What I’m Watching: House of Cards

House of Cards: Season 2, Episode 2 “Chapter 15” (B+)

This second installment did a good job of following up on the intensity of the premiere, and I managed to hold off watching it until this past Thursday, keeping to my weekly schedule (though the upcoming Oscars ceremony and many movies to watch also helped). It’s strange to see Frank installed without much ceremony in his own home as the Vice-President, having achieved his goal of climbing to the top. Bitterly describing the way in which Raymond Tusk called the President by his “given name” led him to a great undercutting, a time where we can actually root for him, which resulted in Tusk calling him Mr. Vice-President. Jackie is doing a great job of following in her potential predecessor’s footsteps, throwing one of her oldest friends and allies under the bus in order to secure her position. I enjoyed seeing John Scurti, best known as Lieutenant Ken Shea on “Rescue Me,” as unsuccessful whip contender Wes Buchwalter. Frank is doing a marvelous job of supporting Catherine without the President realizing, and it’s enjoyable to see that play out. The revelation that the soldier Frank was honoring had assaulted Claire was disconcerting, and I do wonder if he has some terrible retribution planned. I’m much more worried about Lucas trying to hack Frank’s phone records after Tom came to the office. Nothing good is going to come from that, and Frank is not going to go down without a fight and without taking the ill-fated young editor down with him.