Until recently I did not have access to Netflix, and had put House of Cards off from watching regardless, because as much as I liked the new season of Arrested Development and Orange is the New Black, I had a million other things that I was watching before I figured I'd get around to House of Cards. But, with the second season dropping, and me being an avid Twitter and Tumblr user, I didn't want to end up getting spoiled on the second season before I'd even seen the first. So I spent the last three days plowing through Season One of House of Cards.
In short, I really, really enjoyed it. No surprise there, it won 3 Emmy's. I was bound to agree with the rest of the world on it. Though I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I really enjoyed the first 4-5 episodes, and just enjoyed the rest of the episode. What really gravitated me to the show and kept me watching was the combination of Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood breaking the fourth wall to tell you the meaning behind his actions and his plot antics, as well as Underwood's ability to exert his power to change politics to get what he wants. Unfortuantely for me he only gets to do that up until episodes 4-5, and then with few exceptions, he spends the rest of the season trying to keep his actions that he pulled in those first few episodes under wraps. While intriguing and fun, I really wanted to see more of that pushing and pulling political bargaining before making our main character scramble to cover his tracks for those actions.
In regards to the show itself, the writing is top-notch, especially for Underwood. The southern drawl and utter and masterful control of words (except for one episode where they play off of the opposite of this) make for a compelling watch every second he is on screen. Robin Wright also does excellent work, as well as Kate Mara and the majority of the other actors in the show. The cinematography is excellent, and the production value feels pretty high for a show from a streaming video service. That does come with a price however, as the product placement is pretty prominent. Claire uses a Mac, everyone uses iPhones, Frank prominently plays a PS3 and even drops some knowledge of the PSVita. Nothing wrong with any of that though, I just find it funny how clearly obvious it was, about as much as The Walking Dead's Hyundai, which stays nearly immaculate in a zombie apocalypse. Hey, if that's what it takes to get good programming out there, then I'm all for it.
I can see why everyone was raving about the first season, it was certainly a good watch. One of the best shows I've seen as of late, between the strength of the acting, the cinematography and the screenwriting. Which is something that makes me super excited for the future of television, because if a show created by a streaming service can be this damn good then that says anything goes for who can create awesome content in the future.
If you've had any reservations about seeing House of Cards (which by this point I highly doubt) I urge you to give it a watch. It's not perfect, but it's damn good. Now I'm off to marathon the brand new second season and I'm ready to be once again immersed in this world.
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