 Ruthless and cunning, Congressman Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and his wife Claire (Robin Wright) stop at nothing to conquer everything. This wicked political drama penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex and corruption in modern D.C. Kate Mara and Corey Stoll co-star in the first original series from David Fincher and Beau Willimon. Storyline: Majority House Whip Francis Underwood takes you on a long journey as he exacts his vengeance on those he feels wronged him - that is, his own cabinet members including the President of the United States himself. Dashing, cunning, methodical and vicious, Frank Underwood along with his equally manipulative yet ambiguous wife, Claire take Washington by storm through climbing the hierarchical ladder to power in this Americanized recreation of the BBC series of the same name. Written by Jacob Oberfrank 4.01 Chapter 40 - Frank travels to his home state of South Carolina for the next phase of his 2016 presidential re-election campaign. Rumors about his wife's absence on the campaign trail grow. Claire is staying at the home of her mother, Elizabeth Hale, though they do not speak to each other for the first few days. -- Claire hires LeAnn Harvey to help her begin a campaign for a local Congressional seat, currently held by Doris Jones. LeAnn tells Claire that it is assumed Doris' daughter Celia Jones will run for the seat next, and Claire insists they will need to change their minds about that. Claire and her mother finally talk. Elizabeth does not hide her contempt for the President, and is bothered by Claire's constant comings and goings, and tensions elevate between them. Doug Stamper arrives at the meeting with Doris and Celia, and sabotages the discussion, but Claire tells LeAnn she is not giving up. -- Frank arrives at Elizabeth's home and informs Claire that her mother is suffering from terminal lymphoma. The two make a deal that Claire will attend the State of the Union address in exchange for Frank leaving her campaign alone. Claire goes into her mother's room and sees that she uses a wig to hide the baldness caused from chemotherapy. Claire and Frank then make a press announcement together regarding Elizabeth's health, thus explaining Claire's absence from Frank's campaign. 4.02 Chapter 41 - Claire starts her own power play for Doris Jones' congressional seat, putting her and Frank at odds with each other. Elizabeth speaks to her friends, urging them to indirectly donate to Dunbar's campaign. Frank makes last minute changes to his speech before delivering the State of the Union address, and during the speech, he announces that he will be fully funding Doris' health care center, and throws in his support for Celia to take over the seat after Doris retires; effectively ending Claire's chances at the seat. -- In the Situation Room, Frank is told that Russian President Viktor Petrov has had several political rivals killed, and that Mr. Milkin, a business owner, has come to the U.S. requesting asylum. Frank, Linda and Cathy call Petrov to discuss the situation, and Petrov accuses Frank of sponsoring an attempted coup against him. In the meantime, Lucas Goodwin is released from prison under witness protection, and is settled into an apartment under an alias. Claire and Elizabeth argue about money for her campaign, and Claire threatens to sell the family property that is in her name. 4.03 Chapter 42 - Doris and Celia introduce Frank at predominantly African-American church in his hometown of Gaffney, South Carolina. There he talks about what it's like to struggle with poverty, and how the recent increase in gasoline prices (due to Russia's slowdown in production), puts pressure on poor communities like theirs. Claire arrives to help Frank with the South Carolina primary, but he doesn't trust her. In the meantime, he hosts Doris and Celia at his house, cementing their support. -- LeAnn accesses the Underwood's safe deposit box, and uses its contents to orchestrate a scandal by having a picture of Frank's father with a KKK member hung across a prominent billboard. Frank's cabinet begins to investigate how the photo got leaked, and attempt to perform damage control from the scandal. Frank addresses the same church again, giving the congregation context for the photo. Seth, however, sends LeAnn a photo of Frank with a Confederate reenactor which then goes public as well, and Frank loses the South Carolina primary. -- Frank finds Claire's earrings in the safe deposit box, revealing the scandals to be a part of her plan to wake Frank up to the shortcomings of his campaign, and how much he needs her on his side. She demands he make her his running mate in his campaign, but Frank derides her proposal. 