OVERVIEW It's been a while, and its back. House of Cards in my opinion is one of the most engaging pieces of television I've ever seen. I hold it in such a high regard and was so excited for its return, and it was great.
It was totally different from how I thought it would start. With the dark image of Frank urinating on his father's grave, it really sets the Erie tone. A majority of the episode centres around Doug and his recovery. I really didn't expect him to still be alive, and it was a genuine surprise seeing him. It's unique and interesting as we travel through all of the stages of him recovering his motor skills, and in the process establish where Frank and Claire are in their situations. Those first few scenes gives the episode such a dark undertone as Doug battles to feel relevant in life and in relation to working for the Underwoods. He also has a drive to find Rachel who left him for dead, consulting FBI agent Gavin Orsay. Through Doug's eyes, you see that Frank Underwood is struggling to maintain a grasp of his cabinet, and the public. It's realistic that his public approval rating would be low as he inherited the oval office, and a majority of this episode is establishing Doug's relevance and Frank's irrelevance in the White House. With Frank developing negative press, he is faced with his wife's ambition to become UN ambassador, which he fees with her lack of experience will have nothing but a negative impact. It's basically establishing all characters are on shaky and uncomfortable ground, and trying to find a way to overcome it.
This brings me onto the direction. It's absolutely stunning as always. The harsh close ups on Doug's face intensifies the recovery scenes and the subtle hints of Frank and Claire losing interest in Doug with the flowers they sent him for his recovery being dead and frail establishes so much information without saying a word. The writing as always is top notch, purposeful and straight to the point.
PERFORMANCES I think the emmy Kevin Spacey just won for the second season really justifies his performances. He is incredible, and again does not lower the bar even for a second. Robin Wright still puts in a solid performance, however in this particular episode she couldn't flex her range that much. Michael Kelly was great at his portrayal of the physically and psychologically struggling Doug, with his interest in the Underwoods still shining bright but his physical restriction holding him back. The whole supporting cast also put in solid performances, however no other cast member was a standout.
NOTEWORTHY MOMENTS The recovery scenes with Doug were done so well. You really felt his pain as he struggled to find strength in his arm, trying to speak, lifting himself up to walk. It was very raw and personal. I also enjoyed the meeting between Doug and Frank, where he subtly shuts him out, and Doug knows he is now out of the loop because of his actions. This also leads to Doug dwelling back into his alcoholism, showing his hurt and in hindsight what will I believe lead to his resentment of the Underwoods.
I also did enjoy the scene where Frank struggles to reject Claire's proposal as UN ambassador, as he is almost certain that she will fail and it will hinder his time in office and his presidential campaign. This also leads to Frank being interrupted with a spotting of the terrorist they have bee hunting for the past two years, and makes the decision to call an air strike with risk of civilian casualties. This could well have a knock on affect with his meeting with the Russian President for financial backing of his ' America Works' bill to pass through congress if any innocent muslims die in the cross fire.
VERDICT The stage is set for the series now and there is a lot at play. Claire's ambition and struggle with Frank to become UN Ambassador, Doug slowly building his doubts on returning to the White House, Rachel is still on the loose, and Frank is desperately trying to grab hold of his presidency.
This is gonna be good.