Howdy people!

Another year, another binge worthy season of House of Cards! I typically watch ALL the episodes on ‘premiere day’, but this year I had some other competing commitments so I could really only get everything finished last night.
For the benefit of those who don’t watch this show – by the way, if you fit into that category I’m literally judging you so hard right now considering it is one of THE best shows to ever grace our screens – House of Cards is an American Political Drama series, which portays the inner workings that hide behind the great speeches we hear television and the photo ops on the front page of our newspapers. In a nutshell, it tells of the strong arming, blackmail, perjury and criminal behaviour found in US politics; and the best part about it is that it’s all fiction right? Yeah, Right. I prefer the term not-so-loosely based, but that is a conspiracy theory I will not play out in this post 😂.

The show tells the story from the perspective a political power couple, Francis and Claire Underwood, who chase their aspirations doggedly without concern for who they have to hurt, intimidate or even kill to achieve their goals. Along the way, it sheds light on their marriage, their relationships with their families, and their disregard for any and everyone who may interfere with their plans.

At this juncture, if you’re an HoC virgin, or you have some catching up to do and you hate spoilers, please run far away from this blog post till you’re done. For the rest of us, I have some important discussion points about Season 4 (and possibly bits and bobs of the entire show)

First of all – Shalla to Netflix and Kevin Spacey for this show. I have to be honest, giving me an entire season at a time and Mr Spacey are the two main reasons I’ve become an HoC junkie, besides my love for political satire.

One thing I realised while I watching the later episodes this season was that I never thought a First Lady could even be Veep? (that means Vice President btw – but Veep is actually a stand-alone political Tv show that’s worth checking out. It’s far more comical though, so it’s rather different from what we see on House of cards). Don’t get me wrong, I’m pro-feminism and would consider myself a feminist of some brand, so it isn’t that I thought a First Lady wouldn’t be capable, but I genuinely assumed that the idea that Claire came up with about joining Frank’s ticket for the election was completely fictional. I’ve done some research on this, and actually it’s entirely within the confines of US law – but has never been done. The thinking behind it is that the VP really exists to diversify the ticket and bring in more voters, rather than simply mirror the president (as that wouldn’t do much for any campaign in terms of votes). My next thought was that arguably, a woman and a man bring diversity a more diversity to a ticket than the typical 2-man band that is a presidential election ticket. I guess my point of highlighting that observation is that television – fictional as it may be – can actually spur some thought on where worldy things can go! It’s something I’d really love to see happen some day especially just to hear what their campaign strategy would be….but yeah that’s a dream I’m not sure I’ll live to see come true – sadly. I fear the optics will always be construed negatively on that one.

Now, I know we all watch the show and think that Doug (the president’s chief of staff) is the team’s real MVP. I mean- he pretty much makes sure everything (and everyone) that could harm Frank’s presidency and campaign are hiding in plain view, or missing in action entirely. I actually completely agreed, until Seth Grayson  (White House media correspondent) made me realize just how powerful he is. Seth might not influence policy, or take major decisions, or even physically aid in major coverups, but he does something arguably more valuable; he spins all the stories WE hear to make us think we should be thankful to the Underwoods. I sometimes imagine myself as a House of Cards American citizen, and wonder if I would actually think beyond what the media told me, or what I read on whitehouse.gov. I’m sometimes cynical of the news I hear and read today, but I still perpetuate it by talking about it and sharing it on social media. At the end of the day, the show makes me realize just how much of what we hear from our own governments could be considered story spinning rather than objective fact, and the realization is extremely frightening.

Worse than influencing are opinions through the media, is the invasion of our privacy in order to drip feed us propaganda. This season on House of Cards, I was blown away by what could be done in the name of ‘necessary surveillance in the interest of national security’. When an algorithm which is simply meant to lend marketers a helping hand becomes a ‘spoon’ that can be used in any way without detection because all that can truly be seen is the ‘spoon’, be very afraid. I didn’t fully grasp the scorn behind the process, but I got the gist of what they were up to, and quickly realised that we would never truly know the extent of what our governments subject us to in the interest of safety or security. Scary.

