Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question
Finished House of Cards. General comments with spoilers below:
On the whole, this was the best season since the first. I loved almost every subarc and I loved them bringing the band back together.
Minor nit: Doug's whole guilt subplot is inane and utterly unbelievable. Doug is a wonderfully complex, dangerous character and I resent the tawdriness.
The final shot where Frank is now joined in breaking the fourth wall with Claire was interesting but I'm not sure I approve. The tension between their internal divisions and their working together against the rest of the world is the key dynamic of the show. If they become too much of an Underwood Borg it will lose something important.
Buttercup better win an Emmy. This was the single strongest season performance by any woman in any TV show, ever, by a lot. The scenes of her and Mom alone were devastating and brilliant.
The acclamation at the convention was lazy. I understand they had burrowed so deep they wanted a quick pull out, but I'd almost have preferred we cut to the White House two weeks after the speech and simply pass over the resolution in Atlanta. Maybe get a reax from Conway basically looking at his wife, like, "well, that settles that."
I love Conway and his wife, too. Did I mention this was a great season?
Dr. Mrs. and I are bitterly divided on whether the veep general's naivete is believable. I say no, the members of the joint chiefs are every bit the sleazy politicians of the civilian side; she says it's possible he was promoted directly from the field and is the real thing, and is thus appalled at how sausages are made. We argue about this late into the night.
Riding with Remy off into the night was cheesy. Dr. Mrs. hated it, but I wanted them to have their happiness. Plus I'm not worried that it'll stay that way -- we're not done with Remy yet.
I give this season an A+, and appreciate how well it was done. There is room for gloriously non-stupid TV.