Started out like season 3 but im glad i stuck with it cz for me it got back to what made it great the first 2 seasons. Looking forward to S5
It's funny to watch this and then watch Daredevil Both have some awesome violence This one is more mental / emotional violence I like Frank so much more than Claire Though I hate them both Rocket River
When Doug was dealing with alcohol problems in an earlier season Frank told him I need you at 100% and if you are not you need to let me know and get yourself back to 100%.
Just finished 4 myself, and definitely agree it was better than 3. To me, 1 was super-awesome. 2 and 4 were pretty good. 3 was... very meh. It's a little bit like 24 to me. Season 1 of 24 was super-amazing, 2 was kinda lame, the rest were very good (iirc). In other words: seems like it will never recapture the glory of season 1, but looks set to continue being entertaining. I was afraid of a Dexter-style total nosedive, but it looks like that (thankfully) won't happen. I actually rewatched Dexter recently, but couldn't bring myself to slog through season 8. Ugh. So awful. I'll never get over how bad that ending was.
I'd say my review of this season is mixed. It had the best, and the worst of HOC all in one season. I'll try to be non-spoilery- The Good - The high point of the season for me was when Frank made the recovery and went back on the campaign trail. Really classic Underwood with some great monologues. THIS is what hooked us in the first place. I understand why they can't provide the narration all the time (and it would be overkill), but when Frank is back in the game, and putting it to his competition, there is nothing better that this show has to offer. This season has a chunk of about 3 episodes full of this gold. The Bad - The season seemed to end just when it really should have been starting. It was like starting a new season and then abruptly wrapping things up with little payoff. I get why Francis did what he did at the end of the season, but I felt like the decision came out of nowhere. The excuse that they have to do what they did is insanely minor in the grand scheme of things. It could pay off next season is we see Frank pulling strings in foreign affairs that is more convincing, and asks bigger moral questions, but for this season, they wasted too much time in the first half of the season's plot arc and not fulling flushing out the intertwined world of politics and terrorism/war. The Ugly - Anything involving the First Lady & the drama between her and Frank. I'm all about strong female characters, and I'd even be game for exploring the ridiculous things that happen in moves to get her to the power she craves to be equal to Frank. That's compelling, but the drama in the first half is slow moving and exhausting. The usually fantastic Robin Wright is good in her role, but the character of a first lady who is so incredibly Political is a bore to watch. If Frank didn't narrate to the audience and was 100% his character in political mode all the time, I'd have the same problem watching his character as well. Then there is the need to continue to bring back the biographer... ugh... boring as hell. Feels to me like they are just keeping the character ingrained enough to be a potential threat in the future. He's got the dirt that can bring them down... I get it. But the whole question of the show really has got to be do we as the audience ever care if they actually get caught & brought down? The fun of the show for the audience is watching them out maneuver everyone in Washington, and get away with scandal & even murder. When they get caught, the show is over. 6/10. Worth watching if you have a gap in your other shows.
It's refreshing to see Frank getting back to his old ways, and remembering what got him here in the first place. I think they wanted to show the domestic problems between Claire and Frank to underline the dichotomy between the characters. While they are both all about the ends justifying the means, they are on different sides of the same coin. Claire is gentle and delicate, but can strike with precise timing. Frank is more rough around the edges, and uses brute force to get his way. Neither one of them is strong enough to get to the top on their own, but together, they are formidable. After the threat to Frank's life (and the possibility that he could die), they both understand how badly they need each other if they're going to accomplish everything they've set out to do.
I thought it was too long and drawn out. I thought the subplot with Doug and the widow was out of place. I thought the middle of the season was fantastic but the final few episodes didn't provide much.
100% of Claire's power is over Frank Frank has manipulated and twisted men much more powerful and strong than him Claire's character comes off spoiled and entitled They did not show her DOING enough IMO The China Deal may have been her . . .and her 'manipulation' of the VP was kind of forced. Rocket River
I just finished this. I have fairly mixed feelings about it. It seems like there are too many balls in the air. I was left somewhat confused about what actually in that herald article. Worth watching though, and I assume this goes two more seasons.
annnndddd .... here's 9 minutes of talking about that very brief trailer. lulz Are sure hope the dark theme isn't a sign that they are going to add more terrorist crap or homeland crisis, looking for Action. This show is about life as Inner Loopers. Not a show about a President dealing with domestic and international crisis like Homeland. Maybe the upside down flag is about: Spoiler Claire flipping the VP nomination to President. That's inline with how unreal the show has become. I'll still watch though. Acting is always top notch.
The budget for this show has to be enormous now. I wish Netflix would concentrate on new series instead. With their format they could bring out 3 shows and not have them compete for time slots. This show feels like it ran it's course after season 2.
Netflix is throwing out huge money on more new series than I can hope to keep up with. I doubt House of Cards affects this at all. That said, I wouldn't have complained if HoC had ended after S2.
I like that they give creators complete freedom but I am not sure they are allocating resources well. Stranger Things is my favorite series they have made and the special effects were obviously cheap. Meanwhile House of cards has a budget of 100 million. Considering the show is a drama consisting of people talking I would guess most of that is above the line.