I must say, another character I was blown away by was writer, Tom Yates. Whether he wrote all his own books or now, the man can definitely write a speech. Why is that even important? Because it had you rooting for them. Yes, you! (And me, and pretty much the entire audience). When Claire got up on that podium and leveraged the death of her mother in an attempt to garner political support with a subtle hint of emotion in her eyes, I recognized that it’s not simply about what you say – it’s about how you say it.  I would like to believe that since Tom wrote those speeches, he knew exactly how they needed to be delivered, and have Claire a couple of pointers. To be fair to Claire, she has something that Francis doesn’t; some manner or other that balances her strength with something dainty, and girly, and BELIEVABLE. Frank always sounds like a bulldog, no matter what you have him saying. What I’m really trying to say that that we can easily be convinced by what we are told because of the way the message is conveyed. Arguably conveying a message with impact is a worthy skill, but it begs the question – how much of what we are told ‘in all honesty’ or while someone looks is dead in the eye is true? Sigh. I’m letting my conspiracy theories creep in again but you get the point.

Oh Heather – Heather Dunbar. Heather broke my heart to be very honest. I genuinely couldn’t believe that she went from being the incorruptible candidate, to breaking the Law she had sworn she would uphold if elected president.  Here’s my issue with Miss Dunbar – she decided to bend the rules when it suited her and argue ‘I’m doing this in the name of justice.’ What Heather must have forgotten (I honestly don’t know how considering her ENTIRE campaign was about being open and honest) was that even that little crime wouldn’t go unpunished. Heather isn’t cut from Frank’s ruthless cloth, and let’s face facts, if you break the rules and you’re  not exactly ruthless enough to cover your tracks, you get caught. I really felt like Heather played me, and I’m still really salty but it’s all good. Just don’t come back next season boo. I can’t deal with you.

I have to pay my respects to Frank and Claire. Awful as they are, they’ve reeled me in and I’m attached to their success – but only as a group. I was rather annoyed with them early in the season when they tried to take strides individually and kept trying to sabotage one another. Like they really thought they could function apart. I was proud of Claire for having more of a backbone than Mellie Grant from Scandal ever did. What is clear to me is that Frank recognizes that without Claire he is nothing, and vice versa (Mellie was never assertive enough to force Fitz into seeing this in her situation, sadly). When the Underwoods stood together and declared that their bond went ‘beyond marriage’ it was the first time they’d really ever told the truth. The ties that bind these two is not to be confused with love or lust (lol it definitely can’t be confused with that one) – it’s trust and the promise of greatness for each of them. And that truly goes beyond marriage. Claire showed strength in negotiations with Petrov, and made me finally see that she could be a brilliant world leader. Francis was able to battle his gunshot to the liver (with way too much help from Doug – that guy is a nutter really) and remain as threatening as ever. The Underwoods were finally united by a sense of something other than their quest for power; Loss. The loss of Edward Meechum who I actually think was their lover – more Frank’s than Claire’s but I think she’s had a bit of fun in that department. I’m keen to see what ‘terror’ these two are going to unleash on fictional America next season.

I’d really like to commend Hammerschmidt for at least trying to uncover the truth, regardless of how badly Freddy beat him up just for ask questions! It takes guts to go against your fear of being tagged a lunatic in the same way Lucas Goodwin was, and coax the right people into sharing what they know. At the moment, Francis and Claire are still standing underneath their house of cards, which is not as solid as it has been in the past. Will their quest to incite fear and invoke terror to cover up their misdeeds pay off? I guess it remains to be seen. I was a little sad to see that Frank’s fourth wall breaks were reduced to a bare minimum; I really enjoyed having him share his evil plans with just me..BUT, I couldn’t contain my excitement when Claire finally broke the fourth wall and spoke to us directly through the camera! Needless to say I’m looking forward to more of her thoughts via that medium. At this point, I’m so stoked for season 5. 2017, you really couldn’t come quickly enough.

If you want to learn a little more about the man behind Francis Underwood, Kevin Spacey shared some insights at Georgetown a couple of years ago which would be extremely valuable! I’ve posted the video below! Start from 7.39, and stop as you so please! I know it’s rather long. 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ollmiHoIE
Have a lovely weekend!

Love,

Jo