What I’m Watching: House of Cards

House of Cards: Season 4, Episode 2 “Chapter 41” (B+)

Now that I’m finally caught up with the rest of my regularly-airing television and there isn’t much airing during this early summer season, it’s time to go back and watch the fourth season of this show in anticipation of its potential Emmy nominations and maybe even some AFT Awards love as well. I remembered how much the premiere pit Claire against Frank in her efforts to distance herself from a husband she couldn’t publicly divorce since they had made a deal that she could have what she wanted if she just stuck by him for a little bit longer. It turns out it’s the worst mistake she could have made, since trying to do an end run around him led to him announcing in his State of the Union address that Celia was going to run for Doris’ open seat and that both he and Claire would eagerly support her. Frank lecturing her about how she should have come to him was best highlighted by his assertion that he couldn’t force her to see reason but that he also wouldn’t allow her to become dangerous. The photos being taken of Jackie and Remy are bad news too, and as usual it’s Frank trying to clean up anything that could be remotely damaging to him before it becomes a problem. Claire has more than a handful in her mother, who seems very spiteful for the way that her daughter treated her and now deigns to ask for money. Neve Campbell’s Leann seems like she’s going to play an increasingly important role in this season, and I’m intrigued. Things with Russia don’t seem to be great, and Frank is all too willing to let an asylum-seeker be killed.