Netflix’s First Original Series “House of Cards” Worth the Risk, Best of its Kind

By Nathalie Oates on March 8, 2013

Kevin Spacey and Kate Mara receive some news in “House of Cards.” (Image Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix).

Netflix will certainly be glad to know that their (evil) plan worked: I watched almost all thirteen episodes of their new original series, “House of Cards,” in one sitting.

In my defense, I was in bed with a fever. But I wouldn’t take it back. Every episode was worth it.

The series, a remake of the BBC drama, is directed by David Fincher, an Oscar nominee for The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Kevin Spacey’s comment, “When David Fincher gets obsessed about something it’s really good” is totally valid). The show revolves around professional power couple Francis and Claire Underwood. “Frank” (an aptly cast Kevin Spacey) is the House Majority Whip in Congress. Originally from South Carolina (phenomenal choice by the way), he is the epitome of the scheming Southern good ol’ boy in a John Edwards kind of way – with the brainpower to back it up, and not get caught. His frigid wife, Claire (Robyn Wright), is the pinnacle of a clean water NGO. Random, but compelling. The series’ mere existence on the internet first speaks a lot about the future of the network television and viewer experience. And as Spacey points out, this puts the control in our hands. We can watch it all at once, and in fact, that is how it is meant to be watched.

Chapter 1 (you can read a whole book in one sitting – why not a tv series?) begins when Frank is not offered the position of Secretary of State. We follow him and watch his vengeful, calculate moves. It’s exhausting, but in a brilliant way. There are a few more key players. And while the pilot does not do a good job of stringing them together (“Nashville” viewers know this problem well), things eventually add up. Zoe Barnes shows us the cutthroat world of reporting, and her less than ethical journalistic habits. Kate Mara is a superstar in this role, she is witty, competitive, and at some points, full-on scary. She also blurs the lines on what is empowering, what is slutty, and what is plain old wrong. Pennsylvania congressman Peter Russo’s struggle with drugs and alcohol comes off trite at first, but with more time, he pops out as a character with dimension and depth. However, the most refreshing character choice in this series is the fact that the President is not the main character. When was the last time that happened? On television? In real life? Ironically, he is part of the dull roar of supporting characters in the workplace. To Frank, he’s just the boss. It’s probably the most powerful choice screenwriter Beau Willimon made. Bravo sir. This is Frank’s world. We are a just a few steps behind him.

In the last few days, when people want to discuss the series, I am always speechless at first. So many components of this series win. This cast is so strong, real, and inexplicably deceptive; the series becomes effortlessly addictive because you have to stay tuned to figure them out. Kevin Spacey is unbelievably good. He prepared by working with Reps. Steny Hoyer and Kevin McCarthy, and it shows. Underwood’s sardonic sense of humor is particularly fruitful in his asides. The slightly crazy trait works here (the man plays chess with himself on the reg. Like okay). We can engage with him as he breaks the fourth wall in Shakespeare-caliber ruminations. Example: “Power is a lot like real estate…It’s all about location, location, location,” he explains to us in the crowd during the Presidential Inauguration. Every time he stares into the camera, the experience is not unlike watching a soliloquy he delivered in his last gig as Richard III in a world tour. Spacey even told The Independent he thought the original BBC version was based on Shakespeare’s play. We become his entrusting intern for both his personal and professional life. The writing is clever and understated: it’s “Scandal’s nerdy older brother, or a darker “West Wing.” But since Underwood is from South Carolina, the talking is much slower. The cinematic look of the series is another strong point. The grey lighting palate casts mysterious shadows onto an unusually gloomy view of DC, instead of the more popular and patriotic bright red, white, and blue facade we expect. Nothing sparkles. The dimly lit offices (even the Oval seems dusty and dark), and haunting government buildings add to this as well. Our trace of contrast comes from such a vibrant cast. The score is an eerie orchestral march that matches the mood well, highlighting grey areas and problems each character encounters.

After the first episode, admittedly unsatisfied without the shock factor ABC has practically trained me to look for (the steamy scenes come later), I turned off Netflix trying to determine if their people were worth getting invested in. There are not any cliffhangers, because in fifteen seconds, the next episode will just appear. But over the course of six months time, things come into focus. My interest was genuinely piqued at Chapter three and there was no turning back. I love a good connection. The goodhearted owner of the hole in the wall barbecue shack Frank is known to frequent at the end of the first Chapter (He rambled to us via a panning camera while chewing the meat off ribs) weaves in and out of the story and made me really hungry. We first meet Russo’s slave of a secretary, Christina, in his bed, but she goes through a relatable journey of self-discovery. We cheer her on the whole way. Zoe Barnes’ colleagues at the Herald, Janine and Lucas, become their own plucky people, and people worth keeping up with.

Apparently, “House of Cards” is a threat to network television. Wolf Blitzer called it a “bold and risky move,” but now in retrospect, the choice is right on (The New York Times agrees). It’s well-funded, star-studded, and scarily smart. And to lowly Amazon Prime users, many think this show alone is worth the price of the whole Netflix Instant Subscription ($7.99 a month). Forget HuluPlus altogether. The global viewing experience is different: instead of live-tweeting every Tuesday night at ten, everyone has seen all of it within a few days of being released, strangely eliminating the spoiling factor. Vulture critic Josef Adalian even likened “House of Cards” to “a very long movie.” Valid. There’s no more “the one where ____.” All the action blends together. “Binge-watching” is encouraged. It’ll be fascinating to see if America bites, and that becomes the only way we watch.

Give this one more episode and you will see it is both a political and cinematic slam dunk.

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