Across four seasons of House of Cards, Frank Underwood has traversed the slippery stream of politics from the behind-the-scenes position of Chief Whip to the Presidency, facing off against a huge variety of political rivals along the way (most of whom are either dead or discredited forever, but that’s just Frank for you).
One of the aspects of House of Cards that has earned particular acclaim from critics and audiences alike is its consistent topicality, and the way in which it’s both reflected and in some cases even pre-empted major political events from around the world.
With Season 4 out on Blu-ray and DVD this week from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, here are five instances in particular where Frank Underwood’s disturbing world of politics lined up all too closely with ours…
SPOILERS AHEAD!
An attempted assassination
In the fourth season, Frank found himself on the brink of death after former foe Lucas Goodwin opened fire on him after a Presidential rally, wounding Frank and tragically killing loyal bodyguard Meechum in the process. This event has considerable basis in real life, reflecting a very similar assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981, in which the President found himself similarly wounded.
The motives may have been very different (the would-be assassin of Reagan, John Hinckley Jr., carried out the attempt to try and impress an actress!), but there’s no questioning the similarities here.
The War on Terror
In its most recent episode, the fourth season finale, House of Cards made a dark reflection of events that have defined the 21st century thus far into a crucial plot point. To escape the uncomfortable scrutiny of dogged journalist Hammerschmidt’s exposé on Frank’s crimes, Claire and Frank resorted to extreme measures by essentially declaring a full-on war on terror, successfully dragging public attention away onto a common enemy.
These dramatic events, culminating in a chilling conclusion in which Claire and Frank stared at the camera in unison, declaring that ‘we make the terror’, reflect the similar fears of extremism that have pervaded throughout the political landscape in the 21st century while satirising the political gamesmanship that many believe fuelled the war in the first place.
Sins of the fathers
Frank found himself faced with a fair few scandals and controversies to deal with in Season 4, and perhaps one of the most damaging was the accusation that his father had played a suspicious role in the Klu Klux Klan, with an incriminating billboard exacerbating Frank’s conflict with Claire at the start of the season.
This proved to be a surprisingly prescient bit of plotting, as very similar rumours had emerged just days before the season’s release on Netflix regarding everyone’s favourite presidential candidate Donald Trump, with the eerie similarities in the controversies laid bare by that impressive coincidence.
William Conway
One of Frank’s central rivals in Season 4 was Republican presidential candidate Conway, who achieved a considerable advantage through the careful creation of a trendy, fresh-faced public persona playing up his image as the wholesome family man in touch with a new kind of politics, as opposed to being stuck in the traditional and staid politics occupied by Frank.
This might just have been a plot point influenced by American political history in the same way the assassination attempt echoed Reagan, with characters within the show itself remarking that Conway was something of a modern John F Kennedy in terms of his personality, drawing upon the same public charm and youth that catapulted JFK into the presidency in 1960.
Leadership
House of Cards has always been a show that’s captured the scheming and double-dealing of politics to a tee, so it perhaps wasn’t surprising that current events in British politics have been compared directly to the show by many commentators.
Take Michael Gove, whose repeated insistence that he was not going to be Prime Minister was contradicted by his recent announcement that he would run for leadership of the Conservative Party; an announcement that also led to the collapse of ally Boris Johnson’s own prospective campaign.
Frank Underwood pulled off a similar stunt himself in season three, insisting he would not run for President again after an unpopular start to his term before turning around and beginning a campaign anyway, trampling several of his political colleagues in the process. Both Underwood and Gove are yet to face actual elections, however, so time will tell to see if this parallel will continue…
Season 4 is out on Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
> Buy the Season 4 box set on Amazon.
What’s your all-time favourite House of Cards moment? Let us know below…