Binge Watch Guide is a blog series to lead you through the many available series for streaming.
If you’re finally catching on to the recent Season 4 hype, "House of Cards" is perfect for the two kinds of Americans: those who love politics and those who love to hate politicians.
The Netflix original stars the legendary Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright (you might remember her as Jennnnayyyy from "Forrest Gump" or Princess Buttercup from "The Princess Bride") as the ultimate power couple — think Bill and Hillary, but more evil.
The show centers around Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey)’s quest for political power starting as the House Majority Whip.
Time commitment: Medium. There are four seasons, with 13 episodes that are 45 min - an hour long. If you’re slow, it could take you a month or two. If you’re quick, it could take you less than a week.
Most interesting character: Frank Underwood. The show’s based around him and with good reason. At first, he appears to just be your typical, ambitious politician attempting to climb the political ladder, but as the plot thickens, his intentions become much darker. Among the best moments of the show are when he breaks the third wall and speaks directly to the camera in asides about his manipulative calculations. Not to mention his confusing, unconventional marriage to the beautiful Claire Underwood, a woman who may just match him in ambition.
Honorable mention: Doug Stamper. He’s basically Frank’s right-hand man and will do literally anything for the man. But he’s got his own demons — a recovering alcholic, he will disobey orders to pursue his own vices.He’s the Goebbels to Frank’s whole operations and you have to wonder if he could be even more corrupt than Frank himself.
The good: The characters are excellently developed, and the writing tricks you into rooting for the bad guy — you cannot get enough of Frank Underwood’s escapades. There are enough twists to keep you captivated, but not so many that is unrealistic. If you want to lose your faith in Washington, look no further.
The bad: You have to pay close attention if you want to understand everything. Some episodes are include intricate policy details as Frank tries to create policy and push bills through Congress. It makes it kind of hard to take hiatus’ from the show — you can’t juggle House of Cards with other shows, you’ll just confuse yourself.
Takeaway: House of Cards is an Emmy-winning political drama that is definitely worth the watch, whether you’re into politics or not. The plot twists will frustrate you, intrigue you, and definitely deter you from going into politics. It’s basically a foil to "The West Wing," which fills you with optimism about the democratic process, while House of Cards breaks this feeling down and fills viewers with a skepticism that mirrors America’s own during our real 2016 election cycle.
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