First Five: House of Cards

In light of the new updates I promised in this morning's blog post, here is my First Five for the Netflix original series House of Cards. I decided to start watching this show after it was mentioned several times on a Podcast I started listening to last week.

First let me explain what a First Five will be. Basically I will watch the first five episodes of a TV show that has at least one season. I will comment on the acting, the setting, and any other general notes. At the end of the post I will determine if I will continue watching the show and if I would recommend it. NOTE: I will do my best not to give away any major "he/she does THIS" spoilers but I will inevitably give some things away when I write these.

PLOT:

House of Cards follows congressman Frank Underwood as he manages day-to-day drama on Capital Hill. We join Underwood just as a new president has been elected. At the beginning of the pilot episode Underwood discovers that the President Elect has broken his promise to Underwood to make him Secretary of State. As Underwood finds political ways to get vengeance he also works to help the same President fulfill a campaign promise to reform education within the first one hundred days of his Presidency. This does not work and a teacher's strike has broken out by the end of the fifth episode. There was also a great episode where Underwood is juggling the education reform bill in DC as well as a situation in his district back in Georgia.

We also spend a lot of time with Underwood's wife Claire. Despite her looks and blonde hair I would describe Claire as anything BUT a trophy wife. Claire is very strong willed and seems to "wear the pants" in the marriage. The fifth episode shows this brilliantly when Frank's work interferes with a fundraiser that Claire has planned for her charity. She refuses to let this happen and actually uses Frank's staff to make the event happen. By the end of the event not only has Claire raised more money than expected but has also helps break up a protest that has arisen outside of the event as result of Frank's political troubles.

Rounding out the main characters in HOC is Zoe Barns, a young and ambitious reporter. Zoe and Frank start a mutually beneficial arrangement where Frank feeds Zoe news that helps both of their careers. Their relationship also crosses the line into sexual at one point. Though it is unclear if it this will continue (Fun Fact: Frank's wife knows and has no problem with this relationship)

Supporting characters include Peter Russo, a fellow congressman and drug addict. Newly elected  President Garrett Walker, and Walker's Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez. All of these characters weave in and out of the drama seamlessly and fit in with the main characters well.

ACTING

Kevin Spacey as  Frank Underwood: Spacey plays Underwood perfectly. He particularly shines in the moments where Frank "breaks the fourth wall" and talks directly to the audience about other characters or what is happening in a scene. Spacey also handles the transitions in and out of these moments extremely well and makes the viewer almost forget that this is not typically done in most shows.

Robin Wright as Claire Underwood: When one is starring alongside an actor as well established as Kevin Spacey it is easy to get overshadowed. Wright does not let this happen. Wright and Spacey have a lot of scenes together and she shines as equally as (if not stronger than) Spacey in every single scene. They also have a good on-screen chemistry and seem very comfortable together.

Kate Mara as Zoe Barns: Though holding her own, Mara is the weakest of the three main actors in this show. This is not to say that her performance is weak. She particularly shines in the beginning of the series when she and Spacey are beginning the business part of their relationship.

GENERAL OPINION:

I mentioned earlier that I heard about this show from a Podcast that I listen to. This Podcast warned that you have to get through the first couple of episodes of this show before it really gets good. I am glad that they shared this because it is very much true. A LOT of character development has to happen and ground work has to be laid before the story takes off. However, the viewer is well rewarded for their patience by the end of the fifth episode. House of Cards is truly gripping.Though I can't really claim much knowledge of other political dramas, I do get the feeling that House of Cards is different (please correct me in the comments if I'm wrong). It is also obvious that this show is going to only get better the longer it goes on. I can tell that it is only going to get darker (this is made extremely evident during the credit sequence, which depicts night falling over locations in DC) and that this is a ride that any television lover is not going to want to miss.

WILL I CONTINUE:

YES! I am very much drawn into the characters and story. I have actually been watching the next three episodes as I write this review (which probably explains why I've been writing this post for three hours at this point).

WOULD I RECCOMEND:

Again, my answer is a capital YES. Like I said before, I haven't really watched any political dramas in the past but I do feel this is a show that most people, regardless of their knowledge of, or interest in, politics can get behind.

Been a while since I've written. There are some changes coming

Wow! Can't believe it's been almost two years since I've written in this blog

I guess it's because as a general blog about me there isn't much for me to write about. I live a very uninteresting personal life.

So I've decided that I want to focus my blog on my interest in entertainment (TV shows and movies in particular).

Here's what you can expect from this blog in the future:

-Movie reviews (I see a lot of movies, Will probably put up a review of Paper Towns, the last movie I saw in theatres)

-Book reviews

- Episode reviews for shows I watch that are currently in season

-"First Five" of older shows that I have decided to watch via streaming services (I started watching House of Cards so expect a First Five on that soon.

I'll probably also review other things, such as aps, technology that I may encounter, and other random things I feel like writing about

So stay tuned, if any of that interests you :)