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. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Eighteen (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY: Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) engages in back-channel diplomacy with Chinese businessman, and partner of Ray Tusk (Peter Bradbury), Xander Feng (Tony Chen).  Interestingly, Feng asks Frank NOT to drop the currency manipulation charge in the WTO because it's convenient for the Chinese senior leadership to blame the move to a free floating currency on the US. Claire Underwood's communications advisor Connor Ellis (Sam Page) leaks the news of the backchannel diplomacy to the press, implicating Feng. The President is torn between Tusk and Frank - the former telling him to continue talks and the latter arguing to break them off. He decides to pull out but in doing so accuses Frank of making a mess. 

The late Zoe's ex-lover Lucas Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus) continues to investigate the murder, but is lured into breaking into a server facility by his hacker ally Gavin Orsay (Jimmi Simpson), himself under coercion from Doug Stamper's (Michael Kelly) associates at the FBI.

Claire Underwood gets closer to the First Lady (Joana Going) and wins her support in her advocacy.   Meanwhile, communications specialist Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil) fools a widow into giving up the records of Claire's abortion and destroys them on the understanding that he usurps Connor Ellis after a convenient few months and a private sector job offer. The Underwoods reluctantly agree because inasmuch as Seth is untrustworthy, at least he's not incompetent, like Connor. 

COMMENTS: Ok - hands down the coolest opening - from perverse sexual practices to a Civil War re-enactment! And slavery may have been called many things, but nothing as cynical as "Avoid wars you cannot win and never raise a flag for an asinine cause like slavery."  Other than that, the machinations of the trade talks with China are not massively interesting but I suppose need to be put into play to prepare for the forthcoming Tusk-Frank civil war.  I also do not give a frack about Lucas (still).  But this Seth character is interesting, although I balk somewhat at Claire's apparent credulity at taking in someone who tried to extort her (or indeed, leaving evidence of abortion out in the open in the first place). How come the ever-efficient Underwood's didn't trick that widow themselves, years ago? And finally, amid all that cynicism, something very touching about Frank burying his ring in the ground of the Overland Campaign. With that, and the defence of Claire, he is becoming rather more human this season, even as he commits murder.