House of Cards (TV Series) Chapter 39 (2015) User Reviews

At the Gates of Hades

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 3 March 2015]

The final episode of Season 3 is about as bleak as one can make it. There are two focuses. The first, of course, is the Iowa Caucuses and Franks final push to gain that state, the jumping off point for all presidential candidates. Claire, who really is his equal, is left smiling and schmoozing, in his shadow. I guess that's the way it has to be. As Frank says later, "There is only one chair behind this desk." Frank gets openly meaner and meaner as time goes along. The two of them start to exude a kind of marital frenzy. All Frank's talk about their love fore each other is claptrap; it's about what's best for him.

The second focus is Doug, carrying out his mission to find Rachel. He goes to Venezuela and hunts down Gavin, whom he nearly beats to death. Gavin gives him access to Rachel's information and off he goes. Doug is psychotic; Doug has no conscience. The final scene with Rachel gives him one last chance to be a human being. He really is not.

Of course, the final scene in the last episode sets the stage for some really interesting stuff to take place when Season 4 commences.

The anti-hero paradox

[santannakiller · 8/10 · 1 March 2015]

Sometimes shows just seem to end a season in what was supposed to be a mid-season finale, but I guess that this sensation is just the by-product of having an anti-hero for a protagonist.

The good thing about having an anti-hero is that a moral compass that falls somewhere in between black and white just makes the character more relatable and interesting.

On the other hand, it leaves you cheering for a character that is doomed to fall eventually, since his actions are not perfect,and led mostly by selfishness.

The only major complaint I have about House of Cards this season, is that Frank Underwood seems to be starting to fall before reaching his peak.

Of course, he became president, but he was not elected and did not have the support in the court of public opinion.

Like Kate Baldwin said, he came in just like a hurricane, but I feel that just like hurricane faith he started to dissipate just as he was about to take the country by storm.

Other minor gripes I had were that some character arcs felt meaningless, like senator Mendoza's, and other characters, most notably meechum, only got a handful of lines in the entire season.

Season 4 is either going to be the redemption or the fall of President Underwood, and the one option not used, is likely to be chosen in some capacity in season 5.

Either way, I'm dying to see if Frank Underwood will become a part of history, a footnote in a history book, or at worst, a joke.

Once Again, Kevin Spacey proved that he is that DAMN GOOD

[amirdbw07 · 8/10 · 3 March 2015]

I recall during Kevin Spacey's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, after speaking about the late director Stanley Kramer, he said "I just want to be better". Well, if I can say one thing with certainty after watching this season, is that Mr. Spacey: You cannot get better, because you are simply the best.

I absolutely loved his performance in this season. As we have moved on with the story, not only Frank's behavior has become more authoritative, he has become more arrogant and ruthless as well. His confrontations with Clair (episode 6 and 13) were golden.

Regarding the whole season, after the first 6 episodes which I believe were excellent, the show lost a little of its excitement and I felt that the writers dragged some subplots and stories for too long.

What was very interesting and at the same time odd to me was Clair's volatile behavior and reasons for distancing herself from Frank. If this past 2 seasons proved anything, Clair is as ruthless as Frank if not more. That's why I found her action in Russia in episode 6 and responses to Frank on Air Force one unrealistic. (But boy did I enjoy Frank's reaction in that scene). And at the end, she left Frank not because he was guilty, but because she craved more power. I actually felt bad for Frank and found myself agreeing with him in various argument, and despising Clair for being so selfish. Because despite all of his fault, Frank has been extremely loyal to his inner circle (Clair and Doug).

Overall a very good season filled with intense dialogs and confrontations, however included weak subplots and illogical stories at some points. 8/10

Season 3: Professionally mounted, patiently delivered, and mostly quite engaging, so why was I so passive about it?

