House Of Cards “Chapter Forty-Five”

So, the big news here is Claire won.  She won everything.

Quite frankly, while I never quite understood what she wanted from Frank and still think that whole “Vice President” thing is utterly ridiculous even for House of Cards, she did win a legitimate victory over both of the pig-headed men she got heat from in season three.

Yeah, Claire took names this time around.  Jackie learned she has to play ball with the Underwoods or else.  Claire got to Secretary of State Durant despite Durant’s thoughts that, you know, the First Lady had no business negotiating a threeway deal with Russia and China.  Raymond Tusk can handle the Chinese end, but Petrov is a different story.  Petrov won’t deal with Durant, but he will see Claire since she skipped the United States for this summit while Frank was getting a liver transplant.

That liver came from a teenage suicide.  And Doug, being the considerate man he is, essentially blackmailed the Health and Human Services Secretary to move Frank up the transplant list ahead of someone who was much sicker than Frank was.  I…had no idea that the HHS Secretary could do that actually…

Doug is awful.

Heather Dunbar also kills her own campaign by grandstanding at a special prosecutor’s interrogation.  Even Donald Blythe can see it.  Now the Republican candidate that’s apparently bribing a Google knock-off will need to be dealt with in some way.

But while Claire succeeds where Frank failed in getting Petrov to bow, Frank is having a coma-dream where he’s confronted by Peter Russo and Zoe Barnes.  You know, the two people he personally murdered.  And Kate Mara clearly got a shorter haircut since she left the show.  That’s not really a problem.  Heck, it looks good on her.  But why would Frank envision Zoe with a haircut he never saw her with?  It’s not like he saw her with Claire’s regular do.

Anyway, Frank recovered (obviously) and realized he needed Claire and agrees that things will change.  Whatever that means.  Then he goes back to work.

These Frank-less episodes actually worked pretty well.  Let’s hope the show continues to go stronger for the rest of season four.