“Chapter 38” was all about ambition. As House of Cards has shown in the past, that’s the stuff that can get you killed either literally (Zoe Barnes getting pushed in front of a train) or figuratively (Ayla Sayyed being exiled from the White House, Garret Walker being impeached). Sometimes, HoC wants us to know, you really can’t fight city hall, especially when the mayor is Frank Underwood.
For example: Seth Grayson wants to be Frank’s new Chief of Staff in the wake of Remy’s departure. Now we know this isn’t going to happen, and when Seth hands Frank his strategy for the campaign, something in his face tells us that he knows too. Thomas Yates, too, gets swept up and churned out. Frank doesn’t like the direction the book is taking, so he scuttles the project; when Yates says he’s not going to stop writing it, Frank threatens him with exposing the truth about Scorpio‘s authorship. Yates goes to Kate Baldwin for support, but finds precious little.
The most surprising turn is that of Heather Dunbar, who sees how well Claire plays in Iowa. She calls Doug and asks for the journal certifying Claire’s abortion. But she still sees herself as above the fray, so she gives Frank three days to resign or else she’ll go public. Frank circles her like a junkyard dog, which leads to this exchange:
FRANK: Now you’re one of us.
DUNBAR: One of who?
FRANK: The men, in our smoky back rooms.
Dunbar is undeterred, and Frank knows he has to crush her now. Near the end of the episode, he remarks to Claire, “Can you imagine what people would think if we started telling them the truth?” (Yet another Big Brother sentiment.) I guess that’s what we’re here for, because after Dunbar leaves Frank turns to us and says “She can go after me all she wants, but if she goes after Claire I’ll slit her fucking throat in public.”
Luckily, Doug Stamper of Washington, D.C. proves his quality, and shows up to the White House with the journal. He burns the offending page, then reveals that Dunbar offered him two million dollars for it. Then Frank calls Dunbar and tells her to fuck herself. Which isn’t very presidential, but it sure looked cathartic. She’s probably reconsidering that Supreme Court nomination at this point.
“Chapter 38” was, by and large, a good episode. It moved the story along at a nice clip, and gave us some intriguing, well-acted scenes, like the one with Claire and the Iowan mother named Susie. But until the very end it never really got below surface level (Jackie and Remy’s lingering feelings for each other isn’t exactly a revelation). As I’ve said before, Yates was really good at getting the Underwoods to open up – to him, but not to each other, which is what they begin to do at the end of “38” before director Robin Wright cuts to black. It’s a good, swift ending, and makes me wonder how they’re going to wrap things up.
A Few Thoughts
-
Doug is hunting Gavin, who’s been tracked to Venezuela. I hope he fires that prick Green
-
I found myself thinking how cool a companion series to House of Cards would be, starring Kate Baldwin. Maybe see the other side of this story. I’d watch the hell out of that
About Author
