First things first: Holy shit. Now, that being said, I hope the series can maintain without Zoe. She was a great character. Her boyfriend sucks as a character by comparison, so I'm not nearly as intrigued if he's going to be the guy on Underwood's heels.
That was a fabulous bit of theater to watch. The train. The last few seconds of breaking the 4th wall. The cuff links. The little touches. The absolute fear I have this man now.
I don't know what to say other than the first episode was worth an entire season alone.
I liked a lot of the episode. The maneuvering was a nice break from the madness.
Problem is Chinese foreign policy is kind of my thing.
Oh god, the Foreign Ministry is more of a show than anything else. Maybe they know this but in reality most stuff out of them is taken as half truths and hopes. The real power lies in the central comitee on this stuff and they are more subtle.
I am not enthused by that.
Don't get me started on the deep web stuff.
But I will take them as anything with Frank is amazing.
Is that the first time Frank has directly addressed the viewer as a person? That combined with the cuff links seemed way more fourth wall breaking than the first season. But it did make for a pretty amazing "fuck yeah here we go, House of Cards is back" sort of ending.
Is that the first time Frank has directly addressed the viewer as a person? That combined with the cuff links seemed way more fourth wall breaking than the first season. But it did make for a pretty amazing "fuck yeah here we go, House of Cards is back" sort of ending.
Is that the first time Frank has directly addressed the viewer as a person? That combined with the cuff links seemed way more fourth wall breaking than the first season. But it did make for a pretty amazing "fuck yeah here we go, House of Cards is back" sort of ending.
How do you mean?
Usually he just talks. Most of his speeches could be taken as an almost internal monologue, his thoughts to himself on any given situation. At the end of ep1, he says something along the lines of "Did you think I forgot about you?" specifically addressing the viewer rather than just talking at them.
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AManFromEarthLet's get to twerk!The King in the SwampRegistered Userregular
I think it's been pretty clear that the viewer is being addressed directly.
Is that the first time Frank has directly addressed the viewer as a person? That combined with the cuff links seemed way more fourth wall breaking than the first season. But it did make for a pretty amazing "fuck yeah here we go, House of Cards is back" sort of ending.
How do you mean?
Usually he just talks. Most of his speeches could be taken as an almost internal monologue, his thoughts to himself on any given situation. At the end of ep1, he says something along the lines of "Did you think I forgot about you?" specifically addressing the viewer rather than just talking at them.
Yeah, that and also the "Welcome back" at the end openly acknowledging that it's the start of a second season. Plus the "F U" cufflinks were essentially a direct message from the writers to the viewers.
Is that the first time Frank has directly addressed the viewer as a person? That combined with the cuff links seemed way more fourth wall breaking than the first season. But it did make for a pretty amazing "fuck yeah here we go, House of Cards is back" sort of ending.
How do you mean?
Usually he just talks. Most of his speeches could be taken as an almost internal monologue, his thoughts to himself on any given situation. At the end of ep1, he says something along the lines of "Did you think I forgot about you?" specifically addressing the viewer rather than just talking at them.
Yeah, that and also the "Welcome back" at the end openly acknowledging that it's the start of a second season. Plus the "F U" cufflinks were essentially a direct message from the writers to the viewers.
It's breaking the fourth wall in a more direct and grating way. In season one it was used to ingratiate the audience to Underwood and get us in his confidence, now it's far more separate.
I have to say that while I love the show for its writing, its characters etc, there's a bunch of things I really hate about it. It's the faux Machiavellianism that only works because every other character is an incompetent idiot. It's the abstraction of policy and issues to the degree that the only things that matter are the negotiations and manipulations that deal with policy, but not the effects of that policy. Because of that, we're made to root for Underwood's policies even if the show admits that they're awful and damage the lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. Furthermore the reduction of political issues to merely being the products of personal issues is petty and shallow as hell.
Personally my favorite character is Blythe (and this is at e4)
Took everything in me not to plow along into episode two, 1:42am be damned.
