The Diplomat

The Diplomat is a thoroughly engaging series that had me hooked from the get go. It is such a well crafted show that I wanted to create a place where I could index its subtly epic dialogs (and share it with fellow Diplomat fans). I have watched the series “cover-to-cover” a couple of times now and here’s why I highly recommend it:

• The show is not only entertaining but also educational, as it portrays how diplomatic, geopolitical decisions move through bureaucracies. You don’t have to take my word for it, you can take the Belfer Center, The Washington Post, and Foreign Policy‘s word for it.
• An intelligent portrayal of the complexities of marriage between two intellectual equals, highlighting the nuances of balancing personal and professional advice within a relationship. I have rarely seen this captured in cinema but this series finally gives this a worthy, intelligent treatment. It explores themes such as:
  • Trusting a partner’s advice while maintaining individuality.
  • The gendered conditioning that influences how men and women approach their work differently.
  • In fact, the main premise revolves around Hal, a diplomat whose career stalls after a significant misstep, forcing him to support his wife Kate’s career progression. This shift in their dynamic requires major adjustments from both characters, bringing to light issues of career ambition, gender roles, and personal growth.

So lets go! Here are some noteworthy dialogs from Deborah Cahn‘s masterpiece:

• S1E1,2
• S1E3,4
• S1E5
• S1E6
• S1E7,8

P.S.

• Cinema is rife with stories of “great” men with an array of irrelevant domestic relationships, predatory romantic interests or unhealthy partnerships of skewed power dynamics. Personal lives are depicted as yet another dimension to demonstrate power, one where they can pick the rules and discard those that don’t maximize their domination. This is why ‘The Diplomat’ is such a rarity in that sea of beaten-to-death nonsense. A breath of fresh air.
• If you actually watch the series, the extra material on Netflix’s fan website TUDUM is a great companion as well.
• Some useful links on women and their relationship with work over the past decade:
  • Studies and surveys by https://www.womenspowergap.org/
  • https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified
  • https://hbr.org/2014/06/why-women-dont-negotiate-their-job-offers
  • https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/women-dont-self-promote-but-maybe-they-should/