Who is Ronnie in The Diplomat and what happened to Jess Chanliau's character in season 2?

Ronnie played a key part in The Diplomat season 1 and was involved in the shocking twist in the finale.

From the moment we finished watching The Diplomat ending we started eagerly anticipating season 2 and wondering how it would pick up the Netflix drama’s intense storyline. It’s a show that invites a lot of curiosity thanks to its focus on political intrigue and machinations and just when you think a mystery has been solved, Ambassador Kate Wyler uncovers another piece of the puzzle. Because of this, it’s hardly surprising that fans were left with plenty of questions after season 1, not least who would survive the explosion that it concluded with.

One of the people caught up in the tragic events of the finale was Ronnie, played by Jess Changliau. After waiting for over a year for season 2 some people might be wondering who Ronnie is and whether the character survived in The Diplomat.

*Warning: Spoilers for The Diplomat seasons 1 and 2 Ahead*

Who is Ronnie in The Diplomat?

In Netflix’s The Diplomat season 1 Ronnie Buckhurst was introduced as a US Embassy officer who worked closely alongside US Ambassador to the UK, Kate Wyler, and worked under Stuart Heyford, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US’s London embassy.

This role was a key one in the political thriller and Ronnie brought a sense of idealism which was an interesting contrast to all the complex plotting going on in The Diplomat season 1. Sadly, this plotting eventually led to devastation for the character as Ronnie was caught up in the explosion that brought season 1 to a heart-wrenching close.

Along with Kate’s husband Hal, Ronnie’s boss Stuart and the British MP Merritt Grove, Ronnie’s life was left in the balance going into season 2. Grove had asked Hal to meet with him privately, but after learning of this Kate had requested for Stuart to go instead. When Ronnie told the MP about this, Grove had been unsettled and he strode outside towards his car, stating that he didn’t want to talk to anyone from the US Ambassador’s office.

Ronnie was right beside him as he reached his vehicle and when Stuart arrived from one end of the street and Hal the other, all four were too close when Grove’s car exploded after he opened the door. After what happened to Ronnie in The Diplomat finale, many fans were no doubt concerned about the character’s future in the show heading into season 2.

The Diplomat: Season 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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Unfortunately, they had every right to be as Ronnie was critically injured in the blast which killed Grove. Ronnie was still conscious at the beginning of The Diplomat season 2 episode 1, but clearly in a very bad way. The episode picked up after the finale left off, with emergency responders assisting in the aftermath of the explosion.

Stuart and Ronnie were seen on stretchers covered in blood and when one EMT asked, "Can you open your mouth for me Ronnie", the US embassy officer was just able to respond, "No", as the responder said that she wanted to be sure Ronnie could breathe.

"Does it hurt to move it?" she asked, to which Ronnie managed to say just, "Yeah".

Tragically, this was the last word ever uttered by Ronnie in The Diplomat as despite doctors performing surgery for "almost eleven hours", the character's injuries proved fatal. Later on in the episode, Eidra Park, the CIA Station Chief broke the news to Ronnie’s boss Stuart who couldn’t remember all of what had happened that night, saying, "There was a lot of damage and they really tried, but Ronnie didn't make it."

Stuart was utterly devastated by Ronnie’s loss and stared back in silence as he processed this awful news. The ramifications of Ronnie’s death were also felt by Kate, whom Stuart ended up accusing of being responsible thanks to her phone call to Margaret Roylin. He called it her "tactical error" that turned out to be "deadly", before the two got out of their car and watched in poignant silence as Ronnie’s coffin, draped in the American flag, was transported into a plane.

That evening, Kate and Hal also fought about whether or not she was culpable, as the ambassador felt immense guilt over Ronnie’s death. Roylin had told her that someone went after Grove because Kate had called and said he was anxious. Hal argued that this was "correlation" and not "causation", despite what Kate thought.

Who killed Ronnie in The Diplomat?

Although Ronnie hadn’t been deliberately targeted on a personal level, the character died because of MP Lenny Stendig killing Grove, which he did in an attempt to keep him from telling Hal about his involvement in the attack on HMS Courageous in season 1. The mystery of who was really behind this was a huge plot-point in both seasons and building up to The Diplomat season 2 ending it was revealed that Margaret Roylin was responsible, after being given the idea by US Vice President Grace Penn.

Roylin and her co-conspirators hadn’t intended anyone to get hurt, but had wanted Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge to pull the country together and avoid Scotland securing independence which also benefited the US hugely. Convinced that Grove was going to tell Hal and America everything, Stendig killed him and Ronnie Buckhurst with the bomb in Grove's car.

The Diplomat season 1 and 2 are available to watch now on Netflix.