House of Cards: Season 1
Politics are corrupt. Politicians are evil.
The reason I decided to watch the House of Cards was simple: it is a Netflix Original. As a tech geek I am naturally interested in all sorts of things the tech companies are doing. And I consider Netflix as a technology company since the company decided to switch its focus from a DVD delivery service to a video streaming service and invest heavily on its engineering teams and open-source projects. And the company’s strategy to produce high-quality TV shows to expand its customer base was intriguing, and so far has been successful. Furthermore, the TV show just won the Emmy award…! So I was sold and decided to watch it.
If you are not interested in politics and wonder if this show is boring, don’t worry. I am not interested in politics either, or at least until I watched the show. But the show is still entertaining without having clues on American politics. Okay, I admit that the first few episodes go slowly; at the beginning the show builds up its story introducing characters that are mostly politicians and uses a lot of political jargons. But the show gets really interesting as Francis Underwood, the main character in the show, reveals his ruthlessness and evilness. His conspiracy is getting bolder and bolder on every episode, and after watching 10 episodes the show turns itself from a political drama to a thriller.
Kevin Spacey played Francis Underwood really well. He successfully depicted the character as an evil politician who will do anything for his ambition and power. While watching the show the only thought that keeps on my mind was “Politicians are evil”, and “Politics are corrupt”. But that’s what this TV show is all about. Bad-ass characters, corrupt politicians, dirty plots and conspiracies are what make this show entertaining and addictive.
“There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain. The sort of pain that’s only suffering. I have no patience for useless things.” — Francis Underwood.
The show has its own drawback though. As I mentioned earlier, the show builds up its story a bit slowly. It took a couple of episodes to engage myself with the show. I even got an impression that this entire season 1 might be just a cornerstone for the story in season 2. The season 1 has built up the story so that the main plot would start in season 2. That’s just my thought.
I highly recommend this TV show, and I cannot wait to watch the season 2, which will premier on February 14.
