SUPERMAN (2025)***

Writer-director James Gunn (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) has jumped ship from Marvel to reboot the DC Universe, and the first film in this endeavour really suffers from setting up the chessboard.  It's a film that is overstuffed with ideas and characters and so many aliens that I couldn't give a shit about. There's also a scrappy dog called Krypto that is presumably adorable if you like scrappy dogs (I do not) and that's basically ripped off from Terry Pratchett's Luggage - a super-powerful, super-loyal chaos agent.  As a result, the real life human characters - whether Clark Kent's adoptive parents or his Daily Planet colleagues - are given way too little screen time.  Poor Wendel Pierce as Perry barely gets a line and even Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane feels sidelined.  All to make way for alien monsters, quirky robots (come on Alan Tudyk - do something new!)  and endless gonzo fight scenes.  This far into the Marvel universe it's just all so blah.  I would rather have seen Superman rescue a cat from a tree than yet another Big Bad ripping up Metropolis.

So for much of its running time I was basically quite bored by this film. I realised about two-thirds of the way through that I would probably rather just watch Nathan Fillion's Green Lantern doing his comedy schtick in his own film. I guess that's coming.

Part of the problem is that this film needs to pick a lane in its look and feel. Is it in a contemporary near-future in which evil mastermind Lex Luther (Nicholas Hoult) has super technology and sleek Marvel-style henchmen and headquarters? Or is it in a world where people actually care about newspapers, and take notes with a pencil and notepad, and record interviews on dictaphones rather than iPhones? The whole concept of the Daily Planet is basically anachronistic now and I don't think the film knows how to handle that. 

Thing is. Thing is.  By the denouement, despite all of its flaws. This film had me.  Because its core message is a good one. And a moving one. That to be kind and think the best of people and not be cynical is actually "punk rock".  And that to be human is to make your own choices and to make mistakes and to try to be better.  And that family is what you choose it to be. I want my Superman to be in day glow blue and red and to be earnest and kind.  I don't want moody post-modern dark Superman.  Superman has always been hokey and kitsch because that's what we need.  Onwards!

SUPERMAN is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 129 minutes and is on global release.

THE AMATEUR***

THE AMATEUR is a handsomely made but ultimately mis-cast spy thriller based on a novel by Robert Littrell in which a behind-the-scenes intelligence officer (Rami Malek) goes out into the real world to avenge the death of his wife (SUPERMAN's Rachel Brosnahan).  In this version of the film, director James Hawes (ONE LIFE) creates a visually arresting stye and takes us from Washington to London, Madrid and Istanbul in a genuinely pacy and twisty thriller.  The cast is first-rate, and I particularly liked Mindhunter's Holt Macallany as a senior intelligence officer.  The problem is that while the screenplay by Gary Spinelli (AMERICAN MADE) and Ken Nolan (BLACK HAWK DOWN) is compelling, two of the key performances are genuinely off-putting.  Outlander's Caitriona Balfe simply cannot do a Russian accent. And Rami Malek simply cannot convince as a grieving husband and ordinary schmo.  He has a very arresting and unique look and way of delivering lines that just comes off as vaguely psychopathic and robotic and is not suited to a) conveying emotion and b) looking like he could blend into a crowd. This film could've been genuinely brilliant with a different male and female lead.

THE AMATEUR is rated PG-13, has a running time of 122 minutes, and is on global release.

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Three - Chapter Thirty Two

COMMENT:  The directorial touch of having the camera close up on Claire's face as she hears her husband and Petrov immediately spin the suicide of Corrigan is superb.  I keep detecting flickers of a separation between Claire and Frank and it's fascinating. And with the immediate apology to Petrov, surely FU has crossed the rubicon?  For her to tell him she should never have made him president is powerful stuff.  Superb.

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Three - Chapter Thirty One

COMMENTS: What seems like another holding episode where the pieces are put in place on the chess board.  I must say that I find the UN story rather dull, and once again Claire's manipulation of the Russian ambassador seems to easy, compared to her deeply felt setbacks in season two.  A nice tidbit about the Underwoods not sleeping together. I hope that goes somewhere.  By contrast, what I don't want to see go anywhere is the supposed sexual tension between Jackie and Remy. Dull, dull, dull.  Finally, great to see Kim Dickens cast as the White House press correspondent for the Telegraph.  Other than that, however, this is not an episode that is either visually striking or particularly wickedly intriguing. 

