There's even a stretch where she purposefully plays possum, ruthlessly relying on everyone's inherently icky ability to imagine a female to be weak and emotionally fragile, so that she can plan her comeback. Claire wins some, loses some, but always manages to survive in style. As Claire instantly finds herself in a covert struggle for power with shadow-influencer tycoons the Shepherd Family, the cruel and clever games ramp up and the show's mirthful mean streak grabs hold. well, it just doesn't land right), the middle chunk of this season is a lot of fun. Most of the awkwardness stems from the situation overall, and having to land in the middle of a 'lemons out of lemonade' scenario that no one involved had any real control over.įortunately, though the beginning and end don't exactly work the way you'd like them to (the first few episodes because of the expected clunkiness of setting up the new status quo, and the ending because.

The series, regardless of Spacey's firing, was steering toward this story anyhow, with Claire poised to overtake Frank sooner than later, so none of it feels forced, per se. She gives the series a much different vibe than Frank did, obviously, but it's a welcome one. Wright, who lobbied hard to get Netflix to give the show one more season, rescuing thousands of jobs in the process, is a fascinating centerpiece for House of Cards' last sunset ride. But without seeing Spacey, or even hearing his voice (which becomes awkward when characters are forced to speak aloud Frank's audio diary), the results feel muddled.įortunately, Robin Wright, though playing a much colder and more purposefully enigmatic character than Frank, is up to the task of carrying this final chapter on her shoulders.

So House of Cards does what other shows over the years have chosen to do when given a truncated final run (Cinemax's Banshee springs to mind here) - it creates a 'whodunnit?' Who's behind Frank's mysterious death? Yes, as much as Claire spends her time at the top trying to separate herself from the sins of Frank, the show is still very much about his legacy.

And while House of Cards didn't have to bring anyone new in to replace Kevin Spacey's character, as it had Robin Wright's Claire Underwood to lean on, it has the uphill climb of also wrapping up the entire story in eight episodes. Similar to the situation Fox's Lethal Weapon found itself in this fall season, House of Cards had the unenviable task of returning to Netflix's lineup without its driving key character, as the star playing him had been ousted from the series due to abhorrent behavior.Īlso like the Martin Riggs situation over on Lethal Weapon, Frank Underwood gets an off-screen death, leaving the series with a serious charisma vacuum.

House of cards season 4 episode 8