House of Cards (2013) Review: Power, Played to Camera

Is House of Cards worth watching?

Yes, with reservations. House of Cards is a delicious, venomous political drama at its peak, and its first two seasons remain some of the most compulsive television of the early streaming era. Robin Wright’s icy, controlled performance is the show’s great constant, and the knowing asides to camera give it a wicked theatrical energy. The reservations are serious, though: the plotting grows more outlandish as the seasons go on, and the forced reshaping of the final season, after Kevin Spacey’s departure, leaves the ending weaker than the beginning.

What is House of Cards about?

Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is a powerful Democratic congressman and House majority whip who helps a new president into the White House, only to be passed over for the job he was promised. Feeling betrayed, he and his equally ambitious wife, Claire (Robin Wright), set out on a ruthless campaign to climb higher, using blackmail, seduction, manipulation and patience as their weapons. Around them are loyal fixer Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly), journalists, rivals and politicians who become pieces in their game.

House of Cards was developed by Beau Willimon from the British novel and BBC series of the same name, and it was one of Netflix’s first major original dramas. This review covers the complete American series: six seasons and 73 episodes, released between 2013 and 2018, and the story has ended.

The Underwoods as a political horror story

The show’s early seasons are brilliant because they commit so fully to their cynicism. Washington is presented as a machine that runs on favours, leverage and fear, and the Underwoods are its most gifted operators. David Fincher, who directed the opening episodes and helped set the visual template, gives the series a cold, precise look: shadowy offices, still compositions, a city that seems permanently overcast. That style suits a drama about people who never reveal what they are thinking to anyone but the audience.

The fourth-wall-breaking asides are the show’s signature. Frank’s confidences to the camera make viewers complicit, inviting them to admire the scheme even as they recoil from it. Spacey’s performance made the character a pop-culture fixture, though for many viewers it is now inseparable from the misconduct allegations that led Netflix to drop him in 2017.

Robin Wright is the real centre

Across six seasons, Claire Underwood becomes the most fascinating character in the series. Wright plays her with minimal gesture and perfect control, a woman whose ambition is quieter than her husband’s but no less ruthless. The show gradually shifts its sympathies and attention towards her, and some of its best writing explores the terms of the Underwoods’ marriage, a partnership built on shared ambition rather than affection. Michael Kelly is chilling as the devoted Stamper, while supporting turns from Constance Zimmer, Patricia Clarkson and Lars Mikkelsen add texture to the later years.

Where the house starts to wobble

The decline is real. From around the third season, the plots become increasingly implausible, with foreign crises, electoral manoeuvres and murders piling up in ways that strain credibility. The political satire loses its edge as real-world politics grew stranger than anything on screen, and the shortened final season, rebuilt at short notice and joined by Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear as new antagonists, struggles to give the story a satisfying shape.

Who should watch House of Cards?

It suits fans of political drama, antihero stories and viewers who enjoy watching schemers at work. At 73 episodes across six seasons, it is a long commitment, and many viewers will find the first two or three seasons the most rewarding. It carries mature ratings for violence, sexual content and strong language, along with an unrelentingly cynical view of power.

Two worthy companions:

• Succession for a sharper, funnier portrait of power, ambition and the people who crave it.
• Breaking Bad, the defining antihero drama, which charts a similar descent with far greater consistency.

The verdict

House of Cards opened the streaming era with a bang, delivering a wickedly entertaining portrait of ambition anchored by Robin Wright’s formidable performance. Its later seasons wobble and its final chapter disappoints, but its early years remain gripping, stylish political drama well worth revisiting.

Rating: 4/5