journalists, adding not just a patina of authenticity but also incentive for those outlets – no strangers to self-promotion – to provide the series exposure in venues beyond just the entertainment press.
Like the finest premium cable dramas, “House of Cards” does proceed along multiple tracks, with an interesting subplot (if not wholly convincing as it progresses) for Robin Wright as Underwood’s equally steely wife.
When McRaney’s character complains that the Commander in Chief is “easily manipulated” in a later episode, that almost doesn’t do his malleability justice. Still, as shrewd and ruthless as Underwood is, it remains something of a drawback that almost nobody else in a town built on power seems particularly adept at recognizing this or combating him – including, it should be noted, the sitting president (Michael Gill), who also has a billionaire confidant (Gerald McRaney, reprising his first-season role) planting bugs in his ear. Meanwhile, Underwood’s efforts on issues like negotiating a sweeping budget deal – in the process bargaining over entitlement benefits – will certainly resonate among those with a taste for seeing Washington issues dramatized, albeit with much better-looking players. As usual, Underwood goes about the business of charming, cajoling and coercing those he must bend to his will, while this season’s cast includes a young congresswoman (Molly Parker) who’s no slouch in that department either.