In this episode, Frank officially gives Tom Yates and Claire permission to sleep with each other on a regular basis since, as Frank puts it, he doesn’t see Claire the way that Tom does. Self-sabotage is the only way he knows how to potentially set himself free.īut let’s not act like Doug is the only “House of Cards” character involved in an unconventional romantic relationship. It seems that he’s drawn to these women and inclined to occasionally be careless because he wants to stop working for Frank, but can’t. He’s fixated on her, in the same way that he was on Rachel. Now here we are, two seasons later, and Doug is making the administration’s unsavory behavior potentially detectable again, by spending time with Laura Moretti, the woman who lost her husband because of Doug. The continued digging into the web of misdeeds from Season 2 raises a reminder that, during all the casino and laundering chaos, Doug Stamper was chastised by the president for not being careful enough to cover his tracks. But that lack of consideration is far more galling when race enters the picture the phrase white privilege was invented to describe their behavior in both of these cases.īut just in case anyone thinks Freddy, who saw Raymond Tusk and Frank meet in his very own restaurant, might be mad enough to snitch on the president, his beating of Tom Hammerschmidt puts that notion to rest. Frank and Claire are so used to aggressively going after what they want that they rarely pause to consider whether they may offend someone. It’s interesting to look at the sense of entitlement that oozes out of Frank in that exchange with Freddy and compare it to a scene earlier this season in which Claire tries to convince Doris Jones to let her run for the House. Freddy knows that Frank uses people, so when he announces that he’s leaving to go work at a flower shop in Georgetown and Frank’s response is to suggest that Freddy should cook him some ribs, the president’s arrogance is more than Freddy can take. Back in Season 2, he essentially lost the opportunity to turn his barbecue restaurant into a franchise because of his connection to Frank, a connection that Frank then tried to pretend did not exist. But let’s remember: the former restaurant owner has good reason to harbor resentment. Freddy’s outburst initially feels completely out of nowhere. In this episode’s most jarring scene, Freddy, who has decided to move on from his job, completely lets the president have it, calling him an obscene name that shouldn’t be lobbed at anyone, but certainly not at the commander in chief. Murder, as Frank tells Cathy in the previous episode, is something no one would ever believe the president would commit.Īctually, maybe Freddy Hayes would believe it. Maybe Tom doesn’t want to sound crazy, or perhaps he knows the other charges will be easier to prove given his access to Heather Dunbar. “But he isn’t a killer.” Does Tom really think that? His previous calls to Zoe Barnes’s father and his visits with Janine Skorsky suggested that he thought there may be merit to the claim. “Underwood may be a crook,” he tells Margaret. The kicker on that scene - “We’re going to need more beer” - is just perfect.Ī lot of this episode involves characters making trade-offs, and Tom seems to have made one by turning his investigation exclusively to Frank’s connections to the money laundering and attempted impeachment of Walker. He’s also gathering more helpful sources, like Remy, who engages in the episode’s most clever bit of business: the use of the drinking game Never Will I Ever as a means to confirm or deny Frank’s involvement in the money-laundering scandal and effort to impeach President Walker. Tom Hammerschmidt’s investigation continues to move forward, now with the backing of The Washington Herald and his former boss, Margaret Tilden, as well as a “Spotlight”-style team of reporters working under his auspices. During a conversation with Cathy Durant and the Joint Chiefs in this episode, Frank refers to the advance of the terrorist group ICO as a serpent’s path, which is an apt description for the plots and subplots in this episode. Without the “will Claire get the vice-presidential nomination or won’t she?” suspense that has fueled much of the season, things suddenly feel less focused. After the energetic, momentous back-to-back episodes that focused on the intrigue of the Democratic National Convention, this chapter of “House of Cards” feels as if its treading water.
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