I think even a Rand Paul would refrain from saying such a toxic line. Anyone that had national aspirations would not make basically every Social Security recipient fear for the entirety of their benefits - slashing Social Security would be hard enough to push through. But making people think that he may take the whole thing (the implication of “You are entitled to nothing” is somewhat scary) would destroy him. He’d be lucky to get 10% in the Democratic Primary.
That’s the other issue though… there is NO ONE else that would want to run in the Dem Primary. Really?
Or something like… “We have all these entitlements that are costing us a fortune. But you know what you should be entitled to? A job”. Or similar… or something…
I just finished that episode and I feel exactly the same way. Claire’s behavior in Russia was so un-Underwood-like that I just can’t buy it. I don’t know what happens from here, but I can’t believe Frank would consider grooming her for a position of even more power.
Well, she was knowledgeable of and complicit in the whole Peter Russo plot from season one. Also, right or wrong she thinks Doug was trying to kill her at the end of season two. If she talks about either of those things it would be damaging to Underwood.
I remember she was hired to get Peter Russo all hammered up and make him miss an important interview, but I couldn’t remember if there was something else she knew that could be so damaging to Underwood that she had to die because of it.
PS: I was so sad when Stamper turned the van around. I really wanted a happy ending for Rachel. Did you guys notice that she went by the name “Lisa” at the boarding house?
I think that her testimony brings down the whole “House of Cards.” She was Russo’s “escort” when he got pulled over for DUI that Stamper made disappear. She was also hired by Stamper to get Russo drunk (after a period of sobriety) so that he blew the Governor’s race, leading the then VP to run for Governor, opening the VP slot for Frank.
Then the media would start investigating the whole Tusk thing and how Frank was involved in getting the President to resign. The former Pres would probably then realize how he had been played.
I think that Rachel’s story would put everyone on the right path that would have exposed every bit of Frank’s treachery.
So, she “had to die” as the bad guys say in TV shows and movies. The problem I had with this season was that it made the whole treatment of her last season pointless. Instead of the whole subplot last year with Stamper paying her off and keeping her hidden could have been solved with a bullet to the head.
But this year, with the same circumstances, after having been on the run and showing no inclination to talk, they decide to kill her. And they don’t hire the goon squad, they send the fucking Chief of Staff to the President of the United States to do it personally! Imagine Leon Panetta hiding in a rural New Mexico town and driving around in a panel van with ether and a shovel. It’s that absurd.
So I haven’t finished the season. I’m on episode 8 or maybe 9. But this season is really feeling more and more like The West Wing. The later season West Wings where Aaron Sorkin was off the show and it was good but…just lost a little bit of what made it magical.
Frank Underwood spent an entire night in season 1 episode 1 planning every move on how to get to Vice President. Along the way he killed framed then killed a Representative. Oh and he also killed a dog, pushed a girl in front of a subway train, and overthrew a sitting President.
So watching another season of The West Wing isn’t bad. But it’s not House of Cards.
I thought season one was five stars (assuming Netflix rating scale 1-5 since that’s where we all watch it).
Season two was at best a three for me. It was completely over the top and less interesting.
Season three was probably around a 3.5 even though Netflix doesn’t allow halves. It was fairly slow, perhaps scaling back a little too far on the outlandish behavior. It also seems to be going nowhere since they already got exactly what they wanted with the Presidency. Sure, he wants to actually get it with an election, but I’m just not feeling it.
All the seasons are not true enough to real politics for me, but that’s not really why I watch so I let it slide.
Honestly, it would have been a better show if it had ended after one season. It’s still entertaining and interesting at times, but it started much stronger.
Most hilarious moment of the season? The Jesus statue.
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I nominate that scene as the moment HoC jumped the shark. It was so bad, “spitting on the crucifix” could replace “jumped the shark” in the lexicon.
(Also: it’s really difficult to have a single thread for a binge-watchable series. I’m posting on the episode I just saw, which may be 10 episodes behind everyone else.)
It was so bad, because it was absolutely ridiculously unnecessary and implausible. Why would Frank schlep down to a church, to have a discussion on theology, about a religion he doesn’t respect, with a bishop he doesn’t respect? Why would he spit on a symbol that never held any meaning to him?
I get it: he was wobbling in his evil, and was now resolved to be strong. They could have done that during his phone call with Claire: a simple, chilling “Never again.” Because we get it: Frank is Eeeeevil.
How many people could name the current WH chief of staff, or pick him out of a lineup? I’ll grant you that the whole Rachel/Stamper plot arc was over-the-top, but I didn’t think it was implausible that Stamper could go unrecognized in an impoverished desert town in the middle of nowhere.
All it takes is one political buff with a cell phone camera.
Plus, if while he is kidnapping Rachel, a concerned citizen calls 911 and Stamper is arrested, it all falls back on the President. Plus he is an old, skinny, recovering alcoholic, recently injured man. As ruthless as Frank is, you would have thought that Stamper would have been watched 24/7 during his recovery, and when he was able, placed on some menial task in the White House where he could be watched.
The fact that he was ever able to talk to the opposing candidate is very un-Frank.
To defend the show just a little, note that Doug said he wasn’t getting announced as Chief of Staff until after the President’s campaign trip. This was almost certainly so nobody would notice Doug on his trip since we see afterward that Frank knew why he went on the trip. Frank asks Doug something like, “How’d it go?” then says something like, “No, don’t tell me. Better if I don’t know.”
Just finished watching the final episode of season 3. I actually thought this season was better than season 2. Season 2 was resplendent with simply two many over-the-top improbabilities for my tastes.
I liked Doug’s recovery arc, the Puti…I mean Petrov arc, the writer’s arc, and Sharpe and Remy’s arc. The Dunbar arc was a waste of time in my view.
Claire and Francis are damaged beyond belief and no good will come for them in the end.
I don’t think Stamper had been announced as CoS yet, had he?
This season was ok for me, but I hate the way they wrote Claire. She was a bumbling idiot. Seriously, every idea she had and every piece of advice she gave Frank turned out to be the worst possible move. Her whole character was 180 degrees different from seasons 1 and 2 where she appeared brilliant, ruthless and motivated. Now she’s soft and dull.