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House of Cards Season 4 |OT| Anything for America. Netflix March 4th

someday

Banned
Everytime I watch a Netflix series I have the impression that they could be much better with 10 episodes at most, with 13 they're stretching too thin. It happened with House of Cards, Daredevil, Jessica Jones.
I see this sentiment a lot, whether it's Netflix shows, network TV, or whatever and I typically disagree. All of the shows you mentioned I enjoyed, and I'm happy that with a year-long wait in between seasons that we have 13 episodes. I guess I don't mind a little "filler".
 

iPaul93

Member
Just finished it.Way better than season 3,but I hated Conway,such a poor casting choice.His acting is sooooo bad.The way he moves(especially his hands),the way he talks and the way he looks(Does his wife cut his hair?Jesus f*cking christ,his hair is horrible),he's so out of place.
 

Nozem

Member
Who was the woman
Doug got close with? And who was her husband who died?
I think I missed something important.
 

Blader

Member
Who was the woman
Doug got close with? And who was her husband who died?
I think I missed something important.

He was next on the transplant list and was hours away from dying when Doug had him bumped off the list so Underwood could get the next liver.
 
Who was the woman
Doug got close with? And who was her husband who died?
I think I missed something important.

Her husband was next on the list to recieve a liver transplant but Doug made sure Mr. President got it first. Husband then died. Doug started fixating on her because he's a creepy old cunt.
 

WillyFive

Member
Who was the woman
Doug got close with? And who was her husband who died?
I think I missed something important.

He was next in line to get the liver transplant, but Doug made it so that he was skipped so that the President would get it instead. Therefore he died, and he made a donation to the family because he felt guilty. Because it was so big, it caught the attention of the widow, who wondered who it was that did it.
 
Who was the woman
Doug got close with? And who was her husband who died?
I think I missed something important.

SPOILERS, from the wikia.

After forcing a dying patient to die in order for a wounded Frank to be bumped in the donation list to get the liver, he begins to have spells of guilt. His guilt leads him to donating a large sum of money to his family and he begins seeing the deceased man's wife.

edit: beaten XD
 

JerkShep

Member
I see this sentiment a lot, whether it's Netflix shows, network TV, or whatever and I typically disagree. All of the shows you mentioned I enjoyed, and I'm happy that with a year-long wait in between seasons that we have 13 episodes. I guess I don't mind a little "filler".

For me it's not about filler really, it's more about stretching out "content" too much. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Breaking Bad, but it had episodes that were basically self contained character studies, sometimes very experimental. I would love something like that and there was some of it in the first season of HoC (frank and his college friends) but less and less now. I have no major problems with this season despite feeling a bit thin sometimes, but as an example Doug's storyline last season was dragged way too much considering the outcome.
 

someday

Banned
For me it's not about filler really, it's more about stretching out "content" too much. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Breaking Bad, but it had episodes that were basically self contained character studies, sometimes very experimental. I would love something like that and there was some of it in the first season of HoC (frank and his college friends) but less and less now. I have no major problems with this season despite feeling a bit thin sometimes, but as an example Doug's storyline last season was dragged way too much considering the outcome.
I loved Breaking Bad. I agree that some storylines have missed for me in HoC. Doug is the prime example but I'd hate that storyline even if there were only 6 episodes in a season. I just figure I'm rarely going to enjoy every single thing a series puts on screen and that has less to do with how many episodes there are and more to do with the overall writing. They could have removed all of Doug's stuff with the widow but that would only take up 25 minutes tops all season.
 

NimbusD

Member
Just saw the final

"We make the terror" and then they both look into the camera. Its even better then the ending of season 2 with the slam on the table. Still dont know why i am rooting for them. They are crazy but you still want them to win.

Yeah as crappy as season 3 was, I think it did a lot to switch it from the audience wanting so badly for Frank to fucking eat to to actually wanting him to win.

