'House of Cards' first four seasons were absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately Season 5 was nowhere near as good and the ill-fated Season 6 proved to be even worse, with even more of a completely different show feel than the fifth season (which at least still had Kevin Spacey, without him it just wasn't the same and makes one question the point of Season 6's existence) did.
"Chapter 5" is this time directed by Joel Schumacher in his first of two episodes, after two great first two episodes from David Fincher and two equally great third and fourth episodes from James Foley. For me, Schumacher's direction is not as strong as that of Foley's and especially Fincher's (maybe a slight bias here as, particularly Fincher, they are in general better directors), which were tighter and had more of a cinematic touch. Having said that, Schumacher does do just fine, there is nothing cartoonish or excessively overblown here (one has to be thankful that this is as far removed as one can get from 'Batman and Robin') yet he keeps things engaging and the numerous goings on easy to understand without dumbing down. "Chapter 5" is a fine episode in its own right as well, even if not everything here serves a point.
Visually, "Chapter 5" has again really quite wonderful photography and locations, the stylishness and atmosphere really shining. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak, with again some very clever sound quality.
Writing bites, thought-provokes and engages, with no signs of childishness or cheese. The political elements again don't make the mistake of being heavy-handed, are intelligently handled and didn't go too much over my head. None of those were problems in prime-'House of Cards'. The story is compelling, suitably intricate and not hard to follow, and the balance is getting better with characters and storylines becoming equally interesting rather than one character primarily standing out. Plus, as has been mentioned, things are moving forward all the time, characterisation being advanced (especially Peter) and the story feels like it's progressing.
Good to see that the characterisation hadn't faltered yet. Frank even at this very early stage was well on the way of becoming one of contemporary television's most fascinating lead characters, but "Chapter 5" also does a great job with the character writing for Peter, especially in the latter parts of the episode. And count me as another person who can't get enough of the chemistry between Frank and Stamper or the tension with Spinella. Claire's personality is becoming warmer. One of the most consistent elements, as well as the production values, has always been the acting, and it doesn't disappoint here. Kevin Spacey is top-class, as are Kate Mara and Michael Kelly (Robin Wright is becoming more comfortable too with each episode), but Corey Stoll's deeply felt performance does stand out particularly here.
Summarising, excellent episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox
"Chapter 5" is this time directed by Joel Schumacher in his first of two episodes, after two great first two episodes from David Fincher and two equally great third and fourth episodes from James Foley. For me, Schumacher's direction is not as strong as that of Foley's and especially Fincher's (maybe a slight bias here as, particularly Fincher, they are in general better directors), which were tighter and had more of a cinematic touch. Having said that, Schumacher does do just fine, there is nothing cartoonish or excessively overblown here (one has to be thankful that this is as far removed as one can get from 'Batman and Robin') yet he keeps things engaging and the numerous goings on easy to understand without dumbing down. "Chapter 5" is a fine episode in its own right as well, even if not everything here serves a point.
Visually, "Chapter 5" has again really quite wonderful photography and locations, the stylishness and atmosphere really shining. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak, with again some very clever sound quality.
Writing bites, thought-provokes and engages, with no signs of childishness or cheese. The political elements again don't make the mistake of being heavy-handed, are intelligently handled and didn't go too much over my head. None of those were problems in prime-'House of Cards'. The story is compelling, suitably intricate and not hard to follow, and the balance is getting better with characters and storylines becoming equally interesting rather than one character primarily standing out. Plus, as has been mentioned, things are moving forward all the time, characterisation being advanced (especially Peter) and the story feels like it's progressing.
Good to see that the characterisation hadn't faltered yet. Frank even at this very early stage was well on the way of becoming one of contemporary television's most fascinating lead characters, but "Chapter 5" also does a great job with the character writing for Peter, especially in the latter parts of the episode. And count me as another person who can't get enough of the chemistry between Frank and Stamper or the tension with Spinella. Claire's personality is becoming warmer. One of the most consistent elements, as well as the production values, has always been the acting, and it doesn't disappoint here. Kevin Spacey is top-class, as are Kate Mara and Michael Kelly (Robin Wright is becoming more comfortable too with each episode), but Corey Stoll's deeply felt performance does stand out particularly here.
Summarising, excellent episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox
