House Of Cards “Chapter Thirteen”

Season One ends with Frank succeeding in at least this part of his goal, while at the same time Zoe and her two reporter friends are figuring out the truth.

I’m not exactly worried about Frank just yet, because it is way too early to bring him down.  Those reporters are basically a tease right now.

But Frank does get what he set out to get at the start of the season.  He’s the next in line to be President Walker’s Vice President after Matthews went back to being governor of Pennsylvania.  He had to play hardball with bazillionaire Raymond Tusk, and Tusk was no easy target.  Frank tried relying on old ally turned lobbyist Remy to get Remy’s boss at Sancorp to spook Tusk with his nuclear interests, but Remy told Tusk and Tusk fixed that problem without breaking a sweat.  But though he tells Frank more or less what he wants, Frank won’t give the man a blank check and suggests they develop loyalty over time through honesty, the way Frank prefers to do.  That must have worked because Frank gets the VP spot.

Does anyone believe Frank is loyal to anyone besides himself and Claire?  I know I sure don’t.

Heck, Frank is still using Zoe to get the “secret” meeting with Tusk out in the open.  But Zoe, her former occupational adversary-turned co-worker Janine and her former co-worker-turned-boyfriend Lucas are all looking into the series of weird things that happened regarding Peter Russo’s being pulled over in the pilot and what happened to him, namely nothing.  They do find an arrest for Rachel Posner and the trio manage to find her and some additional dirt, which leads to Zoe meeting Rachel to try and find out what happened between her and Russo.

Oh, but Rachel was coached on what to say by Stamper.

Oh, but Lucas was hiding nearby and spotted Stamper’s car and the reporters know Frank is somehow involved.  They even hypothesize that Frank wanted Peter to have a meltdown on the campaign trail to clear the way to the Vice Presidency for Frank.

Oh, but Stamper meets with Christine to find out what if anything happened between Christine and Zoe.

These people are circling each other, looking for openings.  Good way to end the season as that plot goes.

Another nice touch:  Frank goes to pray in a church.  He doesn’t seem to have much use for God, suggests maybe asking the devil but doubts that will work.  Who is he most inclined to say might be there to talk to him?  Peter.

We got talk of ghosts now?  This show gets more Shakespearean as it goes along.

I think I see why this one is so addicting.