Season 4 General Discussion

[Keekski]

I'm pretty sure we've had threads like this for previous seasons. General discussion about Season 4 in general. Expect spoilers if you haven't watched the entire season.

[Samsnee]

This season is much improved from season 3. Frank and Claire are back in the forefront. No lame sublots with Stamper, or Freddy. Those people are better as supporting characters. I just with Remy and Jackie would go away. The show comes to a halt whenever those two are on.

[alexvillage]

I agree. I am tired of Stamper. Really tired. He is creepy and trying to make him creepier does not work. I didn't like season 3 at all, and I thought I wouldn't watch season 4 but, for the first time, I actually binged, going through the whole season in three days. Before that it was one or two episodes a day.

 

Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright together were fantastic! The final scene was perfect.

 

And excuse my bragging: I called the Claire as VP candidate before the second season was over. Convinced she will go for POTUS before long. 

[PiggyRod]

I really enjoy this season more than season 3.  I binged watched in 2 days and when that final episode ended and Claire looked at the camera along with Fran I was at a lost.  I went back to check on my episode list, surely I was missing some, this could not possibly be it! What am I going to do now!?!?!

[JessePinkman]

This was FAR better than season 3 and here's why, for me anyway, no season long torture and murder of an innocent girl. That was just pure torture porn and I found it disgusting. I still don't like Doug, he's a fucking weirdo and not in an captivating, fascinating way like Claire and Frank. He's just gross. And he acts like an actual child when anyone other than him is close to Frank. I get that he's Frank's guard dog but need he foam at the mouth?

 

I love the addition of Neve Campbell, I didn't realize she was such a good actress. Of course she hasn't had a regular gig in a while but she was fantastic. 

 

One thing I will never understand about the narrative of this show, and they went on about it last season too, is that Claire's approval rating with the public is so high. It doesn't compute, because even when she's at an event or in a television appearance she comes across extremely cold even when smiling and laughing. She's ice made human, honestly. I just can't imagine a large number of people liking her, maybe respecting her, admiring her fashion sense absolutely but liking her? I think she'd turn off most people. Frank at least puts on a show even if it's fake as all hell. And you know Americans love a showman. 

[Kerrey92]

My wishes for this season (not saying this season was bad, it just wasn't spectacular):

 

1)  Claire screws over Frank at the convention and manages the delegate to nominate her instead of him.  I thought the idea of a season of Underwood v Underwood would have been interesting.  They are the two most ruthless people on this show and could have done real damage to each other.

 

2)  Frank uses the phone conversation between he and Conway where he admits to jiggering with the Intelligence Committee to not broker the deal with the Russians and put China in harms way.

 

3)  Claire and Cathy work together to take down Frank and Claire picked her as VP.

 

Things I hated about this season:

 

1)  Frank using the state of the union to endorse Cecily Tyson's daughter.  So unbelievable and Hollywood-y.  Awful.

 

2)  The complete third nipple existence of Doug Stamper.  He had nothing to add and only wasted air time.

 

3)  the whole world continues to be dumber and snowed by the Underwoods.  Shouldn't someone they have screwed over be able to figure out how to really take them at at their own game?  They have yet to come against a real foe.  That would be interesting!

 

4)  How confused I felt about rooting for a Republican....I hated the Conways, but still sort of wanted them to win, but then sort of wanted the Underwoods to win, but they are so corrupt and need to be taken down...it was confusing to my moral compass.

 

5)  The stupid Claire, Frank, Tom breakfast.  What did he even make for breakfast that they had to pass around plates?  Why was nobody saying one word to each other?  The Frank we've seen does get jealous about Claire so how could be okay with this arrangement?  And where is Frank getting his jollies?  He's always been fairly sexual on this show but this season...nada...and he turned Meachum down when he offered!  

 

Best part of the season:

 

1)  CLAIRE'S WARDROBE!  Her body is flawless in them and the tailoring is perfect.  She is just impeccable.  The pant suit she wore to the convention??  DIVINE!

[Jewlmc]

First of all I thought this season was way better than season 3.

Some thoughts:

I like it better when Frank and Claire are together. Part of the reason I did not care for S3 was the whole drifting apart thing. They aren't a regular couple so let's not give regular couple drama.

I really don't get the Claire and Tom thing. For one thing, I saw more of a vibe between him and Frank, for another I don't see her attracted to a man like him.

