Jackson Ball reviews the seventh episode of House of Cards season 2…
Back in my review of the third episode of Season 2, I applauded the House of Cards for adding some much-needed depth to the character of President Garrett Walker (Michael Gill). After spending much of the first season as a one-dimensional puppet figure, it was good to see him finally getting fleshed out a bit. This character expansion is something, I’m pleased to report, that gets taken even further in Episode 7.
Spoilers Ahead – You have been warned!
The central narrative of this episode sees the relationship between Walker and Vice President Francis ‘Frank’ Underwood (Kevin Spacey) strengthen considerably, from political allies to something resembling friends. The pair engage in a spot of male bonding over such things as Civil War dioramas and fine art, all whilst we the audience learn a little more about what makes the president tick.
The real masterstroke of this character exploration is that it leaves us with a prominent and as yet unanswerable question: Is there more to President Walker than meets the eye?
For example, while I was enjoying the President’s transformation into an actual, multi-dimensional human being, the whole faux friendship between him and Frank was leaving a sour taste in my mouth, as it was clear that once again, the situation was so easily playing into the VP’s hands. Once again, the President had fallen for Frank’s seductive southern drawl hook, line and sinker. However, thanks to the writers’ cunning, combined with the consistently impressive performance of Gill, a series-shaking possibility suddenly occurred to me: What if the president already knows?!
Think about it; we’ve just taken it as a given that Walker is a helpless play-thing for Frank to manipulate, but what if the Commander-in-Chief has finally wised up to his games and is now simply playing along to gain the upper hand. Walker may have seemed a bit wet, but he’s obviously got some sort of intellectual and political acumen or else he’d have never made it to president. This would also be a much more satisfying explanation for the mind-boggling ease in which Frank has influenced him this season. It’s certainly an interesting possibility, and one which I expect will be either confirmed or dismissed in future episodes.
If the rest of this episode is anything to go by, it’s definitely prudent to assume that no relationship in House of Cards is as it seems. In the space of one episode, Seth (Derek Cecil) goes from being an informant for Remy (Mahershala Ali) posing as a new PR agent for Frank, to being a PR agent and informant for Frank, posing as an informant for Remy. Talk about jumping sides…
Jackson Ball – follow me on Twitter
Originally published February 21, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
