Laura suggests it could be justified if he has been racially insulted. Alba says the cop called Richard a fat English pig before that and he kept saying not today over and over. Carl says it is excessive force in his book. Alba agrees to go to the station to see if she can speak to people the officer works with. Carl is fine with calling Amanda to get her in. Amanda talks to Richard about cruises, but he worries they’re going to prison.

Once Amanda goes to the consulate, she is told what her husband supposedly said to the police officer. Laura warns her that the judge might consider the racial abuse an aggravating factor. Amanda thinks what her husband is saying is something much different. She recommends speaking to his coworkers even though they’re communists who hate his guts. Laura steps out. Amanda tells Carl she isn’t a bigot or a phobe. Carl tells her he isn’t a sinner and he isn’t the one facing a trial. She apologizes and says they have to show grace and understanding. Carl thanks her and admits he knows how stressful things are for her. Amanda isn’t sure Richard can go on any more trips unless he reduces his weight.

He wanted children, but she sometimes thinks it was fortunate they couldn’t have them. Amanda insists she is telling the truth and would swear to her God on that. Castells is told that Amy is in an interview room waiting for a lawyer. Fabian learns that the cops got to her first. Mariona believes she is screwed. Sam says they’re working on extracting her. Sam knows the risk for Mariona, but they’re so close to catching McKinley. Mariona says he only cares about the wedding and catching the terrorist. She isn’t going to die for her. Mariona suggests she’ll tell Laura the truth since she does a better job of looking after people. Once she leaves, Sam calls someone to set up a face-to-face meeting.

Laura tells Castells about the Gherkin statement, but he doesn’t want to believe that. Laura says he didn’t tell them that it was the anniversary of the death of the police officer’s son. They confront him about the things the officer said. Alba spoke to some of his coworkers who said he was talking about rage and wanted to see a counselor. Laura says it was a flash fire caused by several circumstances, but there was excessive force from the officer. She says Castells shouldn’t rule out Amanda seeking her own legal action. Mariona calls Laura to give her an address so they can meet tonight. Castells asks an officer to get Alba a coffee before he is pulled out of the room by a coworker.

Back at the office, Alba says it was humiliating and she blames Laura. Carl gets a call from Amanda so he rushes over to the hospital. Amanda tells him that Richard is gone. She suggests she should just go to prison since she has nothing else to live for. She begins blaming herself, but Carl tells her not to think about that. Carl agrees to stay with her while she prays for them all. Sam meets with Paula (Clare Holman) in Madrid. They agree that Mariona can’t be allowed to tell Laura everything. If the Irish wedding goes ahead, they should see movement from one of the lieutenants. There could be attacks across the six counties and the mainland. Sam is told that crashing the wedding and grabbing McKinley could be their last chance.

Tom (Ladi Emeruwa) returns only to find a note from Laura. Castells gets upset when he learns he won’t be allowed to question Amy. Mariona ignores calls from Fabian and Sam. Laura pushes the button to Mariona’s flat. Mariona is hit by a car before Laura tries calling her. The car speeds backwards and seems to run over Mariona again.

 

The Diplomat Review

The fifth episode of The Diplomat was fairly interesting although the juvenile jokes could’ve been left out. It is sometimes hard to take the serious material seriously when the characters are lowered by silly remarks. The Diplomat is very liberal leaning so that may be off-putting for some viewers, but it sometimes does a decent job of leaning both ways.

The acting is generally good even from the minor characters. The soundtrack seems to have improved slightly over the last few episodes so it isn’t as annoying as it was earlier in the season. Some storylines don’t make a lot of sense at the moment and that seems to have been done by design. It might be wrapped up in the final episode, but it may be an attempt to get The Diplomat renewed for another series.

The Diplomat isn’t bad, but it probably would’ve been better served with a more serious tone throughout. It also would’ve been nice to see more of Isak Ferriz and his investigations. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Diplomat are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here.