The Diplomat season 2 finale hints at larger role for one new character in season 3

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead from The Diplomat season 2 finale from this point forward. Proceed with caution if you have finished all six episodes!

Well, it's official: The Diplomat season 2 delivered the most shocking cliffhanger of the year. The second season of the Emmy-nominated Netflix original political thriller premiered on Oct. 31 and continued following the high-stakes career of U.S. ambassador Kate Wyler as she carefully maneuvers through a series of stressful situations.

The Diplomat season 2 picks up in the midst of the season 1 cliffhanger, which involved a car bomb going off in London and nearly killing Kate's husband Hal and her deputy chief of mission Stuart. The attack killed Merritt Grove and one of Kate's embassy officer's Ronnie. Much of the season delves into the truth about the attack and its possible connection to last season's carrier attack.

Across the second season's six episodes (here's why season 2 has fewer episodes than season 1), Kate has various theories about the attacks. She's convinced that "the call is coming from inside the house" and Prime Minister Trowbridge played a role in the carrier attack. However, as she learns in the finale, Vice President Grace Penn gave Margaret Roylin the idea to hire Lenkov to shoot the ship.

But that's not even the most shocking part! When Kate decides she wants to pursue the vice presidency and tasks Hal with informing Secretary of State Ganon of Penn's role in the attack, he doesn't do exactly what she asks. Instead, Hal makes an impromptu call to President Rayburn. Unfortunately, the shock and stress of the news gives him a heart attack and he dies.

Grace Penn could have a much bigger presence in season 3

Mere minutes after President Rayburn's death, Grace Penn moves up the presidential line of succession and becomes the President of the United States. Because Hal didn't tell Ganon about Penn's role in the UK terror attack, the secret died with Rayburn but lives on with Kate and Hal. Penn knows they know, and that will dictate the events of season 3.

Because Penn has become president, there's a fairly good chance that Allison Janney could appear in much more than two episodes of season 3. In fact, there's even a chance that the Academy Award and Emmy Award winner could become a series regular. As of the show's release on Oct. 31, Netflix hasn't confirmed in what capacity Janney will appear in the next season.

Still, Michael McKean only appeared in The Diplomat as President Rayburn in a recurring role. He was never a series regular in spite of playing the president. The same could happen with Janney, considering she's a busy and in-demand actress, but Penn's role in the story is admittedly much juicier and bigger than Rayburn's ever was.

Janney will definitely be around in season 3 in at least a recurring capacity, but after watching her turn in another Emmy-worthy performance in season 2, we're all surely hoping that she will star in all eight episodes as a main character. After all, Kate will have to continue facing off against Penn, and who knows what could happen now with her pursuit of the vice presidency.

Keri Russell and Allison Janney were so good as scene partners in all of their scenes together. We simply need more of their unbelievable talent on our screens in The Diplomat season 3. The cast and crew are already hard at work filming season 3 in both London and New York City, so we'll be sure to keep fans posted on the latest updates on Janney's role moving forward.

Watch The Diplomat only on Netflix.