'House of Cards' Recap: Claire Underwood steals the spotlight

This article will contain spoilers for House of Cards Chapter 44, 45 and 46.

As House of Cards’ 44th chapter opens, Frank Underwood finds himself on his back, powerless, with his forehead in the cross-hairs, an obvious visual metaphor for the president’s lowest point yet. He imagines himself in the presence of his great great great grandfather, Augustus Underwood, who was killed during the Civil War after running out of ammo and making his last stand. “I had nothing,” the Civil War reenactor playing Augustus recalled to Frank back in Season 2. “Just these hands.” Is this Frank’s last stand, as well, with his journey cut short in an instant by a single bullet?

These next two House of Cards episodes make for a disorienting experience to say the least, both because of the trippy dream sequences and because they’re the only chapters in the series where Frank is absent from all major events. While he's incapacitated, Claire brilliantly manipulates the interim president to put herself in a position to get things done and prove she's a worthy leader. It's like a preview of her own presidential run, which seems inevitable at this point. This is all at the expense of her husband, as she quickly undermines everything Frank has been planning with Russia for weeks now.

And Frank isn’t the only person Claire undermines during this ordeal. She lets it slip that the president needs a liver transplant, something the staff has been working hard to keep quiet. She pushes Secretary of State Catherine Durant aside and attempts to take over that role, too. Durant insists that Claire’s plan to involve China in the Russia negotiations is crazy and will never work, but her warnings are no use. She has been completely and totally shut out by a woman who has never held elected office.

“Her presence undermines my authority as Secretary of State,” Cathy complains.

Yes, it does and that's the whole idea. The plan works unsurprisingly and Claire is able to stand up to Petrov in one of Robin Wright’s most extraordinary House of Cards scenes yet.

When Petrov tells Claire she’s no president and is nothing without Frank, the first lady stares this bully straight in the eye, calling his bluff and pushing him into a corner.

“The truth is you’re a beggar on your knees, and you will take whatever we shove down your throat.”

Hot damn. Claire strolls confidently into the lobby afterwards to inform the actual secretary of state, who is literally taking a nap at the time, that the negotiations are finished. Publicly, Durant has to take the credit, but it’s presumably only a matter of time before Claire touts her own achievements.

By briefly getting Frank out of the picture, Claire for the first time is able to shine without him and although two episodes missing the show’s main character might sound dull, the result is anything but. We have a better sense than ever before just how ruthless Claire is and how capable she would likely be as president, although the series has always been a bit inconsistent on exactly how competent Claire is, especially during her run as ambassador. For now, seeing her make these moves to assert her dominance, despite lack of any real power, feels very in line with Season 1 Frank and that is a refreshing change of pace for the show. Later, when Remy presents the idea of the China-Russia partnership as if Claire didn’t coordinate the whole thing behind the scenes, she might as well deliver a monologue into the camera about everything going according to plan.

In addition to further developing Claire's personal quest for power, these two Frank-less episodes also hammer in just how little Claire thinks about her husband as anything other than a political tool. After all, upon finding out that he is about to undergo life-threatening surgery, she refuses to abort her trip. She explains to Donald Blythe that when she thinks about Frank’s death, she feels nothing and for once it appears she is telling the truth. When Claire heads to the oval office, it's Doug, not her, who stays with Frank. Later, when she’s informed that the president is awake, it’s as if the wind has gone out of her sails, the look of a potential understudy learning that the lead actor will make it after all. Yet in a press conference, Claire coldly pretends to choke up at the thought of Frank’s demise, an utterly chilling moment of media.

As all this is happening, Frank encounters the ghosts of characters past, allowing for the return of Zoe Barnes ... sort of. Apparently she cut her hair in the afterlife. What begins as a seduction devolves into a nightmare as Zoe presses on Frank’s eyes as if to pull a Gregor Clegane. You'll recall that Claire did the same thing in a dream sequence earlier in the season. What's going on with Frank and his obsession with his eyes being poked out? That thought is interrupted by a sinister-looking Peter Russo suddenly appearing from behind the desk. The inside of the oval office, a place Frank literally committed murder multiple times to get himself inside, is now his tomb, with Zoe and Frank functioning as a massive anvil hanging over his head at all times. Frank tries to leave, but he can’t; there is no longer any escape.

Never is one word uttered on Frank’s end in either of these episodes, yet we perfectly understand everything he is thinking and feeling. The president realizes just how perilous his situation is, which he had previously lost sight of in the heat of battle. Even if he makes it out of surgery, his own house of cards is guaranteed to collapse any second. Could Lucas’ actions lead to an investigation of Zoe Barnes’ death, which would inevitably uncover revelations about Peter Russo? Never has it been more clear to Frank that he needs Claire by his side to fend off his enemies. He can’t afford to have his own wife working against him. The nightmare ends with Frank and Claire silently, somewhat peacefully, sitting together, Frank's antagonists having disappeared. 

