House of Cards Goes Out with a Whimper

House of Cards will always have a special place in the annals of TV history as the first original series trotted out by streaming giant Netflix. Premiering six and a half years ago to much fanfare, based on a successful British series, and starring two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey chewing scenery, Cards was a pulpy series that had the sheen of excellence. What a difference a few years makes. While House of Cards may have come roaring out of the gate, it was clear by season four that the emperor had no clothes. The series might have appeared to be among the upper crust of TV (it had all the hallmarks- a high profile and talented cast, a famous producer in David Fincher, and a British pedigree), but it was, at its heart, a cheap political melodrama. And season six, which should have been a triumphant victory lap for Robin Wright, who toiled in the background for five years, was the worst season in the series.

From the moment it was announced that Spacey (and by extension, Frank Underwood) was out of the picture for the final season, many assumed it would be a chance for Wright to take the reins and shine. Instead, the season was so bogged down in the specter of Frank that it never let Claire become the focal point and star. Sure, she was the season’s central character and the action flowed around her, but every ten or so minutes, like clockwork, someone would invoke Frank’s name. Random new characters (including those played by Oscar nominees Greg Kinnear and Diane Lane, again giving the image of prestige television without the substance) demanded Claire honor deals Frank made. Poor Doug Stamper (played by Michael Kelly, trying his best to inject some life in the final moments of a thankless role) spent the season chasing after Frank’s breadcrumb trail. Constance Zimmer’s Janine the journalist was hot on the trail of Frank’s indiscretions and body count. Everywhere we looked, Frank was there. Which pulled down the entire season.

Sure, the show was in a damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don’t situation with regard to Spacey’s firing. But making the action revolve around everything Frank did in the past? Well, that’s not the way to close out a show. And the problems with season six stem from the series’ refusal to grow beyond Frank’s tired manipulations until it was too late. Without spoiling the (superior) British version of the series, its success came from its refusal to make Francis the only multi-faceted character. So that when the pivotal moment in Francis’s downfall arrived, there were other characters around to pick up the slack and drive the narrative forward to its conclusion.

This wasn’t the case here. Over the preceding five seasons, the writers never took the time to develop Claire to the point where she could become an equal foil to Frank, much less lead the series (this is no fault to Wright, who did the best with the storyline she was given). And, considering the arc for season six was meant to be Claire and Frank facing off, it’s almost impossible to imagine Claire proving a convincing counterpart to Frank, much less besting him in the end (with all the Macbeth references this season, it’s clear that the goal was ultimately to have Claire take Frank down, with Doug taking his place in the Spacey-less aftermath).

And that’s just a shame. Cards certainly didn’t have to completely divorce itself from Frank, or refuse to acknowledge that the character existed (he was far too baked into the show’s DNA for that to come off as genuine), but letting his ghost infect every aspect of the show was the wrong way to handle things. Couple that major misstep with atrociously melodramatic writing (this cast deserved far better than the daytime TV worthy dialogue and plot points on offer this go round), and a plot that was incredibly hard to follow at times (I genuinely had to ask friends if I missed entire scenes as the action jumped into the future and into new arcs with barely an acknowledgment of the time jump), and you have a final chapter that wasn’t worth the time it took to watch.

House of Cards was never worthy of being counted among the best shows of the Peak TV era, but it was, in its early years, a fun and frothy diversion. It also, along with Orange is the New Black, ushered in a completely new way in which to consume television (for better or for worse). It has a place in television history for that alone. I just wish the series had been able to capture some of that early, manic energy and give us one last hurrah.