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&34;This comes as a massive shock to him.&34; The Diplomat star Rufus Sewell 'loved' that season 3 premiere twist

"This comes as a massive shock to him."

The Diplomat star Rufus Sewell 'loved' that season 3 premiere twist

"This comes as a massive shock to him."

By Samantha Highfill

Samantha Highfill

Samantha Highfill is an executive editor at **, where she's worked for more than 12 years covering television.

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October 17, 2025 3:45 p.m. ET

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Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler on 'The Diplomat'. Credit:

Courtesy of Netflix

**This article contains spoilers from season 3 of *The Diplomat*.**

If you thought the Wylers' marriage was complicated heading into season 3 of *The Diplomat*, then leaving season 3, well, there might not be a word for it.

When season 3 begins, Hal (Rufus Sewell) finds himself in the middle of historical chaos after his phone call with the president (Michael McKean) resulted in the president's death. Now, Grace Penn (Allison Janney), a.k.a. the woman responsible for the attack on the British vessel, is president. And by the end of the season 3 premiere, she has selected Hal — not Kate (Keri Russell) — to be her vice president.

"I loved it," Rufus Sewell tells* * of the twist. "Whatever produces the most interesting and complex dynamic between [Hal and Kate], something that really shakes up their relation to each other, anything that complicates that."

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler and Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler on 'The Diplomat'.

Clifton Prescod/Netflix

It certainly complicates matters, as Hal is handed the very role he'd been grooming Kate for since the series began. But is he happy about it? And does he mean it when he says he's willing to turn it down? "This comes as a massive shock to him," Sewell says. "And his first question is, 'What's for Kate?'"**

Sewell recognizes that it's a delicate balance between Hal's personal ambition and the fact that he considers Hal to be a "genuine believer" in Kate. As for how Hal sees it, Sewell says, "'Yes, absolutely, if the play is for me to be vice president, I'm taking it because that's the door that's opened. But I want something for you too.'"

Sewell adds, "If there is an opportunity for him to help Kate be in that position or if the opportunity is for him, he believes that they have to do the stuff that they really think will help."

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler, Allison Janney as Grace Penn, Rory Kinnear as Nicol Trowbridge, and David Gyasi as Austin Dennison on 'The Diplomat'.

Clifton Prescod/Netflix

But Hal deciding to say yes to the vice presidency isn't the only major decision he makes in the show's third season. In the finale, viewers watch as Hal and Grace meet with Prime Minister Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) about a Russian submarine that's been discovered off the British coast. Said submarine holds a nuclear weapon called The Poseidon, and they need to get to it before Russia does.**

Naturally, it's Hal who, at the last minute, comes up with the great idea to bury the submarine in concrete so that no one gets the weapon, and he asks Kate to suggest it to Trowbridge. It's only after Trowbridge agrees that Kate has a realization: When Hal and Grace sent a drone to take pictures of the submarine, they did more than just take pictures. The United States has stolen The Poseidon.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.******* "He's like someone on the right side who does some of the stuff that the bad guys do in order to get there," Sewell says of Hal. "In that situation, it's one of those 50-50 calls that the president has to make. There is no option that's not terrifying."

Will there be a season 4 of 'The Diplomat'? What's next for the addictive Netflix political thriller

Rufus Sewell reveals 'The Diplomat' season 2 cliffhanger was 'redacted' in scripts

It's a decision Hal makes just moments after Kate finally asked him to take her back after a season apart. But will they stay together after he just used her, in her role as ambassador, to lie to the prime minister?

"In terms of whether that is a line or not, we shall see," Sewell says. "We're going to do a season 4. I do not know, but as I say, throw it at us."

*The Diplomat* season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

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