House of Cards: The End of Conquest


House of Cards, in all of it's Kevin Spacey centric fun.

"We know three things: zero, zilch, and nada. And zilch just left town." - Frank Forrest, NTSF:SD:SUV, S01E01

This review will concern the first six episodes of House of Cards season three. There will be a followup review shortly!



Here we go everybody - a weekend of turbo watching everyone's favorite political drama: House of Cards. Boy oh boy, the fact that Netflix drops this whole season in one day and then lets us scramble to watch it all is quite glorious, but also a bit exhausting! The Beau Willimon dialogue is weighing on me, forcing me to interrupt Cards occasionally for a re-run of Arrested Development or Always Sunny just to brighten the mood.  But, overall, it's truly wonderful to have Kevin Spacey back on my TV screen constantly, even if I'll be done with this season in a matter of days.

It's been a long road since Verbal Kint
Let's recap what's going on real quick. In the last two seasons, we have observed Frank Underwood and his wife Claire slowly take Washington by storm. Throughout season one they manipulated their way into the vice presidency, and by the conclusion of season two, Frank was POTUS. Along the way, they left plenty of chaos in their wake. Zoe Barnes and Peter Russo both lost their lives, Doug Stamper lost his mobility, and all those who originally opposed Frank, from Raymond Tusk to Linda Vasquez, paid the price. Now however, there are no battles to fight on the way up the Washingtonian food chain. Frank and Claire are officially at the top. There is no conquest, only the battle of maintaining what they have won. Thus, season three must introduce a new type of storytelling: one that deals with how prepared Frank really is for that which he fought for.

One of the major plots of this season comes in the form of the Russians. Victor Petrov, the fictional Russian president, is one of the major roadblocks in Frank's road to getting into the country's good graces. The tall, gaunt, Vladimir Putin lookalike is one of the best parts of this season. Played by Lars Mikkelson, the creators of the show must have just made the actor watch video after video of Putin, making the character a true replica of the Russian president. Essentially, Frank wants to have Russian aid in a military venture in the Jordan Valley, but because of various reasons, including a gay rights activist, a UN override, and a drunken vodka-induced party, this is made difficult. Petrov seems to enjoy playing mind games with Frank, creating some of the best scenes of the season. Two master manipulators sparring against each other is both entertaining and eye opening, showing that Frank could have finally met his match, putting him at wit's end.
Victor = Vladimir, Petrov = Putin

Another central plot circles around Frank's running for president again. Essentially, the heads of the party do not want him to run, Claire wants to be a member of the UN (something that could plummet Frank's approval rating even more because of the aspect of nepotism), and Frank wants to maintain all the power he can. Balancing all of this though, is causing major rifts in the Underwood's relationship. Claire wants to move into power in her own right, tired of standing behind Frank all of these years. She becomes more on-edge throughout the season, even breaking her cool against Victor Petrov after observing a gay-rights activist commit suicide due to his extreme anti-gay laws. This throws the entire Underwood dynasty into peril, questioning whether after all of these successful years, the top of latter is simply too much for them.

Finally, we have a major plot involving Doug Stamper. After somehow surviving being beaten with a rock by Rachel Posner, Doug is slowly in recovery, wanting to hop back aboard the political train as fast as possible. But, because of his injuries and being out of touch for so long, it's tough to fit him immediately back into Frank's staff. Thus, he's left on the outside of the man he devoted his life to helping. Rightfully pissed off about this, Doug begins to help one of the potential opponents of Frank in the next election (though it all could be a great plot for all we know at this point).

The Underwood's Model
So, the plotlines seem promising, the characters seem more developed, and it should all be peaches and cream, right? Unfortunately, not quite. The problem with House of Cards has always been the fact that Frank is so ridiculously capable, all conflicts seem to have no doubt as to whether they will be resolved. All throughout seasons one and two, Frank and Claire had basically no issues. Now however, Claire, someone who although being the #2 star of the show, has never really been developed, is starting to show cracks in the armor. Likewise, Frank is finding it difficult to rule like Jackson in an era of Obamas. Why now, though? Why, after two seasons of dominance, do our characters suddenly have such huge vulnerabilities? I'm all for development of the characters, but it seems a little random that they would all of a sudden begin to crack under pressure after having committed murders for their cause.

This is the reason that although it is certainly good, House of Cards has never quite made it into the upper-ranks of TV. The acting is obviously the true highlight of the show, allowing Kevin Spacey to basically wow us at every turn. The cinematography and directing is also beautiful, portraying our nation's capital as a dark, stormy place where manipulation outweighs goodness. However, though the writing is enjoyable to listen to out of Spacey's mouth, it's more show than it is intelligent. Yes, there are some truly great Frank Underwood monologues, but the characters, for the most part, are rather underdeveloped or cliche. Breaking Bad rarely had flashy sounding dialogue in the way that Cards does, but the expertise in the characterization and the flow of the dialogue is what made the quality. I enjoy House of Cards and really root for it to improve, but ever since the inaugural season, it's suffered from problems like this. It makes the show more of a fun, action packed, romp through Washington then a well-drawn, thought through drama in the vein of Bad.

With seven episodes left in the season, I'm already enjoying the ride, but here's hoping the show can catapult itself a little higher than just silly, Kevin Spacey-y, fun.

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