The Diplomat Season 3 Episode 4 Recap: Is Eidra Getting Fired?

In the first two seasons of Netflix’s political drama The Diplomat, Kate Wyler had a pretty much one-dimensional role. Sure, she was a vice-presidential aspirant and an ambassador navigating her marriage with the infamous husband Wyler, but her wits remained pretty solid together. There were barely any cracks as she shifted boats between the roles. With her newly earned title as the Second Lady, on top of being ambassador to the UK, Kate’s life has radically changed now. The show takes a moment in episode four, titled “Arden,” to explore the ambassador’s new life, or should we say the Second Lady’s? Let’s take a look at what happens in this episode and what “Arden” means.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happens in This Episode?

Kate has become a silver-lining lady. She has no other option anyway. The Diplomat episode 4 begins with Stewart briefing the newly arrived Secret Service about Kate’s preferences about not being looked at too closely. He is also briefing them about her unpredictable temperament, when Kate arrives from a run with the said unpredictable temperament and asks everybody to go out for a stroll since it is a nice day. She looks exceptionally amused and is not at all in a surly mood, as Stewart expected. Kate says yes to the high teas that people are trying to get her to and says that she does not see a problem—which is again, SO unlikely for Kate (you know what I am talking about!). Stewart raises his eyebrows at this point, as there is a swift switch from Second Lady Kate to Ambassador Kate, who says that she is using this privilege of being the Second Lady to reach difficult contenders. Like Saudi Arabia, she says. When Stewart asks if there is a chance of meeting with the Saudis, Kate speaks about a drilling issue of Denmark in the North Sea that she is looking at, which might pull in the Saudis later. Pretty hopeful, I’d say, but still better than being Special Envoy to Europe or whatever kitty party that was.

The Saudis are yet to arrive, but who does arrive meanwhile is Eidra Park. Eidra Park is still losing sleep, and justifiably so, thinking she is going to lose her job. Especially after Kate misses the meeting with Diane, she thinks her death sentence has been engraved in stone. Eidra Park is planning to (and why do I think Stewart has also been putting his two cents into this plan?) take over the Cooperative Global Messaging Initiative, which is essentially a collaboration between the MI6 and the CIA to help Russian defectors flee with “open doors, open windows.” Stewart thinks having a multinational project under her hood would make it difficult for the administration to fire Eidra. However, Kate knows he has messed up and tells Eidra that they are going to meet Dennison at his office for a meeting while she pitches this idea. 

Meanwhile, every possible person crossing Kate’s path is asking her for a meeting or a consultation with Hal. Be it a friendly gesture, or be it involving a political decision that Kate can very well navigate herself, her new and dominant identity has become “Mrs. Vice President.” Kate is characteristically and absolutely hating it, but when she does in fact try calling Hal, she cannot get through to him. At this point, there are stakes involved, which really require Hal, and perhaps Kate requires her husband too. “Arden” is basically a personal war cry agreed upon by both for an emergency that Kate finally uses and gets through to Hal. Let’s see what the war cry was about and how that turned out.

What is Kate’s New Agenda?

Let’s allow Kate a moment of respite from this overbearing high-tea arranging role of a second lady and place her in a position that she likes—being the ambassador. As an ambassador, Kate has received a request from Denmark to stop drilling in the North Sea, as it is endangering marine life. They need pushback to stop drilling and the UK’s support and agreement in it. Kate sets up an agenda with the Ministry of Environment and goes to meet the minister but is completely hijacked by Prime Minister Trowbridge, who seems all too rosy once again now that Kate has not left the country. I also think he wants to be in the good books of the vice president; if nothing else, Trowbridge can detect and value intelligence. Trowbridge willingly joins this meeting with the Minister of Environment and Kate and chimes in that the Danes themselves drill in the North Atlantic; he is corrected that it is in fact the North Sea. He does not care. What he does care about is a directive from the White House confirming this so that he gives his seal of approval. Which means… Yes, guessed right, call Hal!Kate really needs to lock this in; she needs to get Eidra in the safe zone and is willing to bend a rule or two to get this approval. She tries reaching Hal and cannot even get past Nora. Meanwhile, she is invited to a cocktail party by the prime minister, where Dennison is also going to be present. Kate is visibly distraught dealing with this distance from Hal, and it is less because of the marital distance and more because of the deprioritization and inaccessibility. In The Cocktail Party, Kate outright asks Trowbridge to keep Eidra as a personal favor. Trowbridge nods his head and says “done” but also asks her about the White House’s opinion on the Denmark issue, and Kate blurts out that they are on board. She needs to fill Hal in on this and asks the Secret Service to set up a hard line. Things happen in this party, but before coming to that, let’s see what Eidra Park is up to.

Is Eidra Getting Fired?

In the previous episodes, we have seen that Eidra is not receiving cooperation from the MI6 chief, Tom. The meeting with Dennison, mediated by Kate, was her crucial chance of winning the officials back, but guess what? Kate has to stand her up because Trowbridge has hijacked Kate. Kate calls Eidra and tells her to go forward with the meeting on her own and that she will be calling to put in good words. However, when Eidra arrives at Dennison’s office, Tom joins the meeting and takes away the phones. 

The two start questioning Eidra about whether or not Trowbridge was involved in killing Meg Royllin. It seems to become her only way of keeping out of a situation, but Eidra cannot lie. She tells them that Trowbridge was not involved and the suicide was a voluntary act and not an endorsed act. When Eidra tries to bring up the new project, Dennison shuts it down, saying that it is not a priority right now. I would be very disgruntled with Kate if I were Eidra! However, later in the cocktail, all it takes for the Second Lady is a smile and a request to fix things. Talk about nepotism!

What Happens in the Party (Stays in the Party)?

Kate has donned the sparkliest dress (it was not her choice; it was brought to her when she asked for something black and simple) and is shining as the second lady. But it is visible that she feels alone. There are beautiful metaphors in this episode concerning the dress. She tries to zip it up alone and cannot, and then when she is back at home tries to unzip it, which used to be Hal’s job. When no one is around to unzip it for her, the Secret Service detail does it. Her most intimate moments have been replaced by the Secret Service as she stands glimmering in a nice dress but terribly alone at the top of a staircase. In the party, some of it oozes out. She puts in her last desperate attempt to reach Hal by texting him their code, “Arden,” which pulls him out of a meeting with the Chinese delegates. She blabbers on about foreign policy agendas and the Danes, as was discussed with Nicole, which surprises Hal, who thought Kate was in danger. He shuts her off, incredulous. In the meantime, Hal also overhears Dennison on the phone, and Kate reveals the party is at Dennison’s house, which further puts Hal on edge. After she hangs up, Kate, to put it very simply, makes a pass at Dennison. Dennison is swayed by the emotions at first but quickly gathers himself to a position, I think, considering all odds. 

Kate returns home, alone and claustrophobic in her new identities. She has everything, yet she feels she has nothing. With Hal not by her side, and with her somewhat reductive identity of being Mrs. Vice President, who is supposed to plaster a smile and host dinners while people establish that she cannot make autonomous decisions, this episode ends with a tinge of sadness.

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