One of my complaints about House of Cards prior to "Chapter 15" was that Frank and Claire hadn't shown enough emotion over the series to prove they were actually human instead of cold, calculating political robots. But Claire's rape plot point completely broke the Second lady out of her cool and poised shell and stripped her down to her naked emotional core. It was a delicate moment, but also a refreshing one, providing more backstory and honesty to a woman who usually keeps the actually truth hidden deep below. House of Cards often mistakes the political mischief as the series' strong point, where in fact everything else that's taking place behind the Oval Office curtains is what truly makes the show exciting (Honestly, Netflix should just have a show where Kevin Spacey plays a character who pushes unsuspecting bystanders in front of fast moving trains, it'd be a hit).
Let's hope Season 2 improves with more genuine pathos before the boredom of watching politicians talk to each other forces our viewer resignation.
Frank
CFrank was just appointed the second highest position of power in the country, but he was ultimately held powerless when not able to defend his wife's honor at the ceremony. With great power comes great sacrifice, and Frank must refrain from snapping his wife's assaulter's neck to remain headstrong for his political peers and the Secret Service agents back home. While the gleam in his eye definitely tells us that Frank's plan is in movement, the complete inability to act upon the shocking news of Claire's rape puts him at a C.
Claire
B+
From Claire's reaction at the dining table and her request to cancel during Frank's e-cig vape session, I was expecting her reluctance to attend the charity ball was because of a former passionate beau that Frank didn't know about. Seeing Claire break down in the bathroom after her assaulter took the nerve to kiss her on the cheek made me both furious at the situation and deeply empathetic to her plight. It's sad that Claire is stuck in this position, but it's also good to know that well, she actually can feel emotions. But leave it up to them Underwoods to plot on how they can turn this personal tragedy into political capital. For choosing to empower her husband instead of becoming a powerless victim, Claire gets a B+.
Raymond Tusk
BI imagine that Raymond Tusk is rivals with George Clooney's character from "Up in the Air", battling for frequent flyer miles for otherwise unnecessary trips. Honestly, is there any other person who travels to and from Washington D.C. as much as Raymond when a simple email would have sufficed? But his motivations are clear though, as Tusk's careful puppeteering of the President's course of action with China is to directly benefit his own business and financial endeavors. He is quickly regretting recommending Frank as Vice President, but at least Tusk is aware of who really controls the power in the Oval Office. For taking the extra effort to fly to D.C. when Skype or a phone call would have worked, Raymond gets a B.
Jackie Sharp
BJackie seems very poised, likable and intelligent. She got thrust into the Whip replacement battle not out of her own choosing, but decided to roll with it once all the pieces fell in place. Sharp hasn't really been participating in the House of Cards political chess match as much as the other players have. But with her quick double crossing and no holds barred attitude, don't be surprised if Jackie is the whip that cracks Underwood's back.
Lucas
DLucas is a complete wreck in the wake of Zoe's death. His skin is pasty and pale, his hair gangly, and it looks like standing up straight for more than 5 minutes will cause him to pass out. Lucas' ambition to bring down Underwood in iconic Bob Woodward fashion is certainly admirable. But heading down to the Deep Web to recruit someone from the Silkroad to do it is just an incredibly stupid call. For thinking the noobs of 4Chan would be more helpful than the Freedom of Information Act, Lucas gets a B.
"Chapter 15"
CFocusing on Claire's rape in a thoughtful and earnest manner while boring us with the Chinese policy and Whip replacement battle, "Chapter 15" was a detour in quality from its rollicking predecessor episode.
Extra Credit
- I really dig seeing real life network and cable journalists like Rachel Maddow show up on House of Cards. It's like an appearance on HOC certifies which TV anchors are cool and which are not. Somewhere in their Manhattan highrises, Brian Williams and Anderson Cooper are desperately staring at their cell phones, waiting for a phone call from Kevin Spacey for season 3.
Demerits
- So, Lucas sees the police footage of Zoe jumping onto the tracks. But he didn't think to rewind the tape a bit to see what lead her back there? Which then we would have seen her standing in place talking to someone, and then further back Frank actually awkwardly heading over to that hidden spot, and from there you could use another camera at the station to get a positive facial ID on Frank. I know, House of Cards is more about political intrigue than detective work, and I've probably been binging on too much of The Wire lately as well. But this whole segment just seemed really lazy to me.
- Lucas' boss: "I don't know what's going on in your personal life..."Oh, you don't? You don't know that his coworker, lover and friend died suddenly in front of a moving train? What is up with these incompetent journalist characters and motives in the HOC universe? Maybe their meta-aware that they're part of a television show, and that if they actually make smart decisions they'll be killed off. It's the only possible reason why people who dig up truth for a living would act so stupidly.
