House of Cards

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Clarissa

February 28, 2015

So who’s with me on watching the third season of House of Cards?

The season is great and the efforts to portray the insanity of Russians are almost kind of decent. The character playing Putin (Petrov in the series) is way too refined and intellectual to be a good portrayal of the original. But it’s a decent effort. I wish Russians didn’t have to mar the experience of watching the series but it’s no escaping them.

The character I’m identifying the most with is the hacker because of how desperately he’s trying to emigrate.

We’re on episode six of the new season, so if you’re done already, please no spoilers.

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15 responses to “House of Cards”

Fie Upon This Quiet Life

February 28, 2015

My sister is obsessed with that show. She watched the entire season on Friday. Hubby and I watched episodes 1 and 2, but I’ve been too busy to get back to it today. We might have to just watch one a week or something because my schedule this week is totally for the birds! We’re at midterm. Loads to do!

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NG

March 1, 2015

You’ll like this video.

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Evelina Anville

March 1, 2015

Yes. I watched 3 episodes. I was wondering what you thought of the portrayal of the Russians! And Claire continues to be my favorite character on the show. (I don’t identify with her but I enjoy the character and the actress very much.)

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1. Clarissa
  
  March 1, 2015
  
  Claire develops in VERY interesting ways in this season. No spoilers but KEEP WATCHING. You will like it. 🙂
  
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Shakti

March 1, 2015

Evelina
I only got through the first 10 or so episodes of House of Cards. At this point the Underwoods are running Machiavellian circles around everyone. Do they ever get a worthy opponent or is the rest of the series more of the same? Claire is an icy beautiful cipher to me at this point.

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1. Evelina Anville
  
  March 1, 2015
  
  I would say that the general trajectory of the show is that the Underwoods proceed to get themselves into increasingly tangled situations which requires ever-more intricate Machievellian maneuvers on their parts. Personally, I think the suspense comes from the fact that you (as viewer) know it’s all going to come tumbling down on them (like a house of cards!) and you just don’t know when. It’s quite engrossing and I don’t personally find it repetitive. I encourage you to keep watching. 🙂
  
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  1. Clarissa
    
    March 1, 2015
    
    The really interesting part of Season 3 is how impotent Underwood becomes the moment he gets the presidency. He can’t achieve even the tiniest little thing.
    
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    1. Fie Upon This Quiet Life
      
      March 1, 2015
      
      “The really interesting part of Season 3 is how impotent Underwood becomes the moment he gets the presidency. He can’t achieve even the tiniest little thing.”
      
      The show strongly resembles Shakespeare’s Richard III. Once Richard claims the crown, he’s fairly impotent too. I’m interested in seeing how it goes. I’ve been too busy this weekend to get back to it. 😦
      
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      1. Clarissa
        
        March 2, 2015
        
        Is the spring break coming soon at your school? Ours is the week after next.
        
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cliff arroyo

March 1, 2015

I can’t binge watch any series (my limit is about one per day alternating with other series and currently I’m on How to get away with murder (pretty good) and Grimm (guilty pleasure).

For the third season of House of Cards I’ll probably wait till most of the episodes are translated since I usually watch with a friend or two who want subtitles.

House of Cards is interesting because despite their Machiavellian machinations, the Underwoods do have their own strange set of ethics and are emotionally impacted by some of the turmoil they engineer. If there were completely cold blooded it would be boring. They’re just human enough to keep things interested.

Also here’s a mentaol health tip: Never watch a movie with subtitles and a translator who knows both languages – we’re completely insufferable about ‘that’s not what she siad!” or “they didn’t translate X!’

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1. Clarissa
  
  March 1, 2015
  
  I actually find the parts where they are tortured by ethics to be boring. I call these segments “A tribute to Americanness.” 🙂
  
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  1. cliff arroyo
    
    March 1, 2015
    
    I don’t think I’d ever say they were “tortured”…. but they’re not just efficiency machines who crush anyone who gets in their way – which would be boring.
    
    I mean things like Frank singing Pretty Polly (a song about a guy murdering his girlfriend, to let his wife know he killed the annoying reporter) or his reaching out to the barbecue guy because he sees him as a soldier on his side (that the barbecue guy has a different perspective shakes him just a little). Or Claire turning over the water project to the annoying assistant she’d fired, or her initiating (or at least endorsing) a threeway with the security guy for her husband – that was weird but interesting.
    
    They have an emotional life that’s not entirely about acquiring more power which would be marxist at its most vulgar.
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      March 1, 2015
      
      In Season 3 there will be boring conversations with a priest and that kind of thing. Just a little spoiler. 🙂
      
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      1. cliff arroyo
        
        March 1, 2015
        
        Oh…. joy (HoC goes back in line behind whatever Spanish or Swedish speries I can find.
        
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        Clarissa
        
        March 1, 2015
        
        It’s a good season, we are enjoying it. But the soul-searching moments are a bit too insistent for my liking.
        
        There is Russia in the season but it’s the Russia of 2012, for some reason, with the issues of 2012 and not a second later. I’m starting to wonder when the script was written.
        
        Plus the Putin character is very tall which kind of kills the whole thing.
        
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