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 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. 

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 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.