House Of Cards “Chapter Twenty-Two”

So, I’m watching the show, and for the life of me, I can’t make heads or tails out of Tusk’s plan here.  He wants to get Frank to cave by hurting anyone Frank might care about.  How, exactly, does that work?  I’m thinking it doesn’t, and Tusk is yet another weak adversary for Frank.

Even if he will kill one of his pet birds with his bare hands if he thinks the feathered jerk won’t shut up.

There are two things going on here.  One is Frank and Claire’s efforts to reign in the photograph Tusk managed to extort from Claire’s lover Adam, and the other is, well, we follow Freddy around for the day.  Why?  I don’t know.  We just do.

Well, narratively, the idea would be to let the reader see sides of Freddy they never saw before and then drop a bomb on Frank because nothing on House of Cards happens without it relating in some way back to Frank.  That’s, like, the point of the show.

The Adam thing is a mess because it shows how ruthless the Underwoods and Tusk will both be to this guy who’d just assume just take photographs and be done with it.  He just caves left and right and no one seems to care how bad it is for him.

The Freddy thing costs a working guy a chance to make some money and get his son and grandson out of a bad neighborhood.  Instead, due to Freddy’s own past as a gangbanger, and his son pulling a gun on some paparazzi while he’s on parole, he loses the franchise.  Frank goes to try and help out, only to find Freddy doesn’t want any.  All Frank ever was to Freddy was another customer.

OK, Tusk just took away one of the few people Frank thought was a real friend.  He’s toast.