Frank and Claire are ensconced in the White House. They have achieved all the evil they planned on as the last season ended. Of course, they are not happy because they would like to be world emperors, to have their hands in every bit of political business that exists. Claire is a bundle of nerves whenever Frank mentions that he is the President and Claire is the Vice President. She has had her taste. Meanwhile, Doug Stamper does all he can as the minion to help with the day to day bits of evil. He frequently oversteps his bounds and Frank calls him on it. With Hammerschmidt investigating the death of Zoey Barnes, something is going to go down. Mark is now the right hand man and this is a threat to Doug, even though Frank has said they are merely keeping an eye on him. LeeAnn is being booted out because they sense she was careless. Actually, what is perceived was not her fault. The final scene of this episode is striking as an omen of things to come. Four episodes to go. Where will they go?
4 Reviews
"It's hard to know who to trust these days"
TheLittleSongbird26 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 61" is nowhere near one of the best 'House of Cards' episodes overall, but for me it is towards the top half in ranking for the season. It is not a great episode but is a pretty good episode, with most of the season's good things but also with some of its not so good things. The tautness of the episodes of Seasons 1-4, very like the rest of the fifh season, is not quite there, yet there are great things like a typically stylish visual look and great characterisation, which is hardly unusual for 'House of Cards', if anything on the most part they are two of the best things about the show when at its best.
Almost all of the 'House of Cards' episodes have good things, though did have to seriously fish for any in the last two episodes and only succeeded with the penultimate one. "Chapter 61" is not an exception. The production values are right on and likewise with the music. The writing has sharpness and bite in near-prime-'House of Cards' style. Frank's bitterness-filled inauguration speech is one of the show's best speeches and classic Frank Underwood.
There are also enough compelling moments in the storytelling, didn't find myself bored to tears, insulted or scratching my mind. Hammerschmidt's role is interesting and advances events. All the acting is great.
However, the pace can be a bit slow. The official sealing of the deal part should have riveted but somehow lacked the tension and intrigue it ought to have had.
Even if it did progress somewhat the plot that it was part of.
Good episode on the whole. Albeit not a great one. 7/10
"Chapter 61" is nowhere near one of the best 'House of Cards' episodes overall, but for me it is towards the top half in ranking for the season. It is not a great episode but is a pretty good episode, with most of the season's good things but also with some of its not so good things. The tautness of the episodes of Seasons 1-4, very like the rest of the fifh season, is not quite there, yet there are great things like a typically stylish visual look and great characterisation, which is hardly unusual for 'House of Cards', if anything on the most part they are two of the best things about the show when at its best.
Almost all of the 'House of Cards' episodes have good things, though did have to seriously fish for any in the last two episodes and only succeeded with the penultimate one. "Chapter 61" is not an exception. The production values are right on and likewise with the music. The writing has sharpness and bite in near-prime-'House of Cards' style. Frank's bitterness-filled inauguration speech is one of the show's best speeches and classic Frank Underwood.
There are also enough compelling moments in the storytelling, didn't find myself bored to tears, insulted or scratching my mind. Hammerschmidt's role is interesting and advances events. All the acting is great.
However, the pace can be a bit slow. The official sealing of the deal part should have riveted but somehow lacked the tension and intrigue it ought to have had.
Even if it did progress somewhat the plot that it was part of.
Good episode on the whole. Albeit not a great one. 7/10
After the Election
Samuel-Shovel16 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Chapter 61 continues season 5's trend of having odd pacing to the Underwood's plot. We completely skip over the tie breaking election and go straight to the inauguration of Frank's new term. You'd think something like a runoff election could hold some serious tension and good scenes but I guess the writers disagreed and decided to move forward straight to the result.
It'll be interesting to see Conway's role for the remainder of the season. Will he try to get his revenge in some fashion or will he fade into the background like so many of Underwood's vanquished foes before him? What will become of Aidan? What will become of Leann? The Underwood administration finds itself at a crossroads as new players like Jane and Usher are entering and others like Leann are on the way out. Who will emerge on the right aide of history? The Underwood's complicated romantic relationships continue to be a perpetual subplot. From Zoe Barnes to Adam Galloway to Tom Yates and now Eric Rawlings, the power couple always know how to keep things interesting.
So where do we go from here? Obviously Zoe's and Rachel's murders will be a major thread moving forward and will occupy a decebt amount of the upcoming plot but with the election wrapped up, how will the Underwoods occupy their screen time in the Oval Office? Hostility with Russia (especially after stealing back Aidan) is at an all time high and I'm assuming this will a big thread as we near the end.
Conclusion: Not the best episode of the season but certainly not bad.
It'll be interesting to see Conway's role for the remainder of the season. Will he try to get his revenge in some fashion or will he fade into the background like so many of Underwood's vanquished foes before him? What will become of Aidan? What will become of Leann? The Underwood administration finds itself at a crossroads as new players like Jane and Usher are entering and others like Leann are on the way out. Who will emerge on the right aide of history? The Underwood's complicated romantic relationships continue to be a perpetual subplot. From Zoe Barnes to Adam Galloway to Tom Yates and now Eric Rawlings, the power couple always know how to keep things interesting.
So where do we go from here? Obviously Zoe's and Rachel's murders will be a major thread moving forward and will occupy a decebt amount of the upcoming plot but with the election wrapped up, how will the Underwoods occupy their screen time in the Oval Office? Hostility with Russia (especially after stealing back Aidan) is at an all time high and I'm assuming this will a big thread as we near the end.
Conclusion: Not the best episode of the season but certainly not bad.
More entertaining moments from Frank and Claire.
snoozejonc9 May 2023
The election is conceded and the new president is inaugurated.
Generally the narrative during season 5 has slowed down, particularly regarding the build-up and fallout from the election, but now thankfully it has been concluded and we can go back to watching the main characters lording it over Washington and battling their numerous enemies.
Various characters, such as Mark Usher and Jane Davis continue to intrigue and make you wonder what will happen as they get more involved with the Underwoods.
Hammerschmit's arc continues to develop nicely, but we know it is likely to hit an anticlimax when Kevin Spacey's character is no longer involved in the show.
As always the visuals are beautiful and the lead performances are excellent.
For me it's a 7.5/10, but I round upwards.
Generally the narrative during season 5 has slowed down, particularly regarding the build-up and fallout from the election, but now thankfully it has been concluded and we can go back to watching the main characters lording it over Washington and battling their numerous enemies.
Various characters, such as Mark Usher and Jane Davis continue to intrigue and make you wonder what will happen as they get more involved with the Underwoods.
Hammerschmit's arc continues to develop nicely, but we know it is likely to hit an anticlimax when Kevin Spacey's character is no longer involved in the show.
As always the visuals are beautiful and the lead performances are excellent.
For me it's a 7.5/10, but I round upwards.
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