House of Cards Comes Down
One Last Term For Robin Wright
House of Cards is easily one of the most important shows on Netflix. The political thriller helped to put the streaming service on the map and proved that Netflix wasn’t just a fancy new version of a syndicated network, but a source of strong original content all its own.
However, the future of the show was put in doubt due to the unfortunate revelations about star Kevin Spacey. At first, it was unclear if he would remain on the show, or if the show would even be able to continue without its main star. Still, fans of the series deserve a grand finale, and Netflix is gearing up to give them exactly that.
Interestingly, the show is perfectly positioned to continue without Spacey, since Season 5 ended with Frank Underwood deposed and in prison, with his wife and Vice President, Claire Underwood, assuming the highest office in the free world. Presumably, he would have attempted to manipulate Claire’s presidency from behind the scenes, but with Spacey out of the picture, things are different.
The new lead of the show is Robin Wright, who has played Claire Underwood since the beginning of the series. Her machinations have been a core element of the show from the beginning, and the sudden loss of Kevin Spacey means that the show was never really his story, but hers all along. This was already hinted at with the closing moments of Season 5, which saw Claire turn to the camera and address the audience just as her husband had done so many times before… Saved By the Bell-style.
The future is female, the future is now, and, frankly, it’s about damn time. This upcoming final season of House of Cards means so many things. It’s an epilogue/grand finale to one of the best shows in recent memory, but it’s also meta commentary on male and female power dynamics, of changing times and attitudes of the 21st century, and a message to powerful men who think they can get away with evil behavior: you won’t get away with it…
…Of course, Claire Underwood isn’t exactly a paragon of virtue, but in this show, what would you expect?
House of Cards returns for its final season this fall on Netflix.