[bob the moo · 24 May 2015]

Watching this third season of House of Cards was an odd experience for me. I had moved passed the stage of expecting it to be the same as the old UK version of the same source material and, although it keeps elements of this, I was fine to meet it on its own ground. This seasons sees Underwood as President – his mission of the last two seasons of scheming and maneuvering seeming to have paid off without a single vote being cast. However an election approaches and it is not a given that he will even secure the nomination of his own party, far less the support of the nation. To tackle both and secure his legacy, he sets out to create an ambitious jobs program, while also dealing with Russia, his wife's own ambitions, and party members circling him with their own agenda.

In terms of general narrative, there is more than enough here to engage. The plots generally have movement, consequence, and a certain amount of intelligence in the writing to produce something that I enjoyed watching. It is also expensively produced and well crafted, so that you do feel this is a "proper" drama with the resources to do it well, which it does. The performances are very strong and feature a consistently good cast doing good work, and there are clever links to the real world (albeit as well with some stupid links to the real world – Pussy Riot's inclusion being clumsy and not working at all). So generally I enjoyed the season and found that it did enough to hold my interest and satisfy me – which really leads me to wonder why I didn't feel more excited by the season, or really motivated by it? Had it been screened over weekly episodes rather than as an instant boxset, I wonder if I would have stuck with it as I did.

Part of this is that I am not sure what it is trying to do. I have always had an issue that the show lacks a cynical heart and is certainly never as satirical or black as it could be; however in this season the lack of this is more evident that ever. There are elements of darkness and harshness that work well (and are actually more effective for not being the norm), but too often the narrative is too "straight", too lacking in anything about it in terms of edge or bite. It is a bit disappointing to watch in this way – particularly when there are elements which offer it the chance to do so much, but yet it prefers to lean back, to be more patient and consistent and straight. As part of this there seems to be a lot more pushing of "character" than there had been before; in some ways this is great because it continues some of the show's strengths, but in other ways it is not so good. Specifically everyone seems to be having some element of personal or emotional conflict or doubt, and again this is all very earnestly presented but yet strangely not compelling at all. The core of the show is the Underwoods though, and this remains its main strength as they are at least engaging in their natural – with Claire in particular being a strong character throughout. This is not to say they are not touched by the weaknesses of the season, but even still they are the best thing about it.

So, an odd season. We have very high production values, a strong cast, a substantial narrative with plenty going on, but yet I felt so very passive towards it for the most part. The lack of real edge to the content and delivery is part of this, but so too is the same lack of clarity in the writing, which doesn't really seem clear what it is trying to do, as it mixes real life, political procedurals, character-driven moments, scheming, darkness, and the ordinary, all in ways that feel inconsistent. It is hard to deny that it is a show of quality in the making, but it is disappointing that it doesn't do more with it and I was surprised that I ended this third season with a certain amount of a shrug.

The Devil is back!!

[akshat-jain204 · 9/10 · 7 August 2015]

The whole episode comes down to the climax scene of Frank and Claire Underwood.And their comes the master at his work.The whole season he underplayed himself,showed the other side of himself but it was this final scene that shows the ruthless,remorseless,power hungry devil,i.e. Frank Underwood.He just took the center-stage and ripped Mrs Underwood off.He showed the level to which he can go to win the presidency.And not to forget Clair Underwood's role and how her character has gone miles in this season.Awards are definitely up for grabs for her this year.The season ended in the perfect way and we are up for one hell of a next season.

"No. It's you that's not enough"

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 3 September 2019]

Season 1 ("Chapters" 1-13) was fantastic, with the only slight disappointment being the still good "Chapter 8". The second season ("Chapters" 14-26) was almost as good, though the second half, from "Chapter 19" onwards, of it was better and more balanced than the first. Season 3 ("Chapters" 27-39) was a little less even and the Russian-themes episodes are understandably divisive, but it was never less than solid and like the second season it got better in the second half.

