As the final episode of The Diplomat begins, Jenna (Natalie Spence) watches the live stream she just released to her followers. She receives a message from Stuart Baron (Will Attenborough) asking if she is enjoying Barcelona. He suggests doing some sightseeing together. Jenna sees him nearby and immediately tells him that he can’t do this to her. She insists he won’t ruin her life like this. Stuart accuses her of stealing his life. He thinks there is still time to make up for it, but Jenna wants to be left alone. After the intro, Inspector Castells (Isak Ferriz) tells Laura (Sophie Rundle) that he wasn’t allowed to see Amy Callaghan at all.

She was released to Sam Henderson who is in Madrid and not answering Laura’s calls. Laura doesn’t know what Sam’s plan is for Amy, but he suggested Castells might be corrupt. After Castells denies those allegations, they discuss whether the hit-and-run on Mariona was deliberate. Laura believes she was trying to tell her something and Castells thinks she was involved in the cover-up. He suggests she try to find out why Sam is trying to hinder their investigation. Sam talks to Paula (Clare Holman) about the wedding between the Dutch and the Irish. Fabian is going to be nervous and will want to make sure the Jay Sutherland case doesn’t touch him. Sam confirms they got Amy in a safe house away from Castells.

Paula warns him that he should expect questions from Laura. Sam has to get back to Barcelona. Carl (Dylan Brady) shows Alba (Serena Manteghi) the video of Jenna. He explains that Jenna is an influencer who is in Barcelona. She has a stalker who followed her here. Colin Sutherland (Danny Sapani) believes Laura and the others are all in it together after he saw her with Fabian. Colin suggests he needs to have another chat with Fabian, but Laura asks him not to do that. He admits he doesn’t care anymore because finding out who murdered his son is the only thing keeping him alive. Laura suggests otherwise because he has a wife and child back home.

Laura gets a call from Alba who says they have a developing situation. They approach Stuart to ask him about Jenna and all the emails he sent her. He thinks he was justified considering Jenna stole all of his ideas. Laura asks him to keep a distance from her. Stuart claims Laura’s immune system is all out of shape. He tells them how Jenna stole his ideas. Once he leaves, they speak to Jenna who tells them what Stuart has been doing to her at work and elsewhere. The launch is tomorrow, but she doubts she’ll sleep much tonight because Stuart is there. Jenna wants to get a video of Stuart to show them back in the UK that he followed her there. Alba offers to video him so she can use that for evidence back in the UK.

As they get back to the office, Laura and Alba talk about Stuart and whether he is mad. Sam interrupts to ask for a word with Laura. He refuses to tell her where Amy is being kept. When she mentions Mariona, Sam suggests asking the criminal she has been sleeping with what happened to her. Laura wonders if he asked for the review and questions whether he is a spook. He asks if Tom knows about her other sexual partner. Laura intends to tell Tom because it makes her feel sick that Sam knows and he doesn’t. She is going to tell him before telling Colin how Sam blocked the investigation into his son’s murder. After Laura leaves, Sam calls someone and says they’re going to need her head on a plate.

When Jenna goes for a run, she is confronted by Stuart who can’t believe she went crying to the British consulate. He warns her that he will eliminate all negative people from his life. Stuart records her and accuses her of sleeping with her male and female students. She curses him before asking him to stop it. Laura, Jenna, and Alba speak to Inspector Castells about the problem. Castells believes he can only warn Stuart although Jenna says he has already been warned. Laura reminds him that 12 women have been murdered by their ex-partners in little over a month. They talk about Amy as Laura insists Colin deserves the truth. When Laura gets home, Tom (Ladi Emeruwa) has a bag and says he is leaving.

He knows that she doesn’t want to go to New York so she shouldn’t go. Tom wants to go to New York and doesn’t want to continue a long-distance relationship. She wants to tell him about Fabian, but Tom suggests it isn’t important. Alba checks on Jenna. She reveals she left her life in London because some girl was after her due to some made-up stuff about a boy. They talk about the reality of living with fear all the time. Alba promises to stay close to Jenna. She urges Jenna to get ready for the launch tomorrow before noticing Stuart sitting nearby. Jenna asks her not to say anything because she is so tired of it all. Fabian (Philipp Boos) speaks to someone on the phone and says he’ll confirm it’s going ahead as soon as he can.

He asks Peter van der Meer whose fault it is. Sam visits Laura in the middle of the night. He apologizes to her and admits she is a massive pain in the backside. He will try to tell her as much as he can about why he blocked her investigation into Jay’s death. Barcelona and Fabian have become a trading post for all types of unsavory individuals. Fabian acts as a matchmaker, takes his cut, and recycles it in property. They’re interested in an Irish group that rejects the peace process. He also tells her about the Dutch gang that is involved in drugs and human trafficking. He mentions that Peter Van Der Meer (Edon Rizvanolli) was on the yacht when Jay Sutherland was killed.

