[House of Cards] We don't submit to terror.

override367

Well sometimes when he got angry he had some gravitas in his tone if not his words

Maybe he makes really good campaign speeches

stevemarks44

I bet a lot of people right now are saying:

Man we really should've just made him secretary of state

Diplominator

Greeper wrote: »

Bush is president until 2008

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.

So It Goes

Finished dis

Team Claire forever

At least she cries about the atrocities she commits

stevemarks44

So It Goes wrote: »

Finished dis

Team Claire forever

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.

Favlaud

stevemarks44 wrote: »

So It Goes wrote: »

Finished dis

Team Claire forever

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.

N1tSt4lker

Just finished episode 9.

God dammit. I'm so broken up about Freddy. That was so unnecessarily petty and underhanded of Tusk.

HappylilElf

N1tSt4lker wrote: »

Just finished episode 9.

God dammit. I'm so broken up about Freddy. That was so unnecessarily petty and underhanded of Tusk.

My reaction, just substitute a name

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UceGF3M56bE

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Quid

I honesty don't find him any less believable than Dubya.

nexuscrawler

Season ending spoilers

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?

So It Goes

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Season ending spoilers

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?

whoever was left is gonna need to pardon him

Bubby

So It Goes wrote: »

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Season ending spoilers

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?

whoever was left is gonna need to pardon him

Yup. Curious to see how his plot plays out in S3.

nexuscrawler

I'm glad s at least gave frank a decent rival. S1 he just steamrolled everyone within a single ep

Vic_Hazard

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.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

override367

I don't think Frank planned to

murder anyone

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

Vic_Hazard

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.

N1tSt4lker

Just finished this. Wow.

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.

And that closing scene--just visceral. Perfect.

Tube

You can't adapt house of cards without murder. It's central to the premise.

Waffles or whatever

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.

nexuscrawler

Bubby wrote: »

So It Goes wrote: »

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Season ending spoilers

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?

whoever was left is gonna need to pardon him

Yup. Curious to see how his plot plays out in S3.

I bet frank lets him rot

Vic_Hazard

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.

Dritz

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

nexuscrawler

Dritz wrote: »

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

Nibble

Vic_Hazard wrote: »

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?

override367 wrote: »

I don't think Frank planned to

murder anyone

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.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

override367

server security

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

Professor Phobos

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.

Which is like, 99% of what a President does.

dlinfiniti

I wonder how the show writers are gonna

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

So It Goes

Meechum

gets steamrolled

He has something that he can hurt them with

Though they deal with it fairly well they aren't immune to scandal

Tube

Spoilers for the character Meechum appears to be based on (ending spoiler for UK house of cards)

In the original show he becomes FU's hitman and is the person that eventually kills him

permapensive

dlinfiniti wrote: »

I wonder how the show writers are gonna

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

Quid

dlinfiniti wrote: »

I wonder how the show writers are gonna

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

Um, Rachel?

Diorinix

AresProphet wrote: »

dlinfiniti wrote: »

I wonder how the show writers are gonna

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.

Silas Brown

Regarding Meechum

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.

ArbitraryDescriptor

Diorinix wrote: »

AresProphet wrote: »

dlinfiniti wrote: »

I wonder how the show writers are gonna

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.

dlinfiniti

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

ArbitraryDescriptor

Silas Brown wrote: »

Regarding Meechum

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.

Taeko

This post has been removed.