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

Molly Parker as Jackie Sharp

PLOT SUMMARY: Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is sworn in as President, while his house is upgraded with security features and his wife Claire (Robin Wright) interviews a new PR man called Connor Ellis (Sam Page).  Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) denies her interest in becoming Majority Whip but under Frank's goading stoops to revealing that her friend and rival, Ted Havermeyer (David Clennon) has a disabled bastard daughter. Claire reveals to Frank that she was the man who raped her in college was the man Frank is about to install as a new General - Dalton McGinnis (Ray Bradbury). Frank's reaction seems one of genuine hurt and protection - his initial response it to refuse - but in the end he pins a medal on the man's chest. Frank manoeuvres the president (Michael Gill) into taking personal responsibility for the failure of Chinese trade talks, against Ray Tusk's advice, to Frank's delight. 

Meanwhile, the late Zoe's lover, journalist Lucas Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus), tries to convince the police to reopen the case into her death, openly accusing Frank of her murder, but the CCTV footage shows no murderer - Frank obviously new his camera angles. Next, he reaches out to his ex-boss Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver), again accusing Frank, but Tom also fobs him off.  As a last resort, Lucas makes contact with a hacker to try to get hold of the phone records that will link Zoe to Frank and Frank to Peter Russo.   

COMMENTS: I have no interest in the banal Lucas peddling his accusations around town. And  I have less interest in Jackie's moral high-handedness in telling Ted she's going to let out the story of his love-child.  And President Walker is so easy to manipulate it's almost dull. The real meat of this movie is Claire's description of her rape and Frank's reaction to realising it was Dalton McGinnis. In a relationship that often seems about mutual gain and ambition - cool and efficient - it was a wonderful surprise to see Frank's visceral reaction - his need to violently protect and avenge his wife. In a man so used to letting morality slide to get what he wants, the fact that Frank does have a moral boundary is fascinating. But what's even more fascinating and chilling is that Claire, even as she reveals her pain and anger, tells Frank that he'll use that hate to sharpen his political appetites, but not on revenge.  She seems to have less moral sensitivity than him - telling him matter-of-factly that he will exploit the anger her rape has caused to further his ambitious plans.  It's a tour de force of writing and acting. 

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

PLOT SUMMARY: As Season Two opens, the Majority Whip Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is on the verge of being made Vice President and needs to clean up the mess from last season and shore up his power base. The first involves eliminating anyone on the trail of the murder of wildly self-sabotaging Congressman Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) by pushing journo-blogger and ex-lover Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) under a train. It also involves Frank's sidekick Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) riding hooker Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan) out of town. The second task sees Frank corrupting the rising political star Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) by giving her the dirt on her two rivals to become the new Majority Whip. On the other side of the bed, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) explores the possibilities of an over-40s pregnancy, and buys off her disgruntled former employee Gillian Cole (Sandrine Holt) by offering her the leadership of CWI.

COMMENTS: I spent much of last season railing against how this version of House of Cards was less subtle, less dark and less fast paced than the British original. This left me with nothing but rage and disappointment. So this season I have vowed to ban the original (also available on Netflix, and reviewed on this site) from my thoughts, and to take Season 2 on its merits. The opening episode certainly packs a punch - a punch that should've arguably been the climax of season 1. But no matter: it was wickedly fun to watch Frank and Claire clean up their mess from season 1. I loved Frank's corruption of the all-too-easily corrupted and ambitious Jackie - but wasn't it a bit naive to just let her sit at his laptop? And I also love that Claire is now trying to get pregnant - a move I can only presume is motivated by being the perfect political wife - just as she wants Frank to give up smoking. She seems to change her mind after threatening to let Gillian's baby "wither and die inside her" - a far more chilling moment than Zoe's murder.  I'm really fascinated to learn more about her psychology - giving up a child and CWI - what does she get in return? 

But of course, the real test of this episode is how you deal with the murder of Zoe. Personally, I felt it didn't have the power of the original UK series (I know!) because the relationship between Frank and Zoe had never been as psychologically warped and intimate as between Mattie and Frances. There was something casually efficient - bureaucratically necessary about Zoe's death - whereas in the UK version, Mattie has more than an air of the bunnie boiler about her. Still, I suppose as an indictment of cool ambition, this version has the virtue of being All About Business. My only other gripe is that in the age of CCTV is killing someone in a metro station really wise? The mysterious be-hatted figure walking against the rushing crowd?  Also, what's with the lack of straight-to-camera snarky commentary from Frank until the end - and what a relief when it returns!

HOUSE OF CARDS - chapter thirteen

PLOT SUMMARY:  Congressman Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) returns to Washington, and tries to persuade lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) to convince Sancorp to mount a hostile takeover on Ray Tusk's nuclear companies.  Frank hopes this attack will prevent Tusk accepting the VP position because he won't want to put his assets in a blind trust.  However, it transpires that Danton has sold out Sancorp to Tusk, and that it's Tusk who is mounting a takeover bid on Sancorp.  Nonetheless, Tusk still endorses Frank, and as the episode ends, Frank has accepted the Vice Presidential role, although this has yet to be announced to the public.  He tells Claire (Robin Wright), but she does not tell him that she wants a baby and has sought medical advice. Meanwhile the Scooby Gang of Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), Janine Skorsky (Constance Zimmer) and Lucas have tracked down the hooker, Rachel, who is still being controlled by Frank's fixer Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly).  He realises that they know about the Kern letter, the Russo arrests being over-turned and the other machinations.  As the episode, and series, ends, Doug is trying to call Frank to warn him, but he is out running with Claire. 

COMMENTS:  It would be an understatement to say just how angry I am at the piss-poor ending of this series of House of Cards. It utterly cheats the invested viewer out of any kind of closure and we should all boycott the now necessary series 2 in protest.  It's the worst kind of bullshit since the US series of The Killing, and shows that as slick, and well-acted as this series might have been, commercial interests have trumped simple good storytelling.  It also means that the original British series, with its desperately tense climax, remains the superior story.  

HOUSE OF CARDS - chapter twelve

PLOT SUMMARY:  Two stories work in parallel. In the first, Justine Sorski (Constance Zimmer) confronts Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) with the fact that she knows Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) was feeding Zoe stories. They work together to uncover why dead Congressman Peter Russo didn't testify in favour of the shipyard, realising that Frank probably strong-armed him, and was arguably linked to the machinations to get Kern to resign as Secretary of State, and to get Terry Womack appointed House Majority leader.  In doing so, they are aided by Russo's former lover and aide Christina and a stripper called Echo.  Doug Stanhope realises they are on the case but promised Frank he can contain them.

Meanwhile, Linda (Sarakina Jaffrey) and Frank try to manipulate President Walker (Michael Gill) into nominating Frank for the Vice Presidency.  However, the President has duped Frank into flying to St Louis to vet billionaire Ray Tusk, all the while asking Tusk to vet Frank.  When Frank realises this, Tusk asks for a favour in exchange for a recommendation.  Frank decides to go after Ray's nuclear interests instead. 

COMMENTS:  As we move into the endgame, the net is closing in on Frank, but this episode is mostly set up.  The Scooby Doo gang is on the case, and retracing Frank's steps is rather dull. I also find it implausible that Lucas should think himself in love with Zoe when she's such an unlovable character. Indeed, it's one of the virtues of this series that it doesn't try to make the characters lovable.  Down in St Louis, I was far more amused by the thinly veiled portrait of Warren Buffett - the billionaire Tusk still living in his modest house. But even there, the idea of creating yet another obstacle for Frank to jump over seems a bit weak. We know he will, but have to wait till the next episode.  So all in all, I get why this episode has to exist - it's about the plot machinations that bring us to a final confrontation between Zoe and Frank. But it all seems rather pedestrian, and a bit disappointing from director Allen Coulter of Boardwalk Empire fame.

