The American people are trying to scrutinize the first couple but can’t actually see them. The choice of optical device was exactly the kind of dark (if on-the-nose) detail that this show excels at using. I loved the scene of Claire and Frank peering through a rifle scope at the crowd outside of the White House. From elaborate hoaxes to serious policy change to the extrajudicial murder of an American citizen, it’s clear there is no length the Underwoods won’t go to in the name of safety-that is, their own safety. ICO, the Cards-world ISIS, has become a strawman-strawbogeyman-for Frank and Claire to distract the nation with as Republicans try to pummel them on Hammerschmidt’s exposé about corruption. The age-of-terror Wag the Dog machinations that then unfolded had an especially gothic edge. In any case, Claire’s chilling address to the nation and Frank’s fiery interruption of Congress made for a sensational start to the episode. But the thought of her getting a chance to make meta-monologues raises the question of how the show could refresh its formula five years in-rather than merely continue to chart new depths of evil for the Underwoods, as this hour ended up doing.īob Saget Was Entertainment’s Consummate Father Figure Amanda Wicks Alas, she was just filming a paranoia-promoting campaign ad masquerading as a PSA. Yes, Claire, it is-terrifying and intriguing. “I’ve been meaning to talk with you,” she says in the very first seconds of this premiere.
It also, for a moment, seemed to bring a new gimmick of Claire addressing the camera just as her husband does. Season Five of House of Cards brings a new team of showrunners and a new real-life president for Frank Underwood to be compared to.
As in previous years, I’m binge-reviewing the latest season of Netflix’s House of Cards, the TV show that helped popularize the idea of “binge watching” when it premiered in 2013.