Chapter 34
- Episode aired Feb 27, 2015
- TV-MA
- 44m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
A hurricane endangers more than just the entire East Coast and Frank must make a difficult choice.A hurricane endangers more than just the entire East Coast and Frank must make a difficult choice.A hurricane endangers more than just the entire East Coast and Frank must make a difficult choice.
Jill Marie Lawrence
- Sec of Housing and Urban Development
- (as Jillmarie Lawrence)
Evander Duck Jr.
- Secretary of Transportation
- (as Evander Duck)
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Kate Baldwin: [from her hurricane article] A storm has been forming. Not for weeks, but for decades. It's name is not Faith; it's Francis. The entire nation is in his path, and if we ignore the warnings, then we have no one but ourselves to blame.
Featured review
"It's good to have dreams, just so long as they're not fantasies"
With "Chapter 34" Season 3 of 'House of Cards' is just a little over its halfway point, and the season up to this point was a more than solid one with this and all the previous episodes being between good and excellent. Although "Chapter 29" and "Chapter 32" were divisive, to me while with their (fairly big) issues and lesser episodes of the season they were well done and had a lot of recommendable things about them.
Along with "Chapter 28" and "Chapter 33", "Chapter 34" is one of the best episodes up to this point of the season and as far as Season 3 goes it is in the better end. It doesn't quite achieve the same level of brilliance seen in the best of Seasons 1 and 2, and the third season generally wasn't quite as strong as them. That is not knocking it though because the quality is still high and 'House of Cards' is still at the stage where it was one of my favourite and most addictive shows.
Nothing inherently wrong here in "Chapter 34" really, though as said the extra something that the best episodes of the previous two seasons is not quite here. Other episodes had more emotional impact, but that is not that major a criticism and is just a personal nit-pick.
The storytelling is always absorbing, and with a lot going on without crowding the episode too much. It didn't feel like filler and like things were moving forward, more so than the previous episode. The character writing also seems to progress and become more interesting, particularly Kate and Freddy. Thomas also plays an intriguing role. The script hasn't lost its sharp bite or edge, while doing a lot with the episode's making the impossible possible (or separating the two) theme, which a great job is done with.
It's Freddy's line mentioned above that sums up the episode's theme well, while Kate's hurricane article one is a great way of summing up Frank and the goings on. Also memorable is Thomas' analogy, which is surprisingly frank in a quite strong way. Frank's ruthlessness has not been lost while not being over the top, though his more optimistic side is interesting to see. Kevin Spacey is without issue as Frank and Reg E. Cathey and Kim Dickens are on his level. The production values are still stylish, have always loved how 'House of Cards' was shot. The direction is taut but has breathing space, balancing both well.
On the whole, great and a step in the right direction. 9/10
Along with "Chapter 28" and "Chapter 33", "Chapter 34" is one of the best episodes up to this point of the season and as far as Season 3 goes it is in the better end. It doesn't quite achieve the same level of brilliance seen in the best of Seasons 1 and 2, and the third season generally wasn't quite as strong as them. That is not knocking it though because the quality is still high and 'House of Cards' is still at the stage where it was one of my favourite and most addictive shows.
Nothing inherently wrong here in "Chapter 34" really, though as said the extra something that the best episodes of the previous two seasons is not quite here. Other episodes had more emotional impact, but that is not that major a criticism and is just a personal nit-pick.
The storytelling is always absorbing, and with a lot going on without crowding the episode too much. It didn't feel like filler and like things were moving forward, more so than the previous episode. The character writing also seems to progress and become more interesting, particularly Kate and Freddy. Thomas also plays an intriguing role. The script hasn't lost its sharp bite or edge, while doing a lot with the episode's making the impossible possible (or separating the two) theme, which a great job is done with.
It's Freddy's line mentioned above that sums up the episode's theme well, while Kate's hurricane article one is a great way of summing up Frank and the goings on. Also memorable is Thomas' analogy, which is surprisingly frank in a quite strong way. Frank's ruthlessness has not been lost while not being over the top, though his more optimistic side is interesting to see. Kevin Spacey is without issue as Frank and Reg E. Cathey and Kim Dickens are on his level. The production values are still stylish, have always loved how 'House of Cards' was shot. The direction is taut but has breathing space, balancing both well.
On the whole, great and a step in the right direction. 9/10
helpful•50
- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 1, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
- 2.00 : 1
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