Review: House of Cards ‘Chapter 10’ – Treason Within The Ranks

The fallout of the congressional vote gives ‘Chapter 10’ a very different backdrop than other episodes: instead of the Underwoods fighting together, they’re fighting against each other, exposing the scarred underbelly of their marriage and finally revealing the true devil under the mask of Frank Underwood. Arguably the most gripping chapter yet in the series, ‘Chapter 10’ doesn’t completely shake the trappings of previous episodes, but stands as an important moment in the journey of many important characters.

‘Chapter 10’ sees Frank in full damage control mode after the bill doesn’t pass, forcing him to run and make a deal with Remy – and also putting into motion his big secret plan, which we actually don’t find out much about in this episode. Apparently the first step in the plan is to thoroughly ruin Peter Russo, a phase that’s executed to perfection by Doug in the episode’s second half.

What happens to Peter is devastating to watch on screen, though I did get the feeling he had no chance from the word go. All season I’ve been waiting for Peter to finally become a worthy adversary to Frank, someone who’s not afraid of the dirt he’s got on him to challenge him. Turns out he’ll never be that character: all it takes is a whiff of Rachel’s vagina and a taste of alcohol on his lips, and Peter’s up having sex and drinking until seven o’clock in the morning.

Worst of all, Frank doesn’t do it just to throw him off the wagon – he does it to sabotage the deal he pushed Peter into making with Remy, a deal that also represents political suicide for his career if it fails. All in favor of Frank’s ambition, a quality he so proudly details as he sits and smokes in his window alone, wondering where Claire went after their argument in his office.

While it’s an interesting twist, I think it also pushes Frank into a corner as a character: how are we ever going to want to see good things happen to man who’d do something to Russo like that? We all knew Frank was a man without empathy – but the events of ‘Chapter 10’ show what a monster he really is, a thin line House of Cards has to be careful to watch. The reason anti-heroes like Tony Soprano and Vic Mackey were such great characters is because they were layered by their loyalties and affections – so far, Frank’s only real emotional connection appears to be to a college lover that we’ll probably never see again.

Corey Stoll continues to be terrific as Peter Russo, as his continuous downward spiral gets darker and darker. Unfortunately, I think the events of this episode make his future fairly bleak – unless the show’s got some sign of strength from him in the last few episodes, the repetitive beat down of his character (under the complete control of Frank) just isn’t sustainable. His face as he’s miserably failing his radio interview (what appears to be the catalyst of Frank’s plan) is just devastating, and finds a new low for a character I didn’t think existed.

I’m hoping for more Claire material in the last three episodes: separated from Frank while she’s on her tryst with Alex in NY, I enjoyed the show finally putting word to her internal frustrations, pointing out to Frank that their ‘marriage’ and ‘alliance’ were never supposed to feature her making constant sacrifices for plans she’s not privy to. In a way, she’s speaking for the audience: how can viewers trust a man who doesn’t reveal his plans, leaving us with his smug diatribes and dissatisfied sneers? Just hearing her laugh while in Alex’s apartment was a great moment for her character, the first time we’ve seen her relax on screen.

Despite the way he’s been portrayed thus far, I think Alex remains the biggest wild card in the Underwood marriage. He views Claire in a light Frank simply doesn’t, clinging to her while cuddling, and kneeling before her as he undresses her, as if to worship every inch of her being. It presents a stark (albeit obvious) parallel to her marriage with Frank, right down to their idea of a ‘party’, a completely different venue than Claire’s normal, formal to the point of suffocation type of events.

‘Chapter 10’ still has its problematic characters – Zoe, who decides to sleep with Frank and her old co-worker in this episode after being calmly chastised by Claire, and Rebecca, the hooker who’s no longer a hooker but will still do hooker activities if sweet Dougie asks her, too (they’ve really just been holding onto her for awhile, just for this ‘plan’). And while the scenes with Peter and Claire are wildly entertaining, Frank’s manipulations are getting more theatrical and brutal as he works towards this grand plan of his – and with only three episodes left, it won’t be long until we finally know what that plan is.

Grade: B+

Other thoughts/observations:

– just a note to readers: new positions caused the month delay between chapter reviews. Don’t worry, though – the rest of the series will publish over the next week and a half, before Hemlock Grove and Arrested Development hit Netflix (both of which I’ll be covering).

– Frank’s got himself some goodwill with Linda, something I’m sure he’ll cash in on soon.

– the big mystery of the episode: where did Peter disappear to?

– Remy doesn’t eat pork – of course, a food choice made for political reasons.

– why doesn’t Claire smile? Because her mother always bugged her to, making Claire feel like she was only beautiful if she was smiling.

– Claire’s not the biggest fan of the pot.

– notice how the phone Frank throws and smashes is a Blackberry… Apple loyalists to the end on this show.

– Doug doesn’t really want friends – nor does he want to learn how to play chess.

– Frank trying to blame Claire’s emotions on her menopause felt like a cheap move, even for his character.