TV Review: House of Cards Season 4
I cannot believe that I'm already writing about the forth season of House of Cards. It's kind of insane that Netflix (now a powerhouse in the industry) started its quest for dominance with this political thriller. After two incredible seasons, last years third season was not at the same standard. Well I'm happy to report that not only is Season 4 back to the high level of the first two seasons, it might be my favorite season so far.
The entire forth season of House of Cards follows Frank and Claire as they are up for re-election. Timely right? There are moments in Season 4 where Jenn and I would look at each other and wonder how the writers (who probably wrote this season a year ago) could line up the storylines to the craziness that's currently happening in our political landscape. One easy example is that there's a contested convention very similar to what's probably going to happen on the Republican side. The drama that surrounds that event was fascinating.
I thought what really worked for the forth season of House of Cards is that it refocused the show back on the two most interesting people in it, Claire and Frank. The dynamic duo struggle with their relationship but team up to keep the White House, and their path to do so is as insane as you would expect.
The show has always towed the line between believable and insanity throughout its life, but I felt like the forth season pushed back more to reality which also upped my enjoyment. Politics are inherently interesting, and having Claire and Frank deal with real-life politics was great. Seeing them as an "old-school" political couple face up against a new younger more tech savvy political couple made for some intense drama down the final stretch of the show.
And even when things seem like they can't get any worse for Frank and Claire they somehow manage to turn things to their favor. It's a fascinating ride and one that I loved every second of. Its the show that really began the binge watching craze and for Jenn and I it's a show that we watched 3-4 episodes at a time. It's fun, it's crazy, and the forth season was really fantastic. I have no idea how they will handle a fifth season but I can't wait for the chaos.
