![]() ![]() The latter goal is further complicated by Claire’s request that she become the U.S. Second, he wants to create peace in the Jordan Valley between Israel and Palestine, but to do so he has to partner with the abhorrent Russian President Vladamir Putin Viktor Petrov ( Lars Mikkelsen). Instead, Frank is a President who struggles with two (and apparently only) issues during his time in office: First, he has to get his “America Works” program off the ground, which seeks to end all entitlements and use the money to fund a $500 billion program that would create 10 million jobs. Would Claire-someone who was collected enough to betray a rape survivor-really get flustered by a Senate hearing committee? Would Frank-who sees his job stolen away from him in the very first episode-really be surprised that the Democratic leadership doesn’t want him to run for another term? The Underwoods should know better, and in Season 3, they know surprisingly little. If there had been some gradual deterioration where we saw how they were overwhelmed by the Presidency, it would be easier to swallow that Frank and Claire are being constantly outmaneuvered. Frank and Claire committed a massive, bloodless coup (if you ignore Peter Russo and Zoe Barnes), and Season 3 has them floundering from their own rookie mistakes. And that’s fine, except we’re only told how they fell, and watching them try to claw their way back out now comes off as incompetence. The writers apparently reasoned that Frank and Claire ( Robin Wright) work best when they’re at the bottom and backed into a corner. We’re not treated to seeing those failures. During his recovery, Doug (and the audience) learns we’re already six months into the Underwood presidency and it’s been a series of failures. We’re dropped into the new story far too late, and then the show stalls for time as plotlines are needlessly stretched out and new supporting characters fail to garner our interest.Īlthough the first scene of Season 3-Frank pissing on his father’s grave-hints that we’ll be getting the craziest season yet-the story really begins with exposition intertwined with a reintroduction as we discover that Doug Stamper ( Michael Kelly) survived getting his head bashed in by Rachel ( Rachel Brosnahan), but has had to endure a long, and difficult recovery. ![]() This leads to a wildly uneven season where the show manages to deliver repulsive actions and eviscerating dialogue, but without the calculation of the first two seasons. However, House of Cards: Season 3 doesn’t really know where to take Frank, so it bounces him all around but without a real goal in sight. There was nowhere for him to go but down. When it was announced that House of Cards would be coming back for a third season, I assumed it would be “The Fall of Frank Underwood”. If this is where House of Cards had ended, it would be a strong conclusion, and the show would have gone out on top. The backstabbing, honeyed words, and massive gambles paid off, and the final image was a victorious Frank Underwood ( Kevin Spacey) in the Oval Office, double-tapping his fist on the Resolute desk. Despite all the lunacy it took to get there, House of Cards: Season 2 had an outstanding finish. ![]()
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