Just finished watching. What a great season.
Sort of funny that now that he's gone all out war, it's almost less insane of a show considering all this crazy shit is more akin to the rise of a dictator and not presidential politics.
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Finally started watching this show (as in Season 1) and I loved the first 2 episodes. Bummed to hear it turns to shit in S3 but for now im super into it, Spacey chewing through scenes is great and the 4th wall stuff cracks me up every time. Rest of the cast is great too.

Also why is it ao compeling to watch shitty people do shitty things man... The Shield, Breaking Bad, etc
 
Finally started watching this show (as in Season 1) and I loved the first 2 episodes. Bummed to hear it turns to shit in S3 but for now im super into it, Spacey chewing through scenes is great and the 4th wall stuff cracks me up every time. Rest of the cast is great too.

Also why is it ao compeling to watch shitty people do shitty things man... The Shield, Breaking Bad, etc
It's not shit, but certainly the weakest season.
 

t-storm

Member
Finally started watching this show (as in Season 1) and I loved the first 2 episodes. Bummed to hear it turns to shit in S3 but for now im super into it, Spacey chewing through scenes is great and the 4th wall stuff cracks me up every time. Rest of the cast is great too.

Also why is it ao compeling to watch shitty people do shitty things man... The Shield, Breaking Bad, etc
It rebounds in season 4. The atmosphere in this season has been very heavy and intense.

S1 > S4 > S2 > S3
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
The dude from The Strain of all shows is actually really good in this
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Does Frank looking at the camera mockingly ever get old? Because it cracks me up every time so far :p
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
not sure how I feel about Frank
straight up murdering someone
>_>

also sorry for hijacking the thread to talk about season 1, but then again it doesnt seem like you guys are doing much S4 talk as it is :p
 

Korey

Member
You know this show is good when you're at the last episode of season 4 and you still can't decide whether to
root for the Underwoods or not
.

It's SO conflicting.

The Underwoods are terrible people but Conway is a little shit too so I don't want him to win either. And how Frank and Claire handle all the obstacles that come their way, you kind of want them to win. But you also want them to finally fall.

Bring on season 5. I have no idea how this is going to end.

Are you
rooting for the Underwoods
?
 
You know this show is good when you're at the last episode of season 4 and you still can't decide whether to
root for the Underwoods or not
.

It's SO conflicting.

The Underwoods are terrible people but Conway is a little shit too so I don't want him to win either. And how Frank and Claire handle all the obstacles that come their way, you kind of want them to win. But you also want them to finally fall.

Bring on season 5. I have no idea how this is going to end.

Are you
rooting for the Underwoods
?
Ofcourse :D
 
You know this show is good when you're at the last episode of season 4 and you still can't decide whether to
root for the Underwoods or not
.

It's SO conflicting.

The Underwoods are terrible people but Conway is a little shit too so I don't want him to win either. And how Frank and Claire handle all the obstacles that come their way, you kind of want them to win. But you also want them to finally fall.

Bring on season 5. I have no idea how this is going to end.

Are you
rooting for the Underwoods
?

Nah. I can't wait to see them go down in flames. I don't got time for murderers.
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Yooooooooo when Frank turns to you and goes "Did you think I had forgotten about you?" at the end of season 2 episode 1, and then the speech... holy shit that is one of the best moments in a tv show ive ever seen. And then the lingering shot of the cuff links spelling FU, the show is literally telling me to go fuck myself for being a pussy with feelings lol.

Yeah this show is pretty good
 
got me shook at the end when Claire noticed
Frank talking to the camera and then looked at it with him, Claire is all in now.
Loved this so much more than S3.
 

PaulBizkit

Member
got me shook at the end when Claire noticed
Frank talking to the camera and then looked at it with him, Claire is all in now.
Loved this so much more than S3.

It was shocking as hell.
It would have been apocaliptic if she said "We are the terror" instead of Frank
.

Petrov is one of my favorite characters from this show. Was great to see more of him on s4. Over the past few episodes, of all the subplots, the one I enjoyed the most was
the Caliphate terrorists
.

I agree with the ranking

s1 > s4 > s2 > s3

Although the Corriban episode on s3 was on par with anything from s4
and even s1
.
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Finished Season 2. Really liked it but not as much as Season 1. Didnt expect
Frank to get the Presidency so soon
.

