EPISODE 309: “Chapter 35”
“Chapter 39” begins with a bang, when Frank learns during a campaign speech that 8 russian soldiers were killed in russia by in an attempt to keep Israeli forces out of Palestine. Forced to cut it short, Frank, Claire, and the rest of the leadership scramble to put together the pieces. Directed by Claire Underwood herself, Robin Wright, it’s certainly step-up from the previous uninspired, flat eighth episode.
If the Emmys had an award category for best TV villain, Lars Mikkelsen would surely be a contender, as Petrov returns in the episode at his most sadistic. With each episode, he grows more and more vicious, and Mikkelsen’s performance here is more exceptional than before, even if he only has a few moments of screen time.
Later in the episode, once Petrov actually comes into play, we discover that the Russian government organized and covered up the bombing of their own people, a fair twist, but sadly, another predictable one, when you really think about the kind of character Petrov is. Was it a warning? Was it a ploy to something bigger? The reasons are never made crystal clear, but nonetheless, it only fueled the fire, and conflicts only get worse.
Finally in this episode, we have answers concerning the whereabouts of our estranged Rachel Posner. After an elongated search, Gavin Orsay discovers that, not only is she not where he initially thought she was, but she’s no longer alive. Breaking the news to Doug is difficult, but he finally gets what he wanted (for Doug to lift the lock on his passport so he can flee the country), and the deal is done. One thing that strikes as odd about this scene, however, is the nature in which he tells Doug the bad news. Initially, he tries lying to Doug and showing him the location of a Jane Doe, but he also brings the autopsy reports. Why? If his original intent was to lie to Doug to seal the deal, what was the reason for bringing Rachel’s autopsy information? Plot convenience seems the only logical answer, another unfortunate blunder in an episode that could have been otherwise fantastic if it were not the predictability factor and the sense of lazy plot advancements that surround it.
Lastly, we finally discover what Doug has been up to all this time. When he goes to see Frank at the White House, he explains that working for Dunbar, taking control of her campaign, and all the stuff he’s been doing in secret has all been for Frank’s benefit, an admirable twist, but again, something we could’ve foreseen long ago. Were we really to believe that after so many years of being loyal to Frank and his staffers, he would just turn his back and work for the opposer? No, probably not.
Not a particularly bad episode, but definitely one that could’ve been improved by tightening a few screws in the story structure department.
Overall rating: 7.5/10
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