House of Cards, Season 2

[UltraVires]

@The_Other_Waldo_Pepper

I don’t think it’d be super useful; didn’t Frank carefully specify that he’d be willing to take the fall even though he didn’t actually do the stuff in question?

There were two letters. One where Frank explained that he would take the fall even though he didn’t do it, and a second letter where he takes the falls.

But like I said upthread, I’m sure that the second letter was a ticking time bomb in Walker’s hand, ready for another Frank Underwood trick if the Prez actually used it.

[What_the]

@QuickSilver

I’m guessing being a vet with combat experience, she felt that civilian meddling in the military’s judicial processes would diminish the military. Once a jar-head, always a jar-head, I suppose.

Civilian control of the military sounds great… until you stop to realize that the civilians controlling are politicians. I guess the alternative is worse but still…

As involved as Stamper was I just didn’t get much from the story lines in which he was a big part. I got even less out of the hacker guy. FU dominates in my small mind. The hacker guy knowing about Rachel is sure to be a big part of season three (as mentioned up thread) though.

[MaxTheVool]

We just watched this on DVD, and I gotta say, I thought it was a letdown after season 1. In particular, it was just crazily disjointed. Lots of stuff was just kind of tossed out there. Frank is kinda visited by his ancestor’s ghost! Feng is into auto-erotic asphyxiation! Hey, remember the whole plotline from season 1 with Peter Russo and all the journalists? Yeah, we’re abandoning it as quickly as we can. There’s a completely unrealistic hacker blackmailed in a completely unrealistic way!

Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are still fantastic, and the show is definitely watchable, but I wish it had a more consistent and well-planned set of storylines.

[Bryan_Ekers]

My suspension of disbelief collapsed when the Secretary of State flipped sides from Walker to Underwood. I still like the show because I like Kevin Spacey, but it’s probably about as realistic a portrayal of Washington politics as Oz was a realistic portrayal of the penal system.

By the way, Cracked.com’s take on the series is just fucking hysterical.

[SaharaTea]

@Andiethewestie

I think it shows just how debauched Washington can be. Not only that, the fact that we never see Frank and Claire having sex together, Claire not being upset, but being amused that Frank was viewing porn, and in season one Claire goes to her former lover to re-kindle their relations while signs that Frank had a relationship with his buddy from school makes me think that although Frank and Claire are obviously in this like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, they seek sexual gratification elsewhere. Meecham who professes his love for both of them, giving Frank cufflinks and Claire approving looks and intimate conversation, is the perfect foil for them to engage in sexual activity without being totally vulnerable to each other. Frank and Claire know too much about each other. Meecham is the innocent so to speak, getting sucked into the Underwood’s underworld.

I don’t think Frank and Claire are seeking sexual gratification elsewhere because it’s missing in their marriage. We haven’t seen them having sex (just the two of them), but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. They obviously love each other deeply and have a very close intimacy, so their marriage is not just a business arrangement. They just have very loose rules regarding monogamy and are not jealous people.

[blindboyard]

The BBC version was better.