HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Twenty Six

PLOT SUMMARY: Former White House Chief of Staff, Linda Vasquez (Sakina Jaffrey) testifies in front of a judiciary committee on behalf of President Walker (Michael Gill) and speaks openly about her disagreement with Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey).  He continues to support the President publicly while Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) organises the campaign against Walker.  Vasquez and Walker spin against Frank, but he offers Vasquez her job back if she'll ask Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRaney) to destroy Tusk on the stand.  But Frank and Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil) pre-empt Walker's play and arrange a secret meeting with Tusk trying to persuade him not to take Walker's offer of a pardon.

Megan has attempted suicide and refuses Claire Underwood's consolation.Meanwhile, the hacker Gavin Orsay (Jimmi Simpson) tells Stamper he has his phone records and knows about Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan).  Stamper drives Rachel out to some woods, believing she has betrayed him: he chases her through the woods, but she attacks him with a rock and kills him

Frank writes a deeply manipulative letter to President Walker, offering to resign  and take the fall, resulting in Walker asking him to whip the votes to prevent the impeachment.  Frank does so, but in such a way as to garner tacit support from politicians who would gain in his presidency.  Meanwhile, Jackie asks Remy to voluntarily testify against Tusk, with the vague promise of a White House job. Cornered, he agrees, but is pre-empted by Tusk who finally stops pleading the fifth when he realises his offer of a pardon if worthless, and says that he did funnel money, but that he didn't believe it to be illegal. This is the nail in the coffin for Walker, who faces impeachment and low approval ratings. He resigns, hands back Underwood his incriminating letter, and Frank is sworn in at Camp David. He solves the China trade dispute by handing Xander Feng (Terry Chen) back to the Chinese, revoking the asylum papers that hadn't actually been processed yet. Finally, we see President Underwood as the 46th President, wearing a newly forged class ring, in the Oval Office. 

COMMENTS: This is a superb end to the season, in sharp contrast to season one which utterly left us hanging.  In a sense, Netflix should call the show to an end here, neat, elegant, final, but of course they won't. It's their equivalent of Mad Men - a high prestige water-cooler series.  Things that didn't sit well with me - would any man wily enough to become POTUS not suspect Frank's false humility?  And please god, tell me Walker was smart enough to keep a copy of the letter!  Still, looking forward to the new season. More on Grayson, Gavin Orsay, Rachel and other ghosts in the past - and to see how much havoc Frank can unleash as President. It was also a pleasant surprise to see a girl get the better of a political operator, although I'll miss the conflicting Stamper, superbly acted by Michael Kelly. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Twenty Five

PLOT SUMMARY:  Special Prosecutor Heather Dunbar (Elizabeth Marvel) has been tipped off on the First Couple's therapy and interrogates staunch hold-out Reverend Thomas Larkin (Tom Galantich).  President Walker (Michael Gill) confronts Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey): he knows Frank set him up on the marriage counselling.  Frank celebrates the fact that he has isolated the President. When confronted by Secretary of State Catherine Durant (Jayne Atkinson), Frank argues that she has as much to gain by Walker's removal and manipulates her into offering Xander Feng (Terry Chen) asylum in exchange for confirmation on the money laundering scheme. This alienates Durant from the President and puts her firmly into Frank's camp.  That the President was proscribed anti-depressants becomes public and congressmen start calling for impeachment. When subpoenad by Dunbar, Tusk (Gerald McRaney) pleads the fifth amendment. The Walkers hold a press conference to defend their marriage and getting therapy, while Frank publicly supports them.

Meanwhile, Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) pressures Megan Hennessey (Libby Woodbridge) not to support Claire Underwood's Bill, manipulating her into thinking that Claire is making Megan take the heat on the issue. Claire adopts false humility and drops the Bill, offering to negotiate with a cynical Jackie.  Claire then tells the First Lady (Joana Going) that she dropped the Bill because of Jackie, but they fall out anyway. The Underwoods then ask Jackie to whip the vote for an impeachment to avoid a mid-term catastrophe.

Elsewhere, Hacker Gavin Orsay (Jimmi Simpson) blackmails Agent Green , the FBI-White House liaison,  into dropping the charges against him and Lucas Goodwin. And on the personal front, Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) pressures Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan) to get rid of her lover and room-mate Lisa Williams (Kate Lyn Sheil) which she does. 

COMMENTS:  Great, great pure political episode, with the Underwoods' long game paying off and a superb cliffhanger on whether Jackie will accept their offer (I'm assuming yes.)  I'm assuming the payoff for the increasingly conflicted Stamper, however, might be in season three.  I love that we've seen Claire play the game as well as Frank, and that her cynical use of the sexual harassment bill was just a ploy all along -  something to give up to Jackie in reconciliation. I can't help but think that this kind of detailed political writing is what you get when Beau Willamon is back as the screenwriter.  The only disappointment was not seeing anything of the the suspicious Gavin. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Twenty One (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY:  Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and White House Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez (Sakina Jaffrey) face off over a bridge that Frank needs the President (Michael Gill) to approve of.  Frank needs the bridge to buy off a group of Native Americans that he's playing off against Daniel Lanagan (Gil Birmingham), and his backer, Ray Tusk (Gerald McRaney). Frank both manipulates the President into approving the bridge, without knowing what it's for; Vasquez into resigning; and the President into accepting. 

Meanwhile, Lisa (Kate Lyn Sheil) turns up at Rachel's (Rachel Branathan) apartment having been threatened by a meth-addict friend, and reveals her own past heroin-addiction. Rachel offers to take her in, and they start an affair. 

Lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) courts Claire's disgruntled ex-employee. He also courts a photographer who used to work for Adam Galloway (Ben Daniels), Claire's former lover. Remy also denies that he knows how the Republicans are getting the money to Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker).  Jackie offers to consider having a proper relationship. She continues to block Claire's Bill. 

Claire Underwood tries to persuade another rape victim to go before the press to aid the passage of her bill. She befriends the First Lady (Joana Going) but is clearly trying to get the President (Michael Gill) to publicly back the Bill. She also suggests the Walkers see a marital therapist - Reverend Thomas Larkin (Tom Galantich). 

COMMENTS: Women seem to be just putty in Claire's hands! It's almost embarrassing watching the First Lady crumble. And how can Rachel be so credulous? I remain suspicious of her new flat mate. And also of Netflix's motives in including a gay love affair between two hot chicks. Ah well. I'm also falling into boredom at the whole Remy Danton investigation and indeed, the Adam Galloway affair. It feels too much like grist for the plot rather than something actually original and captivating. Shame.