Tonally, “Chapter 34” was all over the place; it was rushed and unfocused in some places; and it had two distinct framing devices which it was never sure when to use. But I can’t be that mad at it, because ultimately it played like a love letter from House of Cards to the art and act of writing, so naturally as a douchebag blogger/short story writer it was going to appeal to me. It was also nice to see Frank suffer a setback, but not let it get the best of him like it did in “Chapter 28.”
The framing device I spoke of was the two very different pieces being written by Kate Baldwin and Thomas Yates. Baldwin’s is a hatchet job that’s more speculative than factual, while the prologue to Yates’ America Works book reads like a literary rendition of Aaron Copeland. Both have their charms, but more importantly, Kim Dickens and Paul Sparks play their characters like actual writers, not just characters who write (credit is also due to Bill Kennedy, who wrote the episode). Once again, House of Cards wears its heart on its sleeve, as Frank turns to us at the end of “Chapter 34” and says “Imagination is its own form of courage.” (That’s the other framing device – Frank breaking the fourth wall – which he’s doing increasingly less of.)
So there’s a hurricane bearing down on the East Coast, and everything is going to shit. Frank gets presented with a bill that will divert $10 billion to FEMA for disaster relief, but it will effectively kill AmWorks in the process. It’s easy to see the bind that this puts Frank in, but it’s nice to see him ultimately do the right thing for once. He signs the bill, and then, because HoC likes shitting on Frank, the hurricane turns. AmWorks is dead for no reason. Of course, Frank tries to spin this to his benefit, saying that he’ll announce his candidacy on the proven strength of AmWorks – 40,000 new workers can’t be wrong. I get why people are upset about the program – Frank siphoned money from FEMA, and cut entitlements to fund it – but how long can you stick to your guns? People used to be unemployed, now they’re employed. It’s not fucking rocket science.
It’s funny that the major controversy of Frank’s presidency is such an altruistically-minded piece of legislation, because as Kate’s Telegraph piece points out, dude is getting more tyrannical by the day. He even admits to discouraging dissent, and his cabinet is clearly terrified of him, as none are willing to admit to thinking he should sign the bill. And that’s kind of the problem with House of Cards at the moment – who are we supposed to be rooting for? The Underwoods have long since stopped being likable, and even characters like Meechum are becoming dicks. I like Thomas Yates, but let’s not pretend he’s going to be around forever. Oh! Dunbar. I like Heather Dunbar. So HoC has that going for it.
And look, it’s not like I’m incapable of or opposed to watching something where I don’t like the main character – There Will Be Blood is a masterpiece, and its main character Daniel Plainview is a fucking monster. But if House of Cards isn’t going to use these unlikable characters to illustrate a larger point or theme, then I’m not sure what the purpose is of making everyone so unsympathetic.
A Few Thoughts
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So, Mendoza’s not in Congress anymore – did that seem really sudden to anyone else? Like, did the actor have a schedule conflict or something?
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It turns out Doug isn’t as on the level with Dunbar as he pretends to be (shocker!). He tells Seth to tell Frank about her meeting with Jackie, but that fucking weasel Seth tells Remy he heard it from Jackie’s communications director
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Always nice to see Reg E. Cathey back as Freddie. He brings out a more human side of Frank
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