House of Cards: pulling the plug

The latest season of ‘House Of Cards’ is let down by a meandering and increasingly unrealistic storyline

When the previous season of House Of Cards was aired early last year, Donald Trump was losing momentum in the Republican primaries and was not, even by a long shot seen as a potential candidate to win the American presidency later in the year. The previous season, showcased the Underwoods emerging as the Democratic party candidates for Presidency and Vice Presidency, while involved in dark mechanisation to stay in power.

However, Donald Trump did win the Presidency, allegations of nepotism are flying around and the real world seemed scarier than the motives of the fictional President in House of Cards . Jokes about a combination of characters from Veep and House Of Cards have plagued the Internet over the past couple of months.

When the series began five years ago, with Frank Underwood played by Kevin Spacey and his wife Claire Underwood, played by Robin Wright manoeuvring themselves into the US presidency, the series was engrossing and kept the viewer guessing on what the power hungry couple’s next move would be.

Once Frank won the Presidency, the show lost much of its mojo. The Underwoods continue to plot, as do those who dislike them and nothing much of substance happens.

With strange things happening all of last year in the political landscape of the United States, one wondered whether

House Of Cards would also see a different approach this year.

In the post truth era, this season opens with a bang, as Frank Underwood storms into the House of Representatives and delivers a speech, despite the objections of the opposition and the House speaker. Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood yelling, “I shall not yield” is perhaps one of the highlights of this season and set expectations for a high decibel season.

There are allusions made to the present day situation, including discussions on closing borders, the move towards more surveillance and even the chants of “not my president” in the show. However, the season in itself is quite underwhelming. There is talk of a war against a terror organisation, following a terror attack, but that is soon forgotten.

The president and his aides managed to countermand the election in two key states, resulting in a constitutional deadlock and Claire taking over, even as Frank hangs around in the background; all this without much protest or mayhem. Everyone seems to aspire for being in high office just for the purpose of attaining power and hardly bother about policy, apart from random talk of tariff deals with Russia and China and an occasional conflict with Russia thrown in.

There are large parts of the show, where nothing happens, apart from the characters plotting and conspiring against each other. It also seems highly unlikely that the only leaks in an administration set in the present day are only via one newspaper and social media hardly makes an appearance.

A sitcom like Veep delivered a much more engaging and fun look at some of the absurdities of the American elections than House Of Cards does. Reality is taken out of the equation further when the serving President almost forces the governors of two states to stop polling in their respective states.

However, despite the gaping plot holes, the repeated plotting, what the show does right to keep you hooked is the cast. Kevin Spacey plays Frank Underwood to perfection as does Robin Wright, playing the icy Claire Underwood. If the series does return for another season, one would hope that the story line gets a move on and some sense of realism comes in.