Kevin Spacey in ‘House of Cards’
by Jack Berger
Written by Beau Willimon and executive-produced by Kevin Spacey, the second season of House of Cards will be available to own on Blu-ray and DVD this month. Much like when Netflix made the entire 13-episode season available all at once, it may be difficult to pace yourself and watch only one riveting episode a night—or each week: “binge watching” is a potential problem, especially if you have a free weekend available.
The second season sees Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and his wife, Claire (Robin Wright), get even more aggressive than in season one, as the ascent to the vice presidency isn’t enough, and they won’t be satisfied unless Francis takes the oval office away from President Garrett Walker (Michael Gill). The first episode is just as shocking as the concluding episodes of season one. So dive right in and be prepared as the two domineering Underwoods roll over everything and everyone on their path to the top.
House of Cards gets into some very interesting subplots with Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRainey) and his ties to Indian casino gambling and Chinese governmental contracts. Tusk, a one-time advisor to President Walker, makes things difficult for Frank, but ultimately finds himself in hot water.
Claire gets a lot of attention as she tries to bring light to the abuse of women in the military and brings down a prominent general who allegedly raped her during her college years. And Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali), the powerful lobbyist from the first season, is back and this time is connected to Tusk and also to the new Whip, Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker)…and he’s sleeping with one of them.
On the LGBT front, Edward Meechum (Nathan Darrow) is given more time with Frank and Claire, and he’s not always just Frank’s driver.
Overall, this series is a “must watch,” and while we may hate how they got there, getting a sneak peek behind the scenes of big government is fascinating. Season three won’t be out before next February at the earliest, so Cards fans may have to go back and watch the first two seasons again to get their fix.
Available June 17 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (sonypictures.com).
