Underwood 2k16

And now, for my latest (and belatedest) binge watch: House of Cards, season four. As per usual, there are big spoilers within.

House of Cards has demonstrated some impressive staying power. I feel like many great TV shows begin starting a slow decline to mediocrity in the second or third season and become a bitter, fragile shell of their former selves by the fourth, but this season is definitely a rebound for the last—though initially it didn't seem like it would be. 

First half of season drags a bit, probably because the Underwoods just aren't as awesome apart as they are together, but feels like an entirely new season, even a new show, after Frank is shot. The journalist plotline picks back up (though I love the slow burn). The Conways are introduced in full force (great adversaries, though their portrayal as the young, social media darlings is at times over the top). The Big Data and ICO plotlines—both somewhat dull and heavy-handed, though they speed up the show's pace—begin.

House of Cards should be commended on the whole for the job it does juggling the various characters. This season, certain key players were downplayed or written out entirely (RIP Meechum, I barely cared about ye). In hindsight, I was sad about lack of Sharp and Remy but don't actually miss them while watching the show. I did miss Heather Dunbar and am hoping she makes a return, despite being glad she's out of the running. Leanne's character was terribly uninteresting to me, but I was glad they kept the novelist around, because he's kinda hot and it wouldn't be the Underwoods if there weren't some uncomfortable sexual shenanigans going on.

My favorite scene this season was easily Frank threatening Kathy by confessing to his various murders before laughing it off. This is Kevin Spacey at his best, and it reminds us just how terrifying Frank is, even if we find ourselves rooting for him time and time again.

But enough about Frank and the other minor players. Let's talk about the real star of this show: Mrs. Underwood. I absolutely love the series' slow and steady shift to focus more and more on Claire. Break that fourth wall, baby! I don't recall particularly caring about her much one way or the other in the series' first season, but Claire Underwood has slowly become the queen of my heart. (When she asked Hannah Conway if she regretted having children? Slayed.) 

Despite its very shaky start, this season not only ended up delivering on its own, it left me excited for the next, which I wouldn't have said about the third season. Underwood & Underwood 2016, y'all. They might run the country to the ground, but they'd have my vote.