House of Cards - S1 on Netflix - Spacey & Fincher - *UNMARKED SPOILERS FOR ALL OF S1*

Status
Not open for further replies.
The "did he really just do that?" moment already happened when Frank gave Peter a razor blade in the bath tub.

Huge difference between that moment, which was relatively benign, and the moment we are talking about.

That's like equating bank robbery with simply wearing a black ski mask.
 
Just finished watching House of Cards, and it's definitely one of my top five favourite shows at the moment.

I heard that Netflix have already wrapped up season 2 and are going to release it later.
 
Just finished watching it. I have a lot I could say about it but, seeing it's been out for a month now I can't imagine I would be breaking new ground, I'll be brief:

  • The production values are phenomenal. Nothing looked cheap and so many different locations are used.
  • I still have mixed feelings about Frank breaking the fourth wall. I know the original series did it, and there is some great dialogue from it, but I wish it would have just been a voice over.
  • While the relationship between Frank and Zoe is complicated, I agree with some complaints I've seen regarding the direction it went:
    I liked it more before they started fucking. The portrayal of female journalists did come off as misogynistic. That, along with every major female character except for Linda shown screwing/half naked didn't help that perception.
  • Claire had some scenes I think relied a little too much on symbolism:
    Such as the origami art with the hobo, the old woman yelling at her for running through the cemetery followed by the two teens making out there, etc. I thought Frank's use of the rowing machine was much better handled.
  • Frank's motivation were a tad difficult to follow at times. Reading some of the posts here did clarify his intentions, but it could be easily lost on you. His diabolical plans are incredibly layered.

Overall I very much enjoyed it. Not the same quality as Breaking Bad, but I appreciated unique qualities it possessed.
 
Hey folks - it's been a month, so we're switching over to not tagging Season 1 spoilers here in the thread. Feel free to talk about S1 without tags, and please note the change in the thread title.

If you're still catching up on the show, I'd advise you to either stay out of the thread until you're caught up, only read posts before March 1st, or make a LTTP thread. Thanks for your help.
 
What's the deal with Robin Wright's neck? Did she have surgery or something? I find it pretty distracting throughout the show, can't stop staring at it!

j22B1hgcWpj5q.png
 
Love the show. My girlfriend and I plowed through season 1. I wasn't expecting too much as I am not really into politics but yeah, I am hooked. Bring on season 2!
 
Hey guys what's up in this threa-

Hey remember when Frank murdered that guy?

OH MY GOD NOOOOOOOOOO :-P

That's pretty much the point of no return for me, Frank wise. There's been similar points for me in other shows, but they were usually much later on.

I don't know about the original's material, but I think Frank gets to VP, puts a plan in motion to barrel roll the President, but gets delayed by Zoe somehow, with assistance from Stamper because Frank messes up the life of the girl Stamper is helping.
 
Finished up last night. After a slow start things really got moving, the final 5 episodes were amazing.

The show wouldn't have worked with any other cast, Spacey, Wright and Kate Mara were all amazing as was Russo and the dude that plays Stamper.

Really awesome show, looking forward to season 2.
 
Christina is too good for these people.

Lucas seems like a decent guy too, you can see he was devastated finding out Zoe was sleeping with a politician for a story.
 
Christina is too good for these people.

Lucas seems like a decent guy too, you can see he was devastated finding out Zoe was sleeping with a politician for a story.

Yeah, Christina and Lucas are the only characters that are "good." I would've said Jillian too but after what she did in the end, it's clear she's not as good as she thinks.
 
Sort of OT, but I've been mainlining Enlightened and saw the episode with Robin Wright as a long-haired hippie...took me like 10 minutes to recognize her.

She looks so much better with long hair. Short hair doesn't really fit Robin Wright, but it fits Claire perfectly.
 
Watched the whole show.

It's really slow to begin, cause really linear in the first 7 episodes. It's like, ok he has a plan, and.. everything is going well... yet we don't really know what the plan is.. So we wait..

Also too much David Simons shows make this kind of effort a little light in the characters.. For exemple Russo always seemed just there to be a piece of shit, since the beginning. Would have been better if we had something to believe in him. They tried to give him some strong ideas sometimes but he regularly act like he's not mature and has no real strength. I know that's the plan but the whole ending would be stronger if he was not just there to fail. For exemple, the way he falls for the hooker trick.. Really ? Come on... And worse, the way he don't realize he's drunk and give the interview the day after that..