After the improvement to the season's quality from "Chapter 33" onwards and two outstanding previous episodes that saw 'House of Cards' (a brilliant show at its best that deserved an infinitely better final season instead of the disgrace of one we got) back on form, Season 3's finale "Chapter 39" was very solid with many great things. At the same time it disappointed a little as well, with it being the weakest episode since "Chapter 32". For a season finale one does sort of expect something a little bigger than this.

It does start off a touch on the odd side, with a visual and music style that jars in feel with the production values and music of the rest of the episode. Maybe there could have been more tension in places, the Frank and Claire subplot is the better executed one by quite some way especially the latter stages. Doug's was intriguing, with the final scene being the high point of it, but doesn't have the same amount of momentum.

The ending also felt abrupt, have always thought that it is a danger for season finales to end this way in case there was a sudden cancellation and there wouldn't be more seasons (that has happened with some shows, like for example 'The Borgias').

"Chapter 39" however looks stylish and has a lot of class, with a few symbolic (but not heavy-handed) shots like Claire closing the door on the campaign. On the most part the music complements well. The direction is sympathetic yet alert enough to still make the episode engaging. The dialogue is still dark, intelligent and sharp, especially in the latter stages of the episode, and the story is compelling enough if not perfectly done. The acting from all is excellent, with powerhouse turns from Robin Wright and particularly Kevin Spacey.

Frank and Claire's scenes, individually and especially together, are handled beautifully. Their scenes really deliver on the intensity, particularly when and from when Claire realises that she had really not gained anything from them trying to make each other stronger and no longer thinks they're equal and want the same thing. Their confrontation, showing anger and defiance, blisters. Their relationship has been very interesting this season, we saw a different side to it and we also saw a more sensitive side to Frank. The writing for Frank has yet to put a foot wrong, he is someone you don't want to mess with and is as ruthless as ever.

Concluding, very good episode but had potential to be much better considering it was a season finale. 8/10

Strong yet bleak finish to the season

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 9 October 2020]

Frank and Claire's relationship is under pressure whilst Doug focusses on some unresolved business.

There are some pretty dark moments in this final episode of season 3. It follows two simultaneous plots bouncing and forth between Frank and Claire at the Iowa Caucus and Doug in a number of different locations.

In this episode Claire and Doug do some massive soul searching about their love and loyalty to Frank Underwood and both make huge decisions as a result of their relationship with him. There is nothing more I can add about the plot and claim to be spoiler free.

Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly and Rachel Brosnahan are all superb. Particularly Spacey who continues to shock as a truly vile lead character and convincingly portrays some of the worst traits of antisocial personality disorder ever seen on screen. Tony Soprano, Al Swerengen and Walter White had some brutally low points, but somehow they usually kept me on side.

The cinematography, soundtrack and editing are as strong as ever, especially the opening montage sequence and the campaign scenes that jump between two speakers. One shot of Claire where she closes a door during a specific moment was an inspired piece of film making.

When the episode concluded it did a pretty impressive job of compelling me to watch the next season, but for me I didn't feel it reached the same heights as the previous season finale (knock knock).

Kevin Spacey with a once in a lifetime acting performance

[filipsandbom · 10/10 · 14 July 2022]

This probably one of the best acting performances ever by Kevin Spacey. How he switches between confused-upset-mad-angry-insane is just worldclass. This performance will go down in history. One of the best episodes of the show also because how everything that has been going on for the last episodes finally explodes in this one.

Short review of Season 3

[851222 · 9/10 · 13 April 2016]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"House of Cards" season 3 was 9/10 in my opinion. Both leads are phenomenal, writing is smart and sometimes provoking. While i do not really follow true politics of USA, i have to say i don't believe that it is an accurate portrait of life in White House, "The West Wing" was much more superior in this front, but "House of Cards" does not want to replicate the late show, nor i think it tries to be very accurate - it is a very entertaining TAKE on the White Housewith "what if" question just zooming around. Would you vote for Francis Underwood ? No, i you are the viewer of this show, but in reality that is what we are voting for in our countries - they are all very similar.

