The Oval Office

By: Connor Lenahan

I had, and I cannot believe I’m using these words in a sentence, too much free time this summer. Before killing me, allow me to explain. I only worked four hours a day with the rest of the afternoon free. Most of the time I would have nothing to do as most of my friends were either busy with basketball practice – the only ones who were on campus this summer – or at home. Therefore I needed to find new ways to entertain myself. I was looking for anything. Seriously, I would do anything. This includes walking to the Boston Common and back – almost 8 miles round trip – in summer weather. Seeing as this was not sustainable every day I began watching House of Cards.

House of Cards is the favorite show of more than a few people I know. If it isn’t at the absolute top spot then it is extremely close for most. Save for my brother Chase I believe that I have heard nothing but praise from friends and family members who have completed the series. This is understandable. Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood and Robin Wright’s Claire Underwood are two of the most entertaining characters on television today. The story is filled with enough craziness to keep a viewer’s attention for the 26 episode run.

I believe there are some large scale programs with the show. This is including (but not limited to) the rate at which the show appears willing to sacrifice its characters from the narrative. Every show has characters come and go, but House of Cards seems to decide that, aside from the aforementioned Underwoods, everyone is fair game to be written out of the story. This is both a good thing – this allows for the story to take new directions constantly, preventing from stagnation – and a bad one – the best non-Underwood characters are not always the ones who stick around, hurting the story. In the interest of not spoiling the series from those yet to binge watch it, I don’t want to tip off identities, but everyone who has seen seasons one and two knows the cast shifts.

With that said I still think HOC is one of the most entertaining shows on television. It does not occupy the same tier of execution that Breaking Bad would, but it occupies one high enough that it could (and most likely will) win a deserved Golden Globe for Best Drama Series in January. There’s no problem here. House of Cards is a great, albeit flawed, show. It’s extremely early in its run – Breaking Bad took a narrative leap between season two to three – which gives it a lot of hope. That’s why it’s so exciting to see the announcement that House of Cards will be returning at the end of February.

Despite some frustration from time to time with characters and stories I still love House of Cards. Today begins a count down until we head back to the Oval Office. Come 2/27/15 I will be taking the day off to watch the season in its entirety. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t elated.