In the fifth episode of The Diplomat's third season, we find ourselves five months into Grace Penn's administration, with Kate elegantly balancing her dual roles as Ambassador and Second Lady, her demeanor now more poised than ever—largely due to her aversion to sightings of Hal (for obvious reasons, of course!). Meanwhile, Eidra remains diligent in her work, collaborating with Stuart on a crucial operation as they oversee a drone-enabled surveillance of the Vice President's arrival at Winfield, all while he intends to surprise Kate with a visit.
Kate's performance is nothing short of masterful as she feigns surprise upon Hal's unexpected arrival, while he, too, is clearly not pleased to see her in such close proximity with Callum Ellis, her associate. Their flirty banter at the party belies the reality of their situation, where Kate and Hal's marriage still appears to be a happy one to all but the two of them.
Despite their agreed-upon divorce, it's clear that Hal still holds a strong affection for Kate and resents the idea of her being with someone else—although it's not Dennison, which is something, right? However, Hal's true motive for his visit is soon revealed to Kate by Stuart: it's their anniversary. Oops! As part of the festivities, the power couple is set to participate in interviews, which Kate views as an unnecessary distraction.
Callum's presence, on the other hand, stems from a pressing situation in Moscow where they've lost contact with a submarine asset. He's requesting the North Sea's marine sensor data to aid in locating the nuclear-powered submarine. The tension between Callum and Hal is palpable, as both men vie for Kate's attention and affection in their own unique ways.
Hal pierces through the incessant bullshit and immediately exposes Callum and Kate's clandestine affair. He's apprehensive that if he figured it out in "half a second," then perhaps Kate's greatly diminished secret service detail might have too. As Callum isn't too ruffled about being reprimanded when he leaves the estate, Kate is far less nonchalant about the whole ordeal. In fact, Hal is convinced that the nature of their relationship, including Callum's ties to Russia, could actually pose a threat to national security. He wants Kate to come clean and divulge everything to the CIA, but she's reluctant for obvious reasons.
Eidra, despite still working in administration, is struggling in her role to the point of "drowning." Kate eventually conveys a message to a frustrated Hal, who is still angry and jealous about Kate's entanglement with Callum. Eidra has big information that stems from a meeting with credible intel from a guy called Boris Andreev. He's been telling the CIA that America was behind the carrier attack. He used to be Roman Lenkov's man in Mali and seems to be the real deal. Well, as we know, all of this is true, and Hal informs Eidra as much afterwards.
In fact, this is a serious enough situation that Eidra is brought onboard Air Force Two with Hal and Kate (who are icily ignoring each other the whole time, making for an awkward atmosphere!). But that also means she's not able to have that drink with Stuart, whom she had discussed earlier in the episode. As such, Stuart finishes his drink and decides to leave.
