House of Cards Season 2 Review

Warning: This review contains major spoilers from season one.

I don't think there was a single show last year that impressed me as much as "House of Cards" did. "House of Cards" is the third original program made by Netflix and premiered last year to critical acclaim; it even became the first online web television series to receive an Emmy nomination for outstanding drama series. But what it really did along with "Orange is the New Black" and "Arrested Development" was solidifying Netflix's place as one of the best original programming distributors in the business. "House of Cards" is a political drama, and possibly the best political drama since "The West Wing." The series follows Frank Underwood, a brilliant and vindictive politician. Frank backed the democratic candidate in the 2012 presidential election, and played a serious part in his win. For his part in the election, Frank was promised the secretary of state position but was cheated by the president elect at the last moment. As you could imagine Frank was not so happy, so he uses his position as house majority whip to put his game plan into play. After scheming for months his plan has come to fruition, he is offered the vice presidential position. Season 2 picks up directly after the end of season 1. Frank is about to be sworn in as VP and become one of the most powerful men in the US government; unfortunately Frank has made a dangerous enemy, a multi-billionaire named Raymond Tusk who acts as a private adviser for the president. Frank is a power hungry man; his only real concern is maintaining or improving his position. Tusk is a business man with ties to China; his only real concern is making more money. He uses back channels to do shady dealings with Chinese businesses and his connections to the president to further his status. Now the problem is that Tusk is not a big fan of Frank, and is more than willing to bury him. So not only does Frank have to deal with scandals and the usual bureaucratic bullsh*t, he now has to deal with Tusk. "House of Cards" was one of my favorite shows of last year, and I actually named it as the third best movie of the year; it was a show that just caught me off guard. Going into season two, I wasn't sure what to expect. Depending on how you've liked the show thus far, you will either love or hate season two; because at the end of the day, it's more or less the same as season one. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I loved season one and I loved this one as well. Everything that was great stays great, and they even managed to add some more drama and always keeps you guessing what's going to happen next. My main problem with this season along with the last one is that so much stuff happens, and each episode has its own individual story, the underlying plot of the season can get lost. At times, it can even be difficult to remember what is happening. Everything else about the show is great; the acting, cinematography, writing, characters, and the shows ambition are matched by very shows right now. I wouldn't say season two is quite as good as the first, but it still manages to be one of the best series you can put your time into.