The end of episode 1 is still one of my favorite moments in a show ever tho. On to season 3 then.

Edit: oh nvm
Doug
is alive yay
 

- J - D -

Member
I just finished this season. The final stretch introduces a much needed new crisis for Frank and Claire to beat, but I know they'll come out on top because there will be an indefinite amount of seasons which will probably span Frank's 4 years of a true presidential term. I'm worried that the show will just continue to reach for slight variations on the same beats it's already marched to in past season. I'm already thinking of scenarios wherein Claire and Frank will disagree and grow apart for a while, then join forces again. Or the scenarios in which a new, younger challenger to Frank's potency will fall to the Underwood cunning and resourcefulness under pressure. Or how much more Doug's creepiness they can try to shove on us before they get rid of him completely. I wasn't really sure what they wanted to do with his character in this season. I felt that up to a point, they kept up pretty well in establishing that, though he had fleeting moments of decency (like with his brother's family in S3), he was a true monster underneath. But they try to make him decent again this season. When they do the turn on that again next season, I suppose I should just imagine how it'll play out at this point. Will Remy finally retire and just live his life? Who knows?! Is such a thing possible given how much he's entangled with the Underwoods and their history? I wonder!

I'm ragging on the repetition of the show at this point, but it's not really a big a deal as I'm making it out to be. If that were a real bugaboo for me I wouldn't have kept up with the adventures of Don Draper on Mad Men or the ongoing cycle of optimism/pessimism on The Walking Dead, but I did put both of those shows on the backburner for a good while, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna do the same for House of Cards from this point onward.
 

Valkrai

Member
I'm 9 episodes into Season 4 and wow, it totally makes up for Season 3.

Heavy spoilers.

I could tell immediately Meechum was going to be axed when it focused on him during Frank's speech. Just didn't expect fucking Lucas to try and murder Frank. Also loved seeing Russo and Zoe coming back even in such a small role.

Edit: The episodes Robin Wright directed were all done fantastic. This might be my favorite season so far since S1.
 

Cromat

Member
This season is the definition of "return to form". So freaking good.

And of course I'm rooting for them. The Underwoods must be two of the most charismatic characters to ever appear on television. I tense up whenever they're in a scene alone together.

I like how they're showing the process Claire and Frank must have gone through by showing the dynamic between Conway and his wife. And I had a feeling, given the dynamic of the season, that Claire will have her own "stare at the camera" moment, but it was still so satisfying.
 
Binge-watched the whole series in the past couple of weeks. I liked season 4 overall, have a lot of nitpicks with it, but still thought it was better than season 2 and 3.

Full season spoilers:
After the end of episode 13 with Claire looking into the camera with Frank, I'd love for a Claire monologue to open season 5.
 

Permanently A

Junior Member
Quick question: I'm on episode 10
where Cathy is now at odds with Frank.
They keep talking about how
Dunbar is polling
but didn't
she drop out of the race because she told the truth about meeting Lucas Goodwin?
 

Jerrod

Member
Quick question: I'm on episode 10
where Cathy is now at odds with Frank.
They keep talking about how
Dunbar is polling
but didn't
she drop out of the race because she told the truth about meeting Lucas Goodwin?

Just like in real life how after Rubio and Bush and others dropped out they still received votes as they were still on the ballots. Plus, she has been the only other Democratic option, so people that don't want Underwood probably vote Dunbar even if she suspended her campaign.
 

SURGEdude

Member
Just finished it.Way better than season 3,but I hated Conway,such a poor casting choice.His acting is sooooo bad.The way he moves(especially his hands),the way he talks and the way he looks(Does his wife cut his hair?Jesus f*cking christ,his hair is horrible),he's so out of place.

I hated the casting choice at first because I associate the actor with his character on The Killing. After a while it stopped bothering me but I agree he was miscast though the dialogue he had to work with wasn't the best.

