WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED SEASONS 1 AND 2 OF “HOUSE OF CARDS” YET. THE TEXT HAS A FEW SPOILERS OF SEASON 3.
After waiting for one year, season 3 finally arrived and I was wondering: how will they follow the great season two finale? What will Frank Underwood’s new plan be, since he already achieved his main goal? How will they create that feeling of “No! What will happen next?” that kept everyone watching episodes back-to-back and finishing the entire season in a matter of days? The short answer to all of these questions is: they didn’t.
Yes, I’m sorry to inform you that season 3 of House of Cards is boring. Really boring. The kind of boring that makes you leave the episode running and start looking at your phone or do something else while hearing the never-ending discussions about Russia, the Middle East and America Works, the new program Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) wants to implement that will create 10 million jobs.
The truth is that I felt like I was watching a different show than the one I saw for the past two years. Yes, the characters are there but they are not the same, especially Frank Underwood. It’s true he has a few moments that resemble his personality from the past seasons (at his dad’s grave, at the church, etc.), but they are only that: moments. Claire (Robin Wright) is also a mess in this season, but I think her storyline was more interesting than her husband’s. She finally starts to question her marriage and the role she plays in it.
And don’t even get me started on Doug’s (Michael Kelly) storyline. That was the one that annoyed me the most. The writers dedicated 25 minutes (!!!!) of the first episode just to show his full recovery and to properly bring him back from the dead, since everybody thought he had died in season 2. I didn’t count his screen time on the other episodes, but it felt like he had as much time on screen as Frank and Claire.
Another problem of this season, in my opinion, is that I felt like the writers were creating story arcs and that it would all make sense in the season finale. For example, the journalist from the Telegraph. What is her role in the show, after all? I thought she would make a big revelation or find out the crimes Frank Underwood had committed previously, but no. She has no role. Neither does Thomas Yates (Paul Sparks), the writer the president hires to write a book about American Works and its advantages for the U.S. Again, nothing happens. Just a few awkward moments. Another example is the Rachel storyline. She was a loose end from last season and Doug had to find her. I thought something exciting was going to happen but, again, I was wrong.
And what about the characters from season 2 that completely disappeared? What happened to the journalist that went to jail?
The season finale also ends in a weird cliffhanger, but the producer of the show isn’t even sure there is going to be a season 4. My only hope is that they do another season to fix this one.
At some point in the season, Frank Underwood shouts “you are entitled to nothing”. Yeah, apparently we are not even entitled to have fun watching this show anymore.
