House of Cards Season Two

Let me preface this post with saying how much I love the Netflix format. Being able to binge watch all of House of Cards Season two was such a blessing. I had an excuse to be antisocial and stay inside all weekend to watch TV. Overall, this season shaped up to be much better than the first, although still not reaching the heights of it's peers like Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, and the newly airing True Detective.

Spoilers Ahead!

Season two takes us through the arc of Frank's rise to claim the presidency. We start out with a bang, within the first episode, we see a new main character played by Molly Parker being given Frank's old job, Raymond Tusk being used as more of a villain to Frank, and one of the main stars of Season One being killed off. In addition, Lucas Goodwin is shown to be another main antagonist of the season. There's a lot I liked about these additions. Being a big fan of Deadwood, it is great to see Molly Parker in a central role, as well as Gerald McRaney playing an antagonistic billionaire again. On Deadwood, they had played Alma Garrett and George Hearst respectively. Using Tusk as a villain was a good move. One of the main problems with season one was a lack of worthy adversaries to Frank. Putting Tusk in this role was a good idea.
Lucas Goodwin is also given a central role as Frank's adversary here. I'm not sure how I felt about this. Although a compelling plot line, Goodwin was never developed enough to make us care about him. I found myself rooting for him to fail from the start. Also, about halfway through the season Goodwin is arrested and jailed. That is the end of him. The plot had potential but due to a lack of development of his character as well as the plot being cut before it could really develop and pose a threat to Frank, it was over.

Subways Hurt

Killing off Zoe Barnes was a bold move. Within the first hour of season two, she is pushed in front of a train by Frank, essentially writing her out of the show. This was good for a number of reasons. First, it showed Frank to be even more ruthless than ever before. Here was a women who he had not only had a friendship with, but a romantic relationship with as well. As soon as she got in his way, she was killed. Frank was further developed as a diabolical villain when he killed Zoe. Secondly, Zoe had no reason to be in the second season. It was obvious that the 'crazy journalist hunting down Frank' role had gone to Lucas, and unless Zoe got involved with Frank romantically again, there really seemed to be no reason for her to be around.

Character wise, this season excelled far past the first season. A number of characters were developed much further to make them real people, instead of a cardboard cutout of what they were supposed to be.
Remy Danton played a large role in this season, being in a relationship with Molly Parker's character. He was given a good deal of screen time and was able to actually be sympathetic, instead of just a money-hungry henchmen of Frank or Tusk. I like his character, although it is still a bit unclear where he gets his motivation. On the one hand, money seems like the main driving point of his life. On the other, he does seem to care deeply for Jackie (Molly Parker) by the end of the season. It is this discrepancy that keeps him interesting. I look forward to seeing more of him next season.

As do rocks

Doug Stamper was made a lot more central this season, being shown to be more human than the eternally loyal super-servant of Frank. His relationship with Rachel and his superiority complex over Frank's other workers are outlined a lot more in season two. Finally, at the end of the season, when he is beaten to death by the girl he loves, was a major shock to the system. At long last we thought he had overcome his demons and then he is killed. This was not only shocking, but actually managed to be very sad. Come season three, he will certainly be missed.
President Walker and his wife were also quite important in season two. They were shown to be weakened as a couple due to the presidency being difficult, as well as contrasted against Frank and his wife. Walker is like a babe in the woods when he is compared to Frank, and making Frank become his close friend was a smart move. Of course, by the end of the season, Walker is so beaten down and broken that he resigns, letting Frank take over. Showing these presidential imperfections both highlighted Frank as a smarter leader, but also showed him as an even more ruthless man, kicking and clawing his way up the ladder.

Bring back the beard Gerald!

Raymond Tusk was another character that was highlighted a lot in this season. As stated earlier, I am a big fan of Gerald McRaney, so from an acting perspective, he was great. Showing him to be just as ruthless as Frank made him a threat, something that hadn't really been there in season one. On the other hand, his motivation was a little shaky. Though we were made to understand that Tusk was vengeful, it seemed like all he still cared about was power, even though he was made to seem more money hungry at first. Either way, he provided a villain to Frank's villainy throughout the entire season, and was very entertaining the whole way through. Throwing him in jail at the end of the season was a bit far fetched as someone with his level of power would probably have better layering arrangements made, but even so, he was quite enjoyable.

"Verbal" Underwood

Finally, there was the power couple themselves, Frank and Claire Underwood. Let me start by saying how much I enjoy Kevin Spacey act. Seriously, if the show didn't have him, it  would falter and fail. He really glues every scene together and provides entertainment in every scene he is in. He has a lighthearted darkness to him that makes him entertaining whenever he has the camera on him. Frank was made more evil and diabolical across this season which was a good move. In addition, having him covet the presidency at the end of the season two makes season three even more exciting.
Claire was also shown to be a lot more ruthless this season. They essentially made her a female version of Frank, highlighting Robin Wright's acting ability to be a lot like Kevin Spacey. In addition, Claire was shown to be amazing at the social side of deception, being able to become good friends with her foes before stabbing them in the back.
Though the couple themselves are a little overly smart and deceptive, they are a joy to watch.

If you look closely, you can see Obama peeping out the window

Though an incredibly entertaining show, the over-the-top amount of deception, cool side characters that are very one-dimensional, and ruthlessness by every main character holds it back from being quite the quality of the aforementioned Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, etc. House of Cards is fun to watch, but the character's emotions and actions do not quite speak for themselves as much as some of the other top quality shows. That being said, House of Cards is ridiculously fun and still far above the level of 99% of TV.

My rating for Season Two lands at:
8.9/10