On a sidenote did the dude playing Tom hire an acting coach between seasons? I always thought he was terrible last season but he seems much better now.
 

Permanently A

Junior Member
Just like in real life how after Rubio and Bush and others dropped out they still received votes as they were still on the ballots. Plus, she has been the only other Democratic option, so people that don't want Underwood probably vote Dunbar even if she suspended her campaign.

I see, thanks.
 

NetMapel

Guilty White Male Mods Gave Me This Tag
Ya'll forgetting season 3 introduced the excellent Russian president, Petrov, to us. For that alone, season 3 is good in my mind :) Season 2 is weaker in the sense that it only introduced Tusk to us and he's very meh. Then we saw Underwood played the president like a fool so it wasn't some exciting political thriller. Season 3's Petrov is a much better antagonist who was able to go head to head with the Underwoods.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Finally finished the season. Binged a good chunk of it when it came out, but let it marinade a bit and saved the final two for another day.

I've read some criticisms that said the show is poorly written, but the acting and cinematography hides that. I would say that's partially true. The show didn't suddenly become this way, I feel the same about this season as I did about all the others. The only thing that really changes is how much momentum Francis & Claire's arc has. I think as a whole it's a really solid show, but if you dig into it too much it starts to fall apart under the scrutiny. Claire being on Francis' ticket for example, or the fight at the convention. I didn't mind any of it, but they're slightly absurd to someone who might be looking for a serious & grounded political thriller.

The Underwood's continue to be absolutely ruthless. By the end of Episode 13 they were seriously on some supervillain shit. And I still like them both. Sometimes I want to watch the house of cards fall down, but I sorta want to watch them build it even higher first. It's certainly different from a show like The Americans, which does a spectacular job at making you sympathetic to characters who would usually be seen as the enemy. House of Cards goes for a totally different approach, where The Underwoods have brief moments of vulnerability but the other 96% of the time they are absolutely unrepentant about the lengths they'll go to fulfill their ambitions...which I admire in some ways.

Bring on the next season. I'm still loving this show.
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
...im enjoying season 3 more than I did season 2 lol >_>

Ya'll forgetting season 3 introduced the excellent Russian president, Petrov, to us. For that alone, season 3 is good in my mind :) Season 2 is weaker in the sense that it only introduced Tusk to us and he's very meh. Then we saw Underwood played the president like a fool so it wasn't some exciting political thriller. Season 3's Petrov is a much better antagonist who was able to go head to head with the Underwoods.

My feelings exactly 8 episodes in
 

danthefan

Member
Could someone remind me why Freddy
hates Frank so much?
I know it is from a previous series but I'm drawing a blank.
 

Permanently A

Junior Member
You know this show is good when you're at the last episode of season 4 and you still can't decide whether to
root for the Underwoods or not
.

It's SO conflicting.

The Underwoods are terrible people but Conway is a little shit too so I don't want him to win either. And how Frank and Claire handle all the obstacles that come their way, you kind of want them to win. But you also want them to finally fall.

Bring on season 5. I have no idea how this is going to end.

Are you
rooting for the Underwoods
?

Hell no, I've been rooting for Tom Hammerschmidt this whole time.
 

- J - D -

Member
Could someone remind me why Freddy
hates Frank so much?
I know it is from a previous series but I'm drawing a blank.

I legitimately couldn't remember either, so a quick search gave me this, going back to season 2:

Freddy's relationship with Frank becomes strained when Remy exploited this close friendship and leaked details about their relationship to the media as a smear tactic against Frank. It is later implied that the friendship may have been one-sided, as Freddy revealed he used to return to his kitchen when he had grown tired of listening to Frank talking.

In the same episode, Freddy signed papers to franchise his restaurant around the country but the deal fell through when due to intense media attention, Freddy's son on parole threatened photojournalists with a gun. Frank was then forced to visit Freddy to urge him to downplay the friendship. This upset Freddy and he rejected the friendship calling Frank nothing more than a 'good customer'.

Also, it's pretty shitty of Frank that his best partingcompliment to Freddy is a request to cook some ribs lol.
 
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