THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS
Even if you aren’t into politics, it’s easy to get sucked into the ruthless power plays and tantalizing scandals on Netflix’s House of Cards.
Now you may be wondering why I’m writing this article weeks after the long-awaited third season premiered in full. Well it took me a while to find the time to sit down for a binge-watching session, but once I started, I found it difficult to get through. I didn’t mind focusing more on politics and less on brutal murders. What I couldn’t stand was how unbearably predictable every plot twist was and to be quite frank (eh, get it?) I wasn’t able to relate to the characters as they became well, more relatable. There were no political demons or animals in this season – just a bunch of lost souls deciding whether they should use their power for the wrong reasons or chuck it away for another shot at life.
We saw a lot of character development in this season, which is critical to any show’s plot, but something I’ve never found to be especially necessary in the ruthless, animalist arena set up in House of Cards. Their humanity began to show through, and I lost interest. Weakness was not a side of these characters that I cared to see. And none was more disappointing than Claire Underwood’s transformation from HBIC, First Lady, dominant queen of the White House to a helpless, sad, loveless political pawn and trophy wife.
Claire came to the White House with dreams and an agenda of her own but she left with the disappointment that she could never truly share the Oval Office with her husband. Their marriage was never portrayed as loving or even conventional, but rather as a trusted partnership. That trust was shattered the moment Frank encouraged Claire to change her hair color for the voters’ approval. There were multiple obvious events that displayed a changing dynamic between the king and queen of politics, as the king became more of a tyrant while the queen became his humble servant. Claire may have tried to fight back once or twice, but for the most part she kept her mouth shut, faked a dashing smile and continued on as a loyal wife, even when it was clear her husband’s loyalty to her success was fading in the background.
In the final moments of the season, Claire, after avoiding Frank and choking on her words for weeks on the campaign trail, packs her bags and leaves him. She leaves the President of the United States in the middle of an election season. Half of me was cheering, “Yes girl, you go! Who cares what shape his office is in? You LEAVE that a**hole!” While the other half was thinking, “Where did my rational, ruthless, cunning queen go?”
I loved the focus this season gave to the role women play in politics. I loved that they highlighted the ongoing struggle for women between being a politician and playing the politician’s wife.
I was incredibly disappointed by where Claire ended up in this struggle. She played a role, but I always thought she knew what she was doing. I kept waiting for her next strategy, her next punch in the face to the patriarchy as she claimed her power. I kept waiting and so did Claire. And eventually, she got tired of waiting. House of Cards showed a woman who became exhausted in a loveless marriage and decided to take control of her own life by leaving her husband. This is a noble and brave act. But if they wanted to empower women, Claire should have been able to show her bravery from within and use her leverage as a political animal to gain back her autonomy and finish what she started when she married a man as ruthless and shameless as Frank Underwood.
Season 3 was not a political narrative. It was a narrative that showed the details of a marriage no one cared to see. Claire’s power was never based off her husband’s before; their marriage was irrelevant to their greatness. Suddenly, it became everything and the weak link in the power couple of the century.
Come back, Claire. Come back and kick him where it hurts.