Jackson Ball reviews the tenth episode of House of Cards season 2…
So far, much of this season has involved several independent story arcs running parallel to each other, thinly connected through Frank (Kevin Spacey) and Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) and their ultimate quest for power. Over the past couple of episodes though, those parallel storylines have begun to veer, heading slowly for one and other, and with Episode 10, they finally collide.
Spoilers ahead – you have been warned!
While the plot churned along nicely, Episode 10 had a message and theme all its own: vices. It’s no secret that the writers have saturated the House of Cards characters with vices and weaknesses (Peter Russo from season 1 immediately springs to mind). However, in this episode we see how their ‘vices’ affect them to the point that they act out of character.
First there’s the previously unshakeable Remy (Mahershala Ali), who now looks considerably more ‘shakeable’ now that his relationship with Jackie (Holly Parker) has blossomed into something much more substantial than he had originally planned. It’s an interesting turn of events as, for me, Remy has always stood way ahead in the ‘emotionless drone’ charts. Giving the character something resembling feelings has really opened him up and engaged me much more as a viewer.
Speaking of unprecedented displays of anguish, the most fascinating turn-against-character came from Spacey’s VP, Frank Underwood. The show’s lead character has often given us glimpses of the human behind the politician, leading to some of the show’s most memorable moments, but angst is certainly one emotion that we’d yet to see from him.
For the first time, we the audience start to believe that not everything is going according to Frank’s master plan, and that notion cranks up the overall tension (and excitement) considerably. It doesn’t hurt either that Spacey once again delivers the goods for his character, adding some wonderful nuances to his performance to enhance the feeling that Frank is a heartbeat away from coming off the rails entirely.
It may be signalling that the end of the season is nigh, but Episode 10 promising us that there’s still plenty of twists and turns in store for us before then.
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