Overall, i enjoyed season 3 more then i thought i would. It is entertaining, superbly acted by both leads with nice supporting stuff (although nothing as memorable as Kate Mara's or Corey Stoll's characters and acting of these two very good actors in previous seasons). Directing was solid as well as writing. And i really intrigued how it would turn out for this president now.

Kevin Spacey Masterclass

[mrwb77 · 9/10 · 8 January 2023]

Kevin Spacey becomes Frank Underwood in season 3. It's an absolute acting master class. Truly a flawed genius.

The drama has just kept coming, with several very engaging plot lines. Evolving relationships between the characters and of course the primaries. Claire's character in particular undergoing significant evolution. Not knowing who she is and questioning everything.

Frank and Doug now have three murders between them. Not sure why they cut how Doug did it from the screen. A poor decision I think unless we see it Kate. Frank reminds me of Damon Killian in some ways. Truly an evil genius who knows how to play the crowd and get people to love him.

Feelings on season 3: Slick, bingeable, and engaging, but not without its share of missed opportunities and coming off as too impressed with itself at times

[Meven_Stoffat · 7/10 · 1 March 2015]

I came into House of Cards rather late in the game. It was just a mere two weeks prior to season 2 and I was in bed with my ipad, sick as a dog. There was nothing else on Netflix that piqued my interest, so I decided that I would check out some of their original programming, and House of Cards was my pick mostly because of Kevin Spacey. I ended up really enjoying the first season and finished the whole season in 4 days. Season 2 I finished in a day and a half. It's just how well crafted the show is, how well done and acted and well put together the show manages to be that gives it its kick. So with all the anticipation and hype surrounding season 3, I watched the first 3 episodes before going to a friend's party and watched the rest the next day

One thing I will say about this season was that it's exactly what you want from House of Cards. Excellent acting, rather tension filled plots, gorgeous cinematography and meticulously well-crafted subplots about political happenings. Kevin Spacey's deliciously diabolical performance and Robin Wright's sexy yet dangerous portrayal of his wife has always been something I've really loved about the show. This season has those trademark qualities. However, it does show a rather different side to their relationship, where even Claire begins to question her husband's actions. There's one particularly powerful scene in episode 6 where they have an argument over a gay man's suicide in prison over their homophobic laws which climaxes in them making bold statements about their positions. There's a problem though, this is executed well enough in the first half of the season, and then there's a scene in the second half of the season where she reads Yates' book about her and Frank and becomes upset because they're labeled as a "power couple". This didn't seem to make any sense. In seasons 1 and 2 she would do whatever it took to find out what your weakness was and exploit the hell out of it. Here she comes off as an easily upset snitch

There are a good number of flaws with this season and while they aren't enough to make this a bad season, they definitely drag it down. I was really thrilled about the idea of introducting a subplot about the happenings in Russia, but the problem was that it lasted one episode. It felt like the writers thought, "hey, folks, remember the powerful rape victims subplot from last season? Let's make something like that but with victims of homophobic laws! Except we have to make way for other plots so we can only give it one episode." Frank and Claire in Russia was indeed awesome, but again, it lasted only one episode, making it feel pointless. In addition, Doug Stamper being alive was something I thought could work, and in fact I did enjoy his first few appearances, but as the season went on, he became creepy and obsessed with Rachel Posner, who herself only gets one episode (spoiler alert: it happens in the finale) and she herself is reduced to a begging mess. Not to mention, I love that this show seems to burst with confidence about its story lines and what not, but this season almost feels like the show has finally believed its own hype. There are a number of scenes where the writers seem to be shouting at you "LOOK HOW IMPRESSIVE THIS SHOW IS". The debate scenes in particular definitely seem to reek of this. Frank never really digs up any real dirt on Heather Dunbar and it's rather frustrating to see Frank be reduced to someone who is easily defeated, especially considering in season 1 he got away with killing Russo by posioning him with exhaust, and in season 2 how he threw Zoe into the train tracks and got away with it? Welp, he keeps getting defeated at every turn and it's frustrating to watch at times

