Simon Chandler's Grove plays a significant part in The Diplomat Season 2, despite not being present beyond Episode 1.
Chandler's character previously appeared on the periphery of Season 1 of the hit Netflix thriller, which starred Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell.
The series takes place in the world of international politics, following Russell's Kate Wyler as she is reluctantly thrust into the role of U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Grove's Role in The Diplomat Explained
While Simon Chandler's Merritt Grove has nary been seen in The Diplomat, his presence is felt across the show's newly released Season 2.
Chandler has played the character since Season 1, appearing in two episodes in that first season (Episodes 2 and 8). He is seen as a recurring side character, tangentially related to Keri Russell's Kate Wyler, as she acclimates to the political environment of the United Kingdom House of Parliament.
Merritt Grove is a British member of parliament (MP) in the series, belonging to the party in power, the Tories.
The Diplomat finds Grove, along with his party leader/British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (played by Rory Kinnear), on a bit of a soul-searching quest. The government in power has lost favorability with the general public, and Kinnear's PM looks ready and willing to do just about anything to get it back.
One of the ways Grove and the Tories have been trying to do this is by uniting the British people against a common enemy. Iran is conducting what they call terrorist attacks against British assets.
Grove plays a pivotal role in this in Season 2, as Prime Minister Trowbridge continues this mission.
Season 1 ended with a car bomb going off, putting some of the series' biggest names in danger. This included Kate Wyler's husband Hal (played by Rufus Sewell), Kate's right-hand man Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh), and Chandler's Merritt Grove.
While Hal and Stuart make it out of the assumed terrorist attack alive, Grove is not so lucky, being one of two MPs to die in the explosion.
This attack is again blamed on Iraqi terrorists who are seeking to disrupt the British government, with Grove being made a martyr essentially to, hopefully, unite English citizens and boost the popularity of the Tory government.
This explosion and Grove's death set the events of The Diplomat Season 2 in motion. Keri Russell's Kate questions whether a foreign power is behind these attacks or if Prime Minister Trowbridge is pulling the strings in a false-flag effort to boost his favorability.
In the first couple of episodes of Season 2, it is revealed that Grove was perhaps seen as a dissenter among his party mates and would potentially go to Kate's husband, Hal, with some valuable information about the ongoing terrorist conspiracy plaguing British parliament.
This makes his death rather convenient for the party in power, making one wonder if it was, in fact, a foreign power behind the explosion in the first place.
The Diplomat Season 2 is streaming on Netflix.