Frank makes it through, thanks to the sudden availability of a liver and thanks to Doug conspiring to get Frank at the top of the donor list. In the aftermath, Claire agrees to come back to Frank, and in “Chapter 46,” the season enters a new phase, leaving the Underwoods’ civil war dynamic behind. That conflict helped breathe new life into the series after the disappointing third season, but its conclusion is underwhelming. By “Chapter 46,” the status quo appears to have been completely restored and the Underwoods coming back together primarily because of a near-death experience is a bit trite. Clearly, there is still a massive rift between the two, but it’s hard to believe that after spending the first several episodes desperately fighting to destroy each other at all costs, both Frank and Claire are perfectly fine returning to the way things were before.

But “Chapter 46” still offers plenty of classic House of Cards moments, in particular towards the beginning, when Frank’s words totally contradict his actions. What else is new? In a meeting, the president is informed about the dangers of ICO, House of Cards’ version of ISIS, but he has no plans to launch a strike against the terrorist organization. After all, he claims, they do not appear to pose a serious threat to national security. We smash cut right from that line of dialogue to a scene of a lawyer telling the FISA court, “The president believes ICO to be a serious threat.”

President Underwood, we discover, is shamelessly using the rise of a terrorist organization as an excuse to expand domestic surveillance and spy on American civilians. No, not to protect anyone, but because it will allow him to collect voter data and will make it easier to win the upcoming election. Not for one second does Underwood appear to consider the legitimate crisis of ICO's rise to power. In fact, he later completely reverses his opinion on conducting this mission only because it might prevent General Brockhart from resigning, which would look bad politically. But wait, then he flip-flops again because attacking ICO might, God forbid, actually eliminate ICO and how could he spy on civilians without an excuse? So sure, let a bunch of terrorists thrive in order to win an election. Frank has abused the powers of the presidency plenty of times before, but this might take the cake.

And it’s all because out on the campaign trail, Underwood is being destroyed by his republican opposition, Governor Will Conway, who we’re introduced to in this episode and who is an excellent contribution to the series. A consistent issue with House of Cards has been the inability to make Underwood’s opponents seem like effective politicians in their own right. President Garret Walker was incompetent, easily manipulated, and so uncharismatic that it was difficult to understand how he even made his way into the White House. But it’s quite easy to see the appeal of Conway, a young, charismatic conservative with real ideas and a promise to kick a corrupt president out of office. The first speech we see him give doesn’t exactly bring the house down, but it at least seems the writers have put serious thought into how a republican candidate could effectively take down Underwood and inspire voters. They have not merely written an uninteresting caricature to be easily conquered.

But of course, there is no such thing as an uncorrupt politician on House of Cards and so we find out that Conway is working with Polyhop, a Google analogue, to collect voter data. He doesn’t appear to be doing anything illegal, but it’s certainly something that would give voters pause. Frank, naturally, must strike back, hence that horrifying domestic surveillance plan. Which candidate can execute the more unethical plan to invade American citizens' privacy? The race to the bottom has begun! The candidates “meet” for the first time in a wonderful phone call sequence, in which Frank taunts Conway from his high horse and claims that he’s not the one breaking the law, even though he’s currently having Doug and LeAnne make a deal to illegally obtain voter data. Frank has the upper hand for now, but that doesn’t last long, as Conway holds an online conference to tell everyone whatever they wanted to know about Polyhop and to release all of his personal emails and videos. Your move, Underwood.

Meanwhile, Claire is engaging in a duel of her very own, using Frank’s assassination as an opportunity to push gun control reform. The ideas she presents are all quite practical, but the dark implication is that Claire is exploiting what happened to Frank for political purposes, not because it affected her or because she is genuinely concerned about gun reform. Passing this bill would simply be another achievement to add to her resume when she eventually runs for office. Let’s not forget that only one episode ago, Claire was all but wishing for Frank to not make it out of his surgery. We’re reminded of what a formidable force Frank and Claire are as they perfectly rehearse a meeting with the NRA chairwoman before it happens. That’s how damn good they are at this: They can see each opponent's move far in advance. Still, though, the dynamic feels a bit strange. Frank and Claire are now more effective together than they ever were, with little hint of animosity not long after they were at each other's throats. It’s not hard to believe that they would reconcile for political purposes, but like many plot points in House of Cards, the reconciliation feels rushed and awkward.

In general, that's how this whole move to the new section of the season feels. Season 4 got started with a highly entertaining war between the Underwoods. It then disrupted things with an assassination attempt that shook up the status quo, only to suddenly bring everything back to about where we were last season. The battle between Frank and Conway should make for a compelling third act, but the transition could have been handled more deftly.