S06.E01: Chapter 66

[Athena]

Quote

As the first woman president, Claire faces increased scrutiny and threats. Sibling power couple Annette and Bill Shepherd attempt to influence policy.

 

[lesmisfits29]

I didn’t like this first episode. It felt off to me.

I think I miss Francis...

Young Claire doesn’t look anything like Claire btw.

And no Claire, we don’t wonder what really happened to Francis. We know.

[numbnut]

During the season 5 recap, I realized that I don't remember much about the storyline so I'm just watching out of curiosity at this point. (I recall being irked by the little screen time devoted to the newspaper guy's investigation of Zoe's murder.) I'm mildly interested in Doug's journey and maybe the agenda of Diane Lane (character name?) and her son. Campbell Scott has aged 10 years since last season.

Edited November 2, 2018 by numbnut

[100Proof]

After enjoying S01-04, Only got one or two episodes in of S05 and stopped.  It all just got so over-the-top ridiculous. Although I pretty much knew I wasn't gonna watch this season, I checked out some reviews to seal my decision.

Edited November 2, 2018 by 100Proof

[Chaos Theory]

I don’t understand why people insist that this season won’t be good without Frank Underwood like he was the only character on a one man show.  Claire was just as important as he was and the rise of Claire Underwood amid an interesting story. 

But hey Frank Frank Frank Frank Frank.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Okay, now that the first episode is out of the way I hope things settle down. IMO, this one was trying way too hard to thumb its nose at KS. Not that he doesn't perhaps deserve it but why bring the show back for another season just to stay focused on Frank's absence?

Are we to assume Frank was murdered?

[DoubleUTeeEff]

As to Frank being murdered, Claire told us as much. "It (his death) is a little too convenient." I guess it's up to the viewer whether to believe her when she tell us that, unlike Frank, she's going to tell us the truth.

As to focus on Frank, he's been with HOC for 5 seasons so it's not like you can completely forget him now that he's gone. He was President* when he died so there are going to be reverberations from that--like the deal he made with Greg Kinear. And Claire was his wife and partner. She's been tied to his entire political career. His death and influence has to be acknowledged and from there it can be a jumping off point for Claire.

I think Claire can carry the show. She's been just as interesting a character as Frank in my opinion. I'm glad they've decided to wrap up the show with Robin Wright.

As to the over the top nature of the show, it's been like that from the very first scene when Frank strangled a dog. I think that's what the viewer signed up for from the beginning. And it's not like reality isn't completely ridiculous. Truth is stranger than fiction.

*ETA: not sitting President but a President

Edited November 3, 2018 by DoubleUTeeEff
clarity

[Mindthinkr]

Young Claire using the broom to jab the boy on the other side of the barn door shows me that early in her life she never felt safe and had to protect herself. A vow never to be a victim again, if you will.  I guess I’m hoping for some personal growth from her as shown by the fact that she didn’t kill the bird that was tapping in the wall (although I’m still stymied as to how she caught it). 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Mindthinkr

[hincandenza]

I'll admit, I was really frustrated with the incoherent trainwreck that was season 5 (and it's time again for my seasonal gripe "It's called house of CARDS, why didn't they wrap this all up in four 13-episode seasons?!").  I didn't even realize this was coming back this fall until I saw it on Netflix when I launched it Friday night.

That said, I gave it a chance and I'm... intrigued?  I've watched two episodes, but got stoned while watching the second so don't really remember much beyond the first episode. :)  What I've seen so far has my attention... but I'm also wary.  There's a term I use (coined?) for Coen Brothers and similar movies, "mythological decoupage", where they take existing myths or stories, fracture them, and reassemble the pieces (such as the Greek myths referenced in "O Brother Where Art Thou").  It can be both fascinating and frustrating, similar to how the great Blues Traveler song "Hook" makes you think there's meaning where it's referencing "familiar heroes from long ago to confuse the issue".  Maybe it's a staggering work of heartbreaking genius... or maybe they just threw a lot of cool images up and left it to you to invent some overarching motif.  It's not exactly an unheard-of cop-out for screenwriters. :)

I think I see a little of that going on here, so far.  Unavoidably of course, from the very start of this season the show is steeped in references to the current political climate.  But will it be satisfying at the end?  Will there be some meaning, or message, or conclusion- or just an adolescent, South Parkean spaghetti-fling of not-so-subtle allusions, masquerading as deep and insightful?

 

Some episode-specific thoughts:

First, big shout out to the props and costume/makeup department.  That scene where we see Claire in the Oval Office at the beginning, she has a swoop of blond hair that is so clearly reminiscent of The Traitor's absurd coif... and right there in the background is Campbell Scott, now somehow crisply silver-haired in an unmistakable Pence impression.  It was an arresting visual rhyme, and the first episode has a lot of those.  That camera angle in the crisp blue jacket when she's giving her speech to the soldiers looks like the kind of thing screencapped and posted as the banner on one of the white supremacist/nazi Reddits. 

