Unnamed republican (I assume?) from 2008-2012 (44th president)
Walker in 2012.
Maybe? Does that make sense?
I guess so. Somehow I had discarded that possibility as impossible or at least implausible. Maybe it was the idea of McCain winning in '08. Or the presence of the Tea Party.
I can't remember. I guess that's technically possible though.
At least she cries about the atrocities she commits
This was probably the most interesting scene in the whole season to me. It made me realize that the unrelenting evil stampede of the Underwoods is partially out of their control.
For ONE moment Claire allowed herself to feel the real emotional gravity of all of her Machiavellian deceptions, and she was literally debilitated by grief and guilt. She has no other recourse than to immediately compose herself, turn off her heart and go back to her machinations. In order for her to be a functional human being she can't allow herself to be a decent human being.
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Favlaudjust straight up awfulRegistered Userregular
At least she cries about the atrocities she commits
This was probably the most interesting scene in the whole season to me. It made me realize that the unrelenting evil stampede of the Underwoods is partially out of their control.
For ONE moment Claire allowed herself to feel the real emotional gravity of all of her Machiavellian deceptions, and she was literally debilitated by grief and guilt. She has no other recourse than to immediately compose herself, turn off her heart and go back to her machinations. In order for her to be a functional human being she can't allow herself to be a decent human being.
I also saw it as just being unable to contain the emotional roller-coaster she'd been through that day. From being told she was the greatest monster ever created who ruined a person's life and dreams, to being told 'You're a good person and we respect you' has to take a toll on your mental state, no matter how calculating you are. I wasn't surprised at all when she had a sob on the stairs, and it humanized her while also setting up how reflexive it is for her to turn that part of her off when necessary.
One thing that made no sense to me was presenting Tusk as having to pick who to ruin. By the time he said fuck it i'm going to trial why didn't he just throw both Frank and the president under the bus?
One thing that made no sense to me was presenting Tusk as having to pick who to ruin. By the time he said fuck it i'm going to trial why didn't he just throw both Frank and the president under the bus?
One thing that made no sense to me was presenting Tusk as having to pick who to ruin. By the time he said fuck it i'm going to trial why didn't he just throw both Frank and the president under the bus?
I really hope this series doesn't end up giving everyone the catharsis they want with either just making Underwood accountable for all his crimes and the good people rewarded, or showing Underwoods 'true side' as some broken pathetic man. For me this series was never a story about good or bad, and the whole thing would just become a trite version of a story we've heard so many times if it turns out everyone gets what they deserve and the system works. If not about the personal relationships this series is about the system of power. Frank excels in this (the movies) world. It's ruthlessness, will and intelligence that wins, not goodness. Power is everything (similar to GoT) and lobbyists are the mercenaries fighting the war. I'm not saying the series has to end with Frank Underwood world president, but if it ends the standard greek tragedy of hubris I'll just roll my eyes and go watch superman or something instead, similar to how I will roll my eyes if GoT gets a fairytale ending.
It would be a really shitty feel good story anyway.
the murders are a really stupid part of this show. They're a totally unnecessary thing to have Frank do, which in both cases he had no real reason to need to do. Absent those, he goes from evil dude to just a regular high functioning sociopath in a high office, causing the usual damage those types of people do (making everyone unhappy).
The reason he can murder is the same he can do everything else that he does. While murder is the ultimate betrayal just about everything else he does to win is also atrocious. It's a game about wits and ruthlessness, you will always win against an opponent that pulls their punches.
Personal murder is just ahead of the curve. (Don't for one second think that lobbyists/magnates/politicians haven't killed lots of people for money and power)
Zoey's murder was thoroughly planned, it was just plan B in case she couldn't be confidently converted to his team.
Also while I don't strictly dislike Doug's story it the ending was obvious from miles away. Doug was an idiot. He made an enemy and just kept painting a target on his own head. Contrast to Claire/Underwood that avoids antagonizing if possible, and if they attack they go for the throat immediately. While a stalker and abuser he barely ever made any attempt to become anything other than her enemy.
Frank's manipulation of Tusk and Walker was quite the dance. The whole impeachment finagling was ballsy and brilliant particularly since it left Walker trusting Frank even more than he ever has before. Just a stunningly effective maneuver. The way Frank takes and plays whatever hand he's been deal is just fascinating.
You can't adapt house of cards without murder. It's central to the premise.
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
edited February 2014
Finished it yesterday as well. My what the heck moments were...
Both three somes this season. The first one with Feng was just a wut to me, but the one with the Underwoods and Meechum. What the fuck!? That creeped me out bros.
