![]() It’s challenging to feel invested in what happens to the Underwoods’ marriage at this point, and it’s even more confounding to determine how, exactly, Claire had time to orchestrate such an elaborate campaign strategy. It’s a testament to Frank’s lack of humanity that he treats the information like a bargaining chip instead of what it actually is: devastating news about a close family member. The cancer part is true, although Claire doesn’t know it until Doug provides documented proof. She agrees to applaud heartily during his State of the Union address, and they unite to squash rumors of their separation by explaining that she has come to Dallas to spend time with her mother, who’s battling cancer. ![]() Ultimately, Claire and Frank broker an agreement: He agrees not to meddle in her eventual campaign (fat chance). When Doug Stamper shows up and makes it seem as if both the president and his staff only thought Claire was interested in running for governor in the next term, it makes Claire’s request seem even more brash. That Claire believes she can persuade the Congresswoman to change that plan and back her instead is an extraordinary display of political hubris, topped with a generous dollop of white privilege. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Texas Democrat, ) actual representative of that same district.) (Presumably, Congresswoman Jones is based very loosely on Rep. That’s why she seizes this moment, when Frank is most politically exposed by her absence, to attempt to run for Congress in Texas’s 30th District, where Doris Jones, a Democratic incumbent played by the folksy yet regal Cicely Tyson, is retiring and plans effectively to hand over the seat to her daughter, Celia. In the Season 3 finale, when the first lady told the president, “It’s you that’s not enough,” she confirmed what has always been obvious but never spoken: that she’s in the marriage for what it may help her achieve, not because she truly loves the man in it with her. But last season, with Frank finally planted in the Oval Office and Claire’s position as United Nations ambassador stripped away, things began to shift. In the first two seasons of “House of Cards,” Frank and Claire maintained a mutually beneficial partnership and, occasionally, even exhibited flashes of genuine tenderness. That sequence highlights what is teed up to be the central conflict of Season 4: the power struggle between Frank, who knows he needs his popular wife’s support to win re-election, and Claire, who has decided she wants to run for office herself by seeking a seat in the House. Frank almost strangles his spouse, but she fights back, nearly gouging out both of his eyeballs with her bare thumbs, until Frank suddenly awakens. The dream toggles between moments of affection - at one point, Frank caresses Claire’s cheek - and violent assault. ![]() Shock value also seems to be the point of this episode’s key set piece, a dream sequence in which President Frank Underwood has a vision of himself and Claire at each other’s throats. And Lucas, despite serving time for his unwitting involvement in cyberterrorism back in Season 2, still understands how to wield them.) (Implication of that moment: Words can be seductive. This episode begins with the incarcerated journalist Lucas Goodwin reciting what sounds like a chapter from a forthcoming “Fifty Shades of Grey” spinoff so that his cellmate can, shall we say, enjoy some “me” time. As the show did in the first episodes of Seasons 2 and 3, it delivers some shock value along with its Machiavellian political strategy. Nevertheless, “House of Cards,” in its last season with its creator, Beau Willimon, at the helm, seems determined to command our attention. As over-the-top as “House of Cards” can be, it’s still hard for it to compete with the insanity of the current primary season. The fourth season of “House of Cards” begins with the presidential primaries still in progress, a backdrop that could overshadow these 13 episodes or make them feel extra-relevant. ![]()
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