However, what keeps this season still worth watching is that in spite of all the flaws, there's still just enough good to keep you engaged. Kevin Spacey's amazing performance works wonders. There's suspense and tension throughout. The "inner monologues" scenes are still a thrill to watch, the show is still slickly shot and gorgeous looking. I also really loved the subplot with the writer and how he tries as hard as he could to get as much info about the Underwoods as possible yet at the same time took a treacherous turn in sleeping with Baldwin, the journalist who tries but keeps failing to take the Underwoods down. I also liked Heather Dunbar trying to run against Frank as well. This may be the worst season yet, but even in spite of all the flaws, it still is worth binging, with just enough suspense to keep you satisfied

Finale rating:7/10 Overall season rating: 7/10

An inconsistent message

[jimsaf-346-520057 · 5/10 · 9 June 2015]

Sadly I have to echo some of the points made by other reviewers. With all the hard work that has gone into plot and character development, I felt this season started going downhill half way through.

The stories were inconsistent and a little unbelievable. It appears the writers were just going for dramatic affect which meant it lost some of its realism. The storyline of a dead US serviceman was wholly unrealistic. Actually the entire Russian involvement in the series seemed to not be in keeping with the rest of the over-arching script - a totally unnecessary diversion.

I would also think that democratic nominees would not be so vocally opposed in pubic (especially when one was a sitting president) - it would surely be setting the Republicans up for a ridiculously easy win come the general (and even real life US politicians are not that short sighted).

It almost seems like one of the main writers left the show half way through; the staff writers who were left were not quite up to the task. This may be symptomatic of the typical US format of stretching a television series out beyond its natural length.

Sadly I feel that dramatic writing got in the way of realistic story telling. This very much seems more like a soap opera than a serious drama/thriller.

"I'm leaving you..." - Come on chaps. You can do better than that.

From political drama to soap opera

[gizmomogwai · 7/10 · 15 March 2015]

House of Cards typically ends its seasons on strong notes, and the attempt was made here but fell short for me. In fact, the whole of season 3 sure had its moments but fell short for me. Chapter 39 is disappointingly low on political drama, with the primaries taking a backseat just as they were getting really interesting (with Frank backstabbing Jackie and Jackie backstabbing him back). Instead, what we mainly have here is an extended view of Frank and Claire's marital woes, with a Claire acting little like the Claire we knew in previous seasons. And, Doug finds and kidnaps Rachel and may kill her.

Some of this is soap opera cliché, like the cliffhangers. Claire states she and Frank have been lying to each other in Chapter 38, and the episode abruptly ends. When we pick up from that in Chapter 39, she doesn't want to talk about it. When she finally does, she announces she's leaving Frank and the season abruptly ends. How many presidents of the United States have separations while in office? Not even the Clintons did. Likewise, even if politicians order killings, how many White House Chiefs of Staff will commit murders with their bare hands? And the politics is all in the background. We see Dunbar concede defeat in the Iowa primary, but not much of how that came about.

That's not to say Chapter 39, as with the rest of the season, doesn't have its moments. Frank attempting to assert his dominance over Claire, his cold frustrations over her behaviour, is a powerful little moment. And just as when he tried to do this with Jackie and Remy, it backfires. The show has always been a little over the top, but here's hoping season 4 backs away from soap opera territory.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

[Xiebsvg · 2/10 · 20 June 2017]

I agree with the other reviews that season three was a letdown. Frank was an amazing character as always, but Claire just pretty much ruined the season. What the heck would she be thinking to push and push to get him into the white house, then be petulant that he doesn't ask her permission before every move the president has to make? And to be furious that she is not equal to the president in the white house? The whole premise of her just coming off the rails after years of pushing for this doesn't make sense and feels almost childish. If season four doesn't pick up from the soap opera I am done.