By: Justen Smith, Staff Writer
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES UP UNTIL THE POINT OF THIS EPISODE.
“House of Cards,” the politically centered Netflix original series, returns for its third season. Picking up roughly six months after the events of season two, the first episode of this season pulls no punches. From the opening scene where Frank Underwood, the now-President of the United States, urinates on his father’s grave perfectly illustrates the show’s contempt for those in power and human nature in general.
At this point, Frank has now been president for the last six months, and while his political puppeteering worked well when he was more behind the scenes, as president, his approval ratings are abysmal. He and his team wrestle with the idea that he will not win the 2016 election and that he may not be as omnipotent as he might like. Ironically, however, the episode does not focus much on Frank. There are segments that he is apart of, however, but the bulk of the episode focuses on Frank’s ex-Chief of Staff, Doug Stamper. The episode more or less centers around his physical recovery after being in a coma and suffering brain trauma.
This is a show based around quiet intensity. Anyone looking for an action thriller or something a bit faster paced might find “House of Cards,” and especially this episode, to be a bit slow, but personally, I think this is a fantastic return to a great series.
