The Diplomats HMS Courageous Attack & The People Responsible Explained

Warning! SPOILERS about The Diplomat season 2, episode 6 ahead.

The attack on HMS Courageous has always been at the center of the political drama, and The Diplomat season 2 finally revealed the multiple masterminds behind it. The Diplomat season 1 beginning with the attack against HMS Courageous and Kate’s new appointment as US Ambassador to the UK indissolubly linked the two events, embroiling Kate in its fallout as a consequence of the US foreign policy because the culprit behind it was originally believed to be Iran. However, if season 1 thinned the herds of potential perpetrators one by one, The Diplomat season 2 needed to generate actual answers.

Enough proof against Russian mercenary Roman Lenkov ensured no doubt remained about who executed the attack, but how opaque everything was regarding the instigators made them virtually impossible to discover, especially after Merritt Grove’s actions set off the car bomb in The Diplomat season 1’s finale. Indeed, the truth behind who organized the explosion on HMS Courageous was eventually revealed only because one of the instigators confessed. Before then, Kate, Austin and Eidra’s investigation pointed toward Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, whose unpleasantness made him the perfect villain, but who didn’t even know the explosion was devised by British masterminds.

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The Four People Involved In The HMS Courageous Attack

Merritt Grove

The attack against HMS Courageous was strategically planned by a group of government officials afraid that the Scottish secession movement would have succeeded in securing and winning a referendum. Grove was part of a group of current and past government officials worried about how that would have changed the layout of the UK forever and decreased its strength. Having received Russian money in the past, Grove had a connection with Lenkov, which he passed onto Margaret Roylin, who effectively instructed and paid Lenkov to attack the ship.

Lenny Stendig

Despite never appearing onscreen in The Diplomat season 2, Lenny Stendig was an integral part of the plan to stir outrage through the attack against HMS Courageous. A far-right MP, Stendig agreed with Roylin and Grove on the risk of a Scottish referendum at that moment. However, Stendig’s biggest contribution was his decision to put a bomb in Grove’s car to shut him out. While learning from Kate about Grove’s possible reconsiderations, Roylin wanted Stendig to talk to Grove and “stiffen his spine” to avoid Grove asking for asylum in exchange for information, but Stendig went a different way.

Margaret Roylin

Roylin’s ability to always know what was going on in Whitehall gave her the knowledge needed to fear a Scottish referendum, but it was her connections and shrewdness that led Roylin to use an attack on a British ship as the perfect ploy to muster unity. Throughout The Diplomat, Roylin’s actions never seemed to be interested in the morality of a plan, instead focusing on its effectiveness. Still, even Roylin didn’t want dead British sailors on her conscience, but only a plan that would have let thoughts about a Scottish secession subside.

Grace Penn

US Vice President Grace Penn was the last to be revealed as behind the attack on HMS Courageous, but her involvement was relatively limited as Penn gave the idea of an attack against a British ship to promote unity to Roylin. Penn’s reasoning aimed to protect the US, as she believed Scotland’s secession would have resulted in the only European nuclear base US submarines could use closing down, virtually opening the Atlantic for Russian submarines to move how they wanted. It’s unclear whether Grove and Stendig knew about Penn’s involvement, but her position surely made her the most dangerous.

What Happened To The HMS Courageous

Roman Lenkov’s Attack Wasn’t Supposed To Be Lethal

Roylin explained in The Diplomat season 2, episode 4 how the attack on HMS Courageous was never supposed to cause casualties, but only manageable damage that resulted in uniting the nation and making the Scottish secession movement lose momentum. The plan involved Lenkov using limpet mines, which weren’t at hand. Switching to a small anti-ship missile would have produced a large hole, but it was HMS Courageous’ damaged propeller shaft that caused 120 tons of diesel fuel to be moved for storage under the deck in the area the missile hit that made The Diplomat’s HMS Courageous attack especially lethal.

The Diplomat is a Netflix drama/thriller series that tells the story of a career diplomat named Laura Simmonds as she wrestles with the complexities of her new job as ambassador to the U.K. As Laura attempts to acclimate to her high-profile, high-stress job, her marriage, and personal life begin to suffer in the midst of an international crisis.

Cast Keri Russell , David Gyasi , Rufus Sewell , Rory Kinnear , Ato Essandoh , Ali Ahn , Jon Moore , Adam Silver

Release Date April 20, 2023

Seasons 1

Directors Liza Johnson , Simon Cellan Jones

Showrunner Debora Cahn