That was definitely a season premiere.
I did not see her getting thrown off until it happened. That was just so fast, so violent. Though a correction, I suppose...I did see her getting thrown off (by Stamper, or somebody else) before she met Underwood. That's a thing that hasn't exactly been uncommon in movies and shows over the years, and for a minute it felt like that was where it was going. Then they were talking. And it felt okay. Then she followed him (and I thought we were moving away from the tracks) and oh fuck no. So fast.
And yeah, the fourth wall crashing down at the end was awesome. Hadn't noticed, everything that episode was so intense, then bam.
Because of that, we're made to root for Underwood's policies even if the show admits that they're awful and damage the lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.
I don't see this as a flaw, personally.
Ep 4 spoilers
Underwood was dealing with the painful reality that no matter what choice was made millions of people's lives would be damaged. Jacqueline made that clear when she was drumming up votes for the Democrats. Had the Republicans or Dems maintained they would have been every bit as guilty of ruining millions of lives. Instead they now have a possible plan to work with and can modify down the line.
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AManFromEarthLet's get to twerk!The King in the SwampRegistered Userregular
I don't believe we're made to root for Frank.
Any more than you're meant to root for Richard III or Macbeth.
I think Richard III is a good comparison to Frank. He is very much Richard and since the show is very much going for a modern play feel it is the best description I can think of.
Any more than you're meant to root for Richard III or Macbeth.
I think that the show wants to be an indictment on Frank but it's too enamored of his competence. And if the show really wanted to show Frank as an anti-hero it wouldn't work by his logic, which is that any character with a set of beliefs is at the deepest core just a naive version of someone with an almost sociopathic drive for power.
I think Richard III is a good comparison to Frank. He is very much Richard and since the show is very much going for a modern play feel it is the best description I can think of.
House of Cards has a definite Richard III feel to it.
I'm honestly kind of surprised how many people were surprised by that thing in episode 1. None of y'all went and watched the original House Of Cards? It's... kind of better honestly. I hate to be that guy, but it goes like a fucking train. We've just reached the point in the narrative that the original got to in 3 episodes.
Some thoughts on Zoe's character
In the original, she's a bright eyed, naive ingénue who was hopelessly in love with FU. Whether that's better or worse depends on your outlook, but I certainly had more sympathy for her as a character. Zoe is so hard nosed and unpleasant that I wasn't particularly sorry to see her go. It's interesting to contrast the two characters deaths. In one it's FU getting rid of a dangerous enemy who has dogged him at every turn, in the other it's FU kicking the fucking dog in a big way.
The death of
Mattie Storrin/Zoe
is the high point of the original series, there isn't a lot of great stuff after that. It'll be interesting to see where the US version goes.
It was the best thing that could've happened to the narrative.
Zoe was done. She was already boring the hell out of me with her scoobie gang antics by the end of season 1. I'm pumped for there to be more time for Frank and Claire to just go around destroying people.
I'm honestly kind of surprised how many people were surprised by that thing in episode 1. None of y'all went and watched the original House Of Cards?
I don't really intend to while the current series is ongoing. I'm definitely interested but everything's an unknown for me right now and I'd rather keep it that way.
Any more than you're meant to root for Richard III or Macbeth.
I think that the show wants to be an indictment on Frank but it's too enamored of his competence. And if the show really wanted to show Frank as an anti-hero it wouldn't work by his logic, which is that any character with a set of beliefs is at the deepest core just a naive version of someone with an almost sociopathic drive for power.
Weirdly I thought season one ended showing him to be not as competent as he thought, he basically got real lucky and was able to take the advantage after getting out maneuvered by Tusk.
He's back on form now though and it'll be interesting seeing where that battle goes.
Holy shit, Claire's gambit. This shows still got it. Also, super-hacker turned out to be an FBI sting. Sweet. I was worried he was going to be legit helping whatshisname, and random super-hacker's are always dumb plot devices, so that's a win.
Damn, Kevin Spacey plays the hell out of that role.
