House of Cards
Sometimes there is a scene in an otherwise flawless show that you wish never happened. For whatever reason, that scene just doesn’t add up. It sticks out of the episode like one big neon mistake, shedding bad light on all of the other quality material that surrounds it.
Anybody who has seen “Chapter 36” of House of Cards’ third season knows where I’m going with this.
I didn’t hate the intimate, near-physical scene between Frank and Tom Yates because of some ridiculous reason like homophobia or close-mindedness or conservatism, or anything like that. It just didn’t make sense. We’ve seen some of Frank’s homosexual tendencies before, most notably in a threesome with his wife and bodyguard last season. But Tom Yates? Who, as it turns out, is a former male prostitute? What? Why? This scene served only as a tone-deaf distraction from the other action of this late-season episode.
I’ve railed against Yates in this space before. Paul Sparks’ acting is horrid, to be kind. The character has been played so one-dimensionally that even the notion that he had a past filled with anything besides terrible writing and monotone one-liners is laughable. As he sits on a couch with Frank, both of them holding drinks, their hands touch.
That’s when the cringing starts. The scene is played with such intensity by Underwood and such cluelessness by Sparks that it’s an absolutely awkward mess. Luckily nothing happens between the two because that would 1. set off a whole Pandora’s Box of repercussions and 2. presumably be one of the more uncomfortable things I’ve ever seen.
But I digress. A lot happened in this episode that was more important than the scene between Frank and Yates. Going forward, their brief flirtation will only cause Frank and Claire’s marriage and Yates and Baldwin’s relationship to be viewed with more curiosity, and the professional interactions between Frank and Yates to be the worst thing ever.
Frank and Claire’s marriage won’t be helped much by what’s going outside of the president’s private study, either. With tensions growing in the Jordan Valley and Russia and the US bucking at each other, Frank goes to meet with Petrov. He needs to get Russia out of there before something serious happens. But Petrov, the ever-devious dictator, wants some things in return.
He wants the whole peace operation to leave the Jordan. Underwood says it’s done. He wants the missile scale-back he requested in the Corrigan deal that fell apart. Done. And he wants Claire to step down as ambassador the United Nations. That answer is not so easy for Frank.
“Why does Claire mean so much to you?” he asks.
“Because she means so much to you,” Petrov says. “If you do this, I’ll know you’re serious.”
Keep in mind, Frank isn’t in the middle of a war zone meeting with Petrov because of some quest for global peace. Oh no — he’s there because the Iowa caucus is in two weeks and a positive move like this could get his campaign back on track. Remember, Frank’s all about things that are good for business. So Claire must go.
The suggestion of getting rid of Claire also lets Frank see her appointment in a different light. As it turns out, Claire got fooled by the Russian ambassador when he said that Petrov was behind the bombing of his own troops (or so Petrov says). They only told this to Claire in hopes they would send in some troops and piss off Israel, and that’s exactly what happened. Frank would’ve usually seen right through this plan, but he trusted Claire’s word too much. How could he not? It’s his wife. On a plot level, Claire stepping down definitely gets rid of some obstacles, but on a character level, it sets up a whole bunch of new ones.
When Claire agrees to resign, she employs the typical Underwood tactic of sweeping any and all emotions under the rug. This will surely drive a wedge even deeper between her and Frank but for right now she knows she has to agree. Her next task after resigning as US ambassador to the U.N.? Find out how some focus groups think her hairstyle should be to help Frank in the election. Claire Underwood does not deal well with humiliation, so how long will she be able to put up with this? She’s played the role of loving political wife to Frank before, but she has her own political dreams now. What becomes of those? Once again, problems loom for Frank Underwood at home and abroad.
Sidenotes:
– Stamper finally gets to meet his brother’s kids in this episode. It’s a big step for a guy who has led such a cold, calculated life to this point. As it turns out, they’re not as bad as he thought. We actually see him smile a bit. This was a nice storyline to give us a breather from Frank’s political mess.
– Remy finally, officially admits to Jackie that he’s having a tough time getting over her. She said she does, too. That’s it for now, but let’s see where this goes. Jackie also said she was having second thoughts about running with Frank because of the way things are going for him right now, so she’s a character to watch going forward on both a plot and development level.
– Why was that woman at the opening Town Hall scene seeking out national security secrets? Can you say, “Russian spy?”
– Sad to see Underwood get absolutely manhandled by Petrov here. Can Frank afford to get some kind of revenge on his Russian foe this season? Or will fear of a bad campaign image prevent him from doing so? Hopefully it’s the former.
– This episode will surely spark all sorts of Internet talk about Frank’s sexuality, which is a shame because such irrelevant talk might get in the way of the wild finish Beau Willimon and company surely have in store.
