That manipulation often comes at the expense of believability — because “House of Cards” refuses to restrain itself and often goes, in a parlance that Francis would approve of, balls out in an effort to make the Underwoods ridiculously ruthless and the series ridiculously entertaining.
Unfortunately, after holding out against the cruel intrusion of reality, at some point in season two of “House of Cards,” ridiculous was the key word for pretty much everything in it.
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After all the cream-puff politicians and supposedly brilliant strategists that the Underwoods have fooled all too easily in the first two seasons, a little payback and a little failure plays well for “House of Cards.”
However, the worry remains that now that they have the ultimate seats in politics, Frank and Claire won’t go down without swinging and, in true “House of Cards” fashion, will hit and destroy everything they swing at. If that unbelievable sense of dramatic stakes returns, “House of Cards” will find itself in a scandal about how good it really is.
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