Lots of things like that seems a little unbelievable and lightly written, like the way Franck resolve the strike to.

It made me think about Boss a lot. Yes obviously Boss is way more fantasist and cliché, but it's the same type of "politic is evil and sex" plot. I mean it's a lot more in the boss category than it's in the West Wing one for exemple. And even if it's more serious in the end, Boss is almost more efficient in the "charismatic leader that always wins in the end" trip.

Anyway, the 8th episode is great, and after that the show finds a whole new dimension, with more balancing, less linear and focused on Franck. I loved how it finally becomes a crime story with a strong part in front of Franck. The 10th first episodes were a build to the story in the end and that's pretty classy.
 
Finished it last night, enjoyed it well enough. I feel like they abused the fact that they're guaranteed a second season. Setting up some pretty large plotlines in the last two episodes just to leave them hanging for the second season. It didn't feel like they were teasing the future, but just stopped the story. It's not helped by how slow the show is in general.

Really happy that they introduced Raymond Tusk though, the whole season had Frank run circles around idiots (vice-pres was the worst), so to see someone on his level, and actually tripping him up, was welcomed.
 
Yeah, Christina and Lucas are the only characters that are "good." I would've said Jillian too but after what she did in the end, it's clear she's not as good as she thinks.

But its for a good cause!

I'm conflicted, Gillian is just giving Claire a bit of her own medicine but once she does that she can't claim the moral high ground anymore. I fear its going to end bad for her next season you start playing in games you have no business playing you probably going to lose. No way they let Claire's shit mess with Franks plans.
 
But its for a good cause!

I'm conflicted, Gillian is just giving Claire a bit of her own medicine but once she does that she can't claim the moral high ground anymore. I fear its going to end bad for her next season you start playing in games you have no business playing you probably going to lose. No way they let Claire's shit mess with Franks plans.

Well there's the lying, making stuff up because she doesn't like something, and the fact that she's pregnant with a married man's child. Not exactly the saint she made herself out to be.
 
I could not believe the measures Frances was willing to take to pus Russo under the bus. To actually kill him was insanity.
 
I could not believe the measures Frances was willing to take to pus Russo under the bus. To actually kill him was insanity.

The opening scene of the entire series showed that this was his philosophy all along. He didn't kill him so much as put him out of his misery. (from Frank's twisted point of view, obviously)
 
No spoilers now? Cool. The more I reflect on this show the more I think it really sucked. If it was airing week to week on Showtime or HBO it would've gotten savaged by critics, and deservedly so.
 
No spoilers now? Cool. The more I reflect on this show the more I think it really sucked. If it was airing week to week on Showtime or HBO it would've gotten savaged by critics, and deservedly so.

I thought about that too. House of Cards works because you can watch several episodes a day or one a day (like I did). If it had been a weekly episode show it would actually be rather mediocre, because there is not that much in a episode to keep you wanting more next week. But as it is it's a pretty good show.
 
Finished Season 1 today. I think this is a great series, and i think anywhere from a A-B rating is fine. I'm not sure why people are too critical about it, it's like their nitpicking stereotypical stuff with shows (episodes for flashbacks, episodes for character development, episodes for this, for that... etc), it's like they want it to be like every other show.

There a few shows that are better than HoC at the moment, for those who think it would be a mid-tier show on TV. Those shows in my opinion are.

Breaking Bad
Mad Men
Justified
Shameless
Game of Thrones
 
Just finished. Goddamn that cliffhanger.

There's a definite lull in the middle where not much happens, then it feels like things accelerate really quickly in 12. The finale in particular felt like they were cramming in too much to set up the next season. I think I would have liked it better if the young journos had been making progress over the last few episodes instead of making several big breaks just in the finale.
 
Hey guys how about that Vita plug? shit was cray cray

Yeah I remember that as well as the PS3 start up screen on the TV. Advertisement monaaaaay. Since they've not started shooting season 2 yet looks like it will be out some time next year. Liked it more than I thought I would since I'm not heavily into politics.
 
Beau Willimon did another Twitter Q&A just a bit ago. Someone asked about S2, and he said that they aren't ready to reveal a date, but that they're aiming for mid spring to begin shooting. Obviously it's tentative, but exciting. Still I doubt it'll be released this year, next year around the same time as S1 seems like a safe bet considering Netflix has a few shows left to debut the rest of the year.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom