DISCLAIMER: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ IF YOU STILL HAVEN’T WATCHED THE NEW EPISODES!!
EPISODE 313: “Chapter 39”
This 3rd season of House of Cards has been a rocky one, and the quality of the episodes seemed to go up and down faster the needle on a sewing machine, and things were shady going into the final chapter. Thankfully, House of Cards, as it always does, delivered a season finale that was both delightfully shocking and riddled with all the right elements, story-wise and thematically, for an epic season closer.
“Chapter 39” consists almost exclusively of two storylines – Doug’s search for Rachel, and Frank’s re-election campaign, and we begin with Rachel Posner as she lives her life as a woman on the run. We follow her on her daily grind as she tries to start a new chapter for herself, away from her mistakes, and away from all the madness she became in engulfed in during the previous two seasons. Similar to the way this season’s premiere episode shifted its focus to Doug’s recovery, this was an interesting creative choice on behalf of the writers, and it finally gave us a definitive answer as to her whereabouts. This season we learned that she’s alive and living in a woman’s shelter, then she was dead, and then she was alive again, and then she may or may not have been dead…it was a mess. Here, we are assured of her condition, which is both gratifying and satisfying – it was also a pleasant surprise to see actress Rachel Brosnahan back in the spotlight, even if it is only for a single episode.
Along his quest to find sure answers, Doug has had enough. He’s had enough of Gavin’s mind games and deceit, and he’s on a rampage. After going to extreme lengths to seek out Gavin in his new location, he literally beats the truth out of him (in a scene very similar to something in the realms of The Sopranos or even a Scorsese mafia flick). When he finally pins down Rachel, it turns into something straight out of a horror movie; the tone, atmosphere and delivery is something we’ve never seen before on House of Cards, and normally, this would come off as uneven or too different, but it’s exactly the opposite – when Doug ties Rachel up and throws her in the back of fan, then drives her out into the desolate desert, you know something truly horrifying is about to occur, and you can feel the terror brewing from the minute the debacle begins. Without giving away spoilers, it can be said that they payoff, while likely not a huge surprise, will be sure to have viewers gasping from shock, and widening their eyes as they imagine the gritty details. It should be noted that both Michael Kelly and Rachel Brosnahan are absolutely stellar in these scenes, and it’s probably not out of line to say it’s the best acting that either of them has done in this whole series. You want to talk about the highlight of the episode? This is “highlight of the episode” with a capital H, and all the other letters too.
The argument that was implemented between the Underwoods at the end of the previous episode, causing it to end on eye-rolling sour note, turns out to not be much of an argument at all. This is rather divisive — on one hand, it kills the suspense that the writers attempt to holdover between chapters, but on the other, it saves us a tedious fight scene that we’ve probably seen several times already. Take this one with a grain of salt, some might say.
Nonetheless, Frank wins against Dunbar in the Iowa caucus and his chances of winning reelection have steadily increased. After another conscientious conversation with Tom Yates, Claire begins distancing herself from Frank, and this causes her to be absent when Frank makes his victory speech in Iowa. We know off the bat what’s going through Claire’s mind when she starts straying from the pack and we hope sincerely, for the sake of character relationships, that she doesn’t follow through.
After all is said and done, and all the primary plot points have been resolved, we’re treated to our final scene (technically the second the final scene, but you get it) – Claire and Frank in the oval office, having a conversation – nothing more, nothing less. But, as always with House of Cards, this is no ordinary conversation – this is a fight. Actually, scratch that — fights can be tame — this is a war. While Claire’s and Frank’s more-than-frequent arguments have grown tiresome over the course of this season, this is one takes it to heights only thought of in nightmares – violent, brutal, overly forthright, and, at it’s peak, physical. It starts off rather slow and low-key, the continues to build to almost unbearable heights of tension. Of the fight during the climax at the end of this season’s sixth episode, I wrote “What culminates from this is unquestionably the most extreme and terrifying argument we’ve seen so far between Frank and Claire Underwood. […] it can be compared to the argument between Tony and Carmela Soprano in the season 4 episodes “Whitecaps” of The Sopranos; forget that. In juxtaposition with this, that argument is child’s play. This heated climax between Claire and Frank embodies everything loyal fans of the show have feared from the very beginning, and it absolutely gripping.
Just later, in the episode’s final moments…it happens. Just as Frank is gearing up go to New Hampshire for the next portion of his campaign trail, Claire says she’s not going, which, of course, Frank replies to with “Yes you are”. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, Claire utters the words “I’m leaving you” and walks away, leaving Frank in the dust to wither in his own befuddlement and misery. In retrospect, we knew this was going to happen eventually, somewhere, in the back of our minds, but that doesn’t do anything to soften the blow. The screen cuts black shortly after, leaving us hanging on what is indisputably the show’s biggest cliffhanger yet.
As a finale, “Chapter 39” is pretty much stellar. With a few tune-ups in the pacing department, it could have been perfect, but that doesn’t matter. This 3rd season finale stands out as not only one of the best and most unique of the season, but of the entire series. A white-knuckle send-off was just what this junior era of House of Cards needed, and even though things are looking glum in terms of story, that only means that whatever’s next could potentially be the best.
Hats off to Willimon and co. for crafting something truly special.
Overall rating: 9.5/10
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