Over the past year, actual real-life politics has been
off-putting enough. With Brexit, Trump and an upcoming general election, the
public is fed up of politicians lying their way to success. With that said
however, when House of Card’s fifth season was finally launched on Netflix this
weekend, you can guarantee that same public was scrambling to get their fix of dodgy
government dealings with President Frank Underwood.
Frank and Claire Underwood are potentially two of the most
immoral, cruel characters that any political series has ever seen. They are
deceitful, devious and cunning. They will throw anyone in front of the bus (or
train – sorry Zoe) to get what they want. And yet after five seasons, we are
still rooting for them. This is what makes House of Cards such an intriguing
show. But does its fifth season live up to the previous installments?
The fifth season follows Frank and Claire through the 2016
election and the further struggles on the other side. We see journalists
rehashing the theories surrounding Zoe Barnes and Rachel Posner as new evidence
comes to light. Just about everybody on all sides of the political spectrum is
against the President, and some new characters are willing to do anything to
take him down. To quote Showgirls: “There's always someone younger and hungrier
coming down the stairs after you.”
What makes this season so tense is not the conniving plans
of Frank Underwood or the real-world subjects it tackles. It is the payoff from
the excellent character development we have seen previously. For the first time,
it looks as if Frank may have got himself into situations he can’t control. He
can’t control his impending impeachment. He can’t control his wife. He can’t
control Aidan Macallan and the secrets he may hold. He can’t control the ghosts
of his past. This season, he has to fight much, much harder than he ever has
before, and it’s odd to see Frank’s power slipping out of reach, while Claire’s
only continues to grow.
Ultimately the highlight of the season is Claire’s
storyline. As she grows distant from Frank it becomes clearer that she is
equally as self-serving as he is, and she is more than happy to jeapordise her
husband’s position to help herself. This is the first season in which Claire
begins to break the fourth wall as Frank has always done – it’s subtle and
infrequent, but successfully shows that she is on her way to stealing Frank’s
power over America, and the audience. She is exceptionally ruthless throughout
the season and even surprises her husband with just how far she can go. Her
relationship with Tom demonstrates her decreasing loyalty towards Frank and it’s
an interesting idea to see how the couple’s individual careers will fare
without the full support of one another.
I applaud House of Cards for resisting the story-bait of
Donald Trump. It’s no secret that certain characters in the show are possible homages
to some real-world politicians, and the show has introduced its own version of
ISIS (ICO), so it would be plausible to introduce a Trump-esque role into the
mix. It would have been cheap. The world of House of Cards stands too well on
its own two feet.
The only flaw in this season is that some of the middle
episodes start to feel a little dry, but it more than makes up for it in its thrilling
final parts. The use of “ICO” is still a little on the nose too, but the story
surrounding the group is well written and fresh.
Season five does a beautiful job in exploring the idea that
Frank’s power isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. He is facing trouble at every
corner and is unable to be satisfied by his own success. It shows that Claire
is just as bad as him, and has only become more individualistic throughout
their time together in the White House. As always, these characters truly are
despicable – but we eat them up and beg for more regardless.
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