Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell as Kate and Hal Wyler.

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At a time when it seems like the political rhetoric couldn’t get any more bitter or outrageous, it’s easy to see world leaders and the people who support them in the worst possible light.

But Netflix’s The diplomat offers a different vision of politics: one in which sharp staffers are often the backbenchers of government, and many of those involved are genuinely interested in improving lives — even if they do terrible things along the way.

That’s the universe in which the Netflix series thrives The Americans alum Keri Russell plays a down-to-earth, practical, mid-level diplomat who is suddenly elevated to ambassador to Britain, amid plans to groom her to become America’s next vice president.

Starting off season two with a bang

As the show’s second season kicks off, Russell’s ambassador Kate Wyler is dealing with the aftermath of a cliffhanger that ended the first season. Her husband – former ambassador Hal Wyler – along with her deputy, Stuart Hayford, and another aide were caught in the blast of a car bomb while trying to meet a British government official.

The official may have had information about who actually initiated a deadly attack on a British aircraft carrier from the first season. But instead of finding out more, Kate’s husband and two members of her staff were involved in another attack.

As British and American officials rush to find out exactly what happened, we see it The diplomat walks a delightfully compelling line between serving up hefty slices of political drama and revealing the sad humanity of colleagues trying to recover from a hugely traumatic event.

Every achievement here is worth its weight in gold. Rory Kinnear is especially excellent as the egotistical sycophant of British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge. Ali Ahn is currently earning rave reviews for her performance as a witch on Disney+’s Agatha all the timestars here as CIA station chief Eidra Park, who tries to provide smart, effective support to Kate while not-so-secretly worrying about Kate’s deputy Stuart, with whom she was dating.

Rufus Sewell is magnetic as Kate’s husband Hal; she suspects that he sees her appointment as vice president as his best route back to power, but he insists that this is not the case, putting their relationship to the test. David Gyasi plays British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison as a precise but passionate power player, focused on doing right for Britain even as he grows closer to Kate and her marriage falls apart.

Allison Janney as Vice President Grace Penn.

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Alex Bailey/Netflix

But it’s not until West Wing alum Allison Janney arrives as current Vice President Grace Penn and shows the show’s drama really coming to life. As a brilliant vice president who may be forced to resign due to a financial scandal involving her husband, Penn excels at maneuvering others to do what she wants while remaining convinced it was all their idea.

Some may have been concerned that Janney was playing a souped-up version of her West Wing character, White House staffer CJ Cregg. But ultimately they have little more in common than a habit of direct speaking and a penchant for pantsuits.

A show that focuses on smart women

What both of Janney’s characters have in common, however, is that they are talented, effective women – making a difference in environments where their talents and achievements are often underestimated or overlooked.

There are indeed several storylines The diplomat revolve around smart women who deftly guide powerful men to make better decisions than they could make on their own. These men aren’t complete idiots, but they aren’t as smart as they think either – especially Trowbridge, a loudmouth bully who relies heavily on several sharp-thinking women, including his wife.

In a particularly pointed exchange, in which Hal notes all the humiliating reasons why Penn should accept her fate and resign without damaging the president’s agenda, Kate responds with a telling line. “What do you think my husband would do if it were him?” she says to Penn. “Would he stop?”

The answer – that Hal naturally assumes that the benefits he brings outweigh the political costs – neatly paints the specter of sexism hanging over us. The diplomat. In a world free of that particular ‘ism’, you get the sense that these women would actually occupy the positions of power, rather than act as a backseat to the men who do.

Complicated plots that pay off

As compelling as all this is, the plot becomes even more complicated in the second season, as Kate and her team begin to piece together what really happened in both the attack on the warship and the car bomb. New viewers trying to dive into the series now may be thoroughly confused. It’s best to make sure you know the events of the first season before joining the second season.

But once you get used to it, you can sit back and enjoy a story set in a political universe where expertise is valued, the competition plays out like a lengthy 3D chess game, and several staffers caught in the middle really believe in the opportunity to use their offices to make money. a better life for everyone.

Who would have thought that a visceral, fast-paced series about a global political conspiracy could also – thanks to the terrible state of our real-world political clashes – feel like a kind of fantasy?