• The Shepherds seem to be stand-ins for the real-life evil billionaire siblings Eric "War Crimes" Prince and Betsy "The Killing of the American Mind" DeVos.  I guess Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard were unavailable... :)
• The app thing first hinted at in previous seasons as an Underwood ploy, but now being used by the Shepherds, is an obvious allusion to Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, and Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekkah.
• Claire is understandably hated by the public (her husband stole an election, and died before he could be impeached so now she's, somehow, both halves of the First Couple)... but it's a show that like so many Hollywood productions spent 5 seasons telling us about these evil "Demon-rat" politicians, Bill Underwood and Hillary Hale Underwood.  So is Claire still the Hillary stand-in of the previous seasons, or is she a clone of The Traitor, or some hybrid, or...? 
• So I'm not crazy, right? Frank was very much alive and well at the end of the last season, and this thing about him dying was retconned in because of external factors, but presented as if we were supposed to remember it that way.  Appropriate in the age of disinformation and the menace of unreality, I guess.  But I'm assuming we're supposed to think that Claire had him killed.
• What is with the incompetence of the security and staff, anyway?  I'm probably blurring in some of the second episode, but the way people grab and and confront Claire, it's like there's no more secret service at all. I mean, after a .50 cal hits her window, they take her to a small-town fire station?
• That entire sequence with the bird in the walls was so obviously a Lady Macbeth riff, I was shocked that an actual bird came out of the wall.

 

I've got no problems with Robin Wright being the star of the show- I don't miss the plot-armor of Francis' Kingpin-like machinations.  And I guess I'll stick around for at least a couple more episodes, but I'm not sure what are we supposed to think of Claire.  She still seems psychopathic, yet not unlike Frank has some good ideas.  She's also done waaaay too many wicked things to somehow get a redemption arc in the final season by standing up to the "American oligarchs"- even if it's a cause I wholly support in principle.

I'm just hoping the final episode doesn't have Claire fleeing on a boat to become a lumberjack in the Pacific Northwest.

[Son of Saul]

Well this show is over. I couldn’t stand her when she was supporting. As lead she is unbearable. 

I only lasted into part of the second episode and now I will give up.

Having said that, I struggled last season because it got really silly.

Edited November 4, 2018 by Son of Saul

[Cthulhudrew]

They are really pushing the "breaking the fourth wall" button a lot; I'm only halfway through the episode and she's done it like 4 times already.

[Armchair Critic]

I used to watch the soap opera The Guiding Light with my mom and I was pleasantly surprised to see "Beth" and Josh" from GL were in this episode. What ring was that Claire found on the bed, was that Frank's class ring?

I hate creepy Doug Stamper but he is such a fascinating character.

Also I will admit I miss Frank, Claire for me is better in smaller doses.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Armchair Critic

[hincandenza]

9 hours ago, Son of Saul said:

Well this show is over. I couldn’t stand her when she was supporting. As lead she is unbearable. 

I only lasted into part of the second episode and now I will give up.

Having said that, I struggled last season because it got really silly.

So I wrote that big long comment up above, having been intrigued by the opening episode.  Now I'm posting here to warn anyone who just watched the first episode and thought to check this forum to get reactions.

Don't.  Stop.  Just... let it go.  The show will disappoint you if you finish this season.  If you just remove it from your queue and go to the next thing, you'll be great!

[teddysmom]

I'm in. I know it's ridiculous, but I enjoy it.  I saw the BBC version and it was just as bonkers. And the male lead is killed in that version too. By his wife. 

Robin said this was what would happen all along,  re Frank dying. I wonder if Spacey would have been kept around in flashbacks, etc. or if she meant he would die at the end like the BBC series. 

[Jade Foxx]

I fell asleep. 

[Aethera]

I always thought Claire was by far the most interesting character, and that Robin Wright kicked ass in the first few seasons. I've found each season that I've enjoyed the show less, and last season I found pretty terrible, so I was planning to give up. Once it was announced this was going to be Claire-centric, I figured I had to watch it.  Frank was my least favorite part of the show, so I didn't expect to miss him, and I thought it would be interesting to see what happened without him.

I thought Robin Wright was...very odd in this episode. Odd movements, pauses, staring, holding her hands in unnatural poses...it was distracting, and I don't know why it's happening. She seems very different from Old Claire. And I though the episode was trying to do way too much, and did most of it not very well. I'll give it another and see if they can get in a rhythm, but I don't think the time jump was done well. 

ETA: It was nice to see the tribute to Reg E Cathey in the credits. 

[Duke2801]

On 11/5/2018 at 3:09 AM, Armchair Critic said:

I used to watch the soap opera The Guiding Light with my mom and I was pleasantly surprised to see "Beth" and Josh" from GL were in this episode. What ring was that Claire found on the bed, was that Frank's class ring?

I hate creepy Doug Stamper but he is such a fascinating character.

Also I will admit I miss Frank, Claire for me is better in smaller doses.

 

I spotted Josh too! He’s still very nice looking. I totally missed Beth though. Who did she play? 

 

Ugh I’m already annoyed by that actress with the dark curly hair on Manifest. Now she’s showing up here too. 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Duke2801

[Armchair Critic]

2 hours ago, Duke2801 said:

I totally missed Beth though. Who did she play? 

Tabitha (don't remember the last name, it's a small part). She is holding a drink talking to Claire at the Shepherds party (the party with the fireworks).

Edited November 9, 2018 by Armchair Critic