Also, was Doug dead at the end? I couldn't quite tell.
I also get the feeling Season 3 is going to be the Anon hacker tracking down and exposing Frank, which I'd be okay with.
One thing that made no sense to me was presenting Tusk as having to pick who to ruin. By the time he said fuck it i'm going to trial why didn't he just throw both Frank and the president under the bus?
I really didn't like the hacker at all. I didn't like the story very much but it might just also be that it's impossible not to roll your eyes when a tv show attempts to do this super haxxor dude. I mean, he seriously made a 3d animation play when he talked? Why? In hacker circles that has to be ultimate ham sarcasm right? Hello I'm literally the antagonist from saw! Do my bidding my minion and write your credit card information in the box below or my hacker ghosts will haunt your mother oooOOOOooooOOoooo.
Re: All the hacking stuff, maybe I am just paranoid but
I was under the impression that hacking phones was not as hard as the show made it out to be
Well there's hacking phones and there's hacking phones. The shit the British tabloids did? They just spoofed numbers and tricked the voicemail systems which is stupid easy. The stuff on this show is
I really didn't like the hacker at all. I didn't like the story very much but it might just also be that it's impossible not to roll your eyes when a tv show attempts to do this super haxxor dude. I mean, he seriously made a 3d animation play when he talked? Why? In hacker circles that has to be ultimate ham sarcasm right? Hello I'm literally the antagonist from saw! Do my bidding my minion and write your credit card information in the box below or my hacker ghosts will haunt your mother oooOOOOooooOOoooo.
The whole point was to convince this technically-inept guy that he was dealing with the ultimate hacker like those guys in the movies. I'd say it accomplished its goal pretty well, wouldn't you?
in both cases an opportunity presented itself where there was absolutely no way anyone would have any evidence, and he has no morals whatsoever
Yeah modern politicians committing murder is unheard of, which is part of the narrative! It's the reason nobody takes the reporters seriously
For the second one, I'm pretty sure that the whole talk about pigs at Freddy's beforehand was more than overshadowing -- it directly planted the idea in Frank's head.
Re: All the hacking stuff, maybe I am just paranoid but
I was under the impression that hacking phones was not as hard as the show made it out to be
Well there's hacking phones and there's hacking phones. The shit the British tabloids did? They just spoofed numbers and tricked the voicemail systems which is stupid easy. The stuff on this show is
compromising an entire data center
is much different
They didn't even spoof numbers. The voicemail system let you dial in to anyone's voicemail. Then you just had to guess the 4-digit pin - with unlimited retries.
I will say that
it's TV hacking, but at least the veneer of plausibility was a bit better then usual - i.e. the idea of getting a guy to stick a USB into a physical server in a data centre, and then going nuts from there, is actually pretty damn plausible to the extent that it's actually been done IRL on a ton of occasions. Plus there's this tool out there and I'll bet its actually not unreasonable that most data centre server USBs would be insufficiently secured.
I know our servers in the production data center could be compromised effortlessly with physical access
that's why they're in a datacenter with 2 security checkpoints, biometrics, and a locked cage (handprint, not retinal scanner but the show isn't joking that AT&T datacenters take security pretty seriously)
I don't know about a USB stick, but the general idea is sound
I think Walker was carrying the idiot ball sometimes, but only with respect to Frank. In other situations he seemed like a perfectly capable moderator of discussions who knew when to end things and come to a decision.
dirty Meachum up next season, no a weird threesome with the couple doesn't count
He's still unequivocally the purest person on the show which is notable since he has managed to maintain such proximity to the Underwoods and not get sucked into their vortex of shit. This has lasted for 2 seasons now and is unacceptable in the House of Cards universe.
The question is, does he get trampled next season a la Freddy or become another player of the game himself
dirty Meachum up next season, no a weird threesome with the couple doesn't count
He's still unequivocally the purest person on the show which is notable since he has managed to maintain such proximity to the Underwoods and not get sucked into their vortex of shit. This has lasted for 2 seasons now and is unacceptable in the House of Cards universe.
The question is, does he get trampled next season a la Freddy or become another player of the game himself
I find it absolutely remarkable that you would think this
and even more remarkable that I agree with you
the threesome thing did not feel perverse in any way. it felt like a natural extension of their relationship. partly because they laid the groundwork for it in season 1 wherein it is revealed that Frank has had some homosexual tendencies in the past, but mostly it's because the three of them together let down their barriers in the way none of them do around anyone else, even prior to the sex thing. it was a very strange thing to watch unfold, but it did not feel contrived
which is just an astonishing bit of storytelling, when you think about it
Meachum owes his career to Frank after the brick incident, and he has proven his loyalty in myriad ways since. I think Frank trusts him as much as he does anyone
dirty Meachum up next season, no a weird threesome with the couple doesn't count
He's still unequivocally the purest person on the show which is notable since he has managed to maintain such proximity to the Underwoods and not get sucked into their vortex of shit. This has lasted for 2 seasons now and is unacceptable in the House of Cards universe.