I remember watching Colbert a short while ago, seeing him running around trying to steal his Emmy, and thinking to myself "that Spacey fella sure seems like a great guy!". I'm now having a real hard time reconciling that feeling with what I'm seeing.
I was surprised how good this was. I think I liked it more than the first season. Certainly as far as political machinations, there seemed to be stronger opponents, and therefore, a more interesting fight.
Has anyone here read the books? If they're any good, I'd like to give them a try, but I know that having a good TV show vaguely based off of the novels doesn't imply the original novels are any good.
I am through episode 4 and sticking well to my 2 episodes a night maximum.
Episode 3&4 Spoilers
The political machinations no matter how outrageous continue to be the shows strongest point. I wish you could drag senators back to the chamber like that. Oh that would be so wonderful. Not a fan of the policy but I am a fan of getting shit done.
The next episode was great. The reveal and targeting of the asshole general brought a tear to my eye. The hacker side story sucks but whatever. The fight for the votes in the house was something. I enjoyed the new whip, she is pretty badass.
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I noticed it literally the moment before.
Creepy as fuck.
I also like that Frank stomped a hornet's nest to get Raymond stung.
I don't know what to say other than the first episode was worth an entire season alone.
Onto episode 2.
This is excellent.
Problem is Chinese foreign policy is kind of my thing.
Oh god, the Foreign Ministry is more of a show than anything else. Maybe they know this but in reality most stuff out of them is taken as half truths and hopes. The real power lies in the central comitee on this stuff and they are more subtle.
I am not enthused by that.
Don't get me started on the deep web stuff.
But I will take them as anything with Frank is amazing.
How do you mean?
They're soliloquies. It's Shakespeare.
I called it but I just got an automated response about no mailbox set up
I have to say that while I love the show for its writing, its characters etc, there's a bunch of things I really hate about it. It's the faux Machiavellianism that only works because every other character is an incompetent idiot. It's the abstraction of policy and issues to the degree that the only things that matter are the negotiations and manipulations that deal with policy, but not the effects of that policy. Because of that, we're made to root for Underwood's policies even if the show admits that they're awful and damage the lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. Furthermore the reduction of political issues to merely being the products of personal issues is petty and shallow as hell.
Personally my favorite character is Blythe (and this is at e4)
That was definitely a season premiere.
And yeah, the fourth wall crashing down at the end was awesome. Hadn't noticed, everything that episode was so intense, then bam.
So good.
I don't see this as a flaw, personally.
Ep 4 spoilers
Any more than you're meant to root for Richard III or Macbeth.
Also having a hard time accepting that Liam McPoyle is the super leet hacker guy
I think that the show wants to be an indictment on Frank but it's too enamored of his competence. And if the show really wanted to show Frank as an anti-hero it wouldn't work by his logic, which is that any character with a set of beliefs is at the deepest core just a naive version of someone with an almost sociopathic drive for power.
House of Cards has a definite Richard III feel to it.
Some thoughts on Zoe's character
The death of
I don't really intend to while the current series is ongoing. I'm definitely interested but everything's an unknown for me right now and I'd rather keep it that way.
I doubt they'll follow series two and three of the UK show, they weren't great.
Weirdly I thought season one ended showing him to be not as competent as he thought, he basically got real lucky and was able to take the advantage after getting out maneuvered by Tusk.
He's back on form now though and it'll be interesting seeing where that battle goes.
Was good
Would watch again
...
Probably right now actually.
Enjoying the hell out of this season so far.
I remember watching Colbert a short while ago, seeing him running around trying to steal his Emmy, and thinking to myself "that Spacey fella sure seems like a great guy!". I'm now having a real hard time reconciling that feeling with what I'm seeing.
Episode 3&4 Spoilers
The next episode was great. The reveal and targeting of the asshole general brought a tear to my eye. The hacker side story sucks but whatever. The fight for the votes in the house was something. I enjoyed the new whip, she is pretty badass.