Season 2, Episode 1:
9.5
The first episode of Season 2 is the best episode of
House of Cards yet, and might be the best episode of the entire series. For a season premiere episode, I was
surprised at how much plot developments there were in the first hour.
Things go right back into action, with Frank scheming his
rise to Vice Presidency, Stamper cleaning up loose ends, and Zoe and her crew
continuing their search for the truth.
Oh Zoe, poor Zoe…I did not see that coming. It was a bold move by the showrunners, one
that I hope pays off as I found her character one of the highlights of the
show. From the first episode, she was
presented as a main character. Killing
her off was a risky move, but one I respect if the writers believed we couldn’t
get much more out of her character. My
only worry is that her story will be taken up by Lucas and Janine, two
characters I’m not particularly fond of.
Worries aside, this was an exciting and shocking
episode. We see sides of Frank, Claire
and Stamper that are darker than we’ve ever seen before. I like that this season already feels
different; the show has developed from Season 1. Can the show maintain this kind of pace and
edge? I don’t know, but if any future episode
surpasses this one, I will be pleasantly surprised.
Notes:
-Season 2 picks up literally where last season left off,
with Frank and Claire jogging.
-“Are you finished? I’m good”. Looks like Zoe isn’t as into Lucas as she was
into Frank.
-Deputy Jackie is very attractive for her age.
-Frank’s computer desktop is just four files with people’s
names on it and an icon for a scanner.
-Claire’s work story slows the pace of the show down.
“-Use a condom the next time you fuck someone’s husband”. Who’s this woman again?
-Stamper is cold.
-Secret service guy got owned.
-Zoe and Lucas text with correct capitalization and
punctuation. If it was me, it would be
like “dude was found on passenger side of his car wahhhhhhhh lol”.
-Did Zoe just die?!
What the crazy.
-Frank is cold.
Was he planning that?
-That was unexpected.
I always took her as a main character.
R.I.P.
-“Did you think I’ve forgotten you?” Frank’s monologue to us at the end is pretty
great.
Season 2, Episode 2: 8.0
The second episode follows up the season premiere shocker
with a more typical narrative about where the plot is heading. Frank is up to some serious scheming, this
time involving the president himself.
The theme of this episode seems to be revenge and knowing
when to take it or to not take it. Frank’s
two candidates for replacement start off the episode arguing and then agreeing
to shake hands and work together. Later,
they let their rivalry get in the way of progress. Claire advises Frank to pin a medal on a man
who raped her in college. Lucas delves
deeper into his investigation/revenge, risking his job and mental health.
All the plots come together thematically, making a solid
table setting episode. Although less of an
exciting episode than the season premiere, the second episode finds the show
getting back into its familiar rhythms of manipulation and deceit.
Notes:
-Dark and stormy opening scene, set to images of saws and
the security ramp up of Frank’s place.
-Of course Frank would stop to monologue us in the middle
of the swearing in.
-Zoe’s death footage looks pretty brutal, especially in “frame
by frame” mode.
-Jackie is pretty cunning; she made that guy think funding
her campaign was his idea.
-Ha, a framed pic of Frank and Bill Clinton looking bored
on their phones.
-Frank is on dat vape though.
-The return of Tom the editor, he looks miserable.
-Theme about shaking hands, pinning medals, standing
down. Revenge; equity.
-Why does Frank need the internet to play God of
War? It’s a single player game…
-Lucas’s employee looks like he might be into some weird
internet stuff.
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