What I’m Watching: House of Cards

House of Cards: Season 4, Episode 9 “Chapter 48” (B+)

This was a pretty exciting episode, with the dramatic roll call for vice presidential nominations at the Democratic National Convention serving as the primary plot device. The Kentucky senator casting a vote for Claire introduced the idea in a way that caught on in a big way, perfectly engineered by Frank and Claire to seem like it was something that they couldn’t even have imagined. Donald was very helpful in all of it by spreading the word that Kathy barely had a role in the negotiations in Germany, and Claire got nearly to the top of the list without all that much effort. Kathy’s reaction to Frank breaking the news to her was the biggest surprise of all, noting that she thinks Claire would be great for the job. Kathy may have something up her sleeve too, as Louisiana’s endorsement of her for the position of president indicates considerable dissent against the Underwood dynasty. Seth telling Leanne that Doug has it in for her can’t be a good idea, and he seems set on painting her as the reason for all of Underwood’s woes. It was a nice treat to see Frank and Conway sit down and talk one-on-one after making their initial contact such a televised publicity stunt. Playing games together on Conway’s phone was easily the best part, followed closely by Frank nearly choking when Conway made him laugh and his metaphorical presentation of ham. I also enjoyed Frank’s accidental misquote of the famous line – “One man’s tragedy is another man’s treasure.”