by Chelsea Dee Doyle, Editor-at-Large

I liked episode one, although I thought it spent way too much time with Doug. I’m wondering if they think Doug is going to happen the way fetch was going to happen, and someone hasn’t told them stop trying to make fetch/Doug happen. He’s an okay character, just not someone I really feel we need to spend too much time on. Unless halfway through the season he becomes amazing and very important, in which case you can scold me. This entire episode was where it should be, with the Underwoods. Previously on House of Cards, Claire wanted to seek the UN ambassador position despite Frank’s reservations. She wants to eventually run for a political position, and she thinks this will get her the experience she needs. Frank is having trouble creating an ambitious job project, because he’s getting backlash from the Democrats and the Republicans. Keep in mind that Frank was put into his position because the elected President left in a scandal. That means both parties are gunning for whoever they can get in their crosshairs, and the Underwoods are the bullseye at the moment. The mistake would be if people thought the Underwoods are weak enough to get picked off, however. These two eat everyone else for breakfast.

But they have a bit of a struggle first. They’re both shaken when Frank is asked by his own party to not run for President in his next term. They want a fresh new face with none of the tension from the scandal, and they think he doesn’t have a good chance of winning. The way he currently is, they’re probably right. Claire is doing fairly well at her hearing for the position, but this rude Senator intentionally goads her into making a mistake. She stumbles over a reply, implying that the military doesn’t matter, when what she meant was not in that particular situation. Which he probably knew, but then he decided to jump down her throat about it and she lost her temper. It’s rare that Claire ever loses her temper, so wow, but on the other hand, I think she is really sick of people talking down to her. I wonder if anyone really sees Claire for who she is outside of the audience and Frank. She puts on such a polite and cool exterior, it might be easy to brush her off, but she is as ruthless and relentless as her husband. Something I think her enemies will find out quickly … and Frank, if he becomes one of them.

So they both hit a low point. Claire goes running and comes back to see her husband broken and emotionally distraught from the situation he’s in. They have sex, she seems to know what he needs, and it does seem to inspire the two of them to keep fighting. Unfortunately for Claire, she loses the bid, and she graciously bows out … for the moment. Frank has come up with an idea, and he agrees with the Democrats not to run. In return they will help him with his jobs bill. On TV he goes on a rant about how he’s not going to run and he’ll be a real leader instead of a politician, because he’s not going to campaign. But this is the campaign. I’m fairly certain that Frank’s intention is to run as  a Republican or as an Independent next time; he’ll be abandoning the Democrats after he gets credit for his current work. He said clearly he wasn’t running for the Democratic party, but it’s not the only party, is it? I wonder how realistic it will feel when this comes though. The entire purpose is that he’s not going to act like he’s running, so he can make all these ballsy decisions that will eventually pan out to be perfect for running. No one lies with a smile quite like Frank Underwood.

In the end, Claire asks him to appoint her regardless during the recess. There is precedent and she wants that position. She is afraid this might be her only chance. He calmly listens and then tells her he’ll do it. They work best when they work together, but this position might mean they don’t always work together, so I’m waiting for that pin to drop. Claire responds by vomiting and then making herself eggs. I do think the vomiting makes sense. It’s probably because she didn’t think he’d actually agree, and then she realized what it meant that he did. She was nervous about what was coming, or her stomach was in knots after being rejected and all the stress. A wave of excitement and adrenaline mixed with anxiety? Definitely stomach churning. The eggs thing was strange since she said she wasn’t hungry. A lot of people are theorizing it’s a metaphor for the fact she was considering having children, but abandoned that for their ambitions instead. So cracking the egg is like accepting she made the right decision? Or something? I don’t really know about that. I think the nausea makes sense, the focus on the egg was weird though. I wonder if that’ll just be a random thing that happened, of have some follow through.

General notes: Doug continues to be out of the main group, although Frank is concerned enough to send his new guy after him. Jackie’s angry that she isn’t getting more power and says as much to Remy, indicating why she’s turning on Frank now. Rachel’s still missing. Meechum hasn’t been given much so far outside of acknowledgement he’s still around. Is he still sleeping with the Underwoods? Very pleased with this episode!

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives House of Cards Season 3 Episode 2 5 out of 5 Sneaky Frank Tricks

Break the fourth wall and learn more about ComicsOnline via our Facebook and Twitter pages for more TV Recaps and everything geek pop culture!