There are so many bodies in the wake of the Underwood efforts. First, there is a falling out with the President who knows Frank is behind so much of what has happened but has kept him in the dark. President Walker is really a fine person, not deserving this. Claire and the gang continue to use and manipulate Megan and leave hung out to dry as she is attacked by Jackie on a talk show (her fragility exposed). The schitzy Doug continues to lust after Rachel and gives her an ultimatum. She is to drive her roommate away, and yet Doug doesn't know his mind, other than he needs to control her. He is trying to please too many masters. The counseling sessions with the President and the First Lady have now been laid bare. Frank has cut the legs from under the First Family. Tusk is subpoenaed and takes the fifth. Frank is letting it all hang out like the soldiers on his little battlefield. Risking everything. It's all set up. Frank must eventually deal with the Chinese, but he is now ready to make the final move. He and Claire, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, have sold their souls.
2 Reviews
"I've managed to isolate the president from everyone... including myself"
TheLittleSongbird9 June 2019
Season 1 was a great season, remarkably so for a first season with a lot of shows taking time to settle whereas that for 'House of Cards' was one of its best seasons throughout its run. All the episodes being good to brilliant. Season 2 was not quite as good, with a slight slump in quality in the first half of it, the episodes still managing to be very good but the first half of Season 1 was great. But the second half ("Chapter 19" onward) is excellent.
"Chapter 25" from personal opinion is one of Season 2's best episodes. One might argue that it is setting things up for the season finale, or like a prelude (being the season's penultimate episode), and in that respect "Chapter 25" succeeds brilliantly. Also consider it another one of the best 'House of Cards' episodes up to this point, at a stage where the lesser episodes were still good. Long before the show's significant decline in its last two seasons. Know that keeps getting mentioned but it does show how strongly a decline as big as the one for 'House of Cards' was makes me feel, going from one of the best television shows in recent years to near-unwatchable.
Talking now about "Chapter 25", it contains all of what makes the previous episodes so good, except the dialogue is even sharper and blacker than before, momentum has tightened and the tension has increased the more ambitious the characters have gotten.
Visually, "Chapter 25" looks great, the slickness has not been lost and neither has the atmosphere. A big standout here is the very opening, which immediately creates an air of unsettlement. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak. The writing is sharp and has bite and intelligence, getting darker all the time. The story is taut and absorbing with enough surprises to keep one guessing.
Its tension and suspense, apparent from the very start, has reached near fever pitch, especially with the continued development with Doug thanks to Michael Kelly's increasingly burning intensity, and the political tension which much of "Chapter 25" is centered around has lost none of its edge. All while not being too over-complicated that it loses the viewer. Frank and Claire continue to get more unscrupulous and manipulative all the time. Another standout in the character writing is Jackie, the steel and ferocity beautifully brought out by Molly Parker.
Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright continue to be knockouts, as are Kelly and Parker.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10
"Chapter 25" from personal opinion is one of Season 2's best episodes. One might argue that it is setting things up for the season finale, or like a prelude (being the season's penultimate episode), and in that respect "Chapter 25" succeeds brilliantly. Also consider it another one of the best 'House of Cards' episodes up to this point, at a stage where the lesser episodes were still good. Long before the show's significant decline in its last two seasons. Know that keeps getting mentioned but it does show how strongly a decline as big as the one for 'House of Cards' was makes me feel, going from one of the best television shows in recent years to near-unwatchable.
Talking now about "Chapter 25", it contains all of what makes the previous episodes so good, except the dialogue is even sharper and blacker than before, momentum has tightened and the tension has increased the more ambitious the characters have gotten.
Visually, "Chapter 25" looks great, the slickness has not been lost and neither has the atmosphere. A big standout here is the very opening, which immediately creates an air of unsettlement. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak. The writing is sharp and has bite and intelligence, getting darker all the time. The story is taut and absorbing with enough surprises to keep one guessing.
Its tension and suspense, apparent from the very start, has reached near fever pitch, especially with the continued development with Doug thanks to Michael Kelly's increasingly burning intensity, and the political tension which much of "Chapter 25" is centered around has lost none of its edge. All while not being too over-complicated that it loses the viewer. Frank and Claire continue to get more unscrupulous and manipulative all the time. Another standout in the character writing is Jackie, the steel and ferocity beautifully brought out by Molly Parker.
Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright continue to be knockouts, as are Kelly and Parker.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
