Fans finally rewarded — and teased
Fans who’ve been patiently waiting for Season 3 of House of Cards — and who haven’t checked out the spoilers gained from its accidental leak onto Netflix a couple weeks ago — will finally be rewarded with fresh instalments of the high-stakes, low-morality drama.
All 13 episodes will hit the streaming service this Friday, with the nefarious Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) newly installed as president of the United States after Garrett Walker’s (Michel Gill) untimely resignation.
Here are five things to expect from the premiere, but be warned — if you don’t want to know what happens, stop reading now. Spoilers ahead.
1. Frank’s up to his old chicanery again
The new season opens with Frank leading a motorcade to his father’s grave to pay his respects. “I have to do these sort of things now,” he drawls. “Makes me seem more human. And you have to be a little human when you’re the president.”
Lest you think that ol’ Frank has gone softer than a southern belle in need of smelling salts, he douses the tombstone with urine when no one’s looking.
Later, he reveals he appointed a strategic vice-president and fires an adviser who dares question his new initiative.
2. Doug’s alive, but he’s not yet kicking
The poor chief-of-staff (Michael Kelly) found out the hard way that love hurts, when Rachel (Rachel Brosnahan) beat him unconscious with a brick in the Season 2 finale. Though viewers thought he was dead, it turns out that he’s just badly injured and in a hospital recovering.
He’s still stuck on Rachel, and does some digging to try and hunt her down.
3. Stephen Colbert has a guest spot
Though Colbert left The Colbert Report in December, the satirical news show lives on in House of Cards. As Frank appears as a guest to promote his new national employment plan, Colbert grills the president like a rib-eye steak, reminding him that unemployment rates are up and 80 per cent of Americans think Frank lacks effectiveness.
You can’t help but bemoan the current Colbert-less TV landscape.
4. Claire is even more ambitious
The president’s wife (Robin Wright) has always had ambition, and this season she’s pushing for Frank to announce her nomination for ambassador. But she isn’t stopping there. She tells him her sights are set on the presidency, you know, just in case Frank isn’t a shoo-in for the 2016 election.
The move could hint at a subtle crack in their relationship and her loyalty to Frank — could she be crafting her own secret schemes under that well-coiffed hairdo?
5. Underwood is an underdog
With terrible approval ratings and both Republicans and Democrats refusing to give him a bill he can sign, Frank faces a tough road to the 2016 election. The first matter of business? Getting his employment program off the ground and winning the trust of the American people.
But Frank never lacked for determination. With steely eyes, he tells his wife, “I will not be a placeholder president, Claire. I will win and I will leave a legacy.”
Knock on wood. Twice.