4.04 Chapter 43 - In the Situation Room, Frank and the Joint Chiefs plan a dangerous political game using Milkin as leverage against Russia. Durant objects, saying the move could trigger a hostile response from Russia, but Frank overrides her and instructs them to draw up the plan. He is later shown signing the plan against Durant's repeated objection. -- Protesters picket a campaign rally at Hammond University, chanting "Blunderwood." Frank first delivers a speech to the friendly crowd inside the university, and then goes outside to greet the protesters. While doing so, he is shot twice by Lucas Goodwin. Edward Meechum returns fire at Goodwin, and both Meechum and Goodwin die from their injuries. Underwood is brought to the hospital in critical condition, and Vice President Donald Blythe is sworn in as Acting President. -- Blythe meets with Frank's cabinet and is presented with the decision to either continue or abort the Milkin operation. He is indecisive, and asks for time to think the situation over. Stamper brings in Claire to help, and with her assistance, Blythe instead decides to land the plane in China. ------- Disc 2 4.05 Chapter 44 - The FBI tells Stamper that Lucas left behind a suicide note detailing out his belief that Frank killed Zoe Barnes and Peter Russo (in Season 1), and that the note was already entered as evidence and could not be hidden away. Stamper tells Claire about the note and she asks for a copy. -- Blythe is preparing to speak with Petrov about the Milkin situation, and asks Claire for help. She offers to sit in on the call, but he tells her Durant would object. Claire then offers to secretly listen in on the call and text him advice on how to respond to Petrov. During the call, Blythe tells Petrov that Frank may not survive, and so the two of them need to learn how to negotiate with each other. -- Claire addresses the press about Frank's health, and also explains away Lucas' accusations as "mental illness". Following up on the story, Kate Baldwin tracks down Tom Hammerschmidt, and he reiterates that he does not believe Lucas' allegations either. Meanwhile, Frank suffers hallucinations as his health continues to deteriorate. The doctors tell Stamper it is too late for a living donation, and that Frank needs a liver transplant to live. 4.06 Chapter 45 - Blythe, Tusk, and the cabinet discuss Claire's Russian economic assistance plan, including the sharing of U.S. oil drilling technologies in exchange for China carrying a larger part of the bailout's cost. Blythe intended to present the plan at the upcoming G7 Summit in Brandenburg, Germany. Claire and Durant argue over Claire's involvement in the process, but Blythe adds Claire to the G7 delegation anyway. Petrov refuses to negotiate with Durant, but will talk with Claire. After arguing the terms, she tells him Petrov is a beggar, and will take what he is given. -- Dunbar is brought before the Department of Justice for questioning about her meeting with Lucas. She admits to it, and uses the opportunity to go after Frank and his administration, but this effectively ends her candidacy. In the meantime, LeAnn is told that GOP candidate Conway is manipulating search engine hits to increase his visibility for the election, which may be an insurmountable advantage. She tells Claire this, but Claire is too preoccupied to address the issue. -- Stamper intimidates the Secretary of Health to make sure Frank is next on the list for liver transplants. As they wait for a donor, Frank hallucinates about Zoe and Russo, his victims. A teenager's suicide provides a viable liver, and Frank goes into surgery. He is moved to the White House as soon as he can talk, and as he recovers from surgery, he asks Claire, "Stay with me." She insists things would have to be different than before, and he agrees. He is later shown signing the bailout agreement Claire created. 