The question is, does he get trampled next season a la Freddy or become another player of the game himself
dirty Meachum up next season, no a weird threesome with the couple doesn't count
He's still unequivocally the purest person on the show which is notable since he has managed to maintain such proximity to the Underwoods and not get sucked into their vortex of shit. This has lasted for 2 seasons now and is unacceptable in the House of Cards universe.
The question is, does he get trampled next season a la Freddy or become another player of the game himself
I find it absolutely remarkable that you would think this
and even more remarkable that I agree with you
the threesome thing did not feel perverse in any way. it felt like a natural extension of their relationship. partly because they laid the groundwork for it in season 1 wherein it is revealed that Frank has had some homosexual tendencies in the past, but mostly it's because the three of them together let down their barriers in the way none of them do around anyone else, even prior to the sex thing. it was a very strange thing to watch unfold, but it did not feel contrived
which is just an astonishing bit of storytelling, when you think about it
Meachum owes his career to Frank after the brick incident, and he has proven his loyalty in myriad ways since. I think Frank trusts him as much as he does anyone
You catch the "not the news" scene that Meechum caught Frank watching? MMF threesome scene. I get the feeling that Mr. and Mrs. Underwood had been seeing this up for a while.
I have to assume they're playing him. There's an idea that the Underwoods are personally very comfortable with what they do sexually (knowing about eachothers affairs and such) and the only reason they keep it to themselves is because of course it's political suicide to come out as swingers. But so much focus has been put on their growing relationship with Meechum I can't believe the pay-off ends with a single brief sexual encounter.
They've commented before on his general usefulness, lumping in his ability to carry heavy objects and fix exercise equipment with his ability to take a bullet. Frank has shown an interest in keeping Meechum close by since the start. When Meechum give Frank a gift, despite Frank being a known hater of birthdays and gifts, Frank is uncharacteristically grateful for the personal gesture.
They're purposefully fostering a close relationship with this guy. They want him to feel loyal to the Underwoods in a way that goes beyond the scope of his job. This is illustrated multiple times when he steps in and goes between his boss in the secret service and Underwood.
If I had to guess, I'd say within the next season they'll probably have him straight up murder someone. Or take the fall for something the underwoods have done.
dirty Meachum up next season, no a weird threesome with the couple doesn't count
He's still unequivocally the purest person on the show which is notable since he has managed to maintain such proximity to the Underwoods and not get sucked into their vortex of shit. This has lasted for 2 seasons now and is unacceptable in the House of Cards universe.
The question is, does he get trampled next season a la Freddy or become another player of the game himself
I find it absolutely remarkable that you would think this
and even more remarkable that I agree with you
the threesome thing did not feel perverse in any way. it felt like a natural extension of their relationship. partly because they laid the groundwork for it in season 1 wherein it is revealed that Frank has had some homosexual tendencies in the past, but mostly it's because the three of them together let down their barriers in the way none of them do around anyone else, even prior to the sex thing. it was a very strange thing to watch unfold, but it did not feel contrived
which is just an astonishing bit of storytelling, when you think about it
Meachum owes his career to Frank after the brick incident, and he has proven his loyalty in myriad ways since. I think Frank trusts him as much as he does anyone
You catch the "not the news" scene that Meechum caught Frank watching? MMF threesome scene. I get the feeling that Mr. and Mrs. Underwood had been seeing this up for a while.
I like to think that what we saw was not necessarily the first time. It probably was, but I like the how interpreting that scene as a 'reveal' informs their inexplicable fondness for him.
if it goes to murder, it'd have to be gradual like his first kill would have to be pretty justified like defending frank or whatever, I'm thinking McPoyle comes at them directly or something
and then afterwards you can move onto the terrible things like killing Rachel or whatever
I have to assume they're playing him. There's an idea that the Underwoods are personally very comfortable with what they do sexually (knowing about eachothers affairs and such) and the only reason they keep it to themselves is because of course it's political suicide to come out as swingers. But so much focus has been put on their growing relationship with Meechum I can't believe the pay-off ends with a single brief sexual encounter.
They've commented before on his general usefulness, lumping in his ability to carry heavy objects and fix exercise equipment with his ability to take a bullet. Frank has shown an interest in keeping Meechum close by since the start. When Meechum give Frank a gift, despite Frank being a known hater of birthdays and gifts, Frank is uncharacteristically grateful for the personal gesture.
