What I’m Watching: House of Cards

House of Cards: Season 3, Episode 4 “Chapter 30” (B+)

Frank does not like to lose, and not getting his way makes him set his sights on truly spectacular revenge. It’s hard to blame Heather for going on the offensive and announcing her candidacy for the presidency without responding to Frank’s offer of a Supreme Court seat after she realized just how manipulative he was, at first persuading the judge not to retire and then nearly forcing him to do so once Frank realized that Heather might pose a threat to him. She’s not inherently likeable, but neither is he, and I’m sure there are many more things that will happen long before we get to any sign of an election or even a campaign. Doug tracking her down for a shadowy meeting was a great move on his part, but let’s hope that Frank doesn’t find out, otherwise he won’t spare his old loyal servant Doug any pain in obliterating him for his betrayal. It’s not often that people say what they really mean to Frank, and being told by a victim of a drone strike that he had dreamed of strangling him with his bare hands was intense, though Frank trying to make good with an apology didn’t exactly merit much more than that. Spitting on a statue in a church is a move only Frank would make, and it crashing down is a perfect physical manifestation of Frank’s perceived omnipotence and how powerless he actually is. Ayla definitely went too far in pushing Frank during his briefing, but I feel like she’s not going away anytime soon, no matter how efficiently Seth thinks he’s solved the problem.