4.07 Chapter 46 - Dunbar drops out of the campaign, leaving Frank the last remaining Democratic candidate. He manipulates Blythe into stepping aside, and asks the cabinet to look for a new running mate. Claire talks to the press about gun control, specifically where guns can be purchased without background checks. She speaks with Julia, an NRA representative, who she ruthlessly attacks on Frank's advice. Meanwhile, Tom Hammerschmidt, once again looking into Lucas' death, visits Janine Skorsky who confirms his accusations. -- Conway, Governor of New York State, is the GOP front-runner. He served in the Air Force after 9/11, and is ahead of Frank in the polls. Conway is using Pollyhop, a search engine, to gain an unfair advantage in the election. Stamper works to expose Conway's illegal Pollyhop activity; while LeAnn advises using the threat of ICO, a terrorist organization, to get the FISA Court to authorize domestic surveillance. Conway holds a live webcast, admitting to the Pollyhop data mining, and wins a huge jump in the polls while doing so. Claire advises Frank to abort a military strike against ICO, and instead go forward with LeAnn's plan; he agrees. -- Later, the Underwoods watch footage showing they had met the Conways at President Walker's 2013 New Year's Eve party. They vow to destroy the Conways together. ------- Disc 3 4.08 Chapter 47 - The Conways talk to Yates about publishing his book on the Underwoods, and they offer publicity through their connections at Vanity Fair. Later, Claire meets with Yates, and in exchange for speech writing service, she offers to bring him back on staff to let him finish the book the way he wants to. He agrees to the Underwoods' offer. -- Frank meets with Dean Austin of Ohio, the Democratic party's top pick for his running mate. Meanwhile, Aidan secretly passes information to LeAnn, and she in turn anonymously delivers a quarter million names and phone numbers to the gun control lobby. Claire records an emotional plea for gun control, asking people to call their senators. Later, Claire tells Julia of the NRA that they coordinated eighty-four thousand calls to senators in less than 24 hours. Frank intimidates Austin into publicly supporting Claire's gun control bill which destroys his relationship with the NRA, and his chances at being VP. -- Conway again pressures General Brockhart to resign; this time offering to make him his running mate if he does so. He agreed, and they arrange for him to have a photoshoot on Vanity Fair, and an exclusive interview Baldwin. -- Hammerschmidt continues exploring Zoe's life, following Lucas' trail, and discovers that Meechum used to frequent a pizza place near Zoe's old apartment. 4.09 Chapter 48 - At the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, the party holds an open selection of Frank's running-mate. Durant takes an early lead, but LeAnn works with Celia Jones to leverage Texas' votes for Claire. The Underwoods then offer both Durant and Baker the position of Secretary of State if they throw their support behind Claire. -- Conway goes on the air demanding an apology for Brockhart, and that he do something about the terrorist group ICO. Frank's response is to "kill them with kindness": he publicly apologizes to Brockhart, and asks to meet Conway privately to discuss action on ICO. The two meet in private and talk to each other, but not about ICO. -- When convention voting resumes, Louisiana votes for Durant for President, and pushes to reconsider Frank as the official candidate. Conway reveals that he was contacted by Durant to coordinate the vote. Claire then leaves for Texas, taking Yates with her to work on her potential acceptance speech. 4.10 Chapter 49 - An early morning Slugline article praises Claire's role in the G7 summit negotiations with Russia, while attacking Durant as being ineffective there. Frank announces he is returning to Washington to deal with an ICO advance. On Air Force One, he and Durant talk, and she tells him she will sow dissent in the ranks of the convention until he has Claire support her as the Vice Presidential nominee. -- Claire visits her mother Elizabeth, who has moved downstairs on the advice of hospice care. Though Claire and Elizabeth still have a strained relationship, she and Yates have an instant rapport. The hospice nurse tells Claire they can give Elizabeth medicines to make her comfortable and ease her death. Claire helps Elizabeth take large doses of medication, and she peacefully dies shortly after. Later, she and Yates are shown sharing a moment, and then waking up in bed together. -- LeAnn confronts Stamper about going after her, and tells him we won't find anything on her. Stamper then confronts Seth, who defies him at first, but let the two talk and Seth insists its time they all work together. -- Frank and Durant continue their arguments in the car, and then in the Situation Room. Claire begins to doubt their plan and tells Frank to consider letting Durant win the nomination as his running mate, but he insists they press on. Frank then uses the rumors of Zoe and Russo to intimidate Durant into giving up her votes to Claire. ------- Disc 4 4.11 Chapter 50 - After experiencing pain on Air Force One, Frank is told he can only fly once