“Chapter 31” was an enjoyable episode of House of Cards because it saw Frank Underwood firmly in “fuck you” mode, which is where he’s most successful. He – and Claire – was burning bridges and ruffling feathers left and right, and this kind of chicanery is definitely his comfort zone. Frank talks a lot about what kind of legacy he’ll leave, but I think he’s established himself as the most DGAF president in American history.
Part one of Frank’s scorched-Earth plan was actually pretty ingenious. With the cooperation of Barney Hull, Washington D.C.’ s mayor, he has a State of Emergency declared in D.C. and siphons three billion dollars from FEMA to roll out America Works, his thinking being that once the program proves successful, not only will he have the grounds to run in 2016, but he’ll also be able to shut up dissenters in Congress, namely Hector Mendoza and Bob Birch.
Part two is borderline fascistic, as he hires a novelist named Thomas Yates (Boardwalk Empire‘s Paul Sparks) to write a novel all about the success of America Works. This is, as Yates points out, propaganda. (Frank’s muffled, omnipresent voice booming out of loudspeakers as he delivers his Fourth of July speech only adds to “Chapter 31″‘s portrayal of the president as Big Brother.)
There’s a perverse pleasure to be had in watching the president so ruthlessly screw over anyone who gets in his way, even though he now faces some opposition from a dogged reporter named Kate Baldwin (Gone Girl‘s Kim Dickens), who’s into some Watergate shit with FEMA administrator Arnold Silva acting as Deep Throat. It’s time to admit that House of Cards has abandoned its identity as any trenchant form of satire or criticism, and is establishing itself – quickly and decisively – as slick, glossy pulp. Which is not to say that its not a smart show at times; it still is, and its critique/defense of drone warfare from a few episodes back is a particularly good example.
Doug shows an even more sinister side when he meets with Heather Dunbar, which is surprising if only because I didn’t know Doug could get more sinister. It turns out he’s kept the doctor’s journal procured by Seth Grayson last season, the one confirming that Claire did indeed have an abortion. Dunbar is aghast, but hires Doug anyway, so I guess we can consider that ledger to be Chekhov’s Abortion Journal.
And it looks like we’ll finally, thankfully, be getting some closure on this whole Jordan Valley resolution. In my opinion it’s taken up an inordinate amount of screentime, especially since it’s never really been laid out why it’s so damned important. Frank commits 5,000 troops, effectively forcing negotiations to reopen between Claire and the Russian Ambassador Alexei (it also means a visit to Russia, which hopefully means more of Lars Mikkelsen as Viktor Petrov). Claire breaks the news to Alexei, while using her typical combination of charm and threats; she invites Alexei into the women’s restroom so he can tell her how her makeup looks, then goes into a stall and literally pisses all over what he’s saying.
It’s episodes like this that are House of Cards at its most House of Cards-y. There have been smarter, better episodes (I will continue to beat the drum for “Chapter 29”), but it’s tough to find a more representative one.
A Few Thoughts
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Claire also negotiates the release of gay rights activist Michael Corrigan, whose husband Joe Pasternak is currently on the road stumping for Dunbar. That is going to be an awkward conversation between the two of them, but the Underwoods are at a deficit of fucks
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More patented Underwood chicanery: Frank convinces Jackie Sharp to get married so she can announce her candidacy, for the sole reason of sapping women’s votes from Dunbar, at which point she will withdraw and accept the nomination for VP
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