House of Cards (TV Series) Chapter 60 (2017) User Reviews

Frank Goes to Camp

[Samuel-Shovel · 9/10 · 10 October 2017]

Chapter 60 finds Frank Underwood at a bigwig retreat in the woods attempting to make friends who can help him win the election. Meanwhile Claire, who is back in Washington as acting president, has a Chinese-Russian crisis on her hands to deal with. What do the two have in store?

The first scene of the hooded cult sacrificing a mummified body while chanting spells made me roll my eyes a bit but after that mild inconvenience, this turned into a really good mid-season episode.

The decision to leave Conway out of this episode was a smart one in my opinion. The separation the audience feels from Conway over this extended period will force us to wonder how he's doing in our absence. It wouldn't surprise me to find him even more high strung when we return to him; this absence from the episode, despite the fact we see other main characters from his camp, makes it feel as if Conway is isolated and alone.

Mark Usher's doublecross has felt inevitable for a while. Conway is slowly pushing all his allies away from him. Even his own friends no longer wish him to win the presidency.

Raymond Tusk's appearance was a nice surprise. I always enjoyed his character and watching him and Underwood spar one more time was something I wanted to see. Perhaps this isn't the last we'll see of him.

Finally, we need to talk about Tom and Claire's relationship. What does it all mean? Tom professes his uninhibited love for Claire but simultaneously sees a woman in New York and sleeps with a White House tour guy. It seems as if Claire is set up for some type of heartbreak. While her demeanor may seem cold and demure, Claire can be a very sensitive soul in private. We shall see how her relationship affects her political career moving forward.

There's So Much Carelessness

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 26 June 2017]

As Will Conway continues down the road to oblivion, it would seem that nothing he does is not recorded. Nor is there anything that his campaign people do or say, that is not picked up. The stars seem aligned for Frank, but we know that with a host of episodes yet to come, it would be poor drama to have a done deal where we watch it all play out as expected. Frank has gotten hold of the recording of Conway having his moment on board the private jet where he demanded that they let him fly the plane. Of course, he is a damaged candidate and he probably wouldn't be a good President. So balance that against Frank and Claire and their pure evil. And Tom, who is in love with Claire, making things happen, is somehow entrenched in the game. There is so much betrayal. I mean, these guys and their egos must know how much power is at stake. Doug Stamper is the focus of Hammerschmidt and doesn't know it. He may be the fly in the ointment. Let's continue down the road. How will the Underwoods facilitate their new found bounty.

Your prop master should learn how to set up a chess set

[michaeljtrubic · 9/10 · 25 June 2017]

When a very good show like this is analyzed we don't keep talking about what they are doing right. We take for granted that it is doing lots of things right, instead we look for its flaws.

Like the dialog from the film "The Counselor", there is a wonderful scene where they talk about diamonds. When you make a comparison of diamonds you focus on its flaws.

In this episode, the eighth of the season, the only flaw that I see in perhaps seven hours of footage is a chess set that was set up by someone that doesn't know that a queen goes on her colour.

I just wanted to say that me and very many other views are so tuned in to this show that we notice things like that.

I look forward to your next flaw.

"And you're remembered not for the winning, but because you never lost"

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 19 May 2020]

Season 5 on re-watch has not quite had the "like a completely different show" feel when having first watched the season, having watched all the episodes again recently to see whether my opinions of each individual episode remain the same or gotten better or worse (mostly the same just to say). My positive opinions of Seasons 1-4 still hold up, Season 5 is a little better than remembered but has things that could have been done a lot better while my intense dislike of Season 6 still stands.

"Chapter 60" is the mid-way point of Season 5, seventh episode out of thirteen, and it is not a bad one. Don't really consider any of the Season 5 episodes terrible, though they are all pretty patchy. As far as comparing with the previous episodes it's towards the weaker end along with "Chapter 55", "Chapter 57" and "Chapter 58". A quite big step-down from the surprisingly good big improvement that was the previous episode, which also had the least amount of flaws.

The slick style and class of the photography hasn't been lost. Nor has the atmosphere of the settings and lighting. The same goes for the music. With the writing, which generally is flawed, there are thought-provoking and biting moments like with Frank. Raymond Tusk's return is a delight and far from squandered. Jane and Brockhurst are interesting enough characters, although Brockhurst's motivations are clearer.

Frank hasn't lost any of his ruthlessness and he has been one of the main reasons as to why to the show has been stuck with. One in my view can see why Usher acts the way he does and it's buyable. Despite not being present physically in the episode, Conway's presence can be felt and it comes over as threatening. Kevin Spacey stands out of the uniformly great acting.

On the flip side of things, "Chapter 60" also can lack tautness. Not just the pace, which can suffer from events being too drawn out, but also some of the writing which could have been more succinct. Development-wise, Frank is fine but there is also melodrama and political jargon that may go over viewers' heads. The Russia and China story doesn't hugely advance and some intriguing moments aside it is also a little too convoluted and could have been paced a little tighter.

Everything with Claire and Yates is pointless in "Chapter 60" and is as dull as dishwater. Very like the character of Yates himself throughout the season. Also very nearly forgot to mention the cheesy and somewhat irrelevant beginning.

So far from a bad episode, but could have been more. 6/10