House of Cards: A Conflict Ends (Episodes 401-406)

F.U. House of Cards writers!

 "Power is not inherited, Lydia. It's taken." - Baron Quinn, Into the Badlands, S01E01




As of Friday, House of Cards, Netflix's ridiculous yet fun political drama returned. Over the last thirty six or so hours, I have watched every episode of the new season. However, for length purposes and due to the structure of the season, I'm splitting my review into two. This one will cover the first half of the season (episodes one through six) while the next post will cover the back half (episodes seven through thirteen.)

House of Cards is an interesting show to analyze. After the first season debuted, a lot of us were impressed with the show, boasting an all-star cast, a gorgeous directorial tone, and a fascinating topic. Frank Underwood's revenge story also offered a new type of anti-hero. Here was a man who had almost zero redeeming qualities and yet, we rooted for him solely for the reason that he was entertaining and devilish. Unlike Tony Soprano, it wasn't that we sympathized with Frank, but merely that we were mesmerized by him. Be it Frank's asides to the audience, his absurdly smart plans, or just the performance by Kevin Spacey itself, viewers, myself included, could not help but be glued to the screen whenever Frank took the stage. The second season continued this trend, only emphasized everything we already knew. Frank was even more diabolical and fun, while everyone else was even weaker and sillier for falling under his spell. And, by the end of the season, Frank Underwood was president.

A more stand-up guy than Frank Underwood
Season three was interesting because, for the first time, Frank had no spot left to conquer. After his path of destruction, Frank had taken revenge on those who had wronged him and had taken the highest possible office. Thus, the show took a noticeable downturn, focusing on side characters and side plots that were far less interesting than the events involving the Underwoods. Most of the side characters were poorly drawn and their plots felt more like stories to fill time rather than to fulfill anything more. However, the arc of the season led to one scene in the finale: Claire Underwood, the Lady Macbeth of the show, the only one who understood and helped plan Frank's diabolical plans, walked out on our main character, setting up season four to be the war between Frank and the one foil he had. This was smart plotting, as one of the major problems of the show was the fact that Frank had no worthy adversaries. Most "villains" that Frank came into conflict with were complete idiots and were easily crushed under Frank's genius. Thus, at the start of season four, with Frank and Claire suddenly at odds, the stakes had finally been raised and for the first time, we were led to believe that there was a chance, albeit a slight one, that Frank could realistically be taken down.

Plots are established quickly within the season four premiere. Frank is running for re-election against Heather Dunbar, another Democrat. He's neck and neck with her, but with Claire trying to run for her own congressional seat while at the same time silently rejecting Frank, his chances seem to be crumbling. Meanwhile, Lucas, a reporter going after Frank in the second season, is just getting out of prison and hopes to finish the job he started two years ago. Beyond that, the Russian oil crisis is continuing to be a political thorn in Frank's side, as well as the Russian President: Vladimir Putin - I'm sorry, Victor Petrov, perhaps the least subtle character in TV history.

Apparently, he's great with words
The pressure is high for the first four episodes, with the Underwoods finally having the battle we were all waiting for. However, the plot soon runs out of juice. Realistically, the two cannot really destroy each other that much without killing each other. Not only do they work better together than apart, but in realist terms, something the show usually doesn't even consider, a political couple would commit career suicide by actually going against each other publicly. If Hillary Clinton went through a messy divorce with Bill after the Lewinski scandal and then attacked him publicly, her career would never be in as good a spot as it is today, gearing up to become the next president. All of these plot points, as well as Frank's liver, are shattered midway through episode four however, as Lucas, having been turned down by the Dunbar campaign, decides instead to try and assassinate Frank.

In an explosive moment, Lucas shoots Frank, immediately gets killed by FBI, and in all of the fallout, Meechum is also killed. There were numerous problems with this. First of all, there's the issue of Lucas's character even turning to murder. All through seasons one and two, Lucas was incredibly committed to his work, but always an honest, good man. He was put away rather unceremoniously and forgotten about. Now, he makes his return for three episodes before he attempts to assassinate the President of the United States without a hint of prompting? Other than providing a reason for Frank and Claire to reunite, there was no reason for this. Lucas needed more development if he was going to give up his life to have a shot (no pun intended) at bringing down Underwood and throwing his character away in this fashion just felt lazy. In addition to the death of Meechum and Lucas, Frank being shot takes him mostly out of order for two straight episodes, depriving House of Cards of it's greatest asset: Kevin Spacey.

In episodes five and six, we mostly focus on Doug, Seth, Claire, and the end of primary season. Doug, Seth, and Claire's new right hand woman, LeAnn (also the new campaign manager for Frank,) find that Lucas met briefly with Dunbar, allowing them to tank her campaign, while at the same time, Claire settles a deal with Petrov in Germany, giving her the political achievements to eventually zero in on her real goal: becoming Frank's Vice President. All the while, Frank fulfills the stereotypical coma dream sequence made popular by The Sopranos. Here, however, it feels rather tired and unnecessary. Sure, we get to see President Walker, Zoe Barnes, and Peter Russo briefly, but there seems to be no real reason for all of this beyond style.

The first half of the season ends with Frank finally regaining consciousness and making good with Claire, promising her that she will in fact be his running mate. Both of their experiences while Frank was unconscious leads them to this mutual realization. The Underwoods may not be in love on a physical level, or even a regular romantic emotional one, but they are partners on a level that no other couple understands. Claire and Frank have the same goals and together, they are a well-oiled machine, taking down Washington one step at a time. So ends the Claire vs Frank conflict and so begins the Claire and Frank vs The World conflict.
Taking down Washington, one day at a time

There are always good aspects of House of Cards. There's always a scene of Kevin Spacey and/or Robin Wright manipulating someone in a Machiavellian manner and there's always something to admire about the gorgeous directing or the talented supporting actors. However, the fundamental problem with the show is that it takes itself so damn seriously that even with the most absurd plot points, it remains stony faced and dour. There isn't an ounce of humor or acknowledgement in the show's writing, even while something as ridiculous as a President and First Lady running on the same ticket goes on. Side plots and characters are largely failed or forgotten about and then, to top it all off, the main story that all of season three sought after is resolved quickly and without much explanation aside from a gunshot making Claire and Frank see things in a different light.

Though the show steps up its game in the second half, House of Cards begins it's fourth season with a couple bangs, a couple more whimpers, and even more boredom.

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