Episode 307: “Chapter 33”
“Chapter 33” opens with a wedding row renewal between Claire and Frank. A pleasant little scene, we assume it’s a flashback because of their different appearances – Claire with black hair, Frank wearing an all white suit. But, after a a title card appears with the words “one month later” we learn it is actually the future, assuring us that, despite all the fighting, they don’t split up (at least not for now). The argument we left off on at the end of 306 continues in the first minutes of this episode, creating an interesting juxtaposition between the lovely flash-forward we just saw and the present-day bickering they’re currently dealing with. Right from its first few moments, this episode has already established another new for House of Cards: non-linear narrative. This refreshing style continues throughout the remainder of the episode, making for an interesting guessing game. Whether or not this new style will continue throughout the remainder of the season, no one can say for sure without skipping ahead, but it can surely only benefit.
The intensity and the emotion established in the “Chapter 32” argument continues, as stated, throughout this episode. Whenever both the Underwoods are in frame, you can feel the leftover tension brewing, even when they’re just speaking casually. However, it’s more apparent during a cabinet meeting, in which Claire brings up overseas issues, which sparks a disagreement, and Frank flat-out replies “You really should think more before you bring up proposals such as this,” practically insulting her intelligence.
One of the highlights of the episode is a conversation between Frank and Thomas Yates (played by Paul Sparks, who some might recognize more as Mickey Doyle from HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) , an award-winning author hired by Frank to write a book entailing the philosophical thoughts behind the America Works program. After they drink a little too much, Frank begins opening up to Yates about his failing relationship with Claire, and we see another side of him we haven’t seen for a very long time, if not at all – an honest candid Frank. It seems as if the writers this season have turned Frank Underwood into an onion, and with every few episodes, we peel back another layer.
One odd, kind of weird thing about this episode, however, is Tibetan monks who have come to the White House to work, for a whole month, on one of their traditional sand mandalas. At first it seems very out of place, as we keep switching back to it every few minutes, with no apparent rhyme or reason. But at the end of the episode when we finally see the vow renewal in present time intercut with the monks washing away their sands they just spent so much time working so meticulously on, we begin to understand the connection. In Tibetan Buddhist culture, mandalas are destroyed and released back into nature once a month to symbolize the Buddhist belief in the natural transitory nature of material life. At the end of the episode, when Claire and Francis finally clear the air, the monks wash away the sands and, in the final shot, we see the Underwoods, for the first time in forever, sleep peacefully together in the same bed, ending the episode on a high note, finally finding resolution in their relationship, just as things heat up overseas. The monk sequences are an interesting metaphor, for sure, and surely added some depth, but they probably weren’t essential to the episode, even if they were pretty cool.
One thing that should not go unnoticed about this episode, or this season in general, actually, is the cinematography and music. They’ve really stepped up their game this season. It’s hard to pin-point, but something about the two elements just seems to have just gotten a lot better, which similar to this narrative changes found here, can only benefit the series (in this episode, it’s probably most notable during the monk sequences. How often do we extreme close-ups alongside gregorian chants?).
“Chapter 33” is more an episode about relationships and secrets than it is about policy, a nice change of pace and theme from all the heavy-handed political conflicts we’ve been spoon fed so far this season. It doesn’t do too much to progress the overall story, but one thing we come to realize at the end is that the Underwoods needed to resolve their personal conflicts before moving on professionally – they’d be doing their jobs totally wrong in the let their personal feelings get in the way of their work, just as they have in the past.
What’s next?
Overall rating: 9/10
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