Mariona was working on a specific aspect of this with Sam, but he can’t discuss that with Laura. He can only say that it involves the apprehension of a very dangerous individual. Sam insists he doesn’t have people killed. Instead, he believes Fabian might’ve given the nod to have her killed. Sam offers to give Laura Amy. As for Fabian, he is different. Laura agrees that Amy is a good opening offer. Sam needs Fabian to feel secure and even wanted, but Laura refuses to be a honey trap. Sam insists she needs to make Fabian feel safe from the investigation until their operation is complete. Moments later, Laura approaches Amy Callaghan (Eubha Akilade) and introduces her to Colin Sutherland.

Colin pleads with her to tell him what really happened to his son. Alba takes Jenna to the launch party. Then, she goes over to Stuart to say Jenna owes him nothing so he should just leave. Stuart makes it clear that he knows about Alba and her little flat. Amy tells Colin what happened during their shift on the yacht and how Peter approached her for sex. After Peter insults her, Jay takes up for Amy. Peter shits in a drink and throws it in Jay’s face. Amy says Jay just wiped his face and smiled. Jay told her to wait in one of the cabins that they used for personal stuff. She was told to stay away from those guys because they were dangerous. Amy didn’t see what happened next. She waited in the cabin for a while until Jay showed up and he had already been beaten up.

Jay told her that Dutch guy came after him and Fabian set him up. Amy thinks the Dutch guy was Peter. Jay gave her the watch and urged her to tell Colin what happened. Then, she saw Fabian talking to Peter. Castells suggests Fabian could’ve lured Jay away from the main party so the Dutch guy could get revenge. Amy returns the watch to Colin. After she apologizes, Colin forgives her. Back at the office, Laura asks Alba about Jenna. Alba tells her what happened before asking about Tom. Laura admits it is over and she really doesn’t want to talk about it. She mentions that she is going to dinner with Fabian tonight. Laura wants Alba to call her at a specific time just in case she needs a way out.

Laura meets him later and gets a drink. He learns that she split from her boyfriend and her lingering doubts about him were removed. Laura admits that Amy won’t change her story. Fabian thinks her story is nonsense. Laura says they’re looking into one of the clients of Mariona’s father. Fabian reminds her that he suggested that previously. He has arranged for them to eat on his yacht. While Alba waits to call Laura, she sees Stuart sitting below her. Fabian thought they might sail around the beach later. He thinks she’ll like doing some late-night swimming. When he steps away, Laura texts Alba to tell her to call her now. Alba is too busy dealing with Stuart to call her. He pulls out a knife and comes after her.

Laura tries to slow down Fabian to give Alba enough time to call her. Alba calls her crying and saying that he really hurt her. Laura rushes away to try to help her. They work on Alba at the hospital while Laura stands nearby. Sam checks in with Paula who says it sounds like it is on. Sam says they’re keeping an eye on Hartmann. If it is happening, they’ll know about it. Sam talks to the team about moving on McKinley who has a distinct scar on his upper left abdomen. Peter meets Fabian and they discuss the girl. Fabian says their friends are on the way. Peter warns him that he could be next. Fabian says he has friends in Mexico that might have a say about that. Sam is told the location is surrounded as a bus approaches.

Once they get off the bus, Sam orders them to go and the men are arrested. Peter finds out what is going on. Castells and his team arrive to arrest Peter. A scar like the one Sam mentioned is found on one of the men. Sam goes in to speak to Fabian about Mariona. Sam accuses him of killing Mariona. If Fabian did, he wonders why Sam didn’t stop him. Sam says everything Fabian does is for bling, restaurants, and yachts. Everything he does is for his country. Laura tells Colin this is just the start of the process. Colin remembers Laura and Alba waiting for him at the airport. Laura says it was touch and go so she is going to see Alba now. Colin asks her to give Alba his best.

When Laura steps outside, she sees Fabian walking with Sam. Carl and Laura show Alba Jenna’s latest video. She is using Alba’s name because she is her guardian angel. Castells arrives with flowers from everyone from the station. He reveals Stuart has been charged with attempted murder. Peter has been charged in the killing of Jay Sutherland. They’re leaning hard on one of Peter’s men and believe they can flip him.

 

The Diplomat Review

The finale of The Diplomat wrapped up the main storylines in a somewhat muddled way. Jay Sutherland’s murderer was arrested with the possibility that one of his men will flip on him. Sam managed to get McKinley and protect the Irish peace movement as a result. Alba helped a young influencer who was being stalked by a disgruntled man. Surprisingly, Alba was stabbed by the man in question.

Sam’s operation never made much sense because that aspect of the story wasn’t thoroughly explained. At the very least, it didn’t leave a lasting impact when compared to the side stories or that of Jay Sutherland. With all these storylines muddying the final episode, the murder of Jay and its impact was somewhat diluted.

The oddly timed humorous bits also diminished the overall seriousness of The Diplomat and the serious subject matter in the final episode. As a whole, The Diplomat was enjoyable most of the time with a few moments that stood out, but it is hard not to feel like it could’ve been even better, especially with this cast.

Viewers should just try The Diplomat for themselves because some will clearly like it more than others. Unfortunately though, the finale was a bit of a mess. It scores a 5.5 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.