House Of Cards

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So since this show's second season just went up on Netflix, I figured it deserved its own thread. I loved the first season of this show, Kevin Spacey is great and I thought it had a great arc and some very good twists. I just watched the first episode of season two, and I won't spoil anything for anyone in this first post but...well, that's one way to start a season. I can't wait to see how the rest of it plays out.

Anyone else caught up with the first season?

[Reply #1 on:]

Having enjoyed the original I was unsure about watching the US version but having seen the first season I realise I needn't have worried; it is a great version.

[Reply #2 on:]

I'm still only partway through the first season but I do enjoy it.

[Reply #3 on:]

Kevin Spacey does the dramatic equivalent of "Jim Face" from The Office every once in a while, I love it.

[Reply #4 on:]

Ok I now only have 2 episodes left on season one.

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Was it really necessary for Frank to kill Peter? It's obvious the plot was setting him up to commit suicide. Like it has driven me nuts that Peter's progression was so easily thrown away for a tiny bottle of whiskey and a whore when I thought he was shaping up to be a foil in Frank's plans. Maybe he was too weak to outwit or overcome his debilities but they didn't need to reinforce the "Frank gets EVERYTHING he wants" by having Frank be the one to kill him. He was already self-destructing.

[Reply #5 on:]

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Was it really necessary for Frank to kill Peter? It's obvious the plot was setting him up to commit suicide. Like it has driven me nuts that Peter's progression was so easily thrown away for a tiny bottle of whiskey and a whore when I thought he was shaping up to be a foil in Frank's plans. Maybe he was too weak to outwit or overcome his debilities but they didn't need to reinforce the "Frank gets EVERYTHING he wants" by having Frank be the one to kill him. He was already self-destructing.

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Except Peter wasn't still self-destructing...he had clearly hit rock bottom, and actually seemed to have reached a point where he was ready to take complete responsibility for his actions and sober up, hence going to the police station and trying to turn himself in. He had the potential to be a good, caring person if he wasn't completely possessed by his demons, and he seemed to have finally realized that at the end. I don't think he was planning to kill himself at all...if anything I think he was on a path to redemption, which made his murder by Frank (who knew that Peter turning himself in and trying to redeem himself would likely be bad for his plans) all the more tragic. I love flawed characters, so Peter was one of my favorites. At first I was shocked and upset by his murder, but it made perfect sense for the progression of the story and now I consider it one of the most brilliant scenes in the show.

If you thought that story turn was unnecessary though, I can't wait to hear your reaction to the first episode of season 2.

[Reply #6 on:]

You're the second person inquiring my thoughts on the first episode of season two. I am so very nervous.

[Reply #7 on:]

Just finished season 2, awesome stuff.

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*knock knock* madafakas!

[Reply #8 on:]

I watched episode one of season two. I totally saw it coming.

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I like Zoe on the surface but her character's motivations and ambition were so empty and I don't know how much of that was writing and how much of that was Kate Mara because she did not elicit any emotion about anything and ugh she kind of sucked. I actually do kind of blame Mara who only had one facial expression.

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[Reply #10 on:]

Gotta agree with Tweek, the British version is brilliant.  I've decided to watch that before I watch the American one.

[Reply #11 on:]

Just finished the second season. This is easily the smartest and most compelling political series I've ever watched. Brilliant plotting that makes sure to account for all its loose ends and characters who become consistently deeper and more interesting. I also love how just when you think the story is moving at a snail's pace, it turns out to have been moving faster than you could have imagined. And being able to binge watch the seasons as a whole on Netflix means I'm never confused or forgetting important details.

If you're not watching this show yet, you're missing out.

[Reply #12 on:]

Bump!

Been rewatching season 2 with my dad who's watching it for the first time. Such a brilliantly and complexly written show.

Season 3 goes up on the 27th of the month. If you haven't started watching this yet, you should catch up now.

[Reply #13 on:]

Eh.  It's OK.  I still recommend watching watching the original version as well.

[Reply #14 on:]

It's not the original version if it's based on a book.

I have heard great things about the BBC miniseries. Still, I'd be surprised if it matched the Netflix show's levels of acting and directing.

[Reply #15 on:]

But it is better in terms of writing.  And Ian Richardson is better to pull off the Shakespeare 'talk to the audience' than Kevin Spacey is.  In fact, the BBC miniseries actually make some clever usage of it.

[Reply #16 on:]

I'll have to take your word for it until I check it out myself. How much of the US series have you seen? I'd say its real genius doesn't become clear until near the end of the first season.

[Reply #17 on:]

I have seen all of the US series.  This is why I feel I can make the comparisons between the two.  I suppose I was 'ruined' having watched the miniseries first, because I knew what was going to happen.  And I felt some of it happened better in the miniseries.

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I like that FU's first killing isn't just a spur of the moment in the miniseries as it seems it is in the US series.  Either Kevin Spacey is hiding his intentions from the audience or he just thinks it up as he goes along, because when you think about it, his plan does rely a bit too heavily on circumstance and chance.

This is unlike FU's plans in the BBC miniseries, where it definitely is calculated from the get-go, even if FU keeps his intention of killing hidden.  I also prefer his method, because it is far less traceable, unlike the fact that in US series, the victim is sitting on the passenger seat.

Even though I am using the spoiler tag, I am trying to avoid revealing too much from the miniseries.  But I will also say this, the relationship between FU and the journalist makes a lot more sense in the miniseries than in the US series.

I feel I am being too harsh on the US series.  So I will mention some of the things I like more:  I like that FU's wife is more fleshed out.  I definitely also like the scenography and directing (with the exception of the Shakespeare act) better than the miniseries, which definitely has a TV production of the 1990s feel to it.  I suppose that's understandable, since it was the 1990s and it was a TV production, but in comparison, it does show.

Here is a good article on why the British version is better than the American version, there is just more depth in it.

[Reply #18 on:]

Anyone else still watch this? This season was quite a roller coaster ride. The show has definitely gotten more and more absurd (and it started off pretty absurd) but I still find it extremely entertaining and I love the characters. I won't bother talking spoilers unless someone else chimes in to say they've seen the season.