Chapter 14

This is the episode you don't just watch, but one which you completely grasp and study. This will make you revise the entire story till date. It won't show you a recap or anything, but will make you do the hard work. This is the kind of episode that gets the word around the world that there's something so, so great you can't help but check out. This is the kind of episode where you do not want to go give how much ratings you are allowed at Max to give. I wish I could break that star button of IMDB and score this 10 times more than the max permissible limit. I've never been more invested in any other show than I have been in HOC. I can't wait to explore the characters and fInd out just exactly who is this guy Francis. What the hell is he going to do next. Why is what he's doing so damn significant for him and what more is he willing to do in order to achieve his goals. And one more thing, F U.

"Chapter 14" was terrible. Probably the worst episode yet. And I've just learned that people ate it up, because it seems they love when writers waste their time, have their characters commit to nonsensical actions, and then rub the audience's noses in it afterwards. A common defence of the show I see from people is something along the lines of, "People hate this show because it's cynical". Maybe that's why certain people hate it, but that's not my reason. If anything, that's one of the show's assets.

No, I'm starting to hate the show because they think that being cynical is good enough on its own to carry a show. It's not. When Game of Thrones punishes the audience, it feels earned. When Breaking Bad punishes the audience, it feels earned. Even something lighter in tone like Orange is the New Black accomplishes this fairly well in its first few series. But when this show punishes the audience, it feels like it's because the writers believe this tool in itself has value, when in reality the true goal of punishing the audience is to make them feel emotionally torn for investing in characters and to make them hate the villains enough to stay tuned. I don't feel foolish for investing in these characters so much as for investing in the writers. And my hate is not directed at Frank; instead, it's directed at them.

The finale directly tells the audience "F. U." for being upset at what just happened, but the actual issue with this is that nothing I just watched made any sense and logically it would have just made everything worse for Frank. It has a built-in defence of, "If you hate this episode, you're playing into our hands". That's cheap, and it's lazy. In one fell swoop, it discarded 4 previous episodes of plot, and did it in such a way that felt completely unearned, and only there to incense the audience. It's as if they think being alienating is the same thing as being provocative - that they think people will be talking about this moment, and it will make people want to watch the show. Maybe that worked back when the episode first aired, but it's bad writing through and through, and premised on the idea that the writers toying with the audience is charming because Frank lampshades it with one of his patented monologues.

No, I didn't believe for a second that you forgot about us, Frank, because these writers are predictable, superficial, and fall back on the same formulae again and again. But thanks for checking in, you moustache-twirling cliche.

I think this is a great series and I love watching the show but I think the costumes are BAD. Everyone was wearing black or white. Like maybe someone should tell the costume designer that we all have color TV. It just seems completely boring and soul -less to have all the characters wearing no color at all. Maybe the costume designer doesn't have a soul? And Robin Wright looked like a sausage in those tight tops. She is way too old for that kind of look and she has no waist at all. If you have no waist its not very flattering to wear a skin tight top in white with a black bottom, just cut off at the middle like that....makes you look too chunky. Older women should never dress so harshly.

This is starting to remind me of some Breaking Bad moments and I absolutely love it.

Season 1 was a more than solid season, even with a slight and understandable finding its feet feel that a lot of shows have when they first start, all the episodes ranged from good ("Chapter 8") to brilliant (a vast majority of the season, all but five out of thirteen). So as consistent as can be. So of course there was always going to be big interest in how Season 2 was going to start and turn out.

Regarding "Chapter 14", now this is how to start off a season. Future season openers should learn from this. An episode that sets things up for what is to come, follows on from previous events and builds upon them, all without being repetitive, introduces new conflicts and such and it does feel like the storytelling and characterisation is advancing. It has lost none of what made Season 1 as solid as it was, and actually consider it the best episode up to this point of 'House of Cards' and that is no easy feat. A fond reminder of back when 'House of Cards' was such a great show that was among the most watchable and addictive, before it declined so drastically in the past two seasons.

"Chapter 14" was utterly riveting and gripped me from the get go. It didn't feel contrived or over-convenient and the cynical edge has always been an interest point of the show rather than a problem. The pace is again just right, the deliberate feel of it never was a problem for me when 'House of Cards' was in its prime. After directing the very good "Chapter 10" and the brilliant "Chapter 11" in the first season, Carl Franklin returns as director in his penultimate episode for the show, the last being the next episode "Chapter 15". Again providing alert yet accomodating direction and showing that he had a sure hand and knew what he was doing.

Visually, as ever "Chapter 14" looks slick and stylish, with lots of atmosphere and no trouble with cohesion, so there is nothing to complain about on that front. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak, with again some very clever sound quality.

Once again, there is plenty of sharpness, bite and probing thought in the writing. Can never get enough of the writing for Frank and his as ever chillingly cynical monologues (those last lines). The story is always absorbing and rich in tension between the characters, there is a lot to digest but it comes together and doesn't feel bloated. The characters never cease to fascinate, or so when 'House of Cards' was in its prime that is, and the character interaction blisters. The acting is without complaint, Kevin Spacey particularly.

In conclusion, brilliant. 10/10