Jackson Ball reviews the first episode of House of Cards season 2…
The long-awaited second season of House of Cards has finally been made available by Netflix, with the website spoiling us with all 13 episodes at once. Perfect for a bit of binge-viewing on these cold winter evenings, you might think, but after watching the first episode you may want to give yourself a little time to catch your breath first.
Huge Spoilers Ahead – You’ve Been Warned!
The season premiere appears to kick things off at the typical House of Cards pace: sinisterly slow. Wasting little time, the show picks up exactly where we left off last year. Francis “Frank” Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is on the cusp of becoming Vice President, with his marriage to ruthless philanthropist Claire (Robin Wright) back to full strength.
All of Frank’s hard work – and dark deeds – from the first series seemed to have paid off nicely as he begins to initiate the next phase of his ultimate quest for power. That is until his journalist-with-benefits Zoe (Kate Mara) and her associates begin snooping around where they shouldn’t be. Not one to discard a still useful tool, Frank initially tries to throw Zoe off the scent, but soon loses patience.
And then it happens.
During a covert rendezvous at a subway station, Frank storms off frustrated. As Zoe chases him around a darkened corner, he springs from the shadows before throwing her in front of an oncoming train. See what I meant about catching your breath?
The impact of this sudden jolt is unavoidable. It’s an explosive shock the likes of which the show has never seen, and one that stands a good chance of being unrivaled for the rest of 2014. It’s a ballsy move on the part of the writers, and a crafty one at that: chances are nobody will see Zoe’s murder coming, but given time to reflect on it you realise it was almost inevitable (Frank was always going to tie up loose ends, and she was the loosest of all). Mercifully though, the episode continues with an extended montage, so you’ll have time to gather yourself without missing anything important.
Zoe’s death will no doubt be your lasting memory of episode (and perhaps the season?) but there’s a lot more here to enjoy and, more importantly to excite you about the rest of the series. Spacey is still being let off the leash with devastating effect, but if this premiere is anything to go off, Season 2 promises a much juicer role for Wright. Claire is at her most uncompromising and nefarious (“I’ll let your baby wither and die…”) in this episode, confirming what we’ve long since expected: she’s as twisted as her husband.
Where the series goes from here is anyone’s guess: How will Zoe’s death impact Frank’s master-plan? Will her journalist chums pick up where she left off? Or will they be rightly terrified into silence? Will Frank be remorseful of his latest sin? Okay, so we probably know the answer to that last one…
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Originally published February 15, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
