Have made it well known by now what my general stance of 'House of Cards' is, which is also the general consensus. A brilliant and addictive show for most of its run, up to Season 4, before suffering from one of the biggest declines in quality for any show. Inexplicably it's managed to have a sixth season with Kevin Spacey's/Frank's absence leaving a big hole, and it was not only not needed in the slightest the quality is also even worse than the drastically inferior quality of Season 5.
"Chapter 10" may not be among the best episodes of the first season, from personal opinion that is. Directed by Carl Franklin, in the first of four episodes, it is still a very good episode. Franklin acquits him very well here as director, "Chapter 10" may not be one of the most visually interesting episodes, then again living up to the cinematic quality of David Fincher's directing in the first two episodes is always a tall order, but he is at ease and in control of the material from start to finish and never stops making the storytelling engaging.
Didn't find Zoe very interesting here and her material felt underwritten somewhat, which is a shame because previous episodes were doing really well giving her some meat.
The same goes for Adam agreed, who adds little and doesn't have enough personality to shine properly.
On the other hand, the style and atmosphere in the production values still remain. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak, with again some very clever sound quality.
Writing is sharp, has plenty of bite and is thought-provoking, Frank's opening line and Peter's line used in this review summary are especially telling. The story is deliberate in pace yet always compelling because the advancing character development and interactions are so well done.
Characterisation was always a major strength in prime period 'House of Cards', it is here. Claire's material is very meaty here and provides a good deal of tension as well as balancing that with enough tension, like "Chapter 9" she pretty much dominates the episode. While Peter's character development is increasingly advancing and rooted for him the most in "Chapter 10". Continue to find Frank fascinating and love his lines. Have no fault with the acting, other than Kate Mara having too little to do in comparison with the others, with Robin Wright and Corey Stoll coming out on top.
In conclusion, very good episode if not one of the best of Season 1. 8/10
"Chapter 10" may not be among the best episodes of the first season, from personal opinion that is. Directed by Carl Franklin, in the first of four episodes, it is still a very good episode. Franklin acquits him very well here as director, "Chapter 10" may not be one of the most visually interesting episodes, then again living up to the cinematic quality of David Fincher's directing in the first two episodes is always a tall order, but he is at ease and in control of the material from start to finish and never stops making the storytelling engaging.
Didn't find Zoe very interesting here and her material felt underwritten somewhat, which is a shame because previous episodes were doing really well giving her some meat.
The same goes for Adam agreed, who adds little and doesn't have enough personality to shine properly.
On the other hand, the style and atmosphere in the production values still remain. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak, with again some very clever sound quality.
Writing is sharp, has plenty of bite and is thought-provoking, Frank's opening line and Peter's line used in this review summary are especially telling. The story is deliberate in pace yet always compelling because the advancing character development and interactions are so well done.
Characterisation was always a major strength in prime period 'House of Cards', it is here. Claire's material is very meaty here and provides a good deal of tension as well as balancing that with enough tension, like "Chapter 9" she pretty much dominates the episode. While Peter's character development is increasingly advancing and rooted for him the most in "Chapter 10". Continue to find Frank fascinating and love his lines. Have no fault with the acting, other than Kate Mara having too little to do in comparison with the others, with Robin Wright and Corey Stoll coming out on top.
In conclusion, very good episode if not one of the best of Season 1. 8/10