PLOT SUMMARY: Francis declares unemployment a national emergency & so has FEMA report to him. DC is declared in a state of emergency & FU promises full employment in 12 months. FU  persuades House Majority Whip Jackie Sharp to declare against him & so lure the women's votes away from Dunbar before then backing FU. Remy Danton also pressures Jackie to marry her boyfriend Alan to ensure a family image and she succeeds in getting engaged. Remy, her ex-lover, is clearly jealous.  Congressional leaders threaten to pass a law preventing FU's use of FEMA funds but he sounds unworried. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Three - Chapter Thirty

COMMENTS:  Does Elizabeth Dunbar really have the charisma to be the antagonist to Francis Underwood?  She doesn't seem to carry the weight, unless I'm missing something to come in later episodes?  Ironic though. The British series was marked by the delicious straight-to-camera moments of clarity from Frances Urquhart.  In this remake we have had very few of them, but one of the most powerful is that which we get in this episode, when he refuses to destroy Justice Jacobs.  How ironic then, that for FU, no good deed goes unpunished. It will be interesting to see if he's the one who leaks the news of the Alzheimers.  What should we make of the final scene too?  I rather liked FU pissing on the grave of his father, but spitting on a Crucifix?  Is that needlessly provocative or genius TV?  The final line, "Well, I've got God's ear now!" is marvellous, vintage Underwood.  I nearly wrote Urquhart then, which shows just how much more spiky and dark FU is in this season, and how much closer to his truly evil British precursor.

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. 

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

PLOT SUMMARY: Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) manipulates President Walker (Michael Gill) into secretly buying and stockpiling Samarium in order to bypass the Chinese trade boycott and prevent an energy crisis. He plots to undermine the return of Ray Tusk (Gerald McRaney) to the President's good graces.   Ray confronts Frank and asks if he is deliberately trying to sabotage the President (an astute guess). In a comedic aside, Frank stresses about making the first pitch at a high profile baseball match.  However, as he's on the verge of pitching the ball, the lights cut out, and of course it's Ray who's blackmailing the President by shutting down his power plants.  Frank urges the President to take control of the plants. 

Meanwhile, Lucas Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus) is in prison, facing charges of breaking into the data center, and the naked pictures of Zoe found in his apartment are used against him. We realise that Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) is orchestrating the trumped up charges.  Aware that Lucas' ex-editor Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McIver) is still investigating Zoe and Peter's death and Rachel's disappearance, Frank calls him in and mockingly warns him off. Meanwhile, Stamper's men threaten to implicate Janine Skorsky in Lucas' crimes Constance Zimmer unless she testifies against him.  As a result, she tries to persuade him to take the plea. 

Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) manipulates Presidential aide and Peter Russo's ex-lover Christina Gallagher (Kristen Connolly) into a brash offer of service to the First Lady, Patricia Walker (Joana Going).  And lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) and Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) have a one night stand.  Ex-hooker Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan) is now working in a daycare centre run by her friend Lisa, the evangelist (Kate Lyn Sheil). Rachel attempts to seduce an obviously attracted Stamper. 

COMMENTS: Not much to like in this episode of horse-trading and general threats.  I'm not massively convinced by the chemistry between Jackie and Remy and I grimace at the idea that the relationship might become a major plot arc. The Lucas-in-jail story seems to go through its machinations - again not  much to see here except pious earnest angst.  It feels like half a season since I cared about Janine. The only really clever scene was the final one between Rachel and Stamper - I'm really not clear how far she's playing him and that's fantastic. 

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

PLOT SUMMARY: Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is trying to broker a bipartisan agreement to avoid a government shut-down on the eve of the State of the Union address.  He is blocked by businessman Ray Tusk (Gerald Mcraney) and has to endure the jibes of President Walker (Michael Gill) but succeeds by forcing the recall of all non-voting politicians.  Unbeknown to Frank, trouble is brewing.  The late Zoe's lover, journalist Lucas  Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus) allows a mysterious hacker access to his newspaper's servers and arranges a meet-up in hopes of getting Zoe's cellphone records.  Meanwhile the ex-hooker Rachel (Rachel Brosnahan) is now working at a call centre, closely monitored by Doug Stamper. Against his threats to talk to no-one, she contacts her mother and joins a Church. And in an enigmatic scene, Jackie Goodwin (molly Palrer) has a tfloral tattoo enlarged, perhaps each poppy represents the scalp of a felled rival?  

COMMENTS: Behind the camera, this episode changes hands to director James Foley (the marvellous GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS) and playwright Bill Cain, and the actions shifts to a slower pace in the corridors of Washington power broking. The writers keep the action relevant focussing on a potential government shut-down and we see Frank endure the taunts of the President as he edges near the centre of the frame.  There are no whizz-bang moments here and I was curiously underwhelmed by what should've been the high tension thrills of seeing Lucas trying to nick his newspaper IT chief's phone and communicate with the hacker. Compare the phone-calls he gets from his hacker with the contact from Deep Throat in ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.  This series just falls ways short.  In fact, by far the creepiest things in this episode were Jackie getting her tattoo extended - what the frack is that all about? - and Rachel being befriended by the evangelical on the bus.  Are they setting Rachel up for a Lancel Lannister style religious conversation after which she spills the beans? Or is the friendly Christian a plant? Either way, that's where my interest now lies. Also, disappointing not to see more on Claire's inner psychology.

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.