WASHINGTON — Season 1 earned a Golden Globe for Robin Wright as Claire Underwood. Season 2 won a Golden Globe for Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood. This weekend, Netflix launches Season 3 of “House of Cards” in all its streaming glory.
We’ve been salivating for weeks since Season 3 mysteriously appeared on Netflix for a few minutes, before abruptly disappearing. The leak was either a terrible gaffe or a brilliant marketing campaign.
Either way, it helped ramp up excitement for the new season, just like this pair of official trailers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU9QTLXYCCc
As we await the show’s arrival, here are the 10 burning questions heading into Season 3:
SPOILERS BELOW:
1) How will Frank Underwood handle the presidency?
Frank Underwood has been vying for this position since the show started. So now that he has everything he’s ever wanted, will he be satisfied? No way in hell. How will Frank’s power-hungry greed affect his leadership skills? Walter White may have been “the one who knocks” in “Breaking Bad,” but Frank Underwood did it literally in the final image of Season 2. Knock, knock.
2) Will the pace slow down?
My biggest criticism of Season 2 was that they pushed the plot too far, too fast. Underwood’s ascension to the presidency happened with breakneck speed at the expense of believability. Perhaps the show’s creators have so many presidential plot points they want to hit that they needed to get Frank in the Oval Office quick. But how fast is too fast? Here’s hoping Season 3 takes its time.
3) What’s Claire’s role this season?
If the pace doesn’t slow down, could we see Claire’s ascension to rival Frank for the presidency by perhaps Season 4? If Claire is going to start making moves, Season 3 could spell trouble for the Underwood marriage. Trailer #1 shows Claire saying, “We’re murderers, Francis.” Trailer #2 shows her saying, “I’m starting to question all of this, Francis. What are we doing all this for?”
4) Which current events will factor in?
Last season, the show wove in a number of timely topics: a government shutdown, sexual assault in the military, an economic rivalry with China, and cyber security concerns with a Julian Assange/Edward Snowden-style hacker. What current events could factor in this time? ISIS? Putin?
5) Who could get whacked?
Regardless of what you think about the plot, “House of Cards” has repeatedly shocked us with character deaths. Like “Game of Thrones,” we feel like anyone can go at any time. In Season 1, it was Congressman Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) in a carbon-monoxide job in the garage. In Season 2, it was Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) in the infamous Cathedral Heights Metro twist in the season premiere.
6) Dead or Alive: What happened to Chief of Staff Doug Stamper?
Season 2 concluded with Frank’s Chief of Staff Doug Stamper being attacked by Rachel Posner, who hit him three times with a brick and left him for dead in the woods. Is he actually dead? Or will he recover in the hospital? The scene included a very specific shot of a traffic light. Was there a traffic camera attached? No matter how this plays out, there’s bound to be some serious fallout.
7) When will the Slugline alumni return?
Zoe Barnes may be dead, but two of her journalist colleagues could be wild cards if they return. Lucas Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus) is in jail, but you’ve got to think the writers will have him up to something behind bars. Meanwhile, Janine Skorsky (Constance Zimmer) fled to teach college in Ithaca, New York. Will she pay Goodwin a visit in prison? The Zoe death investigation isn’t over.
8) Will we learn more about Frank’s sexual preferences?
Each season, there has been at least one overt glimpse of Frank’s sexual identity. In Season One, he spent the night with an old college buddy on the library floor of his former university. In Season Two, he and Claire had a threesome with a member of their security detail. What might be revealed in Season Three? Will Frank come out as a homosexual? And how might that affect his political career?
9) What can we expect from Raymond Tusk and Remy Danton?
Billionaire Raymond Tusk has been a thorn in the side of the Underwoods, but also willing to strike a deal when necessary. Tusk has also won the allegiance of Remy Danton, who recently convinced Claire to backstab Frank, helping her move a shipment of water supplies in exchange for killing a bill. Will the Tusk-Danton partnership continue to poke holes in the Underwoods’ plans?
10) Most importantly, how fast can we binge it?!?
“House of Cards” is unusual in that it releases each new season in its entirety, making it possible to binge all of Season 3 this weekend. Will you finish the entire season on Friday? Save some for Saturday and Sunday? Or will you try to space it out to savor it? Tell us on Twitter @WTOPEnt.
In the meantime, check out this behind-the-scenes interview with local actor Lamont Easter, a federal employee by day, actor by night, serving on the Underwood’s Secret Service detail:
For more behind-the-scenes insight, we sat down with WTOP’s own J. Brooks, who served as a stand-in for Underwood’s press secretary, meaning he spent 12 hours up close with Spacey:
Finally, if you need even more of a “House of Cards” fix, here’s my recap of Season 2 alongside fellow D.C. critic Kevin Sampson on the Arlington Independent Media cable show “Picture Lock.”