per week during his recovery. They decide that Claire will continue on the campaign trail without him. She and Yates work on her speeches, and they resume their affair. Yates leaves the campaign, and Frank confronts him. Frank later tells Claire she should take Yates back on the campaign with her. -- Frank wants to go after ICO even harder, and instructs Durant and Stamper to coordinate the involvement of Russian troops, but their efforts are blocked by Conway. Frank then decides to move forward with a ground operation using U.S. troops. -- Stamper receives a voicemail from Laura, Tony Moretti's widow, whom he donated to. He returns the call, and later meets with her at restaurant. -- Remy meets Hammerschmidt where Freddy's Ribs used to be. Remy confirms little at first, but later they play a game of "Never Have I Ever" and Remy indirectly confirms Frank's crimes. Hammerschmidt returns to the Washington Herald to continue his work. 4.12 Chapter 51 - Frank, Claire, Conway, and Brockhart hold a debate while Aidan runs his algorithms on their talking points. Conway and Brockhart deny Frank's accusation that they worked to block the use of Russian troops against ICO. Stamper pressures a reluctant congressman Wallach to publicly state that they did. -- ICO has taken three hostages, the Miller family from Knoxville. They demand a withdrawal of U.S. troops, the release of ICO's captured leader, and will only speak to Conway. Stamper brings FBI and Homeland Security to Aidan's office, and they are able to identify the hostage takers. Frank calls Conway in to help talk to the hostage takers, but the crisis remains unresolved. -- Hammerschmidt tells former President Walker that Frank conspired to have him impeached, and asks him to help expose Frank's crimes. Remy and Jackie meet and discuss Hammerschmidt's investigation, and Jackie says she wants to go on record about Frank. -- Claire asks Stamper to work on an unrevealed plan for the next morning. In the meantime, he goes home to rest and Laura cooks him dinner. 4.13 Chapter 52 - Frank demands the hostage takers release Caroline and Melissa Miller. Meanwhile, Claire negotiates with Yusuf al Ahmadi, who was being held in Guantánamo Bay. The girl and her mother are rescued by the FBI after the hostage takers disclose their location, though James remains a hostage. Ahmadi says he'll help negotiate James' release, but when he goes on the line with the hostage takers, he breaks the agreement. -- Hammerschmidt asks for an interview with Frank regarding his article. Frank calls the story "unsubstantiated tabloid gossip" being used as political ammunition. Hammerschmidt publishes the article without an official comment from Frank, and Jackie and Remy go into hiding soon after its release. -- In the meantime, the FBI and Homeland Security take control of the surveillance algorithm. Without Aidan and Stamper in control, their use of algorithm in the election is at risk of being exposed. -- The Underwoods discuss how to handle their vulnerable position, and Claire suggests leveraging people's fear. Frank makes a speech to the public, telling the nation to prepare for total war against ICO. The end of the episode shows the Underwoods and the cabinet sitting in the Situation Room watching the terrorists' live video of James Miller's execution, and both Frank and Claire break the fourth wall. Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, July 5, 2016 House of Cards doesn't exactly paint a rosy picture of Washington's inside baseball wheelings-and-dealings, and certainly not of the puppeteers who pull the strings. It's dark, violent, scheming, brooding, even frightening, but, really, it's not at all implausible. No, behind the media filter, the carefully written speeches, the "adherence" to the rule of law, essentially all of the "keeping up appearances" that plays out on television screens, radio speakers, and Internet sites really does feel fake if one is completely honest about it. Not to put on a tinfoil hat or anything, but one need not even dig very far back into the past to see holes in official stories, coincidences that are just a little too coincidental, even "accidents" that don't seem all that accidental. House of Cards takes that tinfoil hat, crumples it, and tosses it in the trash. The show, from the mind of Beau Willimon, lifts the proverbial veil and takes viewers into the also proverbial, but also very much real, smoky cloakroom and Washington's most bastardized nooks and crannies for a sprawling spectacle of deceit and personal ambition at the highest levels, where the lives and legacies of those perched