They're purposefully fostering a close relationship with this guy. They want him to feel loyal to the Underwoods in a way that goes beyond the scope of his job. This is illustrated multiple times when he steps in and goes between his boss in the secret service and Underwood.
If I had to guess, I'd say within the next season they'll probably have him straight up murder someone. Or take the fall for something the underwoods have done.
I don't think they're 'playing' hIm in the sense that they already have a goal in mind. I think it's been more about cultivating him as an asset who might come in handy later. It's a subtle distinction, but one I'm fond of because it implies that even if the Underwoods don't have an immediate use for you in mind, they're still setting you up for a rainy day.
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Maybe he makes really good campaign speeches
I guess so. Somehow I had discarded that possibility as impossible or at least implausible. Maybe it was the idea of McCain winning in '08. Or the presence of the Tea Party.
I can't remember. I guess that's technically possible though.
Team Claire forever
For ONE moment Claire allowed herself to feel the real emotional gravity of all of her Machiavellian deceptions, and she was literally debilitated by grief and guilt. She has no other recourse than to immediately compose herself, turn off her heart and go back to her machinations. In order for her to be a functional human being she can't allow herself to be a decent human being.
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My reaction, just substitute a name
Yup. Curious to see how his plot plays out in S3.
It would be a really shitty feel good story anyway.
in both cases an opportunity presented itself where there was absolutely no way anyone would have any evidence, and he has no morals whatsoever
Yeah modern politicians committing murder is unheard of, which is part of the narrative! It's the reason nobody takes the reporters seriously
Personal murder is just ahead of the curve. (Don't for one second think that lobbyists/magnates/politicians haven't killed lots of people for money and power)
Zoey's murder was thoroughly planned, it was just plan B in case she couldn't be confidently converted to his team.
Also while I don't strictly dislike Doug's story it the ending was obvious from miles away. Doug was an idiot. He made an enemy and just kept painting a target on his own head. Contrast to Claire/Underwood that avoids antagonizing if possible, and if they attack they go for the throat immediately. While a stalker and abuser he barely ever made any attempt to become anything other than her enemy.
And that closing scene--just visceral. Perfect.
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Also, was Doug dead at the end? I couldn't quite tell.
I also get the feeling Season 3 is going to be the Anon hacker tracking down and exposing Frank, which I'd be okay with.
Well there's hacking phones and there's hacking phones. The shit the British tabloids did? They just spoofed numbers and tricked the voicemail systems which is stupid easy. The stuff on this show is
For the second one, I'm pretty sure that the whole talk about pigs at Freddy's beforehand was more than overshadowing -- it directly planted the idea in Frank's head.
They didn't even spoof numbers. The voicemail system let you dial in to anyone's voicemail. Then you just had to guess the 4-digit pin - with unlimited retries.
I will say that
that's why they're in a datacenter with 2 security checkpoints, biometrics, and a locked cage (handprint, not retinal scanner but the show isn't joking that AT&T datacenters take security pretty seriously)
I don't know about a USB stick, but the general idea is sound
Which is like, 99% of what a President does.
He's still unequivocally the purest person on the show which is notable since he has managed to maintain such proximity to the Underwoods and not get sucked into their vortex of shit. This has lasted for 2 seasons now and is unacceptable in the House of Cards universe.
The question is, does he get trampled next season a la Freddy or become another player of the game himself
He has something that he can hurt them with
Though they deal with it fairly well they aren't immune to scandal
I find it absolutely remarkable that you would think this
and even more remarkable that I agree with you
which is just an astonishing bit of storytelling, when you think about it
Meachum owes his career to Frank after the brick incident, and he has proven his loyalty in myriad ways since. I think Frank trusts him as much as he does anyone
Um, Rachel?
Mmmmm....toasty.
They've commented before on his general usefulness, lumping in his ability to carry heavy objects and fix exercise equipment with his ability to take a bullet. Frank has shown an interest in keeping Meechum close by since the start. When Meechum give Frank a gift, despite Frank being a known hater of birthdays and gifts, Frank is uncharacteristically grateful for the personal gesture.
They're purposefully fostering a close relationship with this guy. They want him to feel loyal to the Underwoods in a way that goes beyond the scope of his job. This is illustrated multiple times when he steps in and goes between his boss in the secret service and Underwood.
If I had to guess, I'd say within the next season they'll probably have him straight up murder someone. Or take the fall for something the underwoods have done.
and then afterwards you can move onto the terrible things like killing Rachel or whatever