Sometimes it's hard to watch this because Frank and Claire are both so despicable. In this one, Frank continues to undermine Tusks relationship with the President. He is putting more political capital aside. Doug has begun to displease the Vice President as he continues to oversee his duties. He begins to lust after the woman he is supervising. There is an energy crisis that happens as a result of the dealings with China and Tusk follows with a withdrawal of his power plants. Frank tries to throw out the first pitch at the Orioles game and the lights go out right at that moment. Lucas is now in prison and is forced to realize that he has no power at all. Claire starts to play mind games with the First Lady. Remy is getting more and more involved and oozing his way into things. We are on our way to that vote and Frank's rise continues.
2 Reviews
"Stubbornness is far costlier than obedience"
TheLittleSongbird20 May 2019
Season 2 had the difficult task of following on from a great Season 1, one where all thirteen episodes comprising ranged from good to brilliant. Up to this point, so from "Chapter 14" to this episode, Season 2 is not as great, but was never less than very good despite the tendency of Frank dominating too much and the newer characters not being as interesting as ought (Jackie being an exception though). Production values, writing and acting throughout the season were consistently of top standard.
"Chapter 19" to me is one of Season 2's best episodes, along with as far as the previous episodes go "Chapter 14" and "Chapter 17". It does see on the whole the newer characters standing out more, the tensions building, the storytelling and characters progressing in development and Frank still being a fascinating and juicy character becoming increasingly dominant and unscrupulous but not dominating too much. The last point being something that tended to be present in the previous Season 2 episodes.
Could care less though for Lucas, the previous episodes did not see him really as a very interesting, and at times like with "Chapter 16" frustrating, character and his subplots have also been one of the least compelling in comparison to the others in each episode.
That is my one real issue with an otherwise great episode. Do like that things continue to progress and things introduced, set upon and built upon in the previous Season 2 episodes build on further with nothing going round in circles. Loved the tension and suspenseful character interaction throughout, especially between Frank and Tusk. Was very much involved with everything with Claire, loved Jackie's fierce steel and also that there is more of Remy and that he is not wasted at all (far from it, found him one of the better-written characters actually). The political intrigue is not laid on too thick or hard to understand, the cynical edge of it intelligently done, and the darker tone of the season works.
John David Coles again returns as director and does a solid job, not as tight as the directing in previous episodes (especially James Foley) and his episodes are not as cinematic-feeling as the first two episodes directed by David Fincher. But it is also not too methodical and not indicative of somebody not interested in the material, there is both momentum and breathing space. "Chapter 19" looks slick and stylish, with lots of atmosphere with a darker look and no trouble with cohesion. Nothing to complain about there. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak. The writing is sharp and has bite and the story does engage for the reasons described in the above paragraph.
Of the newer characters, my favourite is Jackie. Love her steel, spirit and ferocity. Frank and Claire are both brilliantly written and the acting all round is never less than very good. Cannot fault either Kevin Spacey or Robin Wright, while Molly Parker and particularly Mahershala Ali are major standouts as well.
Altogether, a great episode and one of Season 2's best. 9/10
"Chapter 19" to me is one of Season 2's best episodes, along with as far as the previous episodes go "Chapter 14" and "Chapter 17". It does see on the whole the newer characters standing out more, the tensions building, the storytelling and characters progressing in development and Frank still being a fascinating and juicy character becoming increasingly dominant and unscrupulous but not dominating too much. The last point being something that tended to be present in the previous Season 2 episodes.
Could care less though for Lucas, the previous episodes did not see him really as a very interesting, and at times like with "Chapter 16" frustrating, character and his subplots have also been one of the least compelling in comparison to the others in each episode.
That is my one real issue with an otherwise great episode. Do like that things continue to progress and things introduced, set upon and built upon in the previous Season 2 episodes build on further with nothing going round in circles. Loved the tension and suspenseful character interaction throughout, especially between Frank and Tusk. Was very much involved with everything with Claire, loved Jackie's fierce steel and also that there is more of Remy and that he is not wasted at all (far from it, found him one of the better-written characters actually). The political intrigue is not laid on too thick or hard to understand, the cynical edge of it intelligently done, and the darker tone of the season works.
John David Coles again returns as director and does a solid job, not as tight as the directing in previous episodes (especially James Foley) and his episodes are not as cinematic-feeling as the first two episodes directed by David Fincher. But it is also not too methodical and not indicative of somebody not interested in the material, there is both momentum and breathing space. "Chapter 19" looks slick and stylish, with lots of atmosphere with a darker look and no trouble with cohesion. Nothing to complain about there. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak. The writing is sharp and has bite and the story does engage for the reasons described in the above paragraph.
Of the newer characters, my favourite is Jackie. Love her steel, spirit and ferocity. Frank and Claire are both brilliantly written and the acting all round is never less than very good. Cannot fault either Kevin Spacey or Robin Wright, while Molly Parker and particularly Mahershala Ali are major standouts as well.
Altogether, a great episode and one of Season 2's best. 9/10
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