Poor Meechum.....

Am I supposed to be rooting for Remi and Jackie? Because those two opportunistic assholes were fine with all the dirty before things didn't go their way. Now they are on the high road? Please. And also zzzzzzzz

Conway is an asshole. His wife is ok but I hope Claire exploits her "I just don't get you Americans.." Thing.

The article. I wish this thing would die. We all know fallout from an article isn't what is bringing them down. Zzzzzzzz.

[Kbilly]

Hello my fellow degenerates!!!! I really tried not to binge. I really, really did!

 

I really don't get the Claire and Tom thing. For one thing, I saw more of a vibe between him and Frank, for another I don't see her attracted to a man like him.

 

Completely agree. He has such a flat affect. I wondered if they didn't show us their initial hookup because they don't have a sexy chemistry. 

 

I hate Remy's mustache and hair once he got out of the politics game!

 

The Conways and the constant filming of their lives is my nightmare. 

 

Not only did Stamper make the donation but he didn't make it anonymously. Why does he gamble with that crap? Doesn't he know any better? When the wife asked him if he'd ever watched someone die.....shivers.

 

I didn't really like how the kidnappers said they would kill him at 9 and it was Must See TV for the nation? On network TV?

[NorthstarATL]

There was a LOT wrong with the season for me, but I felt they made an important correction when they had the Underwoods working together again. no matter how ludicrous the situations were from that point on, it was entertaining to watch them as a team. The final scene was gold.

[mntnsrck79]

This was my favorite season since the first. The shooting in episode four took me completely by surprise, and I just really enjoyed everything after that point. There weren't really any boring/disturbing subplots dragging the season down for me, like China in season 2, too much Remy/Jackie in season 3, the whole Rachel thing, etc.

I'm definitely ready for Frank to be taken down, but I can't help but love Claire. I think this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I loved the relationship between her and Tom. They have great chemistry and are both super attractive and just hot together. Plus I've always kind of enjoyed the non-traditional nature of Frank and Claire's marriage, which hadn't really been explored since season 1. That breakfast scene had me laughing out loud.

Also, I haaaaated the Conways. They were so obnoxious and impossible to root for, even as adversaries for the Underwoods.

[Broderbits]

Tom will always be that annoying Mickey Doyle from Boardwalk Empire to me, the exact opposite of "hot".

 

I can't for the life of me understand why Claire wants to be President, unless it's simply because whatever Frank has she has to have also. Sure she loves power, but she has no idea what to do with it. She doesn’t really believe in anything, she abandons her causes as soon as they’re no longer useful. She’s mismanaged every situation she’s been in charge of. It's fun to watch Robin Wright in the role, but Claire is even more loathsome than Frank.

[DrSpaceman73]

I did enjoy this season more than last.

However the biggest problem of the season was how easily they came out of the convention as husband/wife President/VP. I can even put aside the unbelievability of that happening for a moment. It never would. They set it all up great with the brokered convention and then..........they decided against a brokered convention really, Frank threatens the secretary or State, Claire makes a pandering, mediocre speech and all at once they're is a huge outpouring for them to be the ticket!!! COMPLTELY anti-climactic. I expected so much more.

Don't care about Frank and Claire. This is not the Lifetime Netowrk.

I thought they did a good job of portraying the Conways as the modern/future family candidate, always on the Internet, reaching out, putting their public image to use, manipulating the online media to their advantage. He was a fair adversary for Frank at least. Wasn't as dumb or easily manipulated as some of the prior ones. Conway cares about his image and his Twitter following more than the actual power of the presidency, biggest different between him and Frank.

[peggy06]

I thought the season started out meh, got good, then in the last 3 episodes, sort of went downhill. I am not into the Claire/Tom thing at all. I do predict he's going to be trouble, because he seems way, way into this. Like, when he was wandering around the White House looking for her like a lost child. You think nobody's going to notice that? Also, I don't see any reason for him to be here unless he's a part of Frank's eventual fall.

 

I'm getting tired of Claire as a character. She is so artificial. Every time she talks, it sounds so rehearsed. I hated the Conways and their constant selfies. He is a total jerk to her. I feel sorry for their kids. Although, what was up with Charlie and Frank's figurines? Frank sternly tells him to give them back and he says, "Can I take them home"? Weird.

 

Mostly I don't like the terror plot and for Frank to send in ground troops to deflect from a story about his past misdeeds is kind of excessive, even for this show. I suppose I'll tune in next year, but I'm not exactly on pins and needles.

[Dancingjaneway]

Season 4 was miles better than season 3. Season 3 had WAY too much Doug and too many annoying smaller and less important characters. I'm disappointed that Dunbar is out of the race. I really wanted her to kick Frank's ass. Neve Campbell was a fantastic addition to the show. I can't wait to see more of her next season. I'm kind of hoping this woman Doug is super into will be crazier than him and will either kill him or take him down in some remarkable way. All the romances this season (minus Jackie/Remy) were ridiculous. The only time I really can stand Claire is when she is working side by side with Frank. I hated her so damn much this season. I wanted Cathy Durant to just fucking punch her in the face. Also when in the hell did Claire become good at all of the political crap?? She was horrible at it last year? It's sloppy writing on the shows part and disappointing. Super sad that Meechum died and that feeling stayed with me for the rest of the season. I was hoping that the assassination attempt was a fake-out but alas it was not. Kevin Spacey is amazing but I kind of kept hoping Frank would die. I'm not at all a fan of The Conways.  They are in no way interesting and it's so obvious to see what his downfall is. I don't feel the actor does a good job of playing charming/smarmy which I think is required when you play a sleazy politician.  I also have a feeling that his wife as much as she would like to be Claire 2.0 will not be able to survive the campaign. He obviously has a temper and the kids are going to pay dearly in some fashion. Frank's fight with Freddy (to me) came out of left field and shocked the hell out of me. I was not expecting it and I really thought it wasn't needed. I personally think season 5 should be the last season. That is unless they finally show Frank and Claire being taken down/exposed. Then I think you could have a few more seasons dealing with them not being in the white house and paying the consequences for their actions. They can only be on top for just so long. It makes the other players look incompetent and I think it causes viewers to lose interest in characters knowing that they will just become a casualty to Frank & Claires scheming ways. Ellen Burstyn did a great job of playing Claires mom. She was so much like Claire one second you root for her but the next second she makes you want to strangle her. Both women were cold, and calculating. My hope for next season is that we see Frank & Claire get taken down and in a spectacular fashion. 

[TaraS1]

I totally agree with everyone who said S4 was head and shoulders above S3.  Robin Wright was especially on point in every episode, she did fantastic work.  And count me in as pleasantly surprised that Neve Campbell was such a welcome addition.  But I really, really need them to get rid of Tom.  That guy is dull as dishwater, and his voice practically lulls me to sleep every time he speaks.  I feel like I can see the actor acting and that's always a huge, annoying distraction.

[Hava]

I hope I can post my thoughts on the show as a whole here. I've seen a lot of people post about loving Frank and Claire's partnership and reveling in their machinations, so it made me wonder: are we supposed to like and root for them, as evil as they are? Because I don't...not even a little. I watch every episode with a hope that they will be taken down. Am I naive? Am I missing the point? And it is really starting to stretch credulity to me that anyone ever believes a word that comes out of Frank's mouth. 

 

So, I was happy to see Claire leave Frank last season because I was hoping she would try to redeem herself. But nope. I don't understand what they want? Ok, power, I get it. But for what purpose? They don't have anything they believe in to use that power for. So do they just want power for power's sake?

 

I was so happy that the article came out! I was convinced that something would happen to bury the article. I'm not optimistic that won't happen next season.

[ShellSeeker]

I thought this season was better than season 3, but still not as good as seasons 1 and 2. It really improved when Frank and Claire started working as a team again, each one supporting the other in their quest for power through whatever horrible, duplicitous means necessary. That is when they're strongest. The first part of the season was weaker, although almost worth it to be able to watch Ellen Burstyn as Claire's mother. She's always fabulous no matter what she's in.

The performances by everyone were, as always, outstanding. But I just could not get on board with the plot of a sitting First Lady running for Vice President with her husband. I have a hard time believing that voters would not find the idea to be completely preposterous. I mean, people in general really like Michelle Obama, but if in 2012 she had all of a sudden decided that she wanted to be the VP while her husband was President, I think the 2 of them would have been laughed out of the White House. To make it more believable, they should have at least had the HOC version of Fox News talking about how utterly ludicrous it was for the Democrats to even be entertaining such a ridiculous notion. Or had Conway talking about it in his speeches, reminding everyone of Hillary Clinton saying that she and Bill would be a package deal and doing things as a team, I think during the infamous 60 Minutes interview where she said she wasn't "some little woman standing by her man like Tammy Wynette." People were up in arms about that. Something, anything, to communicate the idea that there would be plenty of people who would think that a husband and wife serving as President and Vice President together was completely asinine would have made it appear at least somewhat realistic. They had the focus groups with people talking about how Claire was unqualified to be the VP, but then nothing ever really happened with that.

I think that's what was missing for me in this season -- the feeling that most of what happened was based in reality. This just did not feel that way at all.

[knaankos]

I hope I can post my thoughts on the show as a whole here. I've seen a lot of people post about loving Frank and Claire's partnership and reveling in their machinations, so it made me wonder: are we supposed to like and root for them, as evil as they are? Because I don't...not even a little. I watch every episode with a hope that they will be taken down. Am I naive? Am I missing the point? And it is really starting to stretch credulity to me that anyone ever believes a word that comes out of Frank's mouth. 

 

So, I was happy to see Claire leave Frank last season because I was hoping she would try to redeem herself. But nope. I don't understand what they want? Ok, power, I get it. But for what purpose? They don't have anything they believe in to use that power for. So do they just want power for power's sake?

 

I was so happy that the article came out! I was convinced that something would happen to bury the article. I'm not optimistic that won't happen next season.

 

This is also hard for me to understand. What do the Underwoods want? I remember in Season 3 I think Frank was saying something about wanting to be a remembered President and not just a placeholder, which is why he was pushing hard for "America Works". He fancied himself the new anti-FDR. But I don't even know if the phrase "America Works" was uttered once in season 4, so that seems to have gone by the wayside. I get the feeling that every single legislation or move either of them make is purely for the purpose of more power and that they don't actually care about the law or action itself. I know there are probably real politicians like this out there but at the end of the day most politicians have some purpose for doing what they do. For the Underwooods it just seems like they do things to become like a Roman Emperor.

[BusyOctober]

I'm not sure where to post this, so please let me know if I'm in the wrong place..

 

Can someone remind me who Lucas is and how he ended up in jail?  He got out and put in witness protection because he turned informant?  I know he worked for the paper but for the life of me, I do not remember his storyline at all! 

 

I just started watching S4 and I only got through episode 40,41,42 & so far I saw that he made contact with Dunbar to get her help in busting Frank on one of his many transgressions. I don't know why I'm totally blank on this character!  I remember everything else (so far).  Thank you for any help filling in the holes in my Swiss cheese brain.

[CleoCaesar]

I think that's what was missing for me in this season -- the feeling that most of what happened was based in reality.

For me HoC has always occupied some kind of weird universe that superficially resembles ours but not really. Programs like AmericaWorks seem like science fiction in today's political climate (not to mention the speed with which it was implemented). A First Lady running for VP is ludicrous. An oil crisis in the US in 2016 seems...farfetched. Gas prices have been low for a while now. There is s surplus of oil in the world. And why would Russia cut oil production, thereby killing its own economy? It's not like oil can't be purchased from other sources, albeit less cheaply. My knowledge of geopolitics isn't great but a lot of what HoC portrays just seems, well, not like our world.

[PRgal]

Best part of the season:

 

1)  CLAIRE'S WARDROBE!  Her body is flawless in them and the tailoring is perfect.  She is just impeccable.  The pant suit she wore to the convention??  DIVINE!

 

 

THIS!!!!  But then again, I'm all about shift/pencil dresses and skirts (and wrap dresses - I have tons of those as well).  I need to remind myself to STOP buying them. 

I'm Canadian and throughout watching the season, I couldn't help but wonder whether any of the writers were following the Canadian election campaign (maybe there are some Canucks on the writing team?) that was likely going on during filming.  Conway is kind of Justin Trudeau-esque - good looking, "perfect" family and very social media friendly.  The season was just short of writing in attack ads based on experience/appearance (one attack ad had comments about JT's hair being "good," made, of course, by a middle aged bald guy). 

[Pixie Chicken]

Semi OT, but you guys are the worst. :)

I've never really seen Joel Kinnaman in anything else, and aside from being too young to be president (not legally, just generally speaking) the casting worked for me here. But all the talk of "He's so much better on The Killing!" got me to start binge watching that series on Netflix. I've been sucked in, when I'm supposed to be cleaning house for my Easter dinner...

