And I say to myself "it can only go up from here."
And it does. Thank God, it does.
I was left cold by season two's convoluted plot with it's Major Dad tie in. And Season Three I felt simply lacked punch, it lacked zip. Frank Underwood finds that his scheming has its limits in the Oval Office and is frustrated on all fronts. His marriage breaks down, his campaign for election is on the ropes. The only "good" thing for President Underwood is that evil henchman Doug has finally killed Rachel Posner, tidying up the Peter Russo affair. Sort of.
Evil henchman Doug. Heh.
But now in Season 4, it's open war between Claire and Frank, and watching them pull various levers of power to try and undo the other is fascinating. Simply fascinating. But just as the battle between them reaches fever pitch Lucas Goodwin, out of prison on witness protection after wearing a wire to prove....something...., tries to assassinate the President to avenge the death of Zoe Barnes. The President is alive, just barely. Goodwin is dead. Secret Service agent Edward Meechum takes the bullets meant for President Underwood, and in one fell swoop two pretty important characters are gone.
Claire swoops in to the White House, stealing the acting Presidential Pants from the timid Donald Blythe and brokering a deal that diffuses a crisis in Russia with old frenemies Remy and Donald Tusk (Major Dad, now with beard). Some kind of oil deal between the US China and Russia. The details, as always, are sort of mushy. What its important here is that Claire has taken the reigns of power, a modern day Agrippina, while her husband lays dying.
And die he would have, if Evil Henchman Doug hadn't gotten Health and Human Services secretary to bump Vinnie the Meatball Bompensiaro off the top of the donors list (thereby ensuring Vinnie's death). So that's now four people, by my count, that Underwood or his Evil Henchman has directly left dead in his wake.
When Claire, in the closing stages of working out the deal with Russia at a G7 summit in Germany, finds out that Frank is still alive, its clear that she wishes he had died. She hates him so, at least for now. But she returns from her victory against the Russians (how many people in the world can say that?) to be by Frank's side. They realize they need each other, and they prepare to head into the second half of Season Four united, at least for a moment.
It's pretty incredible how now, midway through Season Four, all the loose ends from Season Three are neatly sewn up. His main challenger in the democratic race can't lie about meeting Lucas Goodwin before he died, so he is now the presumptive nominee. Lucas is dead. There are only a few journalists left who know anything about Zoe Barns, and one of them is scared out of her wits, popping Xanex like Pez. Only an old ex editor and his aging dog Spartacus are still digging around in the shit, and they are our last hope at topping this house of cards before Season Six or Seven comes.
But its all very good, its all very compelling. The Underwoods thus far are at their power-grubbing worst, and I absolutely hate them. I hate them. They, and pretty much almost everyone in the show (except for Spartacus and his master), is a horrible person. I hate them with glee, not unlike hating Colonel Tavington in The Patriot (the only good thing, I think, to really come out of that movie). I desperately want to see them fail.
I just hope it happens soon. Good as the first seven episodes of this season's House of Cards has been, I don't know if I could watch President Underwood for another four years.
Claire swoops in to the White House, stealing the acting Presidential Pants from the timid Donald Blythe and brokering a deal that diffuses a crisis in Russia with old frenemies Remy and Donald Tusk (Major Dad, now with beard). Some kind of oil deal between the US China and Russia. The details, as always, are sort of mushy. What its important here is that Claire has taken the reigns of power, a modern day Agrippina, while her husband lays dying.
And die he would have, if Evil Henchman Doug hadn't gotten Health and Human Services secretary to bump Vinnie the Meatball Bompensiaro off the top of the donors list (thereby ensuring Vinnie's death). So that's now four people, by my count, that Underwood or his Evil Henchman has directly left dead in his wake.
When Claire, in the closing stages of working out the deal with Russia at a G7 summit in Germany, finds out that Frank is still alive, its clear that she wishes he had died. She hates him so, at least for now. But she returns from her victory against the Russians (how many people in the world can say that?) to be by Frank's side. They realize they need each other, and they prepare to head into the second half of Season Four united, at least for a moment.
It's pretty incredible how now, midway through Season Four, all the loose ends from Season Three are neatly sewn up. His main challenger in the democratic race can't lie about meeting Lucas Goodwin before he died, so he is now the presumptive nominee. Lucas is dead. There are only a few journalists left who know anything about Zoe Barns, and one of them is scared out of her wits, popping Xanex like Pez. Only an old ex editor and his aging dog Spartacus are still digging around in the shit, and they are our last hope at topping this house of cards before Season Six or Seven comes.
But its all very good, its all very compelling. The Underwoods thus far are at their power-grubbing worst, and I absolutely hate them. I hate them. They, and pretty much almost everyone in the show (except for Spartacus and his master), is a horrible person. I hate them with glee, not unlike hating Colonel Tavington in The Patriot (the only good thing, I think, to really come out of that movie). I desperately want to see them fail.
I just hope it happens soon. Good as the first seven episodes of this season's House of Cards has been, I don't know if I could watch President Underwood for another four years.
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