The Diplomat season 2 premiere ending explained: Who dies in the aftermath of the car bomb?

Spoilers ahead of The Diplomat season 2 premiere

The Diplomat wastes no time dropping us into the immediate aftermath of the car bomb that detonated in the season 1 finale. The season 2 opener, "When a Stranger Calls," deals with the rush to assess what happened, who's been injured, what can be done, and who was responsible for the attack. As fans of this political thriller well know, it moves at a clip and this episode was no different.

Kate, in fear for Hal's life but trying to keep it together, also had to wrestle with the possible reality that Prime Minister Trowbridge tried to drag the UK's allies into World War III. She tasked Eidra Park with the investigation. It was a dicey decision but it had to be done especially in the face of the attack, Margaret Roylin's disappearance, and the reveal that the device used was British and not one made by a foreign entity. Still, in the midst of this, lives hung in the balance. What was the death toll by the end of the episode? Here's what we know.

Who died in The Diplomat season 2 premiere?

MP Merrit Grove

Grove's death came as no surprise. He was the target of the attack and closest to the car. His absence also serves the story better as we learned more about him in "When a Stranger Calls" which explained why a bomb was placed. Grove seemed to be a loose end. He's the one who secured donations from Russian "sources" when the Tory Party needed it, and if you wanted to use the Russian mercenary Roman Lenkov's services then you'd go through Grove.

Kate knew that Lenkov was the one responsible for the British air carrier attack that set this all in motion. She told Eidra as much as well as disclosed that it wasn't the Kremlin who hired him. She's of the mind that Trowbridge did and that he's in the middle of cleaning house. Though it may be more complicated than that considering how surprised he was that the device was British made and how far he's going to track down Roylin.

Ronnie Buckhurst

I was hoping this wouldn't be the case but Ronnie did die on The Diplomat. The 28 year old US Embassy officer had their whole life ahead of them. But, as Eidra had explained to Stuart, Ronnie had been the closest to Grove when the bomb went off. The doctors operated for 11 hours but there'd been extensive bleeding in Ronnie's skull and they'd sustained a lot of damage. The doctors had done what they could but the youngest member of this team passed away. Kate made the call to inform Ronnie's parents of what happened.

Who survived the car bomb?

Stuart Hayford

It was touch and go for awhile with Stuart. His blood pressure kept dropping during surgery and he nearly bled out on the table but the doctors were able to bring him back. At one point during "When a Stranger Calls," a break was necessary because they weren't sure if he'd make it through more operating if they didn't give his body time to recover.

When Stuart woke up, he thought he had been in a car accident. Eidra had to tell him that he'd survived a bombing but that Ronnie hadn't. He was adamant that Ronnie had been back in the restaurant and not on the street but she told him Ronnie had ran out to catch up and had been near Grove at the time of the attack. It was devastating news.

Hal Wyler

Out of everyone, Hal came out the least worse for wear after the bombing. But he still suffered grave injuries and had nearly died as well. There was a subtle through line in the season 2 premiere that seemed to suggest Kate felt guilty that Hal always throws himself into situations like these and manages to escape with his life while others aren't as lucky. But, rightfully, the Secretary of State, in a rare show of admiration for the Wylers, told her not to dismiss or downplay what they'd gone through. It is harrowing no matter how many times they've been through something similar.

Is Margaret Roylin dead in The Diplomat season 2 premiere?

There's a lot of hullabaloo about where in the world Margaret Roylin could be but she hasn't been swiftly disposed of. Yes, she left her phone in her home and hasn't been back, and there will certainly be a reason for it. All the cloak and dagger, however, implies that she's trying to stay off Trowbridge's radar for some reason.

He's been trying to find her and has his people stationed outside her house in case she returns. As his go-to advisor it's understandable Trowbridge wants to ask her opinion on how the situation should be handled, but he's being obsessive. Interestingly, his wife (who we meet for the first time this season!) is also pushing for Roylin to be found. She warned Dennison that he'd much prefer Roylin whispering in her husband's ear because if she resumes doing so, as she did before their neighbor complained about their quarrels, he won't like the rhetoric used.

Roylin is avoiding the two but she did place a call to the nurses' desk at the hospital using the pseudonym Anne Legendre Armstrong to get in touch with Kate. She referred to herself as a friend and didn't mind being placed on hold as the ambassador was found. It was an intriguing cliffhanger to be left on until episode 2.

Stay tuned to Americans Undercover for more The Diplomat coverage and follow us on X. All six episodes of season 2 are streaming now on Netflix.