Chapter 18.

Family ties hold a significant weight in Washington and nearly any other powerful hierarchy through out the country. And as Frank and Feng bickered amongst their blood allegiance to forgotten Confederate warriors and old Chinese revolutionaries, each saw their own respective break from family heirlooms and tradition onto a darkly lit though promising independent path that didn’t salute the flags of their grandfathers. The funny thing about puppets and their masters is that neither is wholly sure who is controlling the strings. The best that either can hope for is that they put on a good show along the way, and boy do these players deserve an encore after their performance in "Chapter 18".

Frank

BWhile becoming chummy with his Great Grandfather, Frank was also busy back channeling with Feng over the bridge deal and lawsuit. It’d be naïve to think that Washington doesn’t operate in the dark, but who knew that Frank could still follow the light while surrounded by historical Civil War darkness? He has fallen a step from the President’s grace, and just like any bad third roommate in a two bedroom apartment Tusk and the Prez have nearly teamed against him. But for holding his resolve especially when Tusk bit off more than he could chew, Frank gets a B.

Claire

BClaire successfully turned her sexual assault into political capital, now leading the charge on helping female victims with the First Lady by her side. But Claire was blindsided by the conniving Seth Grayson who masked his abortion blackmail as the birth of a favor for the Underwood clan. Clearly control is power for Frank and Claire, and it was shocking to see a previously unknown outsider gain reigns over the inner circle. But Claire though was officially able to hold a grip on things before any damage control was needed, and for that she earns a B.

Seth Grayson

A

Don’t get me wrong, Connor seemed like a good fit as Underwood personal publicist. But the mark of a good PR flack isn’t so much of making mistakes appear to be miracles so much as burying those mistakes to begin with. Seth Grayson took charge and crafted himself a player into the previously unbreakable Underwood death match. Frank may not trust him, but knowing that he is both valuable and dangerous to the White House gives Seth nothing less than an A.

Lucas

FOh, poor naïve Lucas. For a journalist whose exposed political controversy and Washington to what Frank is capable of, it’s so stupid of him to think that he isn’t being followed or monitored. Watching Lucas turn down Gavin’s winking plea of just walking away was almost unbearable to watch. And seeing Lucas’ sly attempt to bug the servers go awry was poetic justice. Lucas fashions himself as a muckracker along the lines of Julian Assange or Edward Snowden, exposing necessary truth that  lacks a proper outlet or speaker to tell it. But for not being able to see the current state of his situation before becoming an enemy of the state, Lucas earns an F.

Feng

C

Feng certainly has bizarre fetishes, but by no means was he left gasping for air when Frank tried to chokehold the Chinese magnate’s political influence. Frank may be the decision wielder, but Feng’s influence does go a long way in Washington. Obviously Feng wants to be a power player, hence his back channel attempts with Frank instead of liaising directly through Tusk. But Feng’s ultimate goal is more of what he already has, money. And for making his primary enemy one who has a much stronger thirst for power than he does, Feng gets a C.

Gavin

C+It must have been frustrating for Gavin to see Lucas attempt to usurp his authority and deny the hacker’s kind gesture of not spending his life in prison. But hey, that’s our Gavin, the experimental rodent to both journalists and FBI agents alike. Gavin was ultimately a pawn in the FBI’s game to entrap Lucas, and he’s only becoming aware of how degrading his situation is while on his knees. Computer hackers though do have much more power than their enemies, and knowing what Gavin knows about Frank, it only gives him more leverage over the agent’s chasing his tail. For being down but not out, Gavin gets a C+.

"Chapter 18"

AA provoking take on family ties and their influence on modern opportunists, "Chapter 18" gave us compelling men who were willing to wield rocks and take the necessary head wounds that arise when breaking away from their bloodlines.

Extra Credit

• Totally approve of Seth Grayson outing Connor as Communications Director. Connor seems much more suited to be the President’s head of PR with his all-American charming nature. Seth is much more brooding and creepy, making him the perfect guest to dimly lit Underwood dinner parties.

• I really dig scenes that develop characters in a weird but interesting way, like Feng’s erotic asphyxiation moment with the random couple at the beginning of the episode. I just can’t help but wonder where Feng’s camp were able to find a reliable and sexually robust couple who could keep a secret. I hope we see Feng browsing Craigslist, OkCupid or Tinder for future airway-impeding partners in the future to clear up this dilemma.

Demerits

• It’s good to know that on Gavin’s five monitor hacking display, he still made enough room to have a Twitter feed in place. Way to have your social networking priorities in place, Gavin.
   
• Along those same lines, this whole hacker side plot definitely seems forced. A person of Gavin’s nature would know that the FBI had the ability to bug his room or have keys to his apartment and wouldn’t have urged Lucas to ditch the trail, at least in that environment. And even though I don’t necessarily like Lucas as a character, an leading investigative journalist in arguably the most corrupt city in America would have the sense to think twice about collaborating on cyber terrorism attempts with a dude whose choice method of communication is skyping as a hat-wearing CGI fish on an iPad in a busy diner. The character of Lucas is certainly tragic and one who serves to show the massive wield of Frank’s power and influence outside of the federal government. But come on, make sure the truth-seeking character in your tale of political intrigue of have at some resemblance of self-awareness that he’s a pawn before he tries to take down the king.