HOUSE OF CARDS - chapter eleven

Robin Wright at the London première

PLOT SUMMARY: Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) remains in New York with photographer Adam Gallworthy (Ben Daniels) but it is clear she will return. Zoe (Kate Mara) begins to confide in Lucas about the older man she was sleeping with to get her leads. However, the focus of the episode is on the fragile mental state of the now disgraced Congressman Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) as he continues to drink, and guilt-ridden, hands himself into a police station.  He is tracked down by Doug Stamper (Michael Kelley).  Meanwhile Congressman Frank Underwood's (Kevin Spacey) long game is revealed: he will persuade the Vice President to step in as candidate for the Governor's seat; and will himself become Veep, hoping in time to launch a Presidential campaign. He calls in his favour from Vasquez (Sarakina Jaffrey) and also tempts her with implied senior office.  To get his plan in motion, Frank stages Peter's suicide. It is unclear how complicit Doug is. As the episode ends, Claire is by Frank's side at a press conference mourning Peter's death.  

COMMENTS: Carl Franklin (HIGH CRIMES) directs another emotionally heavy episode, where Frank's true schemes are revealed.  The focus of the episode is Peter Russo's slide into a suicidal state and Frank calmly murdering him.  As usual, I just love Corey Stoll's believable, tragic performance as Peter - a character whose bad choices and self-indulgence could have been unlikable and unforgivable.  However, it is in this episode that I most feel the problems of Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood as compared with the Ian Richardson Francis Urquhart.  In the British original, Urquhart was so manifestly evil that the grandeur of his plans and his murderous intent were no surprise.  He didn't go from honest citizen to murderer in one fell swoop - rather he had committed feigned insider trading, pimped out secretaries and generally done nefarious deeds all the way through the series.  This made him less plausible, perhaps, but made his final act of murder far less jarring.  I looked at Frank Underwood, by contrast, and wondered if US viewers, unfamiliar with the original series, would have guessed that he would go to such lengths based on the information contained in the preceding ten episodes  I'd be genuinely interested to hear what you all think. One final note about the bizarre opacity of Doug Stamper.  How far do we think he was complicit in the plan from the beginning - from grooming the hooker, to tracking down Russo?  And how far can his loyalty by questioned? If Claire rebelled, why not Doug? And how far does he know so much that Frank will have to murder him too?  We are all set for a gripping denouement. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - chapter ten

Kate Mara at the London première

PLOT SUMMARY: In the wake of the failed Watershed Bill vote, chief whip Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) takes the rap, sheltering Linda Vasquez (Sarakina Jaffrey) from President Walker's (Michael Gill) anger, and currying favour by persuading Gillian (Sandrine Holt) to help Vasquez' son get into Stanford.  Frank tells Claire (Robin Wright) in no uncertain terms that her charity is not as important as his political goals. She reacts by visiting Zoe (Kate Mara) before joining her ex-lover Adam Galloway (Ben Daniels) in New York.  Zoe (Kate Mara), disgusted and alienated from her apartment, sleeps with her ex-colleague, Lucas. Meanwhile Frank sets up Gubernatorial candidate Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) with Doug's hooker Rachel (Rachel Brosnahan), resulting in him falling off the wagon and blowing a radio interview. In the final scene, Peter goes awol. 

COMMENTS:  A good, tense episode focussing on the emotional fallout from Claire's betrayal in the last episode.  It was obvious that Claire would go to New York, but not that Zoe would sleep with Lucas, seemingly having a change of heart about her nakedly ambitious, heartless career choices to date.  It was also a surprise to see (presumably) Doug and Frank set Peter up for a fall, although one can't yet see to what end. Doesn't it look bad for Frank to have backed the wrong horse - a man so obviously in a fragile recovery?  I guess we have to wait and see who he plans to put into the gubernatorial race instead, and to what end that helps him.  Finally, Frank knows where Claire is.  Will he go and get her? Or just wait for her to return? I thought the acting in this episode was particularly top notch, especially as it didn't rely on zingers, or any dialogue at all, but rather long drawn out reaction shots. I loved Kate Mara's reaction as she does a double-take of her grimy apartment, seeing it through Claire's condescending eyes, tinged with her own bad choices and memories.  And  I loved the look on Corey Stoll's face when he drank his first shot, and I really hope he gets some awards love for this challenging performance.