[Athena]

I'm not sure where to post this, so please let me know if I'm in the wrong place..

 

Can someone remind me who Lucas is and how he ended up in jail?  He got out and put in witness protection because he turned informant?  I know he worked for the paper but for the life of me, I do not remember his storyline at all! 

 

I just started watching S4 and I only got through episode 40,41,42 & so far I saw that he made contact with Dunbar to get her help in busting Frank on one of his many transgressions. I don't know why I'm totally blank on this character!  I remember everything else (so far).  Thank you for any help filling in the holes in my Swiss cheese brain.

 

Lucas was Zoe Barnes' editor, friend, and then eventual love interest in S1. She told him about the affair and all about Frank. In S2, he attempts to continue her investigation into the Underwoods by going into the deep web and making contacts with hackers. Doug finds out and concocts a sting operation involving a hacker to get Lucas accused for cyber-terrorism. It is this same hacker that Doug tracks down at the end of S4 to find Rachel. Lucas is absent in S3.

 

Claire's wardrobe with Robin Wright's impeccable body, posture, and bearing is always top notch on this show. It's what makes her both icy cold and fascinating.

[Hanahope]

Its funny watching this show in retrospect.  FU may be a horrible person, but now compared to real life events, he doesn't seem so bad.  Somehow I feel that FU cares more about our country that a certain other president to be.  And FU is now thinking, damn, why didn't I think about hiring Russia to do hacking.  Yes, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

[hincandenza]

On 12/12/2016 at 7:49 AM, Hanahope said:

Its funny watching this show in retrospect.  FU may be a horrible person, but now compared to real life events, he doesn't seem so bad.  Somehow I feel that FU cares more about our country that a certain other president to be.  And FU is now thinking, damn, why didn't I think about hiring Russia to do hacking.  Yes, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

Season 5- presumably the last season, which I still feel should have been season 4 with the whole "cards" theme- has been delayed again, and is targeted to premiere sometime in Q2 of 2017 (April-June).  Given that season 4 was filmed in mid-2015 and aired in early 2016, I assume the writers figured that by the time season 5 came out Clinton would have been president.  Claire Underwood is pretty clearly a looking-glass version of Hillary Clinton, but a year from now whatever themes and plots they were/are planning and writing for season 5 will probably be woefully dated by the time they start filming, and even more so once it's released on Netflix... and as you note, pale in comparison to the actual world we live in.  

Hell, by 2017 Frank Underwood might seem like Jed Bartlet to the viewers at home. :) :| :( :'(

[Hanahope]

9 hours ago, hincandenza said:

Claire Underwood is pretty clearly a looking-glass version of Hillary Clinton, but a year from now whatever themes and plots they were/are planning and writing for season 5 will probably be woefully dated by the time they start filming, and even more so once it's released on Netflix... and as you note, pale in comparison to the actual world we live in.  

Might have been a nice 'what if' season too.  Someone somewhere needs to write an alternate history of Hillary winning.  We could all use a little fantasy.

[hincandenza]

On 1/21/2017 at 2:26 PM, PRgal said:

Looks like Season 5 is happening this year. 

Thanks; we have a specific date now, May 30th.  I wrote my last comment poorly (and apparently still thought it was 2016 when I did!); I meant to express that season 4 was filmed in 2015 and didn't air until 2016, so the 5th season that is airing in May was presumably written and filmed nearly a year earlier from its air date, well before the federal election last November... thus, the whole plot line might seem divorced from a reality we're actually living.  I'm assuming that's the reason for the delay, to see if they couldn't tweak it to make it more topical.

Can't say I'm thrilled by that little blurb "His wife, Claire (Robin Wright), subsequently broke the fourth wall for the first time. The two have been each other’s strongest allies, but upon the series’ return, Claire and Frank’s relationship will begin to show some cracks.", since that was basically season 3 and half of season 4 already.  There's no fun in watching those two fight each other; it's in watching them scheme evilly and deliciously, yet ultimately to fail spectacularly.  

The biggest "Frank Underwood" this show could give to its audience is to have the 5th (and presumably final) season play out like Dexter, where Claire and he fight and fall apart in ever more absurd ways, yet somehow magically end up victorious and unscathed in the end.  Final shot, both break the fourth wall by staring at the camera... in Alaska... working as lumberjacks.