What I’m Watching: House of Cards

House of Cards: Season 4, Episode 4 “Chapter 43” (B)

During the first half of this episode, I was starting to grow tired of this show and its very insular nature. There might as well only be four characters – Frank, Claire, and their loyal deputies who think only of their respective employers. Claire wanting to be Frank’s vice-president as a way of getting back at him for keeping her down and not allowing her to share in his power became a real consideration, and when she decided that he wasn’t going to ever let her do it, she made the ultimate move to threaten him, which resulted in her being kept from leaving her home. And then it all changed with a thoroughly unexpected gunshot. My first thought while I was still reeling from the shock of it was that somehow Frank had engineered his own assassination, though having a good portion of his liver cut away hardly seems like the smartest way to go about that. Lucas couldn’t have thought that killing Frank would really have accomplished anything, but perhaps he was so desperate after Dunbar turned him down that he saw it as his only option. Donald being appointed acting president is perhaps the most jarring development, and it’s good to see that Claire knows exactly how to manipulate him even if Doug is totally immune to her charms. I truly did not expect this show to go down this route, and though I’m not yet convinced of its worthiness until we see where it goes, I’m definitely intrigued and curious to see what happens next.