at the top of the social and political food chains are all that matter. These people care only for their own well-being and not that of the people they've solemnly sworn to serve and certainly not those who stand in the way of their own personal and political avarice. Season four offers much the same, but "much the same" is what has made the show a standout from its peers. Multiple political crises, interpersonal drama, hot new and re-election campaigns, and several other foreign and domestic surprises give the season its rapid-fire, take-no-prisoners shape that ultimately redefines the very lives of several key players involved. As always, the series is thrilling but at the same time somewhat depressing. It sure does hurt to see the veil lifted, to see Washington for what it is. Yes, this is fiction. But it's fiction fit for the front pages, if the front pages could see and hear more than the carefully coordinated script that masquerades as reality. Maybe that's why the show is so successful. It's cathartic, in a way. It's well made and acted, yes, but beyond that it feels like a shot of truth, a beam of light -- even if it's only illuminating depraved darkness -- into the litter of all the perceived lies. It's hard not to feel jaded about the current political landscape, and House of Cards at least has the dignity of opening it all up for the world to see, hopefully a little darker than it really is but probably right on track, if one is completely honest about it. Season four also offers much of the same by way of its impressive performances and production values. The show is seamless almost to a fault, its authenticity in place, time, and characterization practically as damning to the system as it is entertaining in its sprawling narrative. Season four challenges the cast with a relentless frenzy of activity, covering a wide swath of physical and emotional demands. The cast is unsurprisingly up to the challenge, each of them not only performing admirably but almost relishing the power they wield on the camera and all but falling victim to the endless adrenaline rushes of the trail, the scheme, and everything else at play in the House of Cards political scene. Spacey and Wright are startlingly good in every scene, both practically born to play the roles or, at least, so talented that the complexities come naturally and all of the ebbs and flows of their mental machinations and physical undertakings seem so inherent to who they are that they feel as comfortable in the roles as if they were to slip on pair of slippers, sip a warm drink, and lose themselves in a good book. And considering the absolute depravity that's so often at the center of the show, that's very impressive. Supportive cast is excellent, too, and the series' brooding veneer has never looked better. This is House of Cards at its best. The following episodes comprise House of Cards: The Complete Fourth Season. Synopses are courtesy of an insert included with the Blu-ray packaging. Spoilers follow. Disc One:
Disc Two:
Disc Three:
Disc Four:
Season four is arguably the best season yet. The intrigue runs deep. Surprises abound. It encapsulates everything that's great about the show and everything that one could imagine that's bad about the political system. It's dark and engrossing, expertly performed and a pleasure to watch both on its face and almost in a strangely cathartic sort of way, too, with the veil of phoniness of "real" politics removed and the truth exposed for all to see. Sony's Blu-ray release of House of Cards: The Complete Fourth Season unfortunately features no supplemental content. Video and audio are impressive. Highly recommended, but newcomers should obviously start back at the beginning. Cast Notes: Kevin Spacey (Francis Underwood [52 episodes, 2013-2016]), Robin Wright (Claire Underwood [52 episodes, 2013-2016]), Michael Kelly (Doug Stamper [51 episodes, 2013-2016]), Nathan Darrow (Edward Meechum [35 episodes, 2013-2016]), Mahershala Ali (Remy Danton [33 episodes, 2013-2016]), Derek Cecil (Seth Grayson [30 episodes, 2014-2016]), Lamont Easter (Underwood Secret Service [29 episodes, 2014-2016]), Molly Parker (Jackie Sharp [25 episodes, 2014-2016]), Michel Gill (President Garrett Walker [24 episodes, 2013-2016]), Marla Aaron Wapner (WH Press Corp /....[24 episodes, 2013-2016]), Jayne Atkinson (Catherine Durant [23 episodes, 2013-2016]), Elizabeth Marvel (Heather Dunbar [23 episodes, 2014-2016]), Gary Ayash (White House Press Corp Reporter /....[21 episodes, 2013-2016]). IMDb Rating (03/13